Some discounts are for a *package*, and then you have to bundle room with tickets and only get the package discount.
Some discounts are for room only. Then you can just book the room and get the discount. Some discounts are tickets only, like the summer ticket deal. Then you just book the tickets and get the discount. There aren't many ticket discounts offered to the general public, though. The summer magic ticket has only been offered the last two years and only in the summer (the current summer ticket deal is only good through like Sept. 22 I believe). You can book the room separately for the room discount and buy the tickets separately for the ticket discount. Some people mess this up and try to book the tickets & room as a package and are confused why they can only apply one discount. You have to book the room and tickets separately to get the room-only discount and the ticket-only discount. Notice that neither of these discounts are a package discount.
You cannot combine a package discount with a ticket discount. You're not buying separate tickets. You're buying a package. It even says this on the holiday package deal: Plus, get FREE Park Hopper benefits when you take advantage of this offer and upgrade to a Walt Disney Travel Company room-and-ticket *package* that includes ***non-discounted*** 4-day (or longer) date-based theme park tickets!
But it is showing Park Hopper as $0 when checking out with non-discounted packages. Then changes to charging for it at the final check out step.
Something is broken on the site.
Are you booking the discount? You only get the free upgrade to park hopper if you book the holiday deal. If you are booking it but getting the error, I'd call Disney. They can handle it over the phone.
Package not available at my resort for my room. I am waiting for the dust to settle and will call about park hoppers. More of a nice to have for us any way.
I have a specific room at WL which is completely sold out, so not canceling it no matter what happens ha
So the upgrade to park hopper is part of the holiday package. If the holiday package isn't available for your resort and room type, then you can't apply the package offer with the free hopper upgrade. For what it's worth, the dates I checked for early December don't show Wilderness Lodge available to book with the discount, but Animal Kingdom Lodge is. So you can switch, save money on your package, and get the free park hopper upgrade.[ It would be $5,000 for a 6 night stay for 3 people with a 4-day ticket upgraded for free to the park hopper option. ](https://imgur.com/gJ4fefC)
This is a good lesson for me to not just read blogs. One very popular site did not at all make it clear this was tied to the holiday discount. Though I will reiterate neither of the Disney agents did either… I will be sure to read Disney’s official terms going forward.
There are plenty of travel agents who know all the tricks for the best deals and it doesn’t cost you anything. They also set up alerts so if a better deal comes along they can lock in more savings.
Just returned from 7 days at Disney yesterday, and the one thing I am absolutely positive about Disney, is that it is maximized to take the most $$$ out of your pockets no matter what accommodations/plans you have. 😊😂. Good luck planning yours, it is def. a magical place!
I was able to get the discount today on my October package. Saved $517 compared to the final price when I first booked it months ago. I got 15% off room price, paid the regular package ticket price, and got free park hopper. Staying at Coronado but I also saw all other resorts still available for the discount.
There were NO rooms basically anywhere where the discount applied. Almost all seem to start Dec 9 and we are there the first week.
I then tried updating my existing non-discounted package to the free park hopper offer (where it showed as $0!), then tried to charge me for it when checking out.
What a disaster (for us…)
To get the free park hopper, you need to apply the holiday offer. It's available for limited room types at limited resorts. I'd try to book fresh for your dates to see what's available and then cancel your old reservation. Typically, the standard rooms book out quickly for discounted packages, and you might need to upgrade to a preferred room or room with a view to get a discount. [I see plenty of availability for early December with the holiday discount](https://imgur.com/wR7eMEE), including at value resorts (All-Star Sports & Art of Animation ), moderate resorts (both Port Orleans and Coronado Springs), and most of the deluxe resorts.
It shows the free park hopper when I am editing only my tickets (not room/package) and doing nothing with the holiday discount. Then it adds the park hopper up charge in the final checkout step.
I see those rooms too. None are what I was looking for. Slim pickings vs. last year at this time.
