Everyone loves a discount, and usually Walt Disney World is more than willing to supply them, if you know what is going on. There are some important things to understand about discounts, they can be very frustrating for many people who do not understand them, and sometimes frustration to those of us that do.

Check out our list of things you should know about Walt Disney World discounts

1. Some Disney Resorts are never included in discounts. The Little Mermaid rooms at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort have yet to be included in one discount Disney has released since the resort opened, so if you really want to stay there, you WILL NOT be involved in any future discount. Port Orleans – French Quarter is often excluded, as are the Villas the Grand Floridian. For the most part, the other resorts are usually included in all discounts. This does vary from discount to discount, so there may be times when a resort like All-Star Movies is excluded from the discount, but it is usually included.
2. Just because you have an existing reservation at a hotel does not mean you will automatically qualify for any new discount. Disney looks at each resort and each night at that when determining discounts. Say you are staying at Caribbean Beach, but a few of the nights you are staying there, the resort is nearly booked at full rate. It is very likely then that for those nights, Disney will not include any rooms at the Caribbean Beach at a discounted rate, since it is already full at full rate, making it impossible to apply the new discount to your reservation, since there are not any discounted rooms. Your travel agent should be able to provide alternate resorts that are included in the discount.
3. Some discounts just suck. There are times, usually during more busy seasons, where the discounts really are not very good. Disney may only include a few rooms at each resort, or the discounts might not be very good. You have to take what Disney gives or move your travel dates to a less popular time.
4. Many times, Walt Disney World releases multiple discounts for the same travel dates, often at different times and aimed at different people. Make sure to check all discounts to see which option is better for you. For some people, even purchasing an annual pass just to use the Annual Passholder discount is the best deal.
5. We never, ever see discounts over the Christmas holidays. This is the most popular and expensive time of the year, and if you really want to go to Disney with the rest of the world, then you can plan on paying full price.
6. We rarely see discounts for last minute trips. Typically if you are traveling within a month or two, it is very likely there will not be a discount available to you. Many vacation destinations offer fantastic last minute deals, Disney does not. Just count on paying full rate if you are booking last minute.
7. Room only and Package discounts have different rules. Typically room only discounts only discount the nights included in the dates of the deal. You can extend your vacation past the end date, but only the nights within the discount dates will be discounted. For package discounts, usually as long as you check in before the last package available date, the discount will be included for your entire stay. Know which discount you are looking at.
8. There are discounts released that are not released to everyone. When rooms are pretty full, and Disney does not want to go through the hassle of releasing a full public discount, they will send out PIN code offers, usually by email or by postcard, to past guests with special discounts not available to anyone else. You cannot share your PIN code, only you can use it. If you want to know more about PIN codes, I am sure I will write something about them soon, just check back, or ask a question below.
9. Discounts are very strict when it comes to travel dates. I have had many clients miss a discount by one or two nights. Say you are checking in on June 13, but the discount released does not start until June 15, you are completely out of luck. You can change dates, or book a room only for the first night or two, so it is possible, but not convenient. Try to keep your schedule as flexible as possible until you have a good idea what dates will work with discounts. Nothing is worse than missing saving $500 by one day because you booked flights 10 months in advance to save a few dollars.
10. Take note of past discounts to give you hints of what kind of discounts have been made available for your travel dates during past years. Disney World has a habit of releasing the same or very similar discounts year after year for the same time frame, so you may be able to see that for 3 to 4 Summers in a row, Disney has only released room only discounts, so it is very likely that this coming Summer, we will only see room only discounts.
11. Consider using a Disney Travel Agent when booking your vacation. While some agencies charge a fee, we at Mouseketrips never do. Most of our clients pay less than booking directly with Disney, and have an agent on their side to make sure they get the best trip possible. We are fully aware of all discounts, and all expected discounts, and make sure you get the absolute best deal, regardless of how many discounts are released. If you book directly with Disney, they want you to pay the most money possible, so they will not notify you of new deals, they will not apply any new discounts to your reservation and they will not research which deal is the best for you.

This is in no way a complete list of Disney World discount information, but it is close. For your information, wee keep an up to date list of all Disney discounts on the front page of our website, feel free to check it out: Mouseketrips