AAA agent in NY

[tinkamom]

Does anyone know a good AAA agent in the NY area? I'm thinking of booking through them this time and need a good agent who really knows Disney!
TIA

 

[prcoamo]

Hi, I'm from the Long Island area as well. Never been to Disney but would like to make plans to go this May. As an AAA Member I received an e-mail about
"January is Disney Month at AAA Travel" During January, Disney and AAA Travel are teaming up. AAA members who book select Disney vacation in Jan will receive special added values in addition to exclusive benefits already available to AA members. Visit AAA office: Sat. Jan 21 at 729 Smithtown By-Pass, Smithtown.
I plan on going. I'm hoping to speak to an experienced well-informed disney specialist and get some really good rates.

 

[tinkamom]

Thanks for the info!

 

[Marthasor]

Hi tinkamom - I used AAA in NY for our trip in December (my TA was based in Garden City office on Long Island!). My agent was not a Disney specialist and I really had to stay on top of things to get extra discounts that were published and even get my room requests put in (we stayed at Poly and she kept insisting Fiji Marina view wasn't in the Garden View category even though I knew, thanks to this site, that it was!) Long story short - we had a great trip through AAA and we even got all of our room requests. Even though she wasn't a Disney specialist, our TA was very sweet!

My understanding of Disney Days in the NY AAA offices is that they will have Disney specialists on hand. I am going to the one in Scarsdale on Saturday to book our next trip. I do know that AAA agents handle travel for places all over the world, so, I'm a little skeptical that they have a lot of Disney specialists (this isn't a jab - I just don't know how they would have time to keep up just on Disney with all the other stuff on their plates!) So with that in mind, I have thoroughly researched exactly what I want for our trip and with alot of info in hand, just in case my TA ends up not being a Disney specialist. So my advice, if you go with AAA (and you usually do get some great discounts!), stay on top of things through the boards and other sites and don't rely on them to do the work for you!

If you really want a Disney specialist and you only want AAA room-only discounts + tix, but no dining for your trip, you may want to go through Dreams Unlimited or Small World!

 

[prcoamo]

Hi Marthasor.
Thanks for your information. I'm a newbie to the Disney vacation scene, so I'll be reading through many of the posts on this site for information. I'm undecided on where to stay however, did you enjoy the Polynesian Resort?

When you booked your Dec trip w/ AAA did you book a room, tix, dining package? Do you recommend including dining? I'll be traveling w/ 6 year old so It'll just be the two of us. Did you include airfare in your package?

Many thanks,
Annie

 

[Stacy's a freak]

Hi Marthasor.
Thanks for your information. I'm a newbie to the Disney vacation scene, so I'll be reading through many of the posts on this site for information. I'm undecided on where to stay however, did you enjoy the Polynesian Resort?

When you booked your Dec trip w/ AAA did you book a room, tix, dining package? Do you recommend including dining? I'll be traveling w/ 6 year old so It'll just be the two of us. Did you include airfare in your package?

Many thanks,
Annie

I can't comment on the Poly, but I feel like you NEED to be a big eater to take full advantage of the dining option. For $35 a day for an adult, and $10 per child, I think you would HAVE to have at least one table service meal per day to make it worth while. If you think your 6 year old will want that, then you should consider it. Just keep in mind that the dining plan only gives you per day...

1 table service meal
1 counter service meal
1 snack

To me, that's only 2 meals a day. That's fine for me as an adult, but I feel like kids need to eat more than that (and more often).

 

[Marthasor]

Hi Marthasor.
Thanks for your information. I'm a newbie to the Disney vacation scene, so I'll be reading through many of the posts on this site for information. I'm undecided on where to stay however, did you enjoy the Polynesian Resort?

When you booked your Dec trip w/ AAA did you book a room, tix, dining package? Do you recommend including dining? I'll be traveling w/ 6 year old so It'll just be the two of us. Did you include airfare in your package?

Many thanks,
Annie

We LOVED the Polynesian. We had our two sons, ages 9 & 11 with us and it was PERFECT for all of us! The themeing is wonderful! Kona and O'hana are a lot of fun, the pool is great AND the monorail is so convenient! We got a great price on a GV room at Poly through AAA. I would highly recommend Poly for you and your 6 year old.

