AAA? Disney? Travel Agent?

[Angela0917]

Do you guys recommend booking through AAA, Disney or a Disney Travel Agent? So far, I've gotten the best quote through AAA, but I'm wondering if Disney releases a code if I will be able to use it. We're going from April 27-May 3rd. Should I just book through AAA or should I hold out and see if something better comes along??

 

[webray]

You can always book through AAA, make sure you know what the cancel policy is, ask them if they will honor/look for an codes that come out for a better deal. If something better comes a long, you can always book through disney yourself and then cancel the AAA package.

I prefer to book directly through disney, but have used AAA when booking a Disneyland package.

 

[mygyky]

I had just this exact dilemma. I got the best rate through AAA and they will honor most discounts, but you have to bring them to their attention. (I went through this in 2006). This time I wanted someone who would monitor for me. So what I did was book through a Disney TA (mouseears)and did a AAA room only reservation (and it worked out to be about $6 cheaper some how). I get the AAA discount and the benefit of them taking care of me, watching for price drops or codes and making dinner reservations, etc. I will then purchase AAA discounted tickets later and this seemed to work best for me this time. You don't get the Planet Hollywood coupon or free mini golf, but I will survive. (I should add, I didn't want the dining plan)

 

[disneyin2008]

Keep in mind the problem that some people recently had when the Disney VISA free dining came out.......everyone KNEW that this was going to be a "subject to availability" offer, so calling early meant the best chance of either converting your current reservation to the free dining or making a new reservation for a room that was available.

There are many many many posts from very frustrated guests because they couldn't get ahold of their agent to make these changes for them....and because they booked through an agent Disney can't make any changes or even quote what your current reservation with the new code would be. Some of the guests had agents that weren't in the office yet, weren't calling them back, or didn't even know that there was a code (and the guest had to come to DIS to ask for the various codes to give to the agent) and there were even some who were basically arguing with their agent because the agent "assured" them that the AAA rate or other discount on the room was a better deal for them.....yet they couldn't quote what the free dining cost would be to be able to compare!!!!

My own experience with an agent that works for a company that bills itself as Disney experts was so awful that I will never again consider an agent.

There is NOTHING that an agent can book for you that YOU cannot do yourself through Disney. They have the same codes, the same ability to check if there is a PIN with your name, and if you do your reservation online, it's the same availability that they see....and if you call Disney directly it's the same availability there (the perk agents have is a special phone number so you may get a busy signal and they may get through easier).

Many of these codes have limited availability so when your agent calls the resort of your choice may not be available.....unless you've given them carte blanche to make decisions for you, or a list of acceptable resorts and maximum prices or something....they'll have to contact you and call Disney back again hoping that your choice is still available. Or...you could do the calling, let Disney tell you your options and make your decisions right then, asking questions that the agent may or may not be able to answer without calling Disney back and then calling you again.

I could see where someone living out of the USA should probably use an agent....the long distance calls would be prohibitively expensive, but for probably 90% of the people in the USA they wouldn't be paying long distance rates (most people either have cell phones with long distance included, or land lines with a long distance plan....even those that pay long distance it would be a couple of dollars at most for the 30 to 45 minutes or so that you typically spend on a call making room and dining reservations. )

Oh, and in my case, I was able to get a better rate by almost $200 than what the agent finally (2 days after the rates came out) was quoted.....and we went down line by line and could find nothing different, and she couldn't explain it. Obviously I kept my rate (well, until the new free dining came out and then I had that changed by 7:30 Florida time).

 

[francie57]

We have booked our trip through a AAA travel agent for years. They will check to see if you can get discounts as they become available but as I have learned over the years, these discounts are subject to availability and the availability is very limited. If you book through Disney you can get the room only AAA discount but you cannot get the ticket/dining plan package (I called about this the other day). Going through AAA I have always gotten the discount and the package deal with the dining. I can honestly say that we always save a lot with AAA. I always get quotes from sever Disney sources and AAA always is much lower.

 

[FirstTimer@WDW]

I think its a gamble really. Some AAA agents are true experts whereas others are not. I booked thru AAA and our TA was okay. But a friend who booked thru AAA raves about here TA.

Our AAA TA was able to apply the discount code we recieved after initial booking. Actually we received two, once 20% then 30%. She was able to apply both. Also when we were looking to switch dates, she knew about the free dining offer before official announcement on disney website. Ofcourse disboards knew about it before official annoucement also.

AAA TA is worth it if its the only discount that is available to you and you want the dining package. If not, like some have said already you can book AAA rate thru Disney TA.

 

[~disneydiva~]

small world vacations

"Small World Vacations is an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner, a special designation given by Disney to its top booking agencies."

"Sue and all of her agents are Disney Specialists and College of Disney Knowledge graduates. Small World Vacations agents are required to have actually experienced the Disney destinations they sell. (In other words, if they are booking Disney cruises, they've actually been on a Disney cruise -- often several cruises -- themselves.) In addition, Small World agents complete ongoing education programs on-site at Walt Disney World and Disneyland."

here's who we are using....

 

[ajcolorado]

You might check www.mousesavers.com - somewhere on that site, there is a log of past promotions. Knowing if a promotion was released in the past for your travel dates may help you know what to expect for your trip. Disney has been doing some new & different things so you can't be completely sure but it'll give you an idea. If nothing has been offered in the past, the AAA rate is probably the best price.

Booking yourself may mean getting a better chance at promotions but only if you track these things rather fanatically.

Booking with an agency that specializes in Disney travel can offer some distinct advantages just because there is so much to know about Disney World. You don't want to book a Magic Kingdom restaurant on a day that you're planning to visit Epcot. A good Disney TA should know which resort restaurants are close to your park of the day. They should be able to answer your questions about the various resort and about the parks. Some offer special services like touring plans or making your dining reservations - those helps can really take the stress out of planning.

 

[ajcolorado]

It's my understanding that the "College of Disney Knowlege" isn't that big a deal - a very quick overview of the Disney resorts that can be completed in a few hours. It's probably better than not knowing anything about the parks but I think its really more about selling Disney than it is really about being familiar with Walt Disney World.

 

[TexasBee]

We used a TA and I couldn't be more pleased. He is very service-oriented and goes to Disney frequently himself so he was a great resource to bounce things off of. He got me all the ADRs I wanted at the times I wanted (even CRT for the 8am breakfast the first morning we're at WDW), and he monitored all specials and codes (found out this week he saved us $800 from original quote price.) He's a gem.

 

[Angela0917]

I had just this exact dilemma. I got the best rate through AAA and they will honor most discounts, but you have to bring them to their attention. (I went through this in 2006). This time I wanted someone who would monitor for me. So what I did was book through a Disney TA (mouseears)and did a AAA room only reservation (and it worked out to be about $6 cheaper some how). I get the AAA discount and the benefit of them taking care of me, watching for price drops or codes and making dinner reservations, etc. I will then purchase AAA discounted tickets later and this seemed to work best for me this time. You don't get the Planet Hollywood coupon or free mini golf, but I will survive. (I should add, I didn't want the dining plan)

See, that seems to be a good thing to do, but I was really wanting to get the dining plan! So that wouldn't work for me.

 

[Angela0917]

Disneyin2008 - How do you check to see if there's a PIN with your name???? What does that mean?