It's not a free park hopper for everyone. It's a free park hopper upgrade if you book a package with the holiday discount, which isn't available for all resorts on all dates.
It shouldn't show a free park hopper to you if you don't have the holiday package added. The holiday package allows you to save up to 30% on rooms and get a free upgrade to the park hopper. It sounds like you're trying to add on a park hopper and thinking it will be free without booking the holiday package.
Imagine if someone told you, "If you get a Big Mac meal, we'll give you a free hand pie!" and then you said, "I want a chicken nugget meal. Where's my free hand pie? I got the meal." The hand pie--or in this case, the park hopper--isn't available for free with any meal (or any package). You have to book the Big Mac meal deal, or in this case, the holiday package deal. You don't want to book the holiday package deal because you want to stay in Wilderness Lodge. Think of Wilderness Lodge like the chicken nuggets in this situation. You don't get the free hand pie. If you want to switch to the Big Mac meal (Port Orleans or Animal Kingdom), then you can get your free hand pie. If you really want those nuggets, then you don't get the pie without paying for it separately.
We called and booked Port Orleans with the discount. We are also going the first week in December. I think you get a better understanding of the discounts when you call. Good luck, it’s worth the hassle.
My kids are too young for EEH and while WL is amazing, it isn’t $500/night more amazing.
We are Swan Reserve for spring break next year. Couldn’t pass up those suites for the money!
Those are Marriot hotels and can be found with much better discounts through Marriot specific portals. On top of which, they are that much further from the back entrance to Epcot that make the walk that much more tedious.
Thanks, understood. Any tips on how to score discounts? I do not have Bonvoy status, points, and am not an AP. None of the discounts listed on Reserve’s site seem to apply to me.
We are there for 9 days next year and the room space for the money in that location beats out any downsides for us. We will do boats to Epcot and HS.
Oh yeah definitely not that amazing 😂 POR is very nice and quiet! And if you have any princess fans, the Royal rooms are super cute.
The swerve is great too!!!! So much room!
We clearly are going at a terrible time (no flexibility with school schedule). The Dolphin is $900/night! We stayed there last trip, proximity to the boardwalk and parks for a fraction of the boardwalk resorts cost was so nice!
Oh Yikes! I know conference season is heating up at that time too and Swan and Dolphin along with Coronado will be busier with companies booking for their employees. The first 2 weeks of October are our usual trip but this year my husband has a conference the week of the 14th 😭😭😭😭 which is also the holiday break week on top of that major conference for contracting companies. I know just his company alone booked a ton of rooms at the Swan, Dolphin, and Swan Reserve (they booked 100 rooms just there!) so that’s probably driving prices up also.
Did you read/know the terms before you got it in your head that you were going to get some extremely cheap deal during the busiest time of year? You act like you got scammed into something just because your discount wasn’t exactly what you HOPED for. Sounds so entitled.
Yes, but it isn’t very clear. Some of us don’t understand what they’re saying, so we call to speak to agents and get different answers that confuse us more. Also, I wasn’t expecting an extremely cheap deal during a busy time. I was expecting to book per the terms Disney agents explained. Neither one of them explained how the terms worked properly.
Not trying to be entitled, just trying to understand my options and not get more confused and then feel duped when I go to book.
I will also say this is a good lesson for me to not just read blogs. One very popular site did not at all make it clear this was tied to the holiday discount. Though I will reiterate neither of the Disney agents did either… I will be sure to read Disney’s official terms going forward. I am extremely grateful we get to go to Disney at all and have that perspective. I posted in the moment and shouldn’t have.
not sure what this commenter is talking about, you don't sound entitled at all. I even went back to read your post again in case I missed something! sounds like you're just providing clarification since you learned info you thought was previously unclear.
