Thoughts on frequency on and how good AP resort discounts are

Joined
Oct 10, 2017
As many people say on the boards, I'm sure this has been asked before, so, apologies. I've seen in various places that an AP can get resort discounts from time to time. Does anyone have a sense how often those discounts are offered, how substantial the discounts can be and how to find our if/when they are offered? Ty
 
As new AP holders I would appreciate knowing where and how to find this info as well. Thanks!
 
Mousesavers updates a chart showing the release dates for the deepest discounts year after year.

https://www.mousesavers.com/historical-information-on-walt-disney-world-resort-discounts/#codetrends

This is our second go-round as AP holders. I always check the discounts the day they come out (we travel 4-6 times per year), but so far I have NEVER used the AP discount. I booked it once, but then I found a better rate for the same room on Orbitz. Most of the time, the availability is pathetic. I book the best rooms I can originally, then rebook after each discount if I can get a better room or price. For our Sept trip, the only rooms available were suites for over $1000/night, so I stuck with the Boardwalk Inn I had booked for $340/nt on the general public room disc. For our Nov trip, I booked free-dining over Thanksgiving(will use the tickets towards next AP). I needed to add a couple days to make the rooms match our flights and would have preferred two switch one of our two rooms over to a room-only offer, but literally nothing was available over our dates on the AP offer. I have already booked our rooms for Jan and March under the Visa offer. We are open to trying different resorts, but I would be shocked if AP disc come even close to the rates we already booked. DO NOT plan for the AP discounts! By the time they are released, only the most expensive rooms are available at each resort, so it doesn't really matter if the discount is 5% more. Book the best you can when each discount is released, then re-book if you find a better offer later.

The other perks are nice though :thumbsup2
 
Mousesavers updates a chart showing the release dates for the deepest discounts year after year.

https://www.mousesavers.com/historical-information-on-walt-disney-world-resort-discounts/#codetrends

This is our second go-round as AP holders. I always check the discounts the day they come out (we travel 4-6 times per year), but so far I have NEVER used the AP discount. I booked it once, but then I found a better rate for the same room on Orbitz. Most of the time, the availability is pathetic. I book the best rooms I can originally, then rebook after each discount if I can get a better room or price. For our Sept trip, the only rooms available were suites for over $1000/night, so I stuck with the Boardwalk Inn I had booked for $340/nt on the general public room disc. For our Nov trip, I booked free-dining over Thanksgiving(will use the tickets towards next AP). I needed to add a couple days to make the rooms match our flights and would have preferred two switch one of our two rooms over to a room-only offer, but literally nothing was available over our dates on the AP offer. I have already booked our rooms for Jan and March under the Visa offer. We are open to trying different resorts, but I would be shocked if AP disc come even close to the rates we already booked. DO NOT plan for the AP discounts! By the time they are released, only the most expensive rooms are available at each resort, so it doesn't really matter if the discount is 5% more. Book the best you can when each discount is released, then re-book if you find a better offer later.

The other perks are nice though :thumbsup2


How did you book the Disney Visa room offer? I am a card holder and never seem to know the discounts or am able to book it online. I am also a annual passholder and I am very frustrated waiting for the discounts for February to come out!
Thanks in advance!
 


I've been a pass holder on and off for like six years now. AP resort discounts are almost always terrible. :/
 
I've been a pass holder on and off for like six years now. AP resort discounts are almost always terrible. :/

I had an AP about 6 or 7 years ago and it saved me about $100 each trip over the general public discount for my early June and mid-November trips at values. For my 2017 trips, I saved about $100 more on my late January trip (POFQ) and $200 more on my early June trip (AKL). That said, these are usually just 5-10% more than the general public discounts.
 


I've been an AP holder for about 5 years and have used the discount once. The rest of the trips either the general discount was as good or I go through Orbitz and stack the general discount on top of their discount. The one time I used it was for one night at a value resort. I tend to stay in the Epcot resorts and AP discounts are few and far between there.
 

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