Making reservations

[Miss Tink 2]

We are planning a trip in May 09 and I was wondering if we should make our reservations for everything(room,tickets,dining plan) or if we should just book the room only and wait and see if any specials come out for the time we'll be there-I always book through Magical Journeys, but I was afraid if I book the whole package if a better deal comes out, I won't be able to change it-Does anyone know how that works?

[danicafan]

I always make my reservations as soon as possible. Last year we got a discount code and just called Disney and they revamped our exisitng reservation with the new discounts, saved us tons of money! Just booked our January 2009 trip last night decided to stay on property instead of timeshare and am hoping for some codes to come out to apply to our reservations :mickey:

[Tink1]

My advice is always "book what you want and can afford" then the specials are like bonus points.

We follow the same rules and regs that calling Disney will get you. If you book with us or them it is the same cancel and change policy.

The difference is we want to save you money and will advise you to switch (package->room only , room only-> package, resort view or resort) if it is a better deal. If your package/room is available on the special, we are on the phones first thing changing to the promotions.

The ultimate decision to switch always lies with you.

Nanci

[The Hitchhiking Ghost]

Definitely book the room, as you want to lock in your desired dates. But if you are not booking under a PIN Code or advertised special, then there is no harm in waiting to add your tickets or dining plan at a later date. Disney is very good about allowing add-ons. And, I don't think it alters your deposit, whether you are booking room only or the entire package.

My understanding is that the package is primarily for convenience, so that if you are not booking under a special you aren't losing any money by waiting to a later date.

Then again, if the deposit is the same, and if final payment isn't due for a long ways out, then no harm either in booking the entire package. Either way you can add/delete from your package with relative ease.

[caryrae]

I just booked through MJ. I was told to go ahead and book a room-only reservation because I could get a AAA discount and if some kind of deal comes along for packages making it cheaper then the AAA discount they will send you an e-mail asking if you would like to change to the package. If you do I guess Disney can't just switch you from a room-only to a package, so what happens is MJ will refund you what you have paid for the room-only so far and then re-book you with a package instead.

[Tink1]

Definitely book the room, as you want to lock in your desired dates. But if you are not booking under a PIN Code or advertised special, then there is no harm in waiting to add your tickets or dining plan at a later date. Disney is very good about allowing add-ons. And, I don't think it alters your deposit, whether you are booking room only or the entire package.

My understanding is that the package is primarily for convenience, so that if you are not booking under a special you aren't losing any money by waiting to a later date.

Then again, if the deposit is the same, and if final payment isn't due for a long ways out, then no harm either in booking the entire package. Either way you can add/delete from your package with relative ease.

Actually no.

Room Only reservations (DRC) and Package reservations (Travel Co) are 2 seperate companies under the Disney Umbrella.

You cannot transfer money between the 2 companies.

The deposit, cancel and change policy differs

Dining cannot be added to a DRC reservation, but tickets can.

Nanci

[LudwigVonDrake]

My advice is always "book what you want and can afford" then the specials are like bonus points.

Nanci

That is great advice!!! :mickey:

[WDW1208]

Something else to think about is that depending on the resort, the deposit might actually be cheaper if you book the whole package. If you will be staying at a deluxe resort, or villa, and book room only, you could pay over $300 for one night stay, whereas you could book the package for $200 regardless of the resort you are at. If you know you want to book a package and not pay for everything seperately, I would do that, and then if a discount comes out for packages you can have them applied directly to your package. If you book room only, and then want to switch to a package, to my knowledge you cannot have your one nights deposit credited to your package. You will have to cancel, get the refund and then apply it to your new ressie. I might be wrong but I don't think you can apply a room only deposit to a Disney Travel Company package ressie.

If you know you want to book a room only & wait for a code and then buy your tickets, set up transportation etc, all separate, then you might as well book the room and pay the one nights deposit and let it sit there waiting for a code to pop up, as long as the deposit amount does not make a difference to you, and that might work both ways. If you are staying at Value or Mod and the one night's deposit is under $200 then that is the better way to go.
Hope that made sense!