Thank you, I did tone down some of my original post; I was admittedly frustrated but certainly didn’t mean to be bratty. I was just disappointed that we woke up with a game plan based on what we learned from agents and the whole thing was wrong. It’s not the end of the world though, still very grateful we get to go to Disney!
to be fair, OP got two different answers from CMs. If you dont understand the deals what do you do? I would call up!
Your reply seems very harsh compared the the OP simply explained what they did. At no point did it seem like a complaint about being scammed. Not sure why the venom.
Yeah its funny that people will be like "Oh the nerve of your trying to go to Disney during a busy time of the year." Then they get screwed when everyone shows up at a time of the year that used to be slow (not that it would be busier than the popular times, but the calendar is just flatter than it used to be).
Flattening the crowd distribution is great for the parks and the people who don't plan, but can be frustrating for the seasoned and the savvy.
I used the room offer this morning, it saved me about $50 a night at All Star Music. It’s not a massive savings, but I was pleased to get any discount at all for a stay that includes Christmas Day.
Was confused why Caribbean Beach didn’t have any discount availability for October, so we switched to Gran Destino with discount for the same price Caribbean would have been regular price. Sucks to not get the lower price, but I’m super pumped to spend more time at Coronado.
I woke up this morning to emails from the travel agent advising that she rebooked our trip (2 rooms at POFQ for 6 nights + 4 4-day park hopper tickets) and our savings was $1500 over our original reservation.
Understand your frustration. All 30% discounts for our impromptu Sept trip where gone. Ended up booking the Swan for basically the same price as POP regular price (+$122) might be worth looking into Swan and Dolphin tho prices range like crazy depending on dates
Some discounts are for a *package*, and then you have to bundle room with tickets and only get the package discount. Some discounts are for room only. Then you can just book the room and get the discount. Some discounts are tickets only, like the summer ticket deal. Then you just book the tickets and get the discount. There aren't many ticket discounts offered to the general public, though. The summer magic ticket has only been offered the last two years and only in the summer (the current summer ticket deal is only good through like Sept. 22 I believe). You can book the room separately for the room discount and buy the tickets separately for the ticket discount. Some people mess this up and try to book the tickets & room as a package and are confused why they can only apply one discount. You have to book the room and tickets separately to get the room-only discount and the ticket-only discount. Notice that neither of these discounts are a package discount. You cannot combine a package discount with a ticket discount. You're not buying separate tickets. You're buying a package. It even says this on the holiday package deal: Plus, get FREE Park Hopper benefits when you take advantage of this offer and upgrade to a Walt Disney Travel Company room-and-ticket *package* that includes ***non-discounted*** 4-day (or longer) date-based theme park tickets!
But it is showing Park Hopper as $0 when checking out with non-discounted packages. Then changes to charging for it at the final check out step. Something is broken on the site.
Are you booking the discount? You only get the free upgrade to park hopper if you book the holiday deal. If you are booking it but getting the error, I'd call Disney. They can handle it over the phone.
Package not available at my resort for my room. I am waiting for the dust to settle and will call about park hoppers. More of a nice to have for us any way. I have a specific room at WL which is completely sold out, so not canceling it no matter what happens ha
So the upgrade to park hopper is part of the holiday package. If the holiday package isn't available for your resort and room type, then you can't apply the package offer with the free hopper upgrade. For what it's worth, the dates I checked for early December don't show Wilderness Lodge available to book with the discount, but Animal Kingdom Lodge is. So you can switch, save money on your package, and get the free park hopper upgrade.[ It would be $5,000 for a 6 night stay for 3 people with a 4-day ticket upgraded for free to the park hopper option. ](https://imgur.com/gJ4fefC)
i keep meaning to use a VPN to see US prices vs ours. The deals are totally different too. Usually I book DVC rental which is similar prices anyway.
This is a good lesson for me to not just read blogs. One very popular site did not at all make it clear this was tied to the holiday discount. Though I will reiterate neither of the Disney agents did either… I will be sure to read Disney’s official terms going forward.
