Room Only + Tickets vs. Package

[maranara]

Hi! I'm hoping someone can help me...we have a room only reservation for January. The CM I spoke with this morning said that I could either leave it as a room only reservation and purchase the theme park tickets separately OR I could combine the tickets & room into a package. What she couldn't answer for me was what the difference was. She just said that the package has "magical extras." If there's no cost difference, then I suppose I would do the package - mostly just to find out what "magical extras" are. But she wasn't able to answer (and after 40 min on hold to get the Disney Visa discount, I'm not calling back today!) what the advantages/costs were. Does anyone know? We're not planning on getting the dining plan, so that's not a factor at all. THANK YOU for the help!

 

[dawgfan]

Quickly as a difference... there are restrictions when the final payment is due on packages. Packages also tend to include extras that you may not need or want. When you do a room only and buy your tickets from a discount ticket seller like Undercovertourist, you can often purchase the ticket days you want and the type ticket you want saving quite a bit. It all depends on your plan. For instance, if you are going for 6 nights/seven days, typically your first and last days will be travel days and not park days. Packages give you a ticket for every day you are there. That is fine but we drive. Half of our day is spent in getting there and not a great use of a ticket. You may also want to include a down day with no park entry. So, what we do when we go for a full week is buy a 4 day ticket (sometimes ticket resellers like the one I mentioned sells 5 for the price of 4 days). We go to Disney Springs the first afternoon and evening we are there. The next two days are park days. Then we take a rest day and shop in Orlando, go to Disney Springs again, play miniature golf, or hit the pool. The next two days are park days again. We have been many times and so this works out for us. If you score a 5 day for the price of 4 then you have the leisure of hitting a park or even extending your stay. This often comes out cheaper in the long run though Disney pricing schemes have reduced the benefit that used to be there for this sort of thing. You do not have to pay the room only reservation in full until check in. The package is due ahead of time by weeks. It is all in planning and flexibility. If I knew more about the number of days you were going and the things you want to do I could give you a better view as to what you may pay on the room only with ticket purchase and the package.

 

[siskaren]

Packages give you a ticket for every day you are there.

Not true. You can get the number of days you want.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Packages give you a ticket for every day you are there.

Unless something has changed recently, you do not have to purchase a ticket for each day of your room reservation to make it a package. That is the default option given but you can change that and get fewer days than your resort stay.

The biggest different between booking a room only and a package are the cancellation policy and if you want to use the dining plan. You can only purchase the dining plan if you are booking a package. Also, if you have a Chase Disney Visa, the vacation packages get 6 months at 0% interest, whereas a room only reservation does not qualify for the special financing. For me, the "magical extras" generally aren't worth the stricter cancellation policy. And I haven't found the dining package to be a good deal for us in a number of years so I have no interest in booking a package just to be able to buy the dining plan.

For 2016, the "magical extras" are:

Walt Disney Travel Company Package Benefits
Your Walt Disney Travel Company vacation package includes the following Magical Extras, which you receive upon checking in at your Disney Resort hotel:

Things to Do

• Miniature Golf
  Guests will receive 4 vouchers per package, each valid for one round of miniature golf prior to 4:00 PM on one day at either Disney's Fantasia Gardens Miniature Golf Course or Disney's Winter Summerland Miniature Golf Course.
• ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex
  Receive 4 vouchers per package, each valid for one general admission into ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex on one day for one Guest. Valid only on event days. Some events require an additional admission charge. There are no events on certain days. Days and hours of operation for concessions, venues and attractions vary. Learn more.
• Splitsville Luxury Lanes
  Receive 10% off the nondiscounted price of bowling, 10% off the purchase of food and nonalcoholic beverages (dine-in only) and 10% off the nondiscounted price of merchandise. Located in Disney Springs West Side. One per package; not valid with any other offers or discounts. Blockout dates for bowling, food and nonalcoholic beverages are January 1 to January 4, 2016.
• Sammy Duvall's Watersports Centre
  Receive 10% off the nondiscounted price of all activities including parasailing, water skiing, wakeboarding and tubing in Sammy Duvall's Watersports Centre located at Disney's Contemporary Resort. Subject to availability; excludes merchandise; restrictions apply. For reservations call (407) 939-0754. Due to capacity limitations, occasionally it may not be possible to accommodate Guests at the time they choose to visit.

