Got back a few days ago and we are planning a return next January (I purchased an Annual Pass so we have to do a week or so earlier than the 2020 visit to take advantage of that!).
I’m counting on a discounted room with the Annual Pass, but we really want to stay at CBR again- the Skyliner was a huge plus for us.
The only issue is that Disney doesn’t book into 2021 online- as I recall the 2020 rooms were not released until June/July of 2019. Have people had luck with calling to book a space before the online release of rooms?
I assume it is not difficult to cancel if things change or apply discounts to existing reservations when they become available?
You can book a room by calling. Until new packages are released (when ticket increases and DP increases are decided) you need to call. Room only is available 499 days out.
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I booked a room for January 2021 by calling. The person on the phone asked if I wanted to add dining and tickets, but the room is only a backup (hoping for DVC rental) so we didn’t bother.
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I booked a room for 2021 via phone. It was very easy.
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If you book this far in advance will you be able to add discounts later? It looks like discounts for January 2021 will not be announced until the end of September. Best I can tell we want to have our room reservations completed at least 180 days out. Am I understanding this correctly?
Yes, I believe most discounts are released later in the year.
Every source I’ve talked to/read since asking this question says it is really easy to modify your reservation to apply discounts and even change dates (as long as there is availability and you are willing to pay any extra costs based on the shift -even days of the week have different pricing tiers with the weekends being more expensive).
I have not made up my mind on the dates (other than ‘in January’) but I’m going to call and see about getting a reservation when I finalize that.
Hopefully the Passholder discount will be more than the deal deal I got this year through Magical Vacations Travel in 2020.
If you are staying on property you want an active reservation prior to 180 days to take advantage of Advance Dining Reservations (ADR) which kicks in for your entire visit at that day- you can book an ADR for the last day of your stay (up to 10 days I think) before they open to those not staying on property. I believe the strategy is to log into the last day of your trip and work backwards in order to maximize your chances of getting the ‘best’ reservations.
If you aren’t super concerned about hard to get ADRs I think it’s less of an issue, but it’s nice to have things ‘settled’ so that you can work on other things for the trip.
Thanks so much. We’ve settled on dates and are now focusing on choosing a property. There is just so much pre-planning to do. It’s a little overwhelming.
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Yes! I’ve done this each year because I make our reservations so far ahead. I just call and they apply the discount to my package! It’s typically been a savings of up to 30%
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Yes, so much planning!
I was overwhelmed at first and then found that I was actually having fun doing it.
I worked with a cast member friend and she said I did such a good job with our first trip that I should look into doing it for others. She may have uncovered my future job (after I retire from my ‘real job’ 
)
Keep at it Mousecapades2021- and be sure to ask questions here and on other Disney fan sites. My impression has been that most people are eager to help and almost always provide good/accurate info.
You can do it and, as a result, have an even greater vacation!