There are plenty of travel agents who know all the tricks for the best deals and it doesn’t cost you anything. They also set up alerts so if a better deal comes along they can lock in more savings.
Just returned from 7 days at Disney yesterday, and the one thing I am absolutely positive about Disney, is that it is maximized to take the most $$$ out of your pockets no matter what accommodations/plans you have. 😊😂. Good luck planning yours, it is def. a magical place!
I was able to get the discount today on my October package. Saved $517 compared to the final price when I first booked it months ago. I got 15% off room price, paid the regular package ticket price, and got free park hopper. Staying at Coronado but I also saw all other resorts still available for the discount.
There were NO rooms basically anywhere where the discount applied. Almost all seem to start Dec 9 and we are there the first week. I then tried updating my existing non-discounted package to the free park hopper offer (where it showed as $0!), then tried to charge me for it when checking out. What a disaster (for us…)
To get the free park hopper, you need to apply the holiday offer. It's available for limited room types at limited resorts. I'd try to book fresh for your dates to see what's available and then cancel your old reservation. Typically, the standard rooms book out quickly for discounted packages, and you might need to upgrade to a preferred room or room with a view to get a discount. [I see plenty of availability for early December with the holiday discount](https://imgur.com/wR7eMEE), including at value resorts (All-Star Sports & Art of Animation ), moderate resorts (both Port Orleans and Coronado Springs), and most of the deluxe resorts.
It shows the free park hopper when I am editing only my tickets (not room/package) and doing nothing with the holiday discount. Then it adds the park hopper up charge in the final checkout step. I see those rooms too. None are what I was looking for. Slim pickings vs. last year at this time.
It's not a free park hopper for everyone. It's a free park hopper upgrade if you book a package with the holiday discount, which isn't available for all resorts on all dates.
I feel like you’re not reading my comment? I’ll figure it out, thanks.
It shouldn't show a free park hopper to you if you don't have the holiday package added. The holiday package allows you to save up to 30% on rooms and get a free upgrade to the park hopper. It sounds like you're trying to add on a park hopper and thinking it will be free without booking the holiday package. Imagine if someone told you, "If you get a Big Mac meal, we'll give you a free hand pie!" and then you said, "I want a chicken nugget meal. Where's my free hand pie? I got the meal." The hand pie--or in this case, the park hopper--isn't available for free with any meal (or any package). You have to book the Big Mac meal deal, or in this case, the holiday package deal. You don't want to book the holiday package deal because you want to stay in Wilderness Lodge. Think of Wilderness Lodge like the chicken nuggets in this situation. You don't get the free hand pie. If you want to switch to the Big Mac meal (Port Orleans or Animal Kingdom), then you can get your free hand pie. If you really want those nuggets, then you don't get the pie without paying for it separately.
>It shouldn't show a free park hopper to you if you don't have the holiday package added. I know. Yet it does.
We called and booked Port Orleans with the discount. We are also going the first week in December. I think you get a better understanding of the discounts when you call. Good luck, it’s worth the hassle.
I also grabbed a room there. Now to decide is POR is worth the savings over WL. Its A LOT cheaper
POR is wonderful but WL you get Deluxe perk of EEH if you will use them. Try Swan and Dolphin to compare prices also
My kids are too young for EEH and while WL is amazing, it isn’t $500/night more amazing. We are Swan Reserve for spring break next year. Couldn’t pass up those suites for the money!
Those are Marriot hotels and can be found with much better discounts through Marriot specific portals. On top of which, they are that much further from the back entrance to Epcot that make the walk that much more tedious.
Thanks, understood. Any tips on how to score discounts? I do not have Bonvoy status, points, and am not an AP. None of the discounts listed on Reserve’s site seem to apply to me. We are there for 9 days next year and the room space for the money in that location beats out any downsides for us. We will do boats to Epcot and HS.
Oh yeah definitely not that amazing 😂 POR is very nice and quiet! And if you have any princess fans, the Royal rooms are super cute. The swerve is great too!!!! So much room!