Places to Eat

• House of Blues
  Receive 20% off food and nonalcoholic beverages during lunch or dinner at House of Blues in Disney Springs West Side—valid for dine-in only; excludes quick-service location; discount limited to 6 Guests per party; gratuity not included. Receive 10% off the price of nondiscounted merchandise. Excludes CDs, art, sundries and sale items.
• Joffrey's Coffee & Tea Company
  Receive 20% off nondiscounted purchases at locations in Magic Kingdom park, Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios, Disney's Animal Kingdom park, Disney's Blizzard Beach water park, Disney's Typhoon Lagoon water park and Tea Traders Café by Joffrey's in Disney Springs The Landing.
• Planet Hollywood
  Receive 15% off food and nonalcoholic beverages. Located in Disney Springs West Side.
• Portobello Country Italian Trattoria
  Receive 10% off food and nonalcoholic beverages during lunch or dinner. Located in Disney Springs The Landing. Offer not valid for merchandise.
• Wolfgang Puck Grand Café
  Receive 10% off food and nonalcoholic beverages during lunch or dinner. Located in Disney Springs West Side. Offer not valid for merchandise.

Places to Shop

• LittleMissMatched
  Receive 20% off the nondiscounted price of merchandise at LittleMissMatched in Disney Springs Marketplace.
• Something Silver
  Receive 15% off the nondiscounted price of merchandise at Something Silver in Disney Springs West Side.
• Arribas Brothers
  Receive 10% off purchases at Magic Kingdom park, Epcot and Disney Springs Marketplace. Excludes Aramani, glassblowing custom or special orders, Herend, Hummel, Liuli, Nao Collection by Lladró, Starlite Collection (Acrylic), Swarovski, Wendt & Kuhn and shipping charges. Some other restrictions apply. Discount may not be combined with any other offer.
• Basin
  Receive 10% off purchases at Basin in Disney Springs Marketplace or Basin White in Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa.
• Curl by Sammy Duvall
  Receive 10% off the price of nondiscounted merchandise. Located in Disney Springs West Side. Excludes sale items, watches, sunglasses and electronics.
• Pop Gallery
  Receive 10% off the nondiscounted price of merchandise. Located in Disney Springs West Side. Excludes published artists and shipping; other exclusions may apply.
• The Hair Wrap Company
  Receive one charm with a value of $5 with a purchase of a hair wrap at select Walt Disney World locations. Excludes premade wraps.

Benefits are valid for arrivals January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016. To receive any of the benefits listed, you must present your MagicBand or Key to the World card to the host or hostess at participating locations. Benefits can only be used during your Walt Disney Travel Company package stay, are nontransferable and are void if sold. All benefits, services and locations are subject to change without notice. Other restrictions and exclusions may apply. All offers are not valid with any other offer, discount or promotion. Valid for the number of Guests in the package. All dining discounts exclude applicable tax and gratuities. May not be redeemed for cash in whole or in part. Other restrictions may apply.

 

[dawgfan]

I stand corrected. I am an old time Disney guy and I was thinking the old system. Yes you can get less days than the package time. Forgive me. I have been using room only since completing my first stay in 2002. I found it to be cheaper to do room only then and continue to do this. I forgot that Disney now allows you to choose your days of tickets.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

I found it to be cheaper to do room only

I completely agree with you here. The only time in the past 8 years that I've booked a package instead of a room only was when there was discount offer that had an extra incentive for booking tickets. Otherwise, I book using a room only discount and then purchase my tickets separately.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

If you are only doing room and tickets and you aren't interested in the "bonus" items that the PP listed, you will probably save a little money by purchasing your tickets through a third-party seller like Undercover Tourist. The pro's of purchasing the tickets separately is you will probably save a bit of money (if you go through a discount seller). The con is you have to pay for the tickets in full upfront and if you end up canceling the trip, you will be stuck with those tickets. Not a big deal if you plan on going at some point, but that's a big outlay of cash if something comes up and you can't go. The pro of a package is you only have to put $200 down and can cancel without penalty up to 30 days prior to the trip. You then lose that deposit if you cancel 30 - 2 days prior (lose everything if you cancel one day priort), BUT you can always reschedule the trip without penalty from WDW.

So, for me, it not only comes down to overall savings, it also comes down to how much non-refundable cash I want to put down on the vacation.

 

[RustManFan]

For my dozen + trips I have always done room only. I buy my tickets separately from UC Tourist. I bought my current tickets about 5 years ago and the next trip will be in 2017.

 

[buzznina]

With RO you have a bit more time to cancel without penalty, 5 days before check-in compared to 31 with a package. Plus with a RO you do not have to payoff your balance until you check-in and on packages you have to pay it off 30 days before check-in. But with a package you can make payments online through your MDE account, where as you will have to call if you want to make payments on a RO reservation.