We only booked room and tix through AAA. I agree with the other poster - you have to be big eaters and really have your table service meals nailed down and reserved to take full advantage of the dining plan. If your 6 year old wants to do a lot of character meals and really commits to them - it might be worth it! I'm glad we didn't do it as I ended up cancelling a lot of our advanced dining reservations at the last minute because the kids were more interested in going back to Pecos Bill's or Cosmic Ray's in MK than sitting down at Le Cellier!

I did not book airfare through AAA. I found that in the NYC metro area, JetBlue and Song seem to have the best fares and most convenient flight times. We got a good fare on JetBlue leaving from JFK and really enjoyed JetBlue's service.

Have fun planning your trip!! I wish you the best!

 

[tinkamom]

Well I called AAA and was quoted $3716.85 for 10 nights at POFQ with hoppers and dining for 3 adults and 1 child. It is a savings of $259. Should I wait and hope for a better discount from WDW? Saving $259 would pay for at least 1 plane ticket!

 

[mommykds]

Well I called AAA and was quoted $3716.85 for 10 nights at POFQ with hoppers and dining for 3 adults and 1 child. It is a savings of $259. Should I wait and hope for a better discount from WDW? Saving $259 would pay for at least 1 plane ticket!

If there are additional discounts AAA should be able to apply it to your existing reservation.

 

[Marthasor]

Hi tinkamom - I'm not sure when you are going, but I found, last year, even when WDW discounts came out, AAA was still a better deal, particularly since you want the dining plan. Last year, when public codes came out for WDW, they issued AAA ones as well, so I was able to save even more $$ on my existing AAA reservation.

I am going to wager a guess, that you are not going to find a better deal on a package with dining than AAA. That being said, even after you book, keep reading the boards to see what discounts pop up - you will have to stay on top of it, because AAA won't!!

Have fun!

 

[mommykds]

Hi tinkamom - I'm not sure when you are going, but I found, last year, even when WDW discounts came out, AAA was still a better deal, particularly since you want the dining plan. Last year, when public codes came out for WDW, they issued AAA ones as well, so I was able to save even more $$ on my existing AAA reservation.

I am going to wager a guess, that you are not going to find a better deal on a package with dining than AAA. That being said, even after you book, keep reading the boards to see what discounts pop up - you will have to stay on top of it, because AAA won't!!

Have fun!

So were you able to get the free dining & a AAA room discount last year? If so, then maybe I will book thru AAA now.

 

[d4est]

So were you able to get the free dining & a AAA room discount last year? If so, then maybe I will book thru AAA now.

To get the free dining, you had to book at rack rate. The free dining was the special/discount...you can't "stack" discounts, so it has to be one or the other, not both.

It's just my opinion, but I don't think we will see free dining again. I hope I am wrong.

 

[Marthasor]

To get the free dining, you had to book at rack rate. The free dining was the special/discount...you can't "stack" discounts, so it has to be one or the other, not both.

It's just my opinion, but I don't think we will see free dining again. I hope I am wrong.

Right - we didn't go during free dining time last year, so the discounts I was referring to were the ones they issued for winter value season (we went 12/14 - 12/18) Without free dining, I don't think you will find a better package WITH dining than through AAA.

It is my understanding, however, last year, those with existing AAA reservations, could switch over to free dining (again by paying the rack rates on rooms, no AAA discount) with their AAA TA's - no cancelling and re-booking. That's why I keep saying - if you book with AAA make sure you keep reading the boards and staying on top of everything!!!! Unlike working with an agency like Dreams Unlimited or Small World, you really have to do your homework!!!

I don't think WDW will ever issue a deal to the public that would jeopardize AAA's relationship with their members or with WDW. Next to WDW, AAA is the largest seller of WDW vacation packages, so if WDW were to issue a package deal to the public that undercut AAA's room discounts and everyone fled from AAA, that would not bode well for that relationship. Anyway - that's my theory!