Buy 4 deal looks to be coming back

[Strmchsr]

I knew they were announcing the theme for next year - focusing on volunteerism - next Tuesday, but now I've seen tons of rumors (and some from decently legitimate sources) that the Buy 4 get 3 deal will indeed be back, though altered.

Values will have a Buy 5, get 2 deal while the mods and deluxes will get the 4 for 3 deal. This will be for Oct 1, 2009-March 31, 2010 with a "book by" date of December 20. Also, in an apparent move to cut off folks trying to "cheat" the system the number of Magic Your Way tickets must now match the number of nights you stay. I didn't know that was an issue, but a couple of the folks I've talked to say it was.

So, for all of you asking about January, etc deals, there you go. Look for an official announcement next week. However, you have to remember to take all rumors with a grain of salt until it's officially announced. The couple of folks I've talked to are rarely off the mark, but it happens occasionally.

[LoriSan]

Also, in an apparent move to cut off folks trying to "cheat" the system the number of Magic Your Way tickets must now match the number of nights you stay. I didn't know that was an issue, but a couple of the folks I've talked to say it was.



so if you stay 6 nights, you need to get six tickets? or if you stay 6 nights, you have to get at least six day park passes?

[Strmchsr]

so if you stay 6 nights, you need to get six tickets? or if you stay 6 nights, you have to get at least six day park passes?

My understanding is that you have to get 6 day park passes and everyone has to be on the same plan (kind of like with the DDP). I could be off here, but that's they way I understood it when my friends were explaining the deal to me.

[SallyMcQueen]

My understanding is that you have to get 6 day park passes and everyone has to be on the same plan (kind of like with the DDP). I could be off here, but that's they way I understood it when my friends were explaining the deal to me.

That kind of bites. What if you fly in early on day one and then have a late night flight on your last day. I'd want to buy a 7 day pass so that I could hit the parks as soon as we got there and then before we left. I guess that means more pool and bevvie time:marg:

[bigdonms51]

Strmchsr- You mentioned that volunteerism will be Disney's theme for 2010. Based on what you know, will this then replace the current "free on your birthday" park tickets, or will it be in addition to. I was really hoping that they would continue the birthday offer in 2010, as we are going the week my son & I have our birthdays. At least it appears the 4/3 deal will be available when we go in March.

[Strmchsr]

Strmchsr- You mentioned that volunteerism will be Disney's theme for 2010. Based on what you know, will this then replace the current "free on your birthday" park tickets, or will it be in addition to. I was really hoping that they would continue the birthday offer in 2010, as we are going the week my son & I have our birthdays. At least it appears the 4/3 deal will be available when we go in March.

:welcome: to Intercot!!!!

This new theme is replacing the "what will you celebrate" theme - so, apparently, no free birthdays next year. the basic slant is Disney has been giving stuff to you the last few years (2 years of a million dreams, and celebrations) now it's "your turn to give back" so the focus will be on charities and volunteering in the community. From what I understand if you do x amount of work with a disney approved charity you can get free park admission or something of the sort. Details on that should come out tuesday.

[LoriSan]

that also is a bummer for AP holders

[BrerGnat]

That kind of bites. What if you fly in early on day one and then have a late night flight on your last day. I'd want to buy a 7 day pass so that I could hit the parks as soon as we got there and then before we left. I guess that means more pool and bevvie time:marg:

You'd probably have to get at LEAST six day passes. BUT, you can ALWAYS pay more to upgrade them. Disney will never say "no" to more money, but under the terms of the "deal", they will cap how many "free" days you will get. ;) Last year, it was "buy 4, get 3 free". However, if you wanted to buy a 8, 9, or 10 day pass, you could just pay the difference.

[Laura670]

Values will have a Buy 5, get 2 deal while the mods and deluxes will get the 4 for 3 deal. This will be for Oct 1, 2009-March 31, 2010 with a "book by" date of December 20. Also, in an apparent move to cut off folks trying to "cheat" the system the number of Magic Your Way tickets must now match the number of nights you stay. I didn't know that was an issue, but a couple of the folks I've talked to say it was.



So your saying this will be avaliable Oct 2009? Or is that when it is going to be annouced and good for travel starting in Jan?

[Strmchsr]

So your saying this will be avaliable Oct 2009? Or is that when it is going to be annouced and good for travel starting in Jan?

My understanding is that the deal itself will be available beginning Oct 1, 2009. Again, this is not official, so I could be off on that, but that is what my sources told me and what I've seen reported elsewhere. Because they already had the "free" dining deal going that surprised me a little, but we'll see what they say when it's officially announced.

[BiloxiMom]

That would save us a TON if we can use it for our upcoming trip next month! YAY!