 

[maranara]

Thank you all! That's all really helpful - especially to know that the magical extras aren't things that we would actually use. I think I'll leave it as a room-only and go ahead and purchase the tickets separately. And it seems like a bunch of you have had good luck buying the tickets through Undercover Tourist? Is it easy to link them to your account in advance (so you can make your FPs)?

 

[MakiraMarlena]

As far as I am concerned, the only reason to book a package is if you want a dining plan. Or you really want to get the interest free on a Disney Visa.

More lenient cancellation policies and ticket options for room-only would be more valuable than a couple of coupons, a few discounts and a luggage tag, as far as I'm concerned.

The other major advantage of a package is the ability to cancel the tickets if you cancel the package. But separate tickets don't expire if you never use them, and you can transfer them to someone else.

 

[Sandi]

Thank you all! That's all really helpful - especially to know that the magical extras aren't things that we would actually use. I think I'll leave it as a room-only and go ahead and purchase the tickets separately. And it seems like a bunch of you have had good luck buying the tickets through Undercover Tourist? Is it easy to link them to your account in advance (so you can make your FPs)?

Yes, it is super easy to link your tickets. I've been buying from Undercover Tourist for years. They are great. You can get the tickets via mail, in which case you get actual tickets, or e-mail. You can then link using the number in the email. As I recall, UCT provided instructions on how to link.

And, I agree with everyone else that the packages aren't usually worth purchasing. RO and UCT admission turns out to be a better value. Also, you can upgrade your UCT admission if you decide you need another day, you want to add Park Hopping, or you want waterparks (or all of the above!).

 

[MimiOfTwo]

You may also want to check out Park Savers for tickets. I recently bought 7 day hoppers for the price of a 4 day.

 

[Crazyhorse]

I did a MYW package, which includes 4 mini golf rounds, amongst other things. I usually do buy from UCT but the difference in money wasn't that much. We do like the 2 mini golf courses and figuring in what 4 rounds cost, we broke even so that's why I did the package. Yes, it has to be paid up 30 days before arrival but I like knowing we won't have a balance due when we get home. It's all a personal decision, no right or wrong.

 

[Dashzap]

You can get a ticketless package, too. It books under the same package rules (final payment 30 days before arrival, modifications and cancellations within 30 days of arrival have fee/penalty.) If you may add a dining plan later, it is easier to book a basic plan package. Then when you do call to add the dining plan, it is a much shorter call than rebooking as a package.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Ticketless package includes a dining plan. It's a way to get a dining plan without buying tickets as part of a package. It is still a package though.

If you have a room only reservation and you add a dining plan but no tickets, that reservation becomes a ticketless package.

Parties who may have issues with packages include those who have one or more party members who will be there for only part of the stay; parties who end up doing a split stay or adding a day or two prior to their package stay and then need tickets to cover that time (you can get package tickets to use early, but that won't help with booking fastpasses in advance for the extra days, as the tickets must be detached from the package and that can only be done at WDW); or those who have one or more party members who already have tickets or annual passes (ticketless package is an option for those parties if they want a dining plan).

 

[Harambe]

Once you link tickets bought outside of Disney, they can be used on the Magic Band, correct? We haven't been since Magic Bands, so I am a little nervous about all of that!

 

[siskaren]

Once you link tickets bought outside of Disney, they can be used on the Magic Band, correct? We haven't been since Magic Bands, so I am a little nervous about all of that!

Tickets bought from a place like Undercover Tourist or Parksavers are still Disney tickets, so if you link them to your MDE account, then yes, your Magic Band will access them. (Nothing is "on" a Magic Band - they're just a means to access what's in your MDE account.)

 

[JJsmama]

The pro of a package is you only have to put $200 down and can cancel without penalty up to 30 days prior to the trip. You then lose that deposit if you cancel 30 - 2 days prior (lose everything if you cancel one day priort), BUT you can always reschedule the trip without penalty from WDW.

Is this still true. Iwas researching the difference yesterday when i was booking. I read something about package changes and modifications after 30 days having a $50 fee plus another $15 fee each time...?
I am planning to surprise my kids at Christmas with a trip 2 weeks later. They have a 4 day weekend but I am planning for them to miss 1-2 days of school. Two are high schoolers and may decide in January that they can't miss, so I wanted the flexibilty of changes, etc. i would save a bit more if I chose the SPD package discount instead of RO. If i knew i could reschedule (fairly last minute) for summer instead, i might change it to a package. Help?

 

[Dashzap]

You can book a ticketless, dining-plan-less package.