AAA--should I join?

[zaid]

Should I join AAA for my road trip to Anaheim and possibly use them for booking my trip to disneyland? Why or why not?

Thanks.

 

[DLmom]

I guess it would depend on what your motives are for joining. We have been AAA memebers for a number of years and use the free map, guidebook and triptiks (a map of your driving route) on a very consistent basis. In addition, I drive all over the midwest during the summer without my husband and love knowing that I can call AAA with any road issues.

I tend to book all my Disney travel via AAA. It seems like they tend to have the best packages overall. I have looked to book the parts individually and can usually get a slightly better deal (usually about $100.00 less) but the convenience of a package usually wins me over.

My opinion and only that--an opinion!

 

[vascubaguy]

AAA has quite a few benefits.... some people will join for a year just to book a vacation and get the discounts on the rooms. For us, that worked out great this year.

It also give you some peace of mind knowing that if you are travelling by car, regardless of who is driving or whose car, if you are with them, you can call AAA and they will come and help out if there is a breakdown. Or if you lock your keys out, they'll come and get you in your car. Run out of gas... etc.... I don't go on too many roadtrips these days... I mostly fly, but it's still nice to know that I'm covered.

I have also used the triptiks a few times when I drove to Florida and also to New York. It's nice to know where construction is currently being conducted and figuring out alternate routes. And also knowing where common speedtraps are setup!!! (Not that I speed or anything... ).

 

[savs]

We just signed up with them this year and it has saved us a lot of money on our Disney trip we took in May and now the Disney trip we are taking in a week.

We book all of our travel arangements ourselves, but you get many discounts at most hotels just by being a AAA member. It only cost us $75.00 to sign up and we have saved hundreds....well worth the price

 

[Aggie96]

I don't know when you're going, so I can't be specific about what perks you might get by booking through AAA. But, if you get on the Disneyland website and put in the dates for your trip, you'll see what kind of perks the WDTC would give you. AAA will get you those same perks PLUS unlimited fastpass (if you're going before the end of this year). Whether you stay in one of the resort hotels as opposed to off-site and whether you get a three-day (or more) park hopper will have a big effect on those perks as well. I may have only stated the obvious here. If so, sorry!

 

[vascubaguy]

I don't know when you're going, so I can't be specific about what perks you might get by booking through AAA. But, if you get on the Disneyland website and put in the dates for your trip, you'll see what kind of perks the WDTC would give you. AAA will get you those same perks PLUS unlimited fastpass (if you're going before the end of this year). Whether you stay in one of the resort hotels as opposed to off-site and whether you get a three-day (or more) park hopper will have a big effect on those perks as well. I may have only stated the obvious here. If so, sorry!

when I checked with AAA, the unlimited fastpass was only available if you booked the package for stays at one of the 3 disney resorts (DLH, GCH, or DPP). If you were staying at one of the Good Neighbor Hotels, the multi-fastpass feature isn't applicable.

One thing I noticed as well was that the price for the packages were much higher than booking the hotel separately and then buying the tickets thru Disneyland.com. I got the AAA rate at Carousel Inn for $60/night for 4 nights. Then adding in the 4-day bonus hopper for 2 would be $318 ($159 each at disneyland.com). So total of $558 plus tax. When I checked AAA for the same hotel and days, it was $768. I'm not sure what justifies the extra $210 that you don't get with the 4-day bonus hopper. I think there might be some commemorative pins or a certificate or something, but it doesn't seem to be worth it in my mind. Now if that did include the unlimited fastpass... I'd probably go for one of those packages, but not for a couple of pins and a certificate.

 

[alyssa810]

I am always amazed when I hear that people AREN'T AAA members; everyone I know is, and it almost seems obligatory to me. The perks of all kinds are so totally worth it, and even though more people than ever use the internet for travel plans and driving directions, I still think their triptiks and tourbooks and maps are the way to go for any driving travel.
We booked our package from AAA (it's our first time doing so) and although it's pricier than we're used to -considering we're AP holders and DVC members at WDW- the perks that come with their package are very worth it to use. And if you've ever had your car die on the highway in January in Massachusetts on a Sunday night 50 miles from home, you'll be glad for the tow!! And I'm pretty sure that having AAA saves on your car insurance.

 

[doncaruana]

Not sure where you are, but I just signed up today in Michigan for the trip I haven't booked yet. Cost me $48 (special this month, no new sign up fee) and when I priced a trip to WDW, there was a savings after the membership of around $400. That was a no-brainer to me...

 

[BrerMama]

We've been considering become members. We had roadside assistance, but they cancelled us because we used the towing benefit three times in one year (like I wanted to do that!). AAA will give us not just towing assistance, but roadside assistance, which, with our vehicles with 150K miles on them, isn't a bad idea.

A nice side benefit is the travel perks. We do travel 3-4 times a year for at least 2 or 3 nights and it would be nice to get a discount. And Enchanted Fastpass sounds really, really good!

 

[kc10family]

My DH and I have just the roadside assistance which costs us about $79.00 per year for both of us. I do think you can get it for one person cheeper. With this we get all the discounts and conveniences we need. We do our auto registrations, trip planning, tickets, and maps through them. Usually they have the best deal, but sometimes you can find better deals elsewhere. We are military and sometimes the military deals are better, but not always. We booked a 5 night, 2 adult, 1 child 5 day hopper staying at the Grand Cal Hotel with concierge and it cost $2600.00. Sounds like a lot, but I did the math with the military discount (tickets only) and AAA was a much better deal this round.
I say try it for a year and if you don’t like it cnx it. It might be worth it, only you will know based on how much you use it. Good luck.
Have a Great Disney Day!

 

[disneysteve]

Here's a recent thread discussing AAA.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=873877

 

[NotTooGoofy]

Last year on a business trip, I had the unfortunate incident of locking my rental car keys inside my car that could have ruined my trip. The car rental office was over 600 miles away so I couldn't have them bring me the extra set of keys. Fortunately, I have the AAA Plus membership and AAA was able to get someone to come out quickly and unlock my car at no cost. It is good to know that this benefit is available in case I ever need it again (hope not ).

 

[MsYumiBr]

I've had AAA since I was old enough to drive. It has helped me change numerous tires, unlocked my car dozens of times and towed my vehicles quite a few times, mostly before I ever bought a cell phone. Hubby is in the military so when he is out protecting our country, AAA is taking care of our little car mishaps. I really think for their small yearly membership, I've gotten the better end of the deal.

So, the vacation package discounts, discounts at restaurants, etc. and neat perks, are all just icing on the cake in my opinion.

 

[Artuero]

If you travel to any significant degree, the AAA travel benefits are excellent. Usually booking a hotel with AAA saves you $10 or $20 and sometimes significantly more, plus the rates are typically refundable in case your plans change.

They also have the best discount on Hertz rentals that I have seen and I like using Hertz so that works out well.

I don't really drive much but AAA has been useful when we have had car trouble.

For Disneyland, the AAA fastpasses (when you book a resort package) were fantastic. To the point where if I were to go on a Disney trip during high season (which I usually avoid) I would choose to go to DL over WDW solely because of this benefit. It makes a huge difference; we went on Space Mountain four and five times in a day during some of the busiest times of the year.