By the co-author of The easy Guide to Your Walt Disney World Visit 2020, the best-reviewed Disney World guidebook series ever.

Available on Amazon here.

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How Far in Advance Can You Book a Walt Disney World Vacation?



By Dave Shute

BOOKING WALT DISNEY WORLD FOR 2020

I can tell from my search traffic that people are already starting to plan their 2020 Walt Disney World vacations.

The Walt Disney World website currently only allows bookings through 2019…so how do you book for later dates? Do you have to wait?

The short answer is that you can book a Disney World resort room 499 days ahead…but it’s a little complicated…

I asked my friend Allison, a travel agent at Destinations in Florida, to explain, and here’s what she said!

BOOKING YOUR WALT DISNEY WORLD TRIP IN 2020 AND BEYOND

You can book rooms at Walt Disney World for 2020 up to 499 days in advance right now.  But there’s a couple of tricks and complexities.

  • You can’t do it on the Disney World website.  You can only do it by calling Disney directly, or through a travel agent like Destinations in Florida.
  • For dates beyond what are available on the Disney World website, you can only book roomsnot packages with tickets, the dining plan, and such. (You can add these to your reservation later.)
  • The prices you’ll be quoted will be 2019 prices.  These will be wrong.  The prices for the next year are usually announced in the summer of the prior year–so 2019 prices likely will come out in summer 2019.  This is also when the website is opened to 2020 reservations.
  • You will have to pay a deposit to hold your reservation.  This deposit will increase when the final prices for 2020 come available
  • When final prices come out, your travel agent will help you fix your deposits…and if any discounts come out, your travel agent can also help you take advantage of those!  You can also add tickets and other parts of a package later, when final prices come out.

USING A TRAVEL AGENT FOR YOUR DISNEY WORLD TRIP

Thanks, Allison!

Since this site suggests you book your Walt Disney World trip at least 180 days in advance of your arrival date, and the Disney website likely won’t allow that for 2020 dates until summer 2019 the earliest, knowing that there are ways to book out to 499 days ahead is really helpful!

Many people don’t even consider using travel agents.  But for a complex trip to a place where discounts come and go, there’s a lot to be said for using someone like Destinations in Florida and in particular Kelly B., the agent who for years has focused on the readers of this site.

To book your trip with Kelly B, use this form:

  • Date Format: MM slash DD slash YYYY
  • Date Format: MM slash DD slash YYYY

Travel agents are free to you to use—they are compensated by Disney, not by you—and the prices you end up paying are as good or even better as those you can book yourself!

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47 comments

1 Amie { 05.14.16 at 8:46 pm }

Hi there! I have a question about advance bookings, I apologize if you’ve already answered this question before, and thank you in advance for your help. If I make a room-only booking for 2017 before the 2017 prices are officially released, will the room-only booking be based on 2016 rates? If so, would the price of the previously-booked room go up to reflect the new increased 2017 prices if I upgrade to a Magic Your Way package once the 2017 prices are released? Or will the original price at the time of booking be honored? In other words, when you make a room-only reservation in advance, are you locking in the room *and* rate, or just the room? Thank you! =)

2 Dave { 05.15.16 at 7:39 am }

Amie, you pay the 2017 prices once they are released, not the 2016 prices. If, after that, you change your reservation, you pay the prices current at the time of the change.

3 Christie { 05.21.16 at 2:00 pm }

We stayed in the Yacht Club with 5 people, and it was great! There are some resorts on property that will fit 5 people in regular rooms. I believe Coronado also has 5 person rooms. You can search on the Disney website for 5 person rooms.

4 Dave { 05.25.16 at 9:07 am }

All the deluxes except WL and AKL can fit five. Along the moderates, only CB and POR can–Coronado Springs cannot. Standard rooms at the values hold 4, family suites 6.

5 Kelly B - Destinations In Florida { 05.23.16 at 10:51 am }

Hi Christie – I know Dave answered your comment, but I wanted to touch on a few things. If you book a 2017 room only and change to a package, you\’ll actually need to cancel the first reservation and then rebook a new reservation (Room only are booked through resort, and Packages are booked through reservation system). So your original deposit will be returned and a new (currently $200) deposit will be charged.

Packages for 2017 should released towards the end of next month. I would love to help you book your vacation. My services are Free to you. Contact me at KellyB@DestinationsInFlorida or 980-429-4499.

6 Kelly B - Destinations In Florida { 05.23.16 at 11:13 am }

If you are looking for resorts that accommodate 5 guests, you have a few options:

Value – Suites at Art of Animation or All Star Music
Moderate – Caribbean Beach and Port Orleans Riverside
Deluxe – Standard rooms at all but Animal Kingdom Lodge and Wilderness Lodge

7 Sarah { 06.07.16 at 2:16 pm }

I am trying to book a standard view room in late September of 2017 (calling in to Disney since they are not released yet online) at either the Contemporary Garden Wing or Yacht club. At both hotels at the 499 day mark they told me there are not any standard view rooms available for September 2017 for a week’s stay. I find that hard to believe this far in advance that both hotels are full for all standard view rooms. Does Disney hold back rooms such as standard view and release them later, maybe when packages come out in June of 2016? They say they only have garden view rooms and rooms that cost more available for those dates. I would like some thoughts on this , as I find it hard to believe they are already fully booked. thanks

8 Kelly B - Destinations In Florida { 06.08.16 at 9:18 am }

Hi Sarah –

Reservations for room only can be made 499 days from your departure date. Make sure you\’re not calling in for your arrival date.

A few things to keep in mind about room only bookings – You will not qualify for many of the discounts such as free dining (as these discounts require a minimum number of ticket days and/or dining plan). To change your room only to a package, you\’ll actually have to cancel your original reservation (have that deposit refunded to you) and place a new deposit on your new reservation).

Disney 2017 package prices will be released on Tuesday June 21. I would love to help you plan your 2017 Disney vacation. Please contact me at KellyB@DestinationsInFlorida.com or call me at 980-429-4499.

9 Dave { 06.09.16 at 11:32 am }

Sarah, besides what Kelly already said, these rooms might be on hold for conventions, which commonly grab the least expensive options. Also there are very few standard view rooms at YC, although about an eighth of the Garden Wing rooms are standard view.

10 Jen { 04.20.18 at 6:16 pm }

Hi! I was thinking to book my October 2019 room now and I see that you mention i can do this on the phone. I also read that to turn that into a package (which I will ultimately need to do) I would need to cancel that reservation and rebook in a package. My question is then; is it worth me actually calling and reserving a room when I will need to cancel it to book my package anyway? Do I just wait until 2019 dates are released?

11 Kelly B - Destinations in Florida { 04.21.18 at 9:52 am }

Hi Jen – You’ve got the reservation process down. You are able to book a room only 499 days prior to your departure date. (That is currently only booking through checkout date of 9/2/2019) Booking when your dates are available only locks in the room. It does not lock in any pricing. Your pricing can change to 2019 pricing when those prices are released. Historically the next years’ pricing has been released the end of June – beginning of July.

If you are planning on adding tickets and/or dining, unless you are looking at a campsite, I don’t normally suggest booking until 2019 prices are released.

I would love to add you to my 2019 vacation list. You can request a quote through this site, or email me directly at KellyB@DestinationsInFlorida.com or call at 980-429-4499. Then when packages come out, we’ll be ready to book right away. When you book a vacation package with me, all of my services are completely free. Hope to hear from you soon!

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