Package Deal vs. 'a la carte'?

[tallpkb]

In the past, we've gone back and forth with getting a package deal and doing the 'a la carte' route. We're going the second weekend in September, and plan on staying at DLH. It will be a Wed-Sun vacation. The issue this time is that DD17 will be flying down to join us (from San Jose) on Friday afternoon, so her ticket would only be for 2 days, rather than 3 days for the rest of us. I know if you do 'a la carte', you have to pay for parking and resort fees, which increases the price. But it does give you the ability to change/cancel if necessary (which happened to us 2 years ago when our dog got sick).

Does anyone have any thoughts/recommendations for us? Thanks!

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

1) There are only parking fees, the resort fee is absorbed into the price of the room.

2) A package is almost never a better deal, and most find they are paying more than if they price it out separately.

3) Packages need to be paid off ahead of your trip, while hotel only can be prepaid if you wish or paid when you are there. You do have to put down a one night stay deposit.

4) I'd book a room only reservation, if a package deal comes out that would actually be a good deal then you could always change it. Also if a room only discount comes along, call and they can adjust your rate as well.

 

[ValpoCory]

Agree with the PP. Also, if you want trip insurance, you can shop for an independent trip insurer.

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

Agree with the PP. Also, if you want trip insurance, you can shop for an independent trip insurer.

Read fine print on any insurance. Disney's doesn't cover much.

 

[CrazyDuck]

Yea but how else are you gonna get all the extra special benefits like access to Mickey's ToonTown Morning Madness, and other stuff like..... um.... ?

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

Yea but how else are you gonna get all the extra special benefits like access to Mickey's ToonTown Morning Madness, and other stuff like..... um.... ?

You can buy this in WDTC in DTD for $10/person.

 

[taaren]

One of the few package deals that is sometimes worth it is the Costco package if you are a member. You get your hotel and tickets through them (often for the same price as what you could get separately, depending on the hotel) and they throw in a Character meal as a bonus (and lanyards, etc but nothing else of any real value).

I don't get it since we are DVC and Marriott people and can usually wrangle a better deal with points, but have friends who have use Costco regularly and like it (they also found the benefit of having a TA in their corner when the hotel they were booked to stay at with their package gave away the only room that would sleep their party of 5 last trip, they were moved to an on-site at Costco travel's behest for a small upcharge).

 

[hootey]

We are members of disney travel and have found it to have the best price on everything. We usually book trips to DLR for six or seven days each time. Being members of disney travel club we recieve all the perks or extras with each trip. Adding in all the perks, we are still paying less money than booking al-a-carte. My father-n-law is a proud member of a travel club which has it's own hotel near DLR, his trips cost a lot more than ours, plus he has to ride a shuttle bus. We also enjoy having our trips prepaid, needing only a little spending money for extras is very nice, as well as not recieving a huge credit card bill after we get home is very nice. This is the way we enjoy DLR....

 

[CrazyDuck]

We are members of disney travel and have found it to have the best price on everything. We usually book trips to DLR for six or seven days each time. Being members of disney travel club we recieve all the perks or extras with each trip. Adding in all the perks, we are still paying less money than booking al-a-carte. My father-n-law is a proud member of a travel club which has it's own hotel near DLR, his trips cost a lot more than ours, plus he has to ride a shuttle bus. We also enjoy having our trips prepaid, needing only a little spending money for extras is very nice, as well as not recieving a huge credit card bill after we get home is very nice. This is the way we enjoy DLR....

I have never heard of such a thing as the "Disney Travel Club"!

 

[blackjackdelta]

1) There are only parking fees, the resort fee is absorbed into the price of the room.

2) A package is almost never a better deal, and most find they are paying more than if they price it out separately.

3) Packages need to be paid off ahead of your trip, while hotel only can be prepaid if you wish or paid when you are there. You do have to put down a one night stay deposit.

4) I'd book a room only reservation, if a package deal comes out that would actually be a good deal then you could always change it. Also if a room only discount comes along, call and they can adjust your rate as well.

If you book room only thru Disney they require a up front first night fee with a 5 day cancellation policy..but a la carte seems to be the best way to keep expenses down.

Jack

 

[bumbershoot]

Like 3M1M said, there's only a parking fee now. And that's going to be charged even if you have a package, unless the package absolutely specifically states that parking is covered (and I haven't heard of those). Even when resort fees were being charged, they were still charged at the resort, on top of our package, which was through Costco Travel (which is an official Disney TA).

If the package price is good (making sure of the parking thing), you could just buy 2 day tickets for everyone, and upgrade to 3 day for the rest of you.

But you really do need to make SURE that you have the prices and variables for your exact trip, before making that decision.

 

[BuzzBiteyear]

nm

 

[NewbieMouse]

You can buy this in WDTC in DTD for $10/person.

How do you do this - what do you ask them for? TIA!

 

[scrapshappen]

We've done it both ways and to me it just depends. I find a package including the hotel I want, then I go out and scour the internet for a better deal booking individually and then book which ever is cheaper. The last two times, we've done the Costco package to get the character meal. The time before that, we did ala carte.

 

[subtchr]

Ala carte worked best for us because we are eligible for military discounts.

We have $99 3-day park hopper vouchers that we purchased at our base ITT office, and we are staying at the GCH with a 40% discount next week.

I have also heard that there is a senior discount available, so make sure you check all your options!

 

[tiggerluvr]

...unless the package absolutely specifically states that parking is covered (and I haven't heard of those)

I have AAA, and their Disney packages always have free parking in the Mickey & Friends structure (or at least they have every time I've booked with them -- always 3 day or more park hopper, almost always staying at a Good Neighbor rather than DLR hotel).

 

[Disneylandfanatic]

I usually book a la carte, especially since my whole family has ap's. But this upcoming trip I am going with two friends who do not have passes and have not been in a really long time. I looked at the costco prices and it seemed like a GREAT deal!!! It probably costs the same as if we did in fact book a la carte, but we get all the extra goodies (the character meal alone is worth like $40.00 per person, plus we get a $20.00 gift card that we are going to apply to another meal, not sure if we will use the morning madness or not we only have two days and Cars land will be number one priority). I was amazed at how good the deal was, I will look at them from now on to see if it is worth using priceline and going the a la carte route or if booking through costco (I like added perks). When going in a group like this it seems like the way to go, plus the more adults you have in the room the cheaper it gets per person.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

i do both, disney land packages ive done 2times, one has been buy all separate and this time i am doing a getaway today package and got the plan before the tickets increased for good. It depends what you find.

I saw that i got one night ree at a closer room then the one i was at for 59a night (with no breakfast and microwave) for 69nigth) in package i get breakfast micro and free night.)

that helped me. pulse saving nearly 200 on tickets.

Check them, check Disney and check ares (ive heard others like them) see what you can find and then look for room tickets separate and see if it saves you any money at all. Some times it wont.

 

[chrissiecutie]

You can buy this in WDTC in DTD for $10/person.

WHAT?!? How did I NOT know about this before now!

You just go to the world of disney store and ask to buy it??