"Discounts"... I'm so confused

[RFP]

We are thinking about planning our 4th trip to WDW... the first was on someone else's dime (we were there with a school group), the next two trips we were in our own RV at Fort Wilderness.

Now, we are thinking about Wilderness Lodge, probably early September. The planning/reservations part of Disney's web site has prices for (in their words) "non-discounted" rooms.

So, here's my question: are WL rooms ever discounted? How would I know when? Where would I look for this info?

Please help an old codger understand (!)

Robert

 

[bilzer]

They are often discounted about 20-25%. The discounts come out about 4 months before the date. So right now discounts are available from 2/24-April or so, with blackout dates. There are also times when Free Dining is available with a qualified stay. Generally Free dining is available in the fall.

 

[anniebean]

Disney will sometimes run deals w/ up to 30% off of rooms. We just got pin code for 35% off, and have decided to use it for our early September trip.

Just keep in mind that if you use a room discount, you can't use any other discounts like their free dining promo.

 

[bilzer]

Look for Sept. Discounts at the end of June or maybe July. You can alway book a room now and apply the discount when it comes out, if you are outside the 45 day window.

 

[jcjen519]

we've been the last two years in september and had 30% discount in 2012 and a 35% bounceback in 2013.....first at poly and second at poly/gf. I think 30% has been a fairly common general public discount in recent years for the deluxe resorts. not exactly sure how the WL has fit in but I think its been different catagories of rooms there that have been excluded and not the entire resort.

 

[Kfamilly]

So am I reading correctly, that you can't apply discounts to your stay if you're closer than 45 days to your stay?

 

[queenofthehive]

Mousesavers .com has a page that shows the historical discounts that Disney Has offered in years past. It tells the discount amount per resort category, the dates the were good for and the day that the discounts were released. Google " mousesavers historical discounts" and it should show up.

 

[purple figment]

So am I reading correctly, that you can't apply discounts to your stay if you're closer than 45 days to your stay?

This is not correct. You can apply a discount within 45 days of arrival if there is one for your nights and there is availability for your resort/room category.

What can happen is if you have a package and you apply a discount that reduces the total cost of your package, the discount can be applied, but there will be a $50 change fee assessed if the change is made within 45 days of arrival. If you make changes to your package within 45 days and the total goes up (e.g. you add the dining plan, add a person, etc) the change fee is usually waived because your new total is more. Changes made within 2 weeks of arrival day will incur an additional $15 paperwork fee regardless of whether the total increases or decreases.

If you have a room only reservation you can cancel the reservation up to 5 days in advance of your arrival day without a penalty so I would imagine you can make changes as well.

 

[mickeynut1]

We are thinking about planning our 4th trip to WDW... the first was on someone else's dime (we were there with a school group), the next two trips we were in our own RV at Fort Wilderness.

Now, we are thinking about Wilderness Lodge, probably early September. The planning/reservations part of Disney's web site has prices for (in their words) "non-discounted" rooms.

So, here's my question: are WL rooms ever discounted? How would I know when? Where would I look for this info?

Please help an old codger understand (!)

Robert

September is usually when FD is offered, but I think room discounts might be offered as well. I have seen discounts for WL as low as 5%, but as much as 35%. It just depends how many rooms at that particular resort Disney needs to fill. Also, different room categories can have different discounts. Rumors of discounts usually come out a few weeks before they are officially announced, so if you keep an eye out here on the boards, you will probably see threads talking about possible discounts coming out for a certain time period.

So am I reading correctly, that you can't apply discounts to your stay if you're closer than 45 days to your stay?

You can (as long as there's availability at the resort you have booked), but there is a $50 change fee for any changes made to a package 44 days or less from arrival. With that said, the fee is usually waived if the total cost increases, so if you take advantage of a discount and upgrade your resort and/or room type (or use a room discount and add the DDP, for example) which results in an increase in total cost, the fee will probably not be charged.

 

[Kfamilly]

This is not correct. You can apply a discount within 45 days of arrival if there is one for your nights and there is availability for your resort/room category.

What can happen is if you have a package and you apply a discount that reduces the total cost of your package, the discount can be applied, but there will be a $50 change fee assessed if the change is made within 45 days of arrival. If you make changes to your package within 45 days and the total goes up (e.g. you add the dining plan, add a person, etc) the change fee is usually waived because your new total is more. Changes made within 2 weeks of arrival day will incur an additional $15 paperwork fee regardless of whether the total increases or decreases.

If you have a room only reservation you can cancel the reservation up to 5 days in advance of your arrival day without a penalty so I would imagine you can make changes as well.

Thanks a lot. Very helpful.

 

[winterman]

So, here's my question: are WL rooms ever discounted? How would I know when? Where would I look for this info?

Robert

Go to the Disney World web site. Scroll down just a bit and you will see "Explore our special offers". Click on that and it will take you to current discounts.

Because there are limited numbers of rooms available for each discount, it is to your advantage to book soon after the discount is announced.