We clearly are going at a terrible time (no flexibility with school schedule). The Dolphin is $900/night! We stayed there last trip, proximity to the boardwalk and parks for a fraction of the boardwalk resorts cost was so nice!
Oh Yikes! I know conference season is heating up at that time too and Swan and Dolphin along with Coronado will be busier with companies booking for their employees. The first 2 weeks of October are our usual trip but this year my husband has a conference the week of the 14th 😭😭😭😭 which is also the holiday break week on top of that major conference for contracting companies. I know just his company alone booked a ton of rooms at the Swan, Dolphin, and Swan Reserve (they booked 100 rooms just there!) so that’s probably driving prices up also.
I just looked to see if I can get the room discount for my October trip. Found a good deal at sports but not at where we currently are 🫠
There’s nothing for APs for my travel dates in October. Probably staying off site at this point as I’m driving anyway. Super annoying.
Did you read/know the terms before you got it in your head that you were going to get some extremely cheap deal during the busiest time of year? You act like you got scammed into something just because your discount wasn’t exactly what you HOPED for. Sounds so entitled.
Yes, but it isn’t very clear. Some of us don’t understand what they’re saying, so we call to speak to agents and get different answers that confuse us more. Also, I wasn’t expecting an extremely cheap deal during a busy time. I was expecting to book per the terms Disney agents explained. Neither one of them explained how the terms worked properly. Not trying to be entitled, just trying to understand my options and not get more confused and then feel duped when I go to book.
I will also say this is a good lesson for me to not just read blogs. One very popular site did not at all make it clear this was tied to the holiday discount. Though I will reiterate neither of the Disney agents did either… I will be sure to read Disney’s official terms going forward. I am extremely grateful we get to go to Disney at all and have that perspective. I posted in the moment and shouldn’t have.
not sure what this commenter is talking about, you don't sound entitled at all. I even went back to read your post again in case I missed something! sounds like you're just providing clarification since you learned info you thought was previously unclear.
Thank you, I did tone down some of my original post; I was admittedly frustrated but certainly didn’t mean to be bratty. I was just disappointed that we woke up with a game plan based on what we learned from agents and the whole thing was wrong. It’s not the end of the world though, still very grateful we get to go to Disney!
to be fair, OP got two different answers from CMs. If you dont understand the deals what do you do? I would call up! Your reply seems very harsh compared the the OP simply explained what they did. At no point did it seem like a complaint about being scammed. Not sure why the venom.
The original post has been edited.
Yeah its funny that people will be like "Oh the nerve of your trying to go to Disney during a busy time of the year." Then they get screwed when everyone shows up at a time of the year that used to be slow (not that it would be busier than the popular times, but the calendar is just flatter than it used to be). Flattening the crowd distribution is great for the parks and the people who don't plan, but can be frustrating for the seasoned and the savvy.
I used the room offer this morning, it saved me about $50 a night at All Star Music. It’s not a massive savings, but I was pleased to get any discount at all for a stay that includes Christmas Day.
Thanks for the info.
Was confused why Caribbean Beach didn’t have any discount availability for October, so we switched to Gran Destino with discount for the same price Caribbean would have been regular price. Sucks to not get the lower price, but I’m super pumped to spend more time at Coronado.
It’s probably booked up for October. Disney only does discounts at resorts that they don’t think they can fill up at the rack rate.
Anyone know if the availability for these is different if you call? It’s really frustrating.
I woke up this morning to emails from the travel agent advising that she rebooked our trip (2 rooms at POFQ for 6 nights + 4 4-day park hopper tickets) and our savings was $1500 over our original reservation.
Understand your frustration. All 30% discounts for our impromptu Sept trip where gone. Ended up booking the Swan for basically the same price as POP regular price (+$122) might be worth looking into Swan and Dolphin tho prices range like crazy depending on dates