Bounceback Offers Back at Disney World for 2024
Bounceback deals are back for 2024 Walt Disney World vacations! These are the best way to book special offers a year in advance, and have been absent for the last 3 years since reopening. This post shares eligible 2024 stay dates & details, how to take advantage of these highly-coveted WDW deals, potential 2024 Free Dining implications, and much more. (Updated September 5, 2023.)
Also known as “Future Stay Offers,” bounce-back discounts are only available to travelers who are currently staying at one of Walt Disney World’s resort hotels to book during the duration of their trip. That changes slightly for the current incarnation of bouncebacks, as you can (thankfully) call up to a week after check-out from your Walt Disney World resort.
Bounceback offers were typically the best way to book popular discounts pre-closure, but they were also confusing, elusive, and deceptively complicated. Their absence for the last few years will likely only add to the mystique as bounceback offers return, since I’m sure even many longtime fans forgot about the ins and outs of booking bounceback offers in the last 3 years. We’ll cover more of the ins and outs later in the post, but let’s start with the news about the return of bounceback offers at Walt Disney World…
September 5, 2023 Update: Bounceback offers have now been live for two full months, and we now have answers to some of the below questions. We’ve done multiple stays since the future stay offer rolled out, and have been fortunate to find it in all of our resort hotel rooms and Disney Vacation Club villas.
For starters, if you’re trying to find the flier for future stay offers, it’s likely going to be tucked away in the “Your Take-Along Guide to the Magic” (pictured below) that’s usually left in the room below the television, on a bedside table or desk. All of ours have had the bounceback flier at the back of that guide.
We’ve called the number to book bouncebacks after our stays, and have had success. As of late last month, availability was still pretty wide open for all dates and resort combinations that we wanted. Of course, your mileage may vary on that.
Here’s everything else that we’ve learned about 2024 bounceback deals at Walt Disney World. Keep in mind that this is all subject to change as Disney tweaks the bounceback strategy, or occupancy projections change. For now, here are key takeaways:
- Emails are inconsistent. Some readers have reported them arriving immediately at checkout and others not at all. We have not received a single email about future stay offers following our stays. (Email being hit or miss is pretty typical for Walt Disney World communications; if you don’t receive anything, either check your spam folder or call.)
- Eligibility to book bouncebacks is NOT dependent upon receiving the email. When you call to book, the reservations center Cast Member will be able to confirm whether or not you’re eligible by looking up your past reservation. (The corollary to this is it also means that receiving a forwarded bounceback email with no accompanying completed stay won’t do anything for you!)
- Extension 8844 from in-room phones does not appear to be working (yet?). Instead, call 407-934-7639. You have 7 days from checkout to do that, so no need to bother while you’re still on vacation at Walt Disney World.
- Each adult on the original reservation can book bounceback offers. You can also book multiple future stays from one original reservation, meaning that one stay this year could become several discounted stays in 2024.
- As with all discounts, availability is limited. The “rarer” the room category (e.g. suites), more popular the resort, or busier your dates, the less likely you are to have success. Deluxe Villas always have few options because the reservations center doesn’t control much of the inventory at DVC resorts. However, the options are still far better for this than the average deal.
- Resort of your current stay or how it was booked has no bearing on your future stay offer. As discussed below, you could do a 1-night DVC point rental and book several week-long bounceback offers at Pop Century for 2024.
That’s everything we know that feels worth sharing, but it’s possible we’re overlooking details that you might find important, so feel free to ask any questions you might have in the comments–we’ll answer to the best of our knowledge and experience.
Perhaps the biggest takeaway of all is that this works pretty much identically to bounceback offers pre-closure. It’s almost like they copy and pasted the old rules (right down to the telephone extension that doesn’t work!) and updated the dates to 2024.
