AAA member here - question re: booking

[SarahKate]

Hi all!!!

We are AAA members and last year we utilized them for our MYW Disney package. We're going to go back at the end of November. I'm wondering if you all thought it would be advantageous at all to book the room for our trip separately? I know at Values you can get 20% off AND you can book direct through Disney. Do any fellow AAA members know what discount you get when you actually book the whole package thru them vs. room only.

Our deciding factor is the DDP - we think we may be able to live without it, especially w/ all the changes. We can share CS meals, and cut some corners while still eating well.

I am not set on having a travel agent book our trip for us, since I am perfectly capable. We want to make this a value trip as much as possible.

Thanks!!!

 

[bigredsfan]

when we booked our trip to disney I first booked through CAA (AAA version in Canada), and the pricing for rooms only was pretty much the same. I wound up though getting a MYW package deal through Disney directly, so that is the way I went. We also went for 3 days only, and the minimum ticket package we could buy was for 5 days, not ideal for everybody as I see it.

 

[cepmom]

I usually book separately....if you don't want the dining plan you may be able to save a little by booking your room only AAA rate directly thorugh Disney then ordering your MYW tickets through a ticket broker like Undercover Tourist (sign up for Mousesavers newsletter to get a special discount link for UT tickets)

We do not do the dining plan unless we can get in on free dining. It's too much food for us to have a sit down meal every day, and now that my 10 year old is considered an adult, it's not really cost effective to pay for the DDP.

 

[WETWHISTLE]

For our February trip, I booked the package through AAA. My AAA lady said that all that is discounted is the room anyhow...

 

[angwill]

I agree that if you want a package go through AAA since you can't book that through Disney and then buy tickets seperate through Mousesavers link to Undercover Tourist which I have used before and they are legit. We also only do DDP if we get it free otherwise we share meals since it is just too much food for us. The other good thing about booking through Disney is if there is a savings code for the general public that is more than 20% savings you just call them back to switch the discount.

HTH,

 

[firsttimer2007]

I agree that if you want a package go through AAA since you can't book that through Disney and then buy tickets seperate through Mousesavers link to Undercover Tourist which I have used before and they are legit. We also only do DDP if we get it free otherwise we share meals since it is just too much food for us. The other good thing about booking through Disney is if there is a savings code for the general public that is more than 20% savings you just call them back to switch the discount.

HTH,

Does this mean if I book a trip (room through disney w/AAA discount) and buy my tickets through undercover tourist. Then Disney does something like free dining. I can get that added to my pkg for nothing? Sorry but I am new to this.

 

[hoosiergirl7]

I booked our trip almost 3 weeks ago through an AAA Disney Travel Specialist and our trip was $250 cheaper (that included travel insurance) than it would've been had I booked through Disney.com. It's not a huge amount of money but it's probably about 1/2 of what we'll spend on food as we are eating more TS this trip. However, that being said, I did compare DDP to OOP dining and it was still cheaper to eat OOP. We're only a family of 3 and we'll probably just cut corners as well at CS meals and share 2 meals between the 3 of us. That will give us more room to snack and it's hard for me to eat a CS meal by myself anyhow. And DS is usually so preoccupied that the last time we went he wanted very little to do with food so we wasted our money buying him kids meals.

We'll see if it's any different 18 months later. But I still would rather share than buy big lunches.

 

[lam712]

I have booked room only myself with Disney getting the AAA discount. I checked with a AAA agent and found the package to be about $50.00 more (for 9 nights at a value resort) on the AAA MYW package than the discounted AAA rooms with tickets purchased from Undercover Tourist. Not at lot of difference but $50.00 will buy us a counter service meal! I plan to keep my eyes open to package discounts offered to Disney Visa holders and the general public and then try to call Disney back to rebook if the offer is better than what I already have. I'm hoping for the "free dining" promotion and if that does become available, we will have to give up the AAA room discount but it will be worth it!

 

[Gillian]

If I were trying to do a budget trip this year, I'd skip the dining plan, do AAA discount directly through Disney and buy my tickets from a broker. When everything is set with my trip and reservation, I'd think about transferring it to the AAA agent I've used in the past, because I like her.

The dining plan this year just doesn't seem worth it.