Math not adding up on new 4 for 3 deal....

[BrerGnat]

Has anyone actually done the math on this new deal and found a discrepancy?

We have the Polynesian, Garden View booked from March 4-11 (Wed-Wed) for 3 adults, with 7 day park hoppers (no other add ons) and the total comes to $3242.44 on Disney.com. I have the reservation made already and put the deposit down.

HOWEVER, if I break down the package components seperately on Disney.com, here is what I get:

Tickets:4 DAY Park Hopper for 3 adults: $807 total

4 Nights at Polynesian, Garden View (I put in weekend dates, since we will be going during Peak Season, and weekend rates apply, so I wanted to make sure I accounted for that increase in rate): $2340 total

TOTAL Price when you add the 4 nights at Poly to the 4 day park hopper, remembering that the additional 3 nights and 3 days of the ticket are "supposedly" free: $3,147.00

Original Package Price quoted: $3242.22
Same components broken down: $3147.00
Difference: $95.22 OVERCHARGE on package.

What gives? Is this tax on the "free" parts of the deal? It seems like it. Can someone clarify. There was no mention that sales tax was included in the "free" parts of the deal, but if that is the case, I guess there is no arguing it. It seems about the amount since sales tax is roughly 6%...

[robhink]

Often times you can get better pricing a la carte rather than the package, since the package has the throw ins of luggage tags, coupons and such.

[Catzle]

Good question. Would also like to know the answer.

[Tink1]

You did not follow all the way through with the Hopper prices. Total for 3 adult 4 day hoppers is $807 + tax = TOTAL PRICE*: $859.47. That accounts for $52.47 of your difference.

The rest is the tax on the "free" . While Disney can give you free portions in a package, the govt still wants the tax on the value. Just like when you "win" a car. You still pay the tax on that car.

Nanci

[BrerGnat]

You did not follow all the way through with the Hopper prices. Total for 3 adult 4 day hoppers is $807 + tax = TOTAL PRICE*: $859.47. That accounts for $52.47 of your difference.

The rest is the tax on the "free" . While Disney can give you free portions in a package, the govt still wants the tax on the value. Just like when you "win" a car. You still pay the tax on that car.

Nanci

Nanci, I realized my error on the park hopper pricing (Disney's site didn't initially include tax), but $52.47 does not seem sufficient to cover the tax on the "free" portion of the remainder of the package. Are you sure this is how it is handled?

It seems more likely that what they have done is charge me the weekend rate for all 4 of my "paying" hotel nights, which is not right, as we will only be there over ONE weekend, and since it's not the same as something like a season change, where you have to pay the highest prevailing rate during your stay, that doesn't seem fair. The weekend rate is $20 per night higher, which works out to $40 plus tax, which is about the discrepancy I'm looking at.

Is this something that I should contest?

[badkitty]

Pardon my ignorance, but you are getting three "free" nights at the Poly during peak season and you want to contest $40?

[Tink1]

No, I do not think you can contest it. You are comparing 2 different companies in the Walt Disney Corporation, each offering a different way to book. DRC room only vs WDW Travel Company Packages. They technically do not have any relationship to the other.

This is the price of the offer and how Disney has presented it. You can choose to accept their offer and price or decline it.

Packages are truly not meant to be broken down. They are not always a sum of the parts. This is why people will say, I find buying ala-carte cheaper than packages.

They are a set price of the whole and not the price of individual pieces totaled together.

As they say- "it is what it is". You, as a consumer, are then free to make your decision on if it is a value or not.

Nanc

[BrerGnat]

Thank you for your insight Nanci. I appreciate your response. I will just accept it. I have never really scrutinized a package offer like this before, but was doing so because we also have a room reservation at the Swan, and we are really trying to figure out what is the best deal, so I WAS doing a very specific "break down" if you will. We want to do what ends up being the best value for the money, and it is ***VERY*** close, so we will just have to choose based on personal preference. Believe it or not, that $40 is the difference. ;)

Thank you for clarifying the difference between DRC Room only and WDW Travel Co. packages. I'll just let it be.