Here’s a better look at the bounceback offer for 2024 that has been released to resort guests at Walt Disney World:
In case you can’t read that, here are the details:
- Save up to 25% off Value Resorts
- Save up to 30% off Moderate Resorts
- Save up to 35% off Deluxe Resorts & Deluxe Villas
Available the following dates:
- January 7-10, 2024
- January 15-18, 2024
- January 21-25, 2024
- January 28 to February 1, 2024
- February 4-8, 2024
- February 11-14, 2024
- February 19-22, 2024
- February 25 to March 16, 2024
- March 31 to May 23, 2024
- May 27 to August 29, 2024
- September 2-30, 2024
- October 27-31, 2024
- November 25-27, 2024
- December 1-24, 2024
The 2024 Resort Future Stay Offer excludes 3-bedroom Grand Villas, Bungalows at Disney’s Polynesian Villas and Bungalows, Cascade Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, and the Campsites at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort.
For reference, this is better than the last bounceback offer from Walt Disney World. Not that it really matters, but comparisons are always fun, and the bounceback offer when the parks & resorts closed was a room-only discount with savings of 20% off Value Resorts, 25% off Moderate Resorts, and 30% off both Deluxe and Deluxe Villa Resorts. This “Future Stay Offer” was bookable when the parks closed, but it was cancelled and removed from rooms when resorts reopened.
My first reaction to this is that it’s great that bounceback offers are returning. The biggest barrier to booking bounceback offers is knowledge. Once you have that–and you will after reading this–then bounceback offers are without a doubt the easiest and most hassle-free way to book popular discounts.
Honestly, I’m also a bit surprised that bounceback offers are returning. My impression even pre-closure was that bounceback offers was a relatively small initiative, and like so many ‘little things’ of that scale that have seemingly been lost forever, I figured that bounceback offers might’ve met that fate. (On the plus side, this could mean that there’s hope for Tables in Wonderland!)
My other initial reaction was that it’s great Walt Disney World is going to email bounceback offers to guests upon checkout. From a practical perspective, this is a much better approach–and one that would likely achieve a higher ‘success’ rate and greater guest visibility.
Then I continued reading the announcement, and subsequent sentences make it unclear whether the in-room collateral and television messages will replace the emails. (Frankly, I’m glad they’re going to be doing the in-room collateral. I know I’m a weirdo, but getting lucky and having the in-room flyer was always exciting–like a lower-stakes version of discovering hidden treasure!)
Frankly, the wording makes me wonder whether this is being rolled out hastily, and is yet another sign that bookings are trending downward and Walt Disney World is scrambling to buoy bookings. Why else would the emails go out first but the printed collateral and television messages not yet be ready?
Finally, this made me think about the potential implications for Free Dining, which is the definitive Walt Disney World discount. Free Dining overshadows all else, and it’s pretty much always front-of-mind whenever discounts or Disney Dining Plan news is released. This bounceback offer is the first real 2024 Walt Disney World discount that’s being released in the post pent-up demand era and following the release of the 2024 Disney Dining Plan.
We’ve been speculating for the last month-plus that the table is already being set for the potential return of Free Dining, and this bounceback offer only reaffirms that. This is pretty consistent with past bounceback offers to be released prior to Free Dining (there’s always overlap) and, as noted above, actually offers superior savings.
The one big thing to note here is the late Summer and Fall 2024 dates that are not available for the bounceback offer. While valid for almost the entire summer, and there a number of blockout dates in October and November 2024. That’s not necessarily conclusive of future discounts–or the lack thereof–for those time frames. Things can and will change as those dates draw nearer, and actual occupancy numbers are known.
Nevertheless, they’re at least somewhat instructive. If you’re already planning for a Walt Disney World vacation in the final four months of 2024, have flexibility in your travel dates, and want to be able to book the best possible discounts (hopefully Free Dining!), we’d recommend avoiding the dates that are not eligible for the bounceback offer. Those are more likely to be blocked out for future discounts, too.
With all of that said, here’s what you need to know about bounceback offers at Walt Disney World based on past precedent from pre-closure…
FAQ & How to Book ‘Future Stay Offer’ Discounts
Before we get ahead of ourselves, we should offer a ‘bounceback offer’ definition. Bouncebacks (or bounce-backs, or bounce backs…there’s really no consistent terminology) are targeted offers released to Walt Disney World hotel guests. They are not a type of discount, but they’re a method of booking a discount. (Think of them like PIN or Unique Offer Codes, except targeted differently.)