[Iluvpooh]

I think this stinks. We are doing a very cheap week in February and I was really hoping for something better. We were only planning on staying for 6 nights so for us to take advantage we would have to add a night. For a savings of $82.:( (1 night at POP) If you add in the extra day of DDP for 4 people we actually lose money over the rack for 6 nights vs 2 "free" nights at a value.

[Iluvpooh]

You'd probably have to get at LEAST six day passes. BUT, you can ALWAYS pay more to upgrade them. Disney will never say "no" to more money, but under the terms of the "deal", they will cap how many "free" days you will get. ;) Last year, it was "buy 4, get 3 free". However, if you wanted to buy a 8, 9, or 10 day pass, you could just pay the difference.
We had to do this last year it was around $12 to add a day for 2 adults & 2 kids.

[Gregandmel]

How did this work last year.....did they start out with the 4+3 during a specific time-frame, then extend it out? If it (possibly) goes through to 3/31.....any remote chance they will extend it? We are going end of April/first of May and would love it if we could save some $$. Seems to me this is what happened last year but I can't really remember because we weren't planning a trip at that time. Fingers crossed!! :fingers:

[PetefromRI]

Sounds like the AP holder gets nailed again.We planned on getting our AP's and then getting 1 day passes with the 4-3.I don't think they have AP rates for the first week in May.Maybe I'll skip the AP's and just do Disney twice next year instead of 3-4 times if I had the AP.Doesn't sound like a good business plan to me.

[TheRustyScupper]

Also, in an apparent move to cut off folks trying to "cheat" the system the number of Magic Your Way tickets must now match the number of nights you stay.

1) This is also what I hard.
2) Disney was losing a lot of revenue by people doing a 1-day ticket.
3) I think this is fair and reasonable.
4) If they give away rooms, then they don't have to give away admissions.
5) Nothing wrong with making people pay for everyday they are there.

[TheRustyScupper]

I think this stinks. We are doing a very cheap week in February and I was really hoping for something better. We were only planning on staying for 6 nights so for us to take advantage we would have to add a night. For a savings of $82.:( (1 night at POP) If you add in the extra day of DDP for 4 people we actually lose money over the rack for 6 nights vs 2 "free" nights at a value.

1) But, every offer does not have to pertain to every guest.
2) They can't make 100's of offers to fit every situation.
3) They go with what will bring the biggest returns of guests and bucks.

[Strmchsr]

How did this work last year.....did they start out with the 4+3 during a specific time-frame, then extend it out?

Yes they extended it last year. I think this was a similar initial time frame (Jan-March) but it proved so popular that they extended it.

As for whether it happens again or not, that's totally impossible to say. Disney probably doesn't even know right now. It all depends on bookings and revenue. They won't give away deals if they don't have to.

[thumperbug]

As strmchaser stated in first post....this information is what he had heard from sources but as with anything, nothing is offical until it is officially announced, so if something is announced and doesn't jive with what he posted...don't hold him responsible. :mickey:

[MushuGrl]

Off topic just a little bit, but last year did they ever release a room-only discount during the time period of 4 get 3? I can't remember. Trying to decide IF this is done, if we should just hold out for a room rate if anything, as we wouldn't be saving much by adding on an extra night with 5 get 2.

[thumperbug]

MushuGrl. I wouldn't make any decisions until anything is announced.

[MushuGrl]

I'm not. Merely speculating.

And that's was my big word for the day. :D

[Iluvpooh]

As strmchaser stated in first post....this information is what he had heard from sources but as with anything, nothing is offical until it is officially announced, so if something is announced and doesn't jive with what he posted...don't hold him responsible. :mickey:
Don't worry we won't drive to North AL and lynch him or anything, but for what it is worth the same info showed up on touringplans today too.

Rusty-Don't get me wrong I understand that not all of wishes come true. (No matter what Disney tries to tell me.) I was just saying that for a value resort the savings didn't add up for us. Also, for a weeks stay a total savings of $164 didn't seem like much of a discount at all. Now if I was staying at the CR the savings would be over $1300! A very nice discount for anyone who could afford to stay at a deluxe. Sadly, I don't fall into this group this trip.

Yes, Mushugirl they did offer a room discount during that time last year, but I THINK it was Florida Residents and AP holders only.

[Gregandmel]

Off topic just a little bit, but last year did they ever release a room-only discount during the time period of 4 get 3? I can't remember. Trying to decide IF this is done, if we should just hold out for a room rate if anything, as we wouldn't be saving much by adding on an extra night with 5 get 2.

