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Old 01-28-2010, 10:46 AM   #1
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How do you find out about deals?

I want to plan a trip for my family....not sure if it will be this year or next, but how do you all find out about the deals that Disney are currently offering? For example the free dining and the gift card offers and such? And also do you plan your trips around that time to save money or do you just book your trip for when you want to go and then you just luck out if they run a promotion? Sorry so many questions, but I really want to make sure I get the most bang for my buck! Last year was a terrible year for us, and I would really like to be able to plan an amazing trip for my family. Any advice is appreciated! Thanks!!!
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Old 01-28-2010, 10:57 AM   #2
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Disney trips are a great incentive for my family when we go through tough times...our next trip is for celebrating my husbands return from Afghanistan! It's a great distraction on the not-so-good days and gives us all something really fun and positive to look forward to. So, I think your reasoning is excellent!

I start out with a general timeline of when we'd like to go. It seems like free dining in the fall is almost always "guaranteed" (though, of course, not officially). Many people get special PIN code offers. I've gotten these, it seems, after I've built trips and saved them on the Disney website. (not purchase or reserve, just save them). Also, update your Disney profile regularly...there's a spot to include when you'd like to go on your next vacation.

It seems to me that by checking their website and the "special offers" sections regularly and checking these boards, I always hear about the promo's before they start airing the commercials on TV.

I know there are a few websites that specialize in publishing the discounts, but I've never used them.

Just be proactive and seek out the offers. I'm planning our third trip as a family and we have yet to pay full price (doubt we ever would). You might have to be a little bit flexible with your dates, but discounts have been plentiful the past 3 years.

You can go ahead and book your vacation if you have dates set in stone. From what I've heard, Disney is great at working with you to get new discounts applied to your reservation. If you do this, I would do it with the mentality of being prepared to pay full price and any discounts just being a "bonus."

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Old 01-28-2010, 10:58 AM   #3
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I go to the Disney website and look at the special offers tab. It will have the current special offers and the dates for them. I also order my Disney planning DVD so that I can be on the mailing list and get special offers in my email.
I plan my vacations around money saving times. (Value Season) But luckily for us that is now the ONLY time we want to go. Not only is crowd levels down but we get great deals and we get to go to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party.
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Old 01-28-2010, 11:01 AM   #4
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Well, as a travel planner as soon as I find out about official deals I post them here. I know many PassPorter's also get their info from MouseSavers.com - Disney Discount Source - Disney World Discounts, Disneyland Discounts, Disney Cruise Discounts.

I plan my trips for Value Season typically to get the most bank for my buck, then keep my fingers crossed for deals. For example, we just got back on Saturday from a week at the Boardwalk Inn. We planned for January to take advantage of lower crowd levels and price and were lucky enough to take advantage of the Buy 4, Get 3 Free deal. We often go in late September as well to take advantage of lower crowd levels and prices and Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. And often we get Free Dining in the mix!

Good luck!
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Old 01-28-2010, 11:11 AM   #5
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As a Disney Destinations Specialist I let my clients know as soon as a new Disney offer is released. If someone is already booked and a new deal is offered for their travel dates I call to have the discount applied to their reservations.

Many people also watch the Mousesavers and Disney websites.
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Old 01-28-2010, 03:36 PM   #6
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Not being an "official" planner (), I tend to find out the latest promotions by subscribing to Disney-related newsletters, like PassPorter (of course! ), AllEars, and I, like Belle, check out Mousesavers.com.

And as far as when to go? Dince DH and I have APs and are now also DVC members, we aren't usually eligible for most promotions so we don't go by when they're offered. . .although it'd be nice!

Instead, we like to go when it's "cooler" and when there's something "else" going on at Disney, like Food & Wine Festival, MNSSHP or MVMCP. So we tend to go between October and December.

Reading some trip reports here on the boards may help you decide when you'd like to visit and may help you pinpoint a timeframe -- thus making it easier to track down a promotion that's available during that time (rather than trying to go through 3 different promotions and doing the math on savings, what are the dates, what's going on during that period, etc.) -- IMO.

planning!
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Old 01-28-2010, 04:17 PM   #7
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Hi, I book earlier as possible as soon as I got the dates we want and can travel.
What I did (and worked): I booked in value season (try to look for mouse saver web site, they have plenty information) or regular season the room I could pay for if there is no promotions. Also included dining plan and tickets (we will end up spending money in food and tickets). After that I put every extra $ in disney trip, as well as any amount of money that I could save in order to PIF as soon as possible.
I follow posts and board, as well as the Disney web site for special promotions every month (same to airplane tickets). When (and if) a promotion for my time travel was released I just called them and applied. I use the extra money to upgrade our room and add extra
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Old 01-28-2010, 05:34 PM   #8
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We booked through a TA and she did all the work for us! After we had already booked and started paying for our trip, our TA told us that we qualified for free dining and only had to pay the upgrade for the deluxe! She ended up saving us a few hundred dollars! I will totally use her again!
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