Usually, bounceback offers are very similar to deals that will be available for the general public to book at a later date. In many cases, bounceback offers might have more or better dates, more room inventory, and/or less exclusions. The most common bouncebacks are room-only discounts, while the most popular (by far) is the Free Dining Bounceback.
Bounceback offers are distributed via in-room fliers that are usually similar in size to park maps (see above). Unlike PIN/UOCs, receipt or possession of a flier is not necessary to book a bounceback. This trips up a lot of people, as most guests don’t read blogs like this one.
Short of tangible receipt of the bounceback flier or being plugged-in and reading about it online, how else are you going to know you’re eligible for “Future Stay Offers” at Walt Disney World? You could really miss out, and you’d never know! (In other words, not reading this blog is detrimental to your well-being, so never stop.)
So, who isn’t eligible? Obviously, anyone who is at home. Also, anyone who is at Walt Disney World, but is staying off-site or in third-party hotels. You need to be staying at a Disney-owned hotel in order to take advantage of the Future Stay Offers. It doesn’t matter if you will be arriving soon at Walt Disney World–you aren’t eligible to book unless you’re currently staying in a Disney-owned hotel at Walt Disney World, or are within the window following check-out.
Beyond that, it doesn’t matter in which WDW hotel you’re presently staying or which promotion you’ve booked your current stay under. Pre-closure, you could book up to three hotel rooms via the bounce back offer for multiple travel dates, but those rooms must be under the name of an adult on your current reservation. This means that during your current stay, you could book yourself bounceback room-only deals for three different trips in June, September, and December. Again, that was the case prior to the closure–we do not yet know whether this will be the policy for 2024 bouncebacks.
Among diehard Walt Disney World planners, it’s very popular to do a strategic short stay during the bounceback window to make yourself eligible for the following year’s bounceback offer. (It most frequently was done for Free Dining, but we’ve heard of some people doing it for other offers!) This is not as crazy of an idea as it might sound!
You might remember the fictional Costanza family from New York, who have booked a variety of fake vacations in past blog posts on this site. The Costanza family now has 4 “Disney adults,” as their kids have grown up (I know you’re all on the edge of your seats with curiosity, so yes, they have added more pet hamsters to their family–they now have 15!–but none of those will be joining them on this trip).
The Costanzas really like the location of the Magic Kingdom area hotels, but they are incredibly frugal. As such, the Costanzas follow the advice in our Tips for Renting Disney Vacation Club Points post, and book a 1-night stay in a Deluxe Studio at Disney’s Grand Floridian Villas in September 2023 for ~$250. After checking in, they arrive at their room to find that there is no flyer for the 2024 Resort Future Stay Offer in their room.
Cool as a cucumber and never one to get upset, Mr. Costanza picks up the in-room phone and dials x8844. A Cast Member assists them in booking for next year. Alternatively, since Mr. Costanza is on vacation and doesn’t want to deal with a call center or being on hold, he could simply contact his fee-free Authorized Disney Travel Planner, or travel agent.
In a perfect world, he’d give them a heads up about booking this bounce-back before his trip, which would make this a matter of a quick, one-line email during his trip. (We’ve done–and recommend–the latter approach.)
Since they only took a 1-night vacation this year, they go all out and book a stay at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge for December 10 through 24, 2024. Although Mr. Costanza does not celebrate Christmas, and finds tinsel distracting, he finds the ambiance of Wilderness Lodge very enjoyable during the holidays.
This will be an expensive vacation package–and as we’ve noted, the Costanzas are frugal–but after crunching the numbers, the Costanzas realized it’s worth the splurge to book the 2024 bounceback that offers 35% off the resort stay.
These somewhat extreme example should illustrate a few important points:
- How you booked your current stay does not matter–it just matters that you’re staying in a Disney resort.
- It does not matter if your current resort is excluded from the bounceback promo you want to book–you can book any eligible resort while staying at any Disney resort.
- Your current length of stay does not matter.
- The flier not being in your room makes no difference–dial x8844 and you can book the bounce-back offer.
