Where do you book your resort & tickets?

[Tink183]

Where is the best place to book a resort and tickets? And by "best" I mean cheapest? I have heard not to do the disney packages because you really don't save any money that way.

 

[skiingfast]

I did my last one through Disney. I didn't want to rent a car or use a shuttle bus. In the end I saved money over the regular price, but I didn't seek out the cheapest hotel in Kissamee or go to a grocery and cook meals in a condo.

You can do a resort through Orbitz and buy the tickets through a third party, but you start to give up benefits that disney gives you.

 

[jeepinweezle]

the people at AAA are the best. I use them every time.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

Where is the best place to book a resort and tickets? And by "best" I mean cheapest? I have heard not to do the disney packages because you really don't save any money that way.

We have gone to Disney many, many times and we always book directly through Disney. You can get any and all codes and discounts applied by booking through Disney, you don't need a travel agent to do that. And, if you book through a TA you don't "own" your reservations and any reservations you might need to make have to be done through them as a middle man.

 

[Hootch]

book our resort items through Disney usually early enough to get a AAA discount. AAA does have discounted tickets but the variety is somewhat limited. I have used Undercover Tourist with the Mousesavers newsletter link. I have generally saved 3%-4% over other offers I have seen. The savings are generally better for longer term tickets.

 

[LoriABil]

I have gone through Disney (they were the cheapest once, because the CM let me combine the current offer with the Visa member offer!) and through Southwest Vacations. This year, I might try to do the tickets separately, and Mousesavers, Undercover Tourist both look like they have good prices!

 

[DisneySJB]

I'm a DVC owner, so don't pay cash for rooms....but I always get my park tickets at AAA.

 

[FamilyShortyAJP]

These are the best deals I could find at the time:

Resort rates - go to mousesavers.com and use their codes to then call the Disney Reservations line. You might be able to find cheaper rates online at a place like Expedia but then you can't make any special requests and I'm not sure how the Magical Express service would work - I avoided using that type of site for these reasons. Just FYI. I booked on Expedia once and got put in a room over the loading dock. Ekkk!

Park Tickets - sign up for the mousesavers.com newsletter and it will be sent to your e-mail on the 15th of each month. Use the secret link to Undercover Tourist to buy your tickets. They are the cheapest I could find anywhere.

We passed on the package through Disney and therefore did not get a meal plan. It worked out for us, we came out ahead. One thing I discovered is that when getting a package to get the meal plan, you have to get your accomodations and park tickets in the package and the park tickets are over-priced. It may work out as an OK deal for some people depending on where you plan to eat but for us it was better not to use a package.

Airfare - airtran.com Flew on direct flights on Tuesdays, mid-day and got great rates.