Priceline Hotel: disneyland vacation(hotel,car,airfare)

[parksville4]

Hi everyone

I have bought my disney tickets thru Costco and my wife has booked her vacation days from work.

My wife and son and I are planning to go to disneyland December 29 2010 until Jan 9 2011.

I have never bid or used Priceline or Hotwire before but I think this is the way to save some money on booking my vacation?

Iam planning on booking my airline tickets,Hotel and rental car with the help of the people on this web site.

Iam planning on flying from vancouver Canada (YVR) to Losangles (LAX) on Dec 29th 2010 and return Jan 9th 2011.

I will fly out of Seattle washington if the economics makes sence..LOL

........

I have pleanty of time to book the flights,hotels,car...When should I start booking things?

Iam looking for around a 3.5 Hotel close to Disneyland any advice?

Thank You!

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

For starters, see the "bid early or late" link in our PRICELINE FAQ.

Be aware that PRICELINE only guarantees double occupancy, after that it is at the discretion of the hotel. So if you go that route there is a chance that the hotel may only give you a room with one bed... yon can request a room with two beds, but there hotel may not be able, or willing, to give you a room with two beds (or there could be an additional charge involved)

While this isn't usually as much of a problem in an area such as this which is accustomed to accommodating families (vs. a stay in NYC where rooms are notoriously small and a high percentage of rooms often only contain one bed), i mention this as you're going during a peak season for the area (LOTS of kids off from school) so having your requests filled may be a bit tougher than usual.

If you're not comfortable with this scenario HOTWIRE allows you to search for up to quad occupancy... but the trade-off is that HOTWIRE is usually a little more expensive than PRICELINE. I would start with HOTWIRE, searching for 2adults/1child, and seeing if anything appears within your expected budget and star rating.

Let us know what you find and your own thoughts and we'll take it from there..

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

[parksville4]

I,m looking for a decent hotel maybe 3.5 what would be the going rates?

were should I start with my bidding..LOL

What do people usually pay during peak season or just start low and be patiant

thanks

[Romelle]

If you type "disneyland" up in the Quick Search box (top of page), you will see a whole bunch of results other people have reported. While rates are very date specific, it will still give you some general ideas.

If you use the Priceline and Hotwire Calendar of Wins (middle of page) for your dates, there may be some results there also, although it is still pretty early.

If you look at the non-bid (retail) side of PRICELINE and punch in your dates, you can get a general idea of the sorts of hotels you might receive. It is possible to get a completely different hotel, but not usually. Also, you can look at the rates there and at least know you don't need to bid any higher than that. You've really got a lot of time left. Definitely start low and don't be in a hurry to go high.

After you've studied a bit more and report back your thinking, somebody here will suggest a bidding strategy (assuming you decide to go via PRICELINE), or provide a best guess on HOTWIRE offerings.

Romelle

[parksville4]

wondering if booking early is better than later?

Is there only so many priceline hotels,or the hotels have only so many rooms?

[yellowdog]

parksville4

Sorry to say that there's no general answer to your question. Please see this link: Should i Bid Early or Close to Arrival Date

But your stay cover some really hectic dates. So i would start bidding.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

Yellowdog.

[parksville4]

well started bidding with no success I but in 3.5 star for anaheim $45 rejected than went to 3 star $46 anaheim garden grove rejected.......It now won,t let me get rid of the 3 star (as I want to bid on a little higher price but just on 3.5 star)

even the area I have anaheim as my first choice but in my 2nd bid I included garden grove but now would like to only have anaheim,do I have to start from fresh or still keep my present bidding

[parksville4]

well been looking at the way that the people got the Red lion for $59 a night and just been increasing my bid $1 at a time and still had no success!

I want to be very close to disneyland and have been really hoping none of my bids in these other areas will not be accepted..lol

Well This is my bidding history for today!

$45-Disney Anaheim....3.5 star...Rejected

$46-Disney Anaheim,Orange Garden Grove...3.5 star.....Rejected

$46-Disney Anaheim,Orange Garden Grove....3 star.....Rejected

$47-Disney Anaheim,Orange Gareden Grove,Anaheim Hills.....3 star..rejected

$48-Disney Anaheim,Orange Garden Grove,Anaheim Hills.Laguna Beach...3 Star..Rejected

$49-Disney Anaheim,Orange Garden Grove,Anaheim Hills,Laguna Beach,Buena Park-Cerritos-Cypress......3 Star Rejected

Now like I said I want to be closer to Disneyland,Will I have to wait 24 hours to start bidding only in the Anaheim Zone?

I will bid Higher but don,t want to get stuck far away from disney ....LOL...scary eneogh what I was bidding on,,,my wife would kill me if I ended up far away from Disneyland....LOL

Thanks

Hope someone has some good Advice on how I should approach my bidding

[Colfax]

parksville4,

Priceline isn't always the best or cheapest option. It's possible an Air + Hotel package will cost less than puchasing Air and Hotel separately. And with a package you'll know in advance which hotel you're getting.

Also Priceline reservations only guarantee one bed and there are three in your party. How old is your son and can the three of you share one bed if necessary? If not then Hotwire or a retail purchase might work better, so that you can guarantee two beds.

Have you researched airfares yet? What's the best roundtrip airfare for three you've found between YVR and LAX? With that info someone can offer an opinion whether an Air + Hotel package might be best, or if buying air and hotel separately would cost less.