The first three points we’ve covered above in sufficient detail (I hope) but the last point is worthy of elaboration. Mousekeeping is supposed to leaves these fliers in every single room, but sometimes, that does not happen. As you might know from our past posts, Mousekeeping is currently understaffed (and overworked) and sometimes oversights are made. It happens.
The last time it was offered (Fall 2019), we stayed in 6 different Walt Disney World resorts during the window that was eligible to book the Free Dining Bounce Back Offer. A couple of these rooms did not have the bounceback flier in them. This wasn’t because we weren’t eligible (again, anyone currently in a Disney-owned hotel is eligible) but due to simple human error. It was no big deal, because all we needed to do was pick up the in-room phone, dial x8844, and inquire about what (if any) bounceback offers were available to us.
We cannot reiterate enough that dialing x8844 is how to book the bounceback offer (if you booked your current stay with a travel agent, they can also handle it for you, making this entirely hassle-free for you). Do not call the front desk and do not call the central reservations line. While there is a chance that Cast Members at either of those lines will be able to help, there’s also a chance they won’t.
Walt Disney World is a incredibly complex organization and it is not possible for every Cast Member to know every single thing about the resort. If you’ve read the blog post to this point, you already know more about bounceback or future stay offers than ~98% of Cast Members. Any questions you could have now are unlikely to be answerable by anyone but a Cast Member whose role specifically pertains to booking bouncebacks.
The specific role of Cast Members at x8844 is booking bounceback offers, so they have specialized knowledge of the promotions, and will be much better at helping you. (Same goes for travel agents and having this specialized knowledge.) Think of it like a doctor. You might absolutely adore your proctologist (said no one ever)…but you should really go to a neurosurgeon for an operation on your brain, rather than the butt doctor.
Ultimately, booking a bounceback offer is not brain or butt surgery, even if our long-winded explanation might make it seem just as complicated. Hopefully, we’ve broken these discounts down in a way that makes sense and clarifies the who/how/when/etc. of Walt Disney World Bounceback Offers. We are huge fans of these deals, as they take a lot of the stress out of booking discounts–namely, the waiting and hoping there’s availability for your travel dates and resort. If you get the chance, we’d recommend booking the Bounceback or Future Stay Offer as a safety net when you visit Walt Disney World.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
Have you booked any Bounceback or Future Stay Offer in the past at Walt Disney World? Do you make a point of calling x8844 to check for bouncebacks even if you don’t receive an in-room flier? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Tom,
If you could stay two nights in a standard resort room at grand Floridian, or a one bedroom villa at Boulder Ridge wilderness Lodge… Which would you choose? This is for a mom and dad and teenager. No parks, just resort stay. We have stayed at wilderness Lodge before and The pools were very crowded. :/
. It seemed like they needed an extra pool for all the resort guests that that resort has. We have Never stayed @grand Floridian. Only visited. We are leaning on grand Floridian remodeled rooms. Let me know your opinion:)
Just got back from a split stay in a 1 bedroom at Boulder Ridge and one of the newly remodelled DVC studios at Grand Floridian which is likely very similar to a hotel room. This was one adult and two children (1 teenager and one 10 year old).
I would definitely go with Boulder Ridge and my kids would agree. The new rooms are stunning, and you can’t beat the space. The pool facilities are superior in our opinion (2 pools at both), as is dining with the amazing Geyser Point, better quick service and Whispering Canyon.
The monorail is great with Grand Floridian but the boat service from WL is equally good. Never had a problem with buses. I would also note that there are numerous renovations still planned at GF so keep your eye on that. The entire lobby was covered when we stayed.
Both are wonderful options but you will feel really spoiled in the one bedroom Boulder Ridge!
Do stays using DVC points qualify?
Hi. How long will Bounceback stay? If I have a reservation in November 2023 will this offer still be active? Sorry if I missed it. Thanks.
I called Disney today, July 10. We have reservations at a deluxe Disney hotel for 2 rooms on July 23. Disney agent told me any adult on the reservation can take advantage of the Bounce Back. We are 6 adults. So technically We could make 6 future reservations!!! We plan to make 4
Currently in Yacht Club, checking out July 8. Calling x8844 from room gives a “You have reached an inactive number” message. Recording then says if you want to make a reservation, call the main number. Front Desk, Concierge, main reservation number do not know about this offer (as you said they wouldn’t).