[MickeysEars]

Call and talk to another agent and make sure the Park Tickets are going in correctly, her is what i posted on another thread...



When we first tried to apply the promo code it did not give us a discount. Here is why...when the booking agents at Disney were first told how to book the packages they were told to book tickets according to how many days TOTAL the guests would need. Example: the 7 day package equates to buying a 4 day ticket and getting 3 free, HOWEVER, the agents were putting in a 7 day ticket...what does this mean?...you would actually end up with 10 days worth of tickets. This happened the first 5...that's right, 5 times, they tried to get me a discount. it was only taking off about $200 for a 14 day trip. I should have had "6" nights free paying for 8. They finally figured out that the agents were told the WRONG way to put in park ticket days. It was finally figured out at about 2pm yesturday for me. I ended up with $600 in discounts for both us and my parents. That is a total of $1200 as opposed to $400.

[Tink1]

Thank you for your insight Nanci. I appreciate your response. I will just accept it. I have never really scrutinized a package offer like this before, but was doing so because we also have a room reservation at the Swan, and we are really trying to figure out what is the best deal, so I WAS doing a very specific "break down" if you will. We want to do what ends up being the best value for the money, and it is ***VERY*** close, so we will just have to choose based on personal preference. Believe it or not, that $40 is the difference. ;)

Thank you for clarifying the difference between DRC Room only and WDW Travel Co. packages. I'll just let it be.

Not sure if it matters to you, but DME is not included in the Swana nd Dolphin. So be sure to take into account the transfers from airport to resort and back if your not renting a car.

Nanc

[Speedy1998]

I think the tax per night for the county is something like $8.00.

Also when you are looking at this package do not forget the $200 gift certificate. When we booked last night, we asked about it. They said it was not good for food but was excepted at all the stores in WDW. Guess that means $200 of Souvinears are included in the package.

[pwdebbie]

I thought the 4 + 3 deal was only good for seven days. I tried for 11 days and wasn't able to get it. I thought I would get 6 +5.

I also thought the $200 gift card could be used for tips and beverages if you were on the DDP. Not so?

Deb

[DebK]

There is a 10 night limit to the packages with the promotion. The tax rate on the rooms is 12.5% except for the All Stars, which is 13%....

[BrerGnat]

I think the tax per night for the county is something like $8.00.

Also when you are looking at this package do not forget the $200 gift certificate. When we booked last night, we asked about it. They said it was not good for food but was excepted at all the stores in WDW. Guess that means $200 of Souvinears are included in the package.

The Gift Card can be used for food. See below, from Disneygiftcard.com:

Walt Disney Theme Parks*
The Disney Gift Card can be used to purchase admission tickets at the Theme Parks and annual passes. It may also be used at Disney owned and operated merchandise, dining and recreation locations where credit cards are currently accepted. Some carts, and other outdoor Merchandise vendors may not be able to accept the gift card.

Downtown Disney®
The Disney Gift Card can be used to purchase admission tickets to DisneyQuest®. Tickets to Cirque du Soleil® La Nouba™ may be purchased using the Disney Gift Card at the Cirque du Soleil® Box Office located at Downtown Disney® West Side. The Disney Gift Card also offers a convenient option to shop and dine at participating locations throughout the Downtown Disney® Area.

Walt Disney World Water Parks*
The Disney Gift Card also has a special wearable version available for purchase exclusively in shops at Disney's Blizzard Beach and Disney's Typhoon Lagoon Water Parks. This waterproof card comes with a handy wristband to wear, and is convenient to carry while enjoying the Water Parks attractions, merchandise and food and beverage purchases as well as locker and towel rentals. The cards are valid in a variety of locations throughout the Water Parks as well as at over 1,000 select participating locations throughout the Walt Disney World® Resort.

