Need Opinions on Booking DL Vacation...

[mantrasia]

all right, here's my dilemma......we always goto DL once a year, and have been keeping up with our tradition since my daughter was born in 2000. we stay on property, and i prefer to book our vacation package thru the DL travel co.

last year i booked our 4 night, 5 day trip in july for our travel dates in the first week of november....i think with 4 adults, one child (5yrs old) with tickets etc. it came to approx. $1400 (grand californian). so now i ran the same length stay with the same 4 adults, 1 child for the same approx. time for this year (first week in november) and the price is coming up to around $1850.

wondering if anyone knows if prices are just going to be higher for this year because of the 50th celebration, or should i try and wait another month or two to book it, to see if rates go down somewhat? my only concern on waiting is that space won't be available when i go to book......on the other hand, i don't want to have to spend the extra $450 just for the privilege of booking 7 months in advance.

[ni_teach]

Check out

http://www.mousesavers.com/

If you want to find the best deals

[dsnylndmom]

I am pretty sure that the jump in prices have to do with the 50th. If you are worried about space then I would go ahead and book because you can always add your codes and discounts later on!

Good Luck & November is my favorite time to go!!

[mantrasia]

thanks! yes, november is our favorite time as well....we can usually catch the beginnings of the holiday decorations, and the crowds are very tame.....we're spoiled; we have become acustomed to walking onto pirates, mansion, and indy.....who needs fastpass? LOL

[JoeCool]

I would book now and put the required $200 deposit down and then wait and see if I could change/upgrade it. I really do not think you would have a problem upgrading to a special promotion.

[Wotan]

I'm wondering if it's a gamble--you can reserve now, and hope that prices don't go down, or you can reserve now, and hope that prices don't go up. Who can tell what could happen? If the 50th celebration doesn't bring the masses of people they were hoping for (as Al spoke of this week in his MA column), everything could be up for grabs. If they do come, you could find yourself on the other side of the coin.

[mantrasia]

I'm wondering if it's a gamble--you can reserve now, and hope that prices don't go down, or you can reserve now, and hope that prices don't go up. Who can tell what could happen? If the 50th celebration doesn't bring the masses of people they were hoping for (as Al spoke of this week in his MA column), everything could be up for grabs. If they do come, you could find yourself on the other side of the coin.

that was exactly my worry.....that they would go back to deep discounting if the 50th didnt go off with a big bang...

"deep discounting" in disney terms is the couple hundred bucks i had mentioned...LOL

[DznyVan]

When we book our trips, the specials usually aren't in effect yet, so we get the "rack rate". Then as they announce the specials, we call up and they "happily" change them to the lower price. We just did that for our stay last month and when we first called it was at $219/night. The special rates came out and it dropped to $99 and $109/night (and that was during spring break). Lock up the room first, then get the rate. Works for us...

[travelmom]

Look around the internet at what the rates are. Call and make the reservation quoting the lowest price you found, and where. Ask if there any specials, tell them how you always stay on property. The reservation agent will look for specials and stuff, and they really go the extra if you are friendly, and know what to ask.

[UtahDisneyDad]

I just booked in Oct for 5 nights at the Grand Californian through getawaytoday.com. They are running a 4th night free that is not listed online. If you call them, you can get the deal. I didn't buy my admission tickets there because I am military and can get them that way, but the hotel rates were by far the best I could find.

[mantrasia]

I just booked in Oct for 5 nights at the Grand Californian through getawaytoday.com. They are running a 4th night free that is not listed online. If you call them, you can get the deal. I didn't buy my admission tickets there because I am military and can get them that way, but the hotel rates were by far the best I could find.

yeah, the $1850 price i was quoted was including the 4th night free promo...

[UtahDisneyDad]

I looked everywhere--Disney travel, expedia, yahoo, etc. and getawaytoday beat everything by at least $200. Most places had the GC for $265 a night but that did not include taxes and fees while getaway had it for $270 per night including everything. The fees are around $50 per night through everyone else. I couldn't find anything cheaper than this. If you know someone in the military they can get 5 day hoppers for $120 adult and $105 for children. They don't check for any military ID at DL. I figure for the 6 nights and 5 day hoppers it will cost me $1850 even with the military discount. I looked at the DLH and PP and can obviously stay there cheaper, but I want to be at the GC for convenience with a 2, 4, and 6 year old.

I wish I could be of more help, but this is the best I could do...

[mantrasia]

no worries, i appreciate you checking all those places. i think i'm gonna go ahead and book with disney travel as suggested above just to make sure we have something set in stone, and then if they offer discounting later in the year, i'll call and get them to make me happy