UPDATE: While checking out at Yacht Club this week, I confirmed:
– Bounceback emails should arrive in your email the day you check out (I never got one)
– You do not need the email to take advantage of the offer, you just need to be within 7 days of your WDW Resort checkout.
– Bouncebacks are good for any WDW Resort (no matter which you just booked). There are a few restrictions on DVC Villas.
– x8844 in the room no longer works. At least it did not in my Room on July 8, or from the Front Desk. Instead USE THIS NUMBER: 407-934-7639
– You have up to 7 days after checkout to book your Bounceback deal. I called from home today, and booked 3 trips (one was a multi-room booking) for 2024. The phone agent was super-helpful and friendly. I booked two trips as room-only (We have an AP), one as a package.
Thanks for sharing your firsthand experience–very helpful!
I’m guessing x8844 just doesn’t work yet. Walt Disney World put that extension on the new collateral that they made for 2024 bouncebacks, so it was either a copy/paste mistake on their part, or they forgot to set up the number. Either way, I’d expect it to start working at some point.
The multi room trip you booked. Was everyone on the trip with you?
Christine, I was able to book the second room in my son’s name, and he was not with me during the “bounceback” offer. For the 2024 booking, one room was in my name, one in someone who was NOT in the current room (my son).
I’m excited about this deal. I’m going early December 2023 and am planning another trip early February 2024. Both trips are a little over 60 days from each other. Do you know if I can book and reserve my Feb 2024 trip now, but then call during my trip in Dec and get the bounchback discount applied? I am assuming that I would have to wait until my Dec trip to book when the offer is available, but that is a little too close for comfort. Plus only a few days in Feb of my trip are eligible for the bounceback, not the full trip.
We are staying in September 2023 with a large family group and my name is Not the primary name on the reservation-I am just a guest. Would I be able to book a bounceback offer after our stay?
Wait, if I were to book a one night stay and pay (although not actually use the room because I’m in another state) can I then use the offer to book for next year when I’m going for 8 days? No clue if this seems sneaky but also seems genius?
Lola, pretty sure *someone* on the reservation needs to show up and check in. But since you can check in with your phone now, maybe not. You might be right.
Tom, you know you have to be careful making sweeping statements about the Dining Plans: “This is pretty consistent with past bounceback offers to be released prior to Free Dining (there’s always overlap) and, as noted above, actually offers superior savings.”
For some people, sure, your statement is true, but not a general truth. I’m a party of six, three real adults, two Disney adults, and a child. Nothing beats Free Dining for us. Even 35% off of Boardwalk, BC, or WL $1000+/night rooms for six can’t beat six TS meals a day, six CS meals, and six snacks. We’d have to prefer the deluxe-room discount to the CS plan. But if we were doing a budget plan, we’d be at AoA/Pop, and 25% off those are not as much as 12 CS meals and 6 snacks. There’s a reason some of us are crossing every body part, hoping for FD to drop.
I just booked a one night stay at Coronado Springs in order to get the bounce back for next April. I was able to book 3 rooms for that stay in April as I am bringing alot of friends for my birthday bash. I did not get an email and I did not see any flyers in the room but I called the reservation number and they did assist me. I was told the room type I wanted was not eligible at Grand Flo, even though I had called several times prior to my arrival to be sure it in fact DID qualify, After some time and patience, the folks worked some “Disney Magic” and I was able to secure the great rates. Truly going to be a spectacular trip having friends and family with me ! Good luck to all taking advantage of Bounce Back!! Great savings opportunity.
I called and they would not let me book more than one room with the deal. How were you able to book three rooms? Where all three people with you on the one night?
Lola- did this work? I’m curious if you tried. I was going to book an all star sports for one night at $141 and try it but I can get a $84 round trip next week but if it works with remote check in, I could save the time and $84
Sure did! Checked in and out remotely, got the cheapest room as well. Saved for next year staying deluxe!