Walt Disney World® Resorts*
The Disney Gift Card offers a convenient option to shop, dine, stay and enjoy recreation experiences at over 1,000 select participating locations throughout the Walt Disney World® Resort. Present the Disney Gift Card at any of the Walt Disney World® Resort Hotels Front Desks as payment towards hotel room nights or accumulated purchases on your Key to the World. The Disney Gift Card can also be used at most Walt Disney World® Resort Hotel merchandise or restaurant locations. Not valid for Room Service.

The Disney Gift Card is not redeemable at non-Disney owned hotels such as Walt Disney World® Swan & Dolphin resorts and hotels on Hotel Plaza Blvd. with the exception of the owned and operated Disney Merchandise locations that reside within these hotels.

The Disney Gift Card is not accepted at: McDonalds®, Jellyrolls, Rainforest Café®, and the Richard Petty Driving Experience. The Disney Gift Card cannot be used towards the purchase of the following: Disney Dollars, Disney Gift Certificates, or Disney Gift Cards.

[BrerGnat]

Not sure if it matters to you, but DME is not included in the Swana nd Dolphin. So be sure to take into account the transfers from airport to resort and back if your not renting a car.

Nanc

Yes, it does matter, but we did take that into account. Also, if we stay at the Swan, we'd get our tickets with a military discount, since I'm eligible to purchase them here on base, so we'd save there (close to $100 total), although with the 4+3 deal, we'd obviously not be able to take advantage of that.

We broke it down to a per person charge of approx $1000 per person for the week if we stay at the Swan (includes room plus tax and fees, transport to/from hotel, and park hoppers with military discount).

With the 4+3 package, the per person charge comes to $1080. This is a $240 difference OVERALL, more expensive at the Polynesian, but factoring in the $200 giftcard, only $40 more expensive than staying at the Swan, and that's total, so really, it's seemingly negligible, but when it's THAT close, I want to make sure I'm not missing something, know what I mean?

I just don't want to be overcharged, that's all. I know computers can make mistakes. Just wanted to make sure that didn't happen to me.

[CaptainJessicaSparrow]

Just wanted to point out something - Lodging Tax is different than Sales Tax.

Sales Tax in this area is between 6.5 and 7%
Lodging Tax is betweeen 12.5 and 13%. That is a big difference.

Also, when I add the individual components of your package, including tax, my total came to $3509.83.

Tickets - $809 plus 7% tax = $865.63
Resort - $2340 plus 13% tax = $2644.20

With that, you are actually saving $267.61, not being overcharged.

There is no tax charged to free items. Trust me, I've seen it when working merchandise - the value is accounted for. Just like when shipping using a discount - the shipping charge is based on what you paid, not the total value. I sent close to $300 worth of merchandise to a friend and paid only $24.95 (it would have been more) since it was less than $150 with my discount.

[BrerGnat]

Just wanted to point out something - Lodging Tax is different than Sales Tax.

Sales Tax in this area is between 6.5 and 7%
Lodging Tax is betweeen 12.5 and 13%. That is a big difference.

Also, when I add the individual components of your package, including tax, my total came to $3509.83.

Tickets - $809 plus 7% tax = $865.63
Resort - $2340 plus 13% tax = $2644.20

With that, you are actually saving $267.61, not being overcharged.

There is no tax charged to free items. Trust me, I've seen it when working merchandise - the value is accounted for. Just like when shipping using a discount - the shipping charge is based on what you paid, not the total value. I sent close to $300 worth of merchandise to a friend and paid only $24.95 (it would have been more) since it was less than $150 with my discount.

You're actually off on your tax figures. The TOTAL tax charged on WDW hotel rooms comes to 12.5%. Part of that is sales tax, and the rest is the resort tax. I believe the resort tax at WDW is 6% and the sales tax is 6.5%, making the total tax 12.5% on lodging.

Also, the current price for three 4 day park hopper tickets (according to WaltDisneyWorld.com) is $807 plus tax, not $809 plus tax.

What I believe is that they are charging me the weekend rate for all four nights of my stay, which I feel is wrong. I am going to call them just to find out if that is the case. That makes up almost exactly the $40 difference that I am being charged.

