We have tentative plans to go to WDW in December. Should I go ahead and book the resort? Pluses and minuses of booking and not booking now? It will need to be one of the All Stars. Also, which All Star should I book?
The plan was to buy an AP so that we can also go to Arts, Flower and Garden, and another Holiday. (I was planning to stay 6-8 weeks between Arts, and Flower & Garden and work remotely.) There is still no new AP sales. I don’t know if DH would be willing to go this December if there is no new AP sales.
You can (or, used to be able to–I haven’t traveled there since 2019) book a WDW hotel something like 1.5 to 2 yrs in advance. I don’t remember the exact time frame but it’s very generous. It’s highly recommended to book it as soon as you’re thinking of going and now for December isn’t unusual at all. If your plans are tentative just be sure to book something that you can easily cancel later. In the past Disney hotels were easy to cancel as long as you didn’t hit that window where it becomes final, which is usually pretty close to the trip. Again, I don’t have specifics, it’s been so long. But my 3 trips in recent years all involved making room only reservations very much in advance b/c we use the military discount, so I’d make the room reservation as soon as they announced the discount. Also, if they are sold out of your hotel of choice you can make a res at a different one and then call back later, as cancelations happen all the time. I always managed to get the hotel I really wanted by calling back a few times, months later. My experience with the All Star resorts was Sports in 2014. We LOVED it, and we’re not big fans of sports. These have been renovated considerably since that time. There are a lot of images and info online about the layouts of these resorts and the rooms etc. Specifically the website YourFirstVisit.net has great reviews of resorts.
yes, they require the cost of one night’s stay as a deposit, but it’s fully refundable at 5 days out, if it’s room only. It’s been a minute since I’ve done one of these @OBNurseNH would know.
Having been shut out of days when booking in the past - I would say book rooms the minute you think you are going. Then you can just keep an eye out for future discounts and have them applied (or just re-book as they appear and cancel the original.)
Sure, you have to pay the 1 night immediately for a room only, but is refundable and worth the headache of not being able to get a room for your dates later.
Most experts expect that AP sales will resume at some point, so keep your eyes peeled for that announcement (could be any time from now through September maybe?).
You can book a package with tickets which can be cancelled up to 30 days before your trip, if you want to have park reservations in place, but you shouldn’t need to worry about that for a while.
Exactly. You will probably have a lot of competition, so prepare for a long wait on hold.
I would book the actual room you want now, not in a package. Then as it gets closer (maybe 2-3 months away?) if AP sales haven’t resumed, you may want to book a package with tickets and a cheap room. Then cancel before the 30-day mark after you (hopefully) get your AP.
If AP sales do not resume before the 30-day mark, you may need to go ahead and purchase regular tickets and see if you can apply the cost to an AP if sales resume at the last minute.
Yes. Go ahead and book the room. I booked rooms for October 2022 in November 2021 and room prices are now more expensive for the same nights. Prices can increase so lock it in now.
I really like Movies, but I know Music has a lot of fans. Sports did not get a complete reno during its closure (it’s still got carpet), so I would avoid that one.
Do not, under any circumstances, book a standard room at ASMusic. Those rooms are so far from the lobby building you will hate yourself for trying to save $5. I don’t think you can go wrong with preferred music or any movies room. As others said sports didn’t get the renovation so I’d skip it.
Related - do any of our resident travel agents know if the 499 day booking window is back in effect for room-only? Or are they still only allowing reservations for 2022? Thinking ahead to my next trip(s) while I’m still waiting for this trip to start (one of the bylaws of the Liner charter, I think…).
