Week of May 11th. So this came 7 weeks before our visit.
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Wow! So close.
These are offered somewhat regularly. And yes, they are designed to move people into the more expensive (and so harder to sell) accommodations. Sometimes it’s a really good deal and sometimes it’s not.
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I’ve never gotten one from WDW. I’ve gotten plenty on cruises though.
Yeah I don’t know how they choose who gets them
I do think that there seems to be a lower chance of getting an offer if you are a high-frequency visitor 
Just my own theory based on that I haven’t gotten one in years 
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And here I was thinking I needed to book more to increase my chances
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Agree with @OBNurseNH . I think the sweet spot for me was after my 2nd stay. Aftrr the 4th (or maybe after I bought DVC) I have never gotten one again.
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You know, I was going to say that I haven’t gotten one since then either…
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Okay, here is the latest weird development in this old post.
Wifey & I were reminiscing over the weekend about how nice it would be to stay at the GF resort again instead of POR on this particular trip next month. Even though no availability was showing for GF when I originally made this reservation, and it was not included in any of the Special Resort Offers mentioned previously, I decided to check online again yesterday in case something changed. When I logged onto MDE, I noticed my Special Resort Offer was now completely gone. But when I went to check resort availability, MDE automatically opened a 6-night stay after I entered my start date. Bingo … a special offer availability at the GF was now showing. So I dropped the departure date back a day to coincide with our 5 day plans, and all availability at GF disappeared. 
So I decided to call Disney on the phone to ask if we could still stay for the first 5 days of the 6-day availability they listed.
The first thing the receptionist asked after I said I wanted to modify an existing reservation, was if we were celebrating anything special with this trip (which I’ve heard them ask before when calling). I told her this trip coincided with a wedding anniversary, and we considered it a “present to ourselves.” Then after I explained what I found online, she put me on hold for a few minutes. A different person came on and joked that she was going to play “Mickey Mouse” and see if she could work some Magic for us. She then promptly changed our reservation to the GF resort for just the 5 days we wanted. 
I wanted to share all that with you at this late date to show that sometimes it pays to keep trying & explore all options. Still, I’m left wondering if Disney did this simply because I called and asked, if it was an opportunity for them to get more $$, if it was be cause of our celebrating something special, or as my wife joked afterwards it was because I was lucky enough to get a couple of ladies on the phone instead of some guys. Yes, we’ve been married that long. 
Correct answer is probably: All of the above. 
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Yes this is often/always the case - that availability is wonky as related to dates and/or length of stay. That’s not new. Calling - as you did - sometimes does help with that as they can force it through on their end.
I think it’s just what the system will allow and what can be manipulated by higher level managers “in the background”
I still don’t think there’s anything nefarious going on, and I’m still confused why people who would think there was would continue to give their money to such a company. I wouldn’t.
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I can only imagine how complex the reservation system is for Disney. Some resorts have several different rooms types. With the discounts the inventory is limited. The automated online system is piecing you into the puzzle.
I would think people would have better luck getting discounts by calling because a person can manually adjust things where the online system is rigid.
Like if 4 out of your 5 days are eligible for a discounted rate, Disney will show it as no availability if your searching with the discount as the peramiters. A human being can see the availability in the system and the day causing the trouble and “Mickey Mouse” it. Nothing against the online system. It just can’t make those exceptions. It’s designed to work just as it does. If you gave the online reservation system a way to make exceptions someone by now would have found a way to exploit it, lol. Best for it to be rigid and give the human beings the power to make the exceptions and changes.
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I still don’t think there’s anything nefarious going on, and I’m still confused why people who would think there was would continue to give their money to such a company. I wouldn’t.
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Oh, I agree, and didn’t mean to imply that there is. I worked long enough in management before retiring to know that there ALWAYS IS a method to the madness. But now that the shoe is on the other foot, I’m frustrated not being an insider to know enough what that “method” is. 
Just hoping that by sharing my experience, it might help others get the reservation they want.
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I’m betting even Disney, and Disney IT, does not know the answer to this
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We have a stay at All Stars coming up in June and it will be our 3rd time onsite at WDW (but we’ve booked 2-3 other times and had to cancel). A little over a week ago I got the same kind of email, with the 8 digit offer code, and could also see in My Plans in MDE. It was my first time getting any kind of offer like this (I have gotten two pin codes in the mail and both times have booked a stay that had to later be cancelled).
But it was cool to get this different upgrade offer, I felt a tiny bit special.
Until I opened it up to see what the offer was.
Upgrade to a Preferred Room (still all the All Star Sports) for $8.46/night.
I mean, I’m sure there are some perks to a preferred room, but not enough for me to pay to get one, even just the $8 and change. And I’d actually prefer to be closest to the nearest parking lot since we will have a rental car and that will make unloading/loading it go easier which preferred rooms are not. I don’t mind walking a minute to the food court or pool or whatnot else.
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