When I last visited in 2019, I tried to book a bounceback 30% discount for 2020 for where I was staying at Old Key West. When I called x8844 from the room, they would not offer me a discount at Old Key West. I would have had to choose a different hotel. I declined. It didn’t matter anyway because I would have canceled due to the pandemic, but it’s disconcerting that I could not book my own hotel for a bounceback. It makes me not get my hopes up for this one.
Are you allowed to book 2 rooms with the Bounce Back offer? There aren’t as many options for parties of 6, so instead of booking say a suite at Art of Animation, we might want to book 2 rooms at Port Orleans. Is this allowed?
It has been in the past–but no guarantees yet this year. We’ll update once the future stay offer goes live and all details are known!
I was able to book two rooms in January, 2024 when I called the Bounceback number today. So yes, you can do it with this offer.
We are staying at GC in Disneyland in August . Would we be able to use this offer to book DisneyWorld in 2024?
We’ve been vacationing in August and booking August bounce backs for nearly a decade now—preclosure the bounceback would always change in early to mid August to free dining, usually til about October, then the rest of the year would be a percent off room discount. Is it too foolish to cross fingers that it’ll be changed to free dining in that soon!?
Thank you for sharing this! It helps us to plan ahead! We’re staying at a Disney world resort this September and really want to go back for Christmas time in 2024! I read your article about the perfect time to go for Christmas, the week after thanksgiving. In 2024 thanksgiving is on the late side, you think we’ll still be good going the first week in December? Always trying to get minimal crowds.
Shame that it doesn’t cover people who went earlier this year too, planning to go back in 2024, but shift in finances putting a big question mark on it.
I think WDW might be anticipating a lack of “wow factors” to draw people now that the new rides are open/opening this year, and 50th is over. Add the “quiet boycott” by certain political sects, they might be expecting a downturn in attendance in 2024.
Will this be eligible for people staying at the swan or swan reserve? I know it’s not Disney owned but it is eligible for the extended hours and other Disney perks.
No on Swan/Dolphin/Swan Reserve. Must be a Disney owned resort.
“My impression even pre-closure was that bounceback offers was a relatively small initiative”
That being said, pre-closure bounceback offers weren’t always as superior to other simultaneous offers, like this one seems to be.
Hasn’t it been a long time since every single Deluxe and DVC Villas resort had access the top discount? Polynesian fans, take note!
Can I call from my cell phone or does it need to be from the room phone?
The last time I did this (in 2018, forever ago), I called on my cell while waiting in line for a ride. Made the rez for 2019, put down the deposit and went on about my day. You will need the full number though, which I’m sorry I no longer have. It might be printed on the room handouts when those come out, though. And since you have the flexibility to still do the bounceback within a week of your stay, stands to reason they’ll have the full phone # for the bounceback dept.
When you book the bounceback can you only book for those currently on the trip. Say you have 4 in one room, can you book 2 rooms for April with the offer and bring the grandparents along or can you only book one room for those currently traveling?
I’ve booked two rooms on a bounce back before—as long as you have another adult on your current trip to be the other named adult in the second room, it works!
To add to this, Katie- how did it work with your magic bands as the room keys for your second room? Ex- If you put your spouses name for the second room but it was technically for the grandparents, were they able to link the magic bands appropriately to the rooms? – Thank you
Hi Tom, have you covered the new “simplified” room categories at Disney hotels?
Are these offers likely to be for visits starting on the available dates or only for those specific dates? Like if I were to do a visit from Oct 28-Nov 4 would all my days be available for the deal or would I have to book a split stay to use it for the first few days and then potentially a different offer for the last few days? Those aren’t my ideal dates for next year but I’ve been debating a last minute trip to either Disney or universal and if I can save a significant amount on my trip for next year I’m willing to switch dates around a bit and it will push things in favour of Disney over universal.
As long as your arrival date falls during the promotion, you’ll get it the entire stay!
I’m staying at Port Orleans next month. If I book a bounce back after I leave, can I modify the dates if there is availability just like any other reservation or switch it over to free dining if that comes out? Always wanted to try the dining plan.