Rack rates...do people really pay them?

Sooo… LOL! No rack rates for us!
I told my DH about the no discounts situation and he was like, well, if we’re not going to get the discount and the club level IS discounted (and will only cost us about $50/day more than our rack rate pool view room and we’re 4 people), then let’s just go for it! So, we did! lol!
I definitely wouldn’t have done a club level stay for the normal rate or if it wasn’t such a small amount more than what we were going to spend, but at this rate, I think we’ll get some value from it and some convenience as well. We do have resort time in our plans so will definitely grab drinks and snacks (and some breakfasts) each day.

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Happy for you! Sadly, we will be paying rack rate this summer. We do not want to move from FQ, and our agent wasn’t able to get free dining or room discount. I’ve been looking around the clock, but I guess FQ goes quickly. I kept thinking when I booked that there was no way that we would end up paying those prices, but it looks like we are! Now that I think of it, the discount we had last year was from a PIN code.

Ain’t that the truth!!

Definitely not. I agree with @Randall1028 that you have to decide what experience you want, and if you are willing to pay for it then no problem.

It’s a matter of knowing what you’re getting into. The only way I can see that anyone would be a chump paying for rack rate is if they whined later when they could have done something about it.

But, if you’ve done your research (or simply don’t care to for whatever reason) and wind up paying rack rates, that’s not being a chump. That’s making the best choice for you & your family.

There are a LOT of things that go into the calculation besides price. Available time, convenience, distance, resort preference, etc. etc. Only you know if it’s “worth it”.

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I booked 2 rooms for October 2019 at POFQ at rack rate about 470 days before check in date. By the time a room discount became available, it wasn’t any better than the rate that I had booked since price increases occurred occurred. So, while I didn’t end up with a discount, I felt like I had done as well as possible.

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Same thing happened to me. When the “discounted” rates were released they were the exact same as the rack rate I paid for 7 months prior to our upcoming trip. Disney raised the prices only to discount them back to what they were previously. I was pretty disappointed, as I had been eagerly awaiting the discounts being announced.

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I paid POFQ Oct 2019 rack rate. No discounts were available for my date range. I was stuck because that was the ONLY hotel we wanted at the time. If you aren’t flexible, then you are stuck with what is offered.

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If you book far enough in advance, the rack rate will usually come out cheaper than a room with discounts closer to your date. For example, we booked a room at Poly 490 days out from our Oct 2019 trip. Disney then did 2 price increases during that time. A 20% discount was released closer to our trip for Poly, but when our TA checked, our initial rack room pricing was cheaper than the current price with the 20% discount.
We’re planning another trip for Oct or Nov 2021, and will be booking a deluxe at the 499 mark again, knowing that it will be cheaper then booking closer to our trip with a discount.
We’ll also explore renting DVC points when it’s 11 months out and compare prices with what we booked.

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I have booked at rack rate and then switched hotels when the discount came out if the room I booked at wasn’t included in the discount, so we’re in the ‘have never paid rack rate’ club. But I also have a few hotels I hope to one day stay at because I haven’t been able to get a discount, so I’m also in the ‘haven’t always stayed where my heart’s desire wanted to because of the lack of a discount’ club. The second is a sadder club than the first…

I also booked around 490 days. I didn’t compare my initial cost with new rates, so it’s possible my rate was lower? But, I had been hoping for the discount on the initial rate I had.
I’m ok with it all now. Because of the full price room being almost the same price as the discounted club level room, we’re staying club level and since we do have a good amount of resort time in our plans, we should benefit from the change. I’m not saving anything, but I’m happy with the outcomes otherwise :slight_smile:

I’m too stubborn to join that club. I felt not even a twinge of flexibility when I realized the situation! lol!

I had been checking daily for free dining. When the fall free dining was announced, our travel dates were not in the dates for free dining; dates before our trip, dates after. I had been getting up every morning at 4 a.m. Pacific time to check for special offers. When the free dining came up for the fall, my heart started racing, but as I reread the specifics repeatedly, I knew it wasn’t going to benefit me. So sad.

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