Caught an Extra Day

[queen bee]

We fell victim to the Disney "4 for 7" promotion and are planning our next trip to the Kingdom the week of March 15. We will be staying at AKL and the boys (ages 12 nand 9) are very excited about this. When I went to make air reservations, I couldn't get a reasonably priced flight unless I stayed an extra day. Of course, the family is delighted with this, but I needed to get an extra night at AKL which I did for $421, lodging only.I don't even know if we will keep our same room.
Has anyone out there had a similar experience? What did you do to minimize costs or enhance the opportunity.
Thanks for any help.

[sassy2000]

We always arrive the day before our actual reservation and stay at acheaper hotel off-site. Is your extra night at the beginning or end of your trip? Have you tried one of the value resorts for availability? That just seems like alot of money for 1 night stay. I would think it would be worth the money saved to pack up and swap hotels. Plus you don't know if you will get the same room at AKL. Disney can move your luggage for you while your family has fun at the park.:mickey:

[#1donaldfan]

....OUCH !!!.... there went your savings, are your airline tickets that much more to fly back one day earlier..???

.....as the previous thread says....we normally show up one day prior to our "stay", and use a hotel at DtD, then we'll shop, eat and play around DtD for our first day.....:mickey:

[PetefromRI]

I just did something similar last night mainly because I wanted to,not really to save money but it turns out that the flight was a little cheaper.We went from 7 nights at POFQ to 9 nights.I figure that it will most likely be our only vacation this year so whats an extra 500.00 and that's with the QSDP.This is why I love Magical Journeys.I e-mailed Denise yesterday afternoon and by last night I was confirmed with the change without having to make 1 phone call.We changed our flights this morning and we're set to go.My wife doesn't know this yet but I know she'll be very happy.

[kathiep]

Have you considered a room only reservation for the day you arrive at one of the value resorts? Guest services will take care of moving your luggage from one resort to the other. You would only have to go to AKL the morning of check in to get your keys to the kingdom. We've been doing this for several years now and it really works well. We love getting to explore another resort.

[WDWFanatic]

I agree w/the other posters. That is steep for one night. I would also try another hotel. Your boys may enjoy Pop or All Star Sports. Or you could always book a room at the airport and get there really late, lol.

[KylesMom]

Have you considered a room only reservation for the day you arrive at one of the value resorts? Guest services will take care of moving your luggage from one resort to the other. You would only have to go to AKL the morning of check in to get your keys to the kingdom. We've been doing this for several years now and it really works well. We love getting to explore another resort.
We've done this before for various reasons, and are looking into it again this year due to flight costs on Saturday morning versus Friday night. Whether you stay off-site or hit the values, you're sure to spend alot less than $421 for that extra night! :D