[Romelle]

well started bidding with no success I but in 3.5 star for anaheim $45 rejected than went to 3 star $46 anaheim garden grove rejected.......It now won,t let me get rid of the 3 star (as I want to bid on a little higher price but just on 3.5 star)

even the area I have anaheim as my first choice but in my 2nd bid I included garden grove but now would like to only have anaheim,do I have to start from fresh or still keep my present bidding

You can lower your star level, but you can't raise it in the same bidding session. The reason is that when you are bidding say 4*, also included are 4 1/2* and 5* (any level equal to or higher than the star level you entered).

So - when you bid at the 3* level, also included were 3 1/2*, 4*, etc.

Romelle

[Romelle]

well been looking at the way that the people got the Red lion for $59 a night and just been increasing my bid $1 at a time and still had no success!

I want to be very close to disneyland and have been really hoping none of my bids in these other areas will not be accepted..lol

Well This is my bidding history for today!

$45-Disney Anaheim....3.5 star...Rejected

$46-Disney Anaheim,Orange Garden Grove...3.5 star.....Rejected

$46-Disney Anaheim,Orange Garden Grove....3 star.....Rejected

$47-Disney Anaheim,Orange Gareden Grove,Anaheim Hills.....3 star..rejected

$48-Disney Anaheim,Orange Garden Grove,Anaheim Hills.Laguna Beach...3 Star..Rejected

$49-Disney Anaheim,Orange Garden Grove,Anaheim Hills,Laguna Beach,Buena Park-Cerritos-Cypress......3 Star Rejected

Now like I said I want to be closer to Disneyland,Will I have to wait 24 hours to start bidding only in the Anaheim Zone?

I will bid Higher but don,t want to get stuck far away from disney ....LOL...scary eneogh what I was bidding on,,,my wife would kill me if I ended up far away from Disneyland....LOL

Thanks

Hope someone has some good Advice on how I should approach my bidding

When you are bidding at the 3 1/2* level there are a few "free rebids" available in the general area. There aren't any free rebids when bidding at the 3* level.

There is discussion on free rebidding in the FAQ area here, or you could just search on the topic ("search" function in the upper right hand corner). Essentially it means adding an area in which there are no PL hotels offered at that star level or higher. So there is no chance of actually getting a hotel in that area. If you aren't sure you have it right, post back which areas you think are free and somebody will double check your understanding. It is a really valuable concept, and often quite vital to successful and efficient bidding.

And yes, you will have to wait the full 24 hours to bid in the Anaheim - Disney area again.

Romelle

[Romelle]

You might look at this string - http://www.betterbidding.com/index.php?showtopic=105969&

If you go through the process, it essentially adds $10 a night to your bid.

Alternatively, if you have an Entertainment Book, there are coupons in there that give you bonuses to add to your bid.

Romelle

[parksville4]

I,m little confused if I get a winning bid of $55,there will be an extra $10 a night added to my bill?

I have already registered for the $50 rebate from PRICELINE/

Thanks

[parksville4]

The Entertainment Book would give me saving?

I,m planning on going for 10 days maybe I should buy the Entertainment Book?

[Romelle]

I,m little confused if I get a winning bid of $55,there will be an extra $10 a night added to my bill?

I have already registered for the $50 rebate from priceline/

Thanks

If you bid $55 and have the $10/night deal, your bid will be treated as $65. Your bill will still only be $55. $10 free money.

I'm not sure quite how it works if you bid for longer periods than the 5 days/$10 a day. I think it will work out that for a 10 day bidding period your bid will have $5 added to each day. For a 7 day bidding period, your bid will have $7 and change added. You need to read the fine print on the deal.

Also, I think in the fine print, this particular deal is only good until June 30.

Romelle

[Romelle]

You might be able to do two different bids, each for 5 nights. Using the bonus you've already signed up for on one, and the Entertainment Coupon for the other.

Be sure to follow all the rules though.

Also, you still can link through this board to start your PRICELINE bidding, and then get the add-ons while on the Priceline site.

One caveat - if you split your bid, it is always possible you would end up with two different hotels.

And finally - thereuare and Colfax asked you if you would be OK with a room that had only one bed? A bid in PRICELINE is only good for 2 people. The bedding in the room could be a couple twins, a double, a queen or a king. In some cases it ends up even a couple queens. You might look at the hotel reviews for the area to see what other people have scored.

Romelle

[parksville4]

HI STARTING MY BIDDING AGAIN AND JUST WANT TO FIND OUT WHAT AREAS HAVE NO 3 STAR HOTELS SO i CAN USE SOME FREE BIDS!!

aLSO WOULD LIKE TO SEE HOW MANY ARE AVAILABLE TO USE?

tHANK yOU

[Romelle]

You need to keep all posts for a single stay in the same thread. I've answered your question above in your original thread.

Romelle

[Romelle]

As I mention in my post above (#11 in this thread), there are no free rebids at the 3* level.

There are free rebids at the 3 1/2 * level.

Romelle

[thereuare]

HI STARTING MY BIDDING AGAIN AND JUST WANT TO FIND OUT WHAT AREAS HAVE NO 3 STAR HOTELS SO i CAN USE SOME FREE BIDS!!

When you are bidding at the 3 1/2* level there are a few "free rebids" available in the general area. There aren't any free rebids when bidding at the 3* level.

You would need to increase your minimum star rating to the 3.5* level if you're looking to use re-bid zones.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.