They seemed to have a LOT of deals going out last year and we went Oct. 2008 before all these deals came out, but I DO remember getting room only discout rate pin #'s (we are Disney Visa cardholders) as well as advertisements for the 4+3 during the timeframe AFTER we went. But remember, this is an unprecendented time in our "financial history" and like Stormchaser said....they will only pull out the big carrots if they need to. We are going end of April 2010 and I'm hoping for "something"....but not expecting anything. It'll just be a bonus. But I keep looking because there hasn't been any "new" deals for quite some time! Good luck to all of us though and thank you Stormchaser for giving a lot of us something to hope for in the near future!

[Strmchsr]

Don't worry we won't drive to North AL and lynch him or anything, but for what it is worth the same info showed up on touringplans today too.

Actually, I moved and live in south Central Alabama now, but if a lynching comes into question then I still live in north Alabama. :D

[mudpuppysmom]

If this does come about....our semi quiet trip has turned into a free dining spot and now a 4+3 spot......and I thought we'd be able to slide thru our days without much waiting in line......

I know Disney has to do what brings people in, but really......do we need to have mob scenes!

[Live4WDW]

:mickey: Wheee. Well, we can hope it is true. It sounds fantastic. So just to try and understand how it works, is it pay for the rack rate on the room for 4 nights, and for 2 sets of 7 day park hopper tickets. or am I missing something. Thanks in advance, and Chris thinks for the info, even if it's not official yet.;)

[TheRustyScupper]

:mickey: Wheee. Well, we can hope it is true. It sounds fantastic. So just to try and understand how it works, is it pay for the rack rate on the room for 4 nights, and for 2 sets of 7 day park hopper tickets. or am I missing something.

If it works, AS RUMORED, you have got the idea correct . . .
. . . Values are rumored to be 5-for-7
. . . Mod/Deluxe are rumored to be 4-for-7
. . . Everyone in the room must buy tickets for the whole stay
. . . Base rooms (4 or 5 nights) are at rack rates
. . . There is no discount on park tickets

[Gregandmel]

If this does come about....our semi quiet trip has turned into a free dining spot and now a 4+3 spot......and I thought we'd be able to slide thru our days without much waiting in line......

I know Disney has to do what brings people in, but really......do we need to have mob scenes!

It looks like you are going in October and I don't think the 4+3 is going to have any affect on your trip...I thought that was for Jan-March but that they were announcing it in October. Maybe I need to go back and re-read the thread. The free dining increases the crowds..yes...but mostly in the restaurants from what I understand. The parks are still pretty manageable. Don't worry about your plans...you are still going to have an awesome time!! :mickey:

[Fangorn]

Sounds like the AP holder gets nailed again.

This was my initial response a well, but then I did a bit of analysis (sorry, can't help myself) and realized that like most things Disney, this is just a bit of "Marketing Magic".

Throughout all of this year, in addition to the various promotions there have been serious AP room-only discounts both generally and via pin codes. Currently, there are passholder discounts of around 43%.

Assuming those discounts hold during this promotion (I know, that's not guaranteed), this is how it plays out:

The 4-3 promotion is amounts to a 42.8% discount on the room. The 5-2 promo is a 28.5% discount.

Currently, I have a reservation in December using the AP discount of 43%.

So IF they continue to have passholder discounts at the current levels, it's actually a wash. Probably better for passholders since we don't have to spring for those 1-day MYW tickets and then try to keep track of them.

As Rusty mentioned, promos aren't intended to meet the needs of everyone. This promo isn't intended to reward passholders - there are a lot of other ways they pretend to do that. Disney is targeting the masses with the word "free" again - ala "free" dining.

I'm not going to get all bent out of shape over this one.

[mudpuppysmom]

Values will have a Buy 5, get 2 deal while the mods and deluxes will get the 4 for 3 deal. This will be for Oct 1, 2009-March 31, 2010 with a "book by" date of December 20.

IF the dates are as listed above, this will impact the rest of this years attendance and thru March 31 of 2010 -- it's quite a block of time!

[Patricia]

There was a general public "room only" special for Jan 4 - April 2, 2009. It wasn't offered until December.

[PetefromRI]

I understand that the AP rate and the 4-3 is a wash.It's just that we like the first week in May and I can't recall them having an AP rate at that time of year.Your right though,it's not worth freaking out about.

[Strmchsr]

Be sure to look at the Magical Journeys thread in the accommodations forum. Nanc has posted the deal there. Looks like my sources were right except that it start Nov 1 and goes until March 27. Other info was as posted earlier. Christmas week is blacked out.

[MushuGrl]

This is prime example of why Magical Journeys may be the most important organization IN. THE. UNIVERSE.

Mine anyways. :mickey:

[Strmchsr]

Since this deal is now officially announced and Nanc from Magical Journeys has the discussion going here (http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=161972) in the accommodations forum I'm going to close this one down.