When I go onto WaltDisneyWorld.com and price a 4 day package with 4 day park hoppers, 3 adults, at the Poly Garden View from March 4-8 (a hypothetical vacation), which also includes 2 weekend days, the total price for THAT package comes up to $3202.92. Essentially, THAT should be the same price I am quoted under this 4+3 deal, if in fact, those 3 additional days are "Free" as Disney advertises.

[CaptainJessicaSparrow]

Actually, I'm not off.

Here is what I got when I tried to book the Poly, no tickets, Garden View with no other packages for tickets from the Disney website.

Thursday - $510
Friday - $530
Saturday - $530
Sunday - $510

Sub-Total - $2,080
Tax - $260.00
Total - $2,340.00

The $260 is 12.5% of the room cost, bringing the tax for lodging alone. So it doesn't include the cost of the tickets.

Please, trust me on this - I've taken enough classes on lodging, finance, and everything else for my major (Theme Park and Resort Management). I can calculate just about anything. Would you like to know the hourly ride capacities for any of the rides? I just need to know how many people can fit in a vehicle, how many vehicles are out, and how long the ride is. TSM is around 4000 guests per hour, Jungle is 23,400.

[BrerGnat]

Actually, I'm not off.

Here is what I got when I tried to book the Poly, no tickets, Garden View with no other packages for tickets from the Disney website.

Thursday - $510
Friday - $530
Saturday - $530
Sunday - $510

Sub-Total - $2,080
Tax - $260.00
Total - $2,340.00

The $260 is 12.5% of the room cost, bringing the tax for lodging alone. So it doesn't include the cost of the tickets.

.

I know, that is what I was saying. The TOTAL tax charged on a room is 12.5%. You said that 12.5% was just LODGING tax, and that SALES tax was an additional 6.5% added to that, which is incorrect. The total tax on a hotel bill at WDW is 12.5%. I believe we agree on that, but the RESORT TAX portion of that is only about half. The rest is Florida state sales tax.

You argued in your first post that the resort portion of my stay would be $2645: (this is what you wrote):
the room Sub-Total - $2,080
Tax - $260.00
Total - $2,340.00
Resort - $2340 plus 13% tax = $2644.20

This is just wrong. When WDW Travel Co. gives you a quote online, that quote ALREADY includes all applicable taxes. The room plus tax is $2340, not $2644.20.


With that, you are actually saving $267.61, not being overcharged.

Again, this is not the case. In your example, you charged the tax twice. They are not saving me anything. They are overcharging me on the room rate. Plain and simple.

[CaptainJessicaSparrow]

I know, that is what I was saying. The TOTAL tax charged on a room is 12.5%. You said that 12.5% was just LODGING tax, and that SALES tax was an additional 6.5% added to that, which is incorrect.

You misunderstood me. I did say the tax for lodging was 12.5%, but the sales taxes for the tickets was 6.5%. Here in Florida, Lodging Tax refers to the same thing as a Resort Tax, at least among those in the industry.


You argued in your first post that the resort portion of my stay would be $2645: (this is what you wrote):
the room Sub-Total - $2,080
Tax - $260.00
Total - $2,340.00
Resort - $2340 plus 13% tax = $2644.20


You're combining two of my posts to make this one. For the first one, I used the numbers you gave, and added tax since you didn't specify if you had accounted for it. The second post, I used the numbers to outline the subtotal, to show that the tax on resorts is 12.5%, adjusted for 3 adults, garden view, for 4 nights.

[honeebee86]

Funny, I posted a similar question. I requested a quote for the 3 days free Value season in February, staying at Pop with the base tickets (3 dyas free) and added the dining plan. The total way about $2500 for the whole thing. I then did a quote for another value week outside of the 3 days free promo and with the same length of hotel and tickets, same hotel, and also having the dining plan, it was only $50 more than when I get the free days. I know the hotel would be about $80 per night (2 nights) and the tickets would only increase a about $4-6 per person (4 people) and that is much more than $50. It should show a savings of at least $150.