AAA is it worth it?

[Katrinacoombs]

October will be our family's first time to DL. I keep seeing AAA discounts available all over the place. Is it worth being a member for the discounts? can you get discounted DL tickets and how much? Someone said they got a discount at Ariel's Grotto how much of a discount was it? It's going to be my daughters 7th b-day so I would like to make it special without breaking the bank. Thanks!!!

 

[fronkfam]

We haven't used our AAA to buy tickets yet, but we have booked many hotels in many different places with it. It is worth it to us because we usually get a good deal on our rooms. I think the discount at Ariel's is probably 10%, but I haven't used my card there before.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[Lavender Mom]

I think if you look around, you can often find discounts as good as or better than AAA. We have AAA, but only used their discount once on our trip, for Goofy's Kitchen. For everything else, I found equal or better discounts through travel websites like Get Away Today or Ares Travel.

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

Disney Dining Discount is 10%
Tickets through AAA INCLUDE free parking

Plus hotel deals

 

[disney4metoo]

Premium AP gets the best discounts! But we love AAA for the extending towing ( in the event we need it), and hotel discounts.

 

[PrincessYessenia]

so you don't get any shopping discounts with AAA? I was curious to know. Also, what are the discounts applicable to your hotel room rates?

 

[disney4metoo]

so you don't get any shopping discounts with AAA? I was curious to know. Also, what are the discounts applicable to your hotel room rates?

In Disneyland I know we use our PAP for discounts dining and in the stores. Any hotel I book I always ask for AAA rate!

 

[LuLusApple]

I use my AAA to book rooms and sometimes I show the card and I have either gotten a smidge of a better rate or upgrades. I have bought the character meal vouchers too. Sometimes they are less and sometimes they are not. You just have to keep an eye on the current prices.
I have also got tickets from AAA and you get free parking or used too.
Plus a Disney discount card if you book a package.
But when I have a Premium AP I use that cause it gives the best discounts!
I still book other hotels outside of our DL trips thru AAA and I've got to have it for peace of mind incase of towing

 

[uncleleo]

AAA membership is something like $75 a year, right? You should be able to figure out, based on the frequency you stay at hotels, whether it will pay for itself within 12 months. Never mind that you can equal the AAA discount through other sources, because the AAA membership discount is so easy to secure. For example, most of the major hotel chain websites have a "AAA rate" option that you can select so that the discount will show up without you having to enter a code or anything like that. Consider the other discounts (theme park tix, car rentals) icing on the cake.

If you don't stay in hotels often enough to make up the $75 fee, you should only sign up with AAA if you don't have emergency roadside service from another source. Many new cars come with roadside, as do some auto insurance policies.

 

[daisy2jae]

I love having AAA. We have used it to save money on hotels, payless shoes, etc... We used it when my husband's truck had a hose blow while we went fishing. They towed the truck home and then when we couldn't fix it then came back and towed it to the auto shop. We spend $119 per year but save well over that. I used it to book Disney trips June 06, Dec 07, and Aug 08 to WDW. However we are going in June 09 and I got the same rate through Disney and could get a room at the hotel I wanted which AAA said they were full. Not sure if this helps. If you really are interested I'd just call the 800 # for AAA and ask them the questions you have. I have never had a problem when I have called to ask about where I can get a discount.

 

[melle]

We used AAA to get our hoppers for $170 versus $199 at the gate ($179 online at disney). We are getting $20 off a night at the hotel also.

 

[melle]

How does the character meals and AAA work? My parents already made the reservations at Ariel's Grotto, but didn't know about using his AAA card. Can you explain this to me?

 

[disney4metoo]

AAA is great for the towing. We pay $225.00 for three people for the premium membership. They will tow you up to 200 miles free!

Years ago, we went camping driving our truck and new trailer. We had problems with the truck and we had to pull over in a bad area. We had Geico Insurance and towing, and AAA towing. Geico insurance covered both truck and trailer, yet they would not tow the trailer, only the truck. They suggested we leave the trailer there in the bad area, because they would cover it insurance wise if anything happened to it. we thought that was ridiculous. We called AAA and they towed both truck and trailer, no problem! After that day, we always carried AAA!

We had a small accident and AAA towed the car home until we decided where we were going to send it for repair. We left the keys in our car, called AAA and they opened up our car! We also get hotel discounts! We have always carried it! My husband commutes one hour each way to work, so for us it is piece of mind!

 

[LuLusApple]

How does the character meals and AAA work? My parents already made the reservations at Ariel's Grotto, but didn't know about using his AAA card. Can you explain this to me?

We bought them on the AAA travel website. You have to have a AAA card/membership to register, then access the content.
You can also call their travel agents. I think I saw on mousesavers or mouseplanet (cant find the link) a breakdown; they even had voucher prices for getawaytoday. Not sure how updated they are.

 

[PinkBudgie]

We have AAA for peace of mind also. I like having ONE phone number to call no matter where we travel. We have used them several times- once the car wouldn't start in the parking lot at Target one evening.

The other discounts are just an added plus. We have bought DLR tickets through them to get the free parking. We are using a AAA discount on our hotel for our June trip. Several restaurants we like and would go to anyway offer a AAA discount. And I thought I read recently about some discounts at DTD. I don't know if that was for a limited time only though.

 

[fairycat]

I love AAA for the towing and service. But also look online and see what discounts it offers locally. We use our discount on our local El Torito and have seen offers at other restaurants. We also always ask any hotel if they offer AAA discounts where ever we go. It can be great even beyond your Disney trips!

 

[PinkBudgie]

I love AAA for the towing and service. But also look online and see what discounts it offers locally. We use our discount on our local El Torito and have seen offers at other restaurants. We also always ask any hotel if they offer AAA discounts where ever we go. It can be great even beyond your Disney trips!

El Torito is our favorite place to use it!

 

[specialks]

Last year we went to DLR with my booking deals through multiple websites. This year I did the same research and decided to join AAA ($55 single person basic membership) and get a package deal through them. I think it is going to cost me about $20 more to buy through AAA and not individually, however I believe the AAA bonuses are well worth it. Also, we will get a discount at our airport parking lot with the AAA membership and at Knott's Berry Farm so we will have paid for the $55 membership with those savings. I was able to get a complete quote from a AAA agent before I even had to join so you can call their 1-800 number and decide for yourself if it will make a difference for you. Here is a list of the things the AAA package gives you that made me decide to go with them:

-- FREE parking at DLR
-- Mickey's Toontown Madness Admission (get into toontown 1 hr early)
-- Disney lanyard & collectible pin
-- Diamond Discount Card (savings at restaurants & shopping)
-- Priority seating at Aladdin a musical spectacular, Muppet Vision 3D, It's tough to be a Bug, Animation Academy.
-- Their Character meal price was less that what Disney's vacation package listed (Princess Lunch/Dinner for $116 whereas Disney was saying $126 for 3 adults and 1 child). I think the AAA card is supposed to save you 10% at Ariel's Grotto if you don't have the meal voucher. Regular cost (with tax and 15% gratuity added) is $34.36 for adults (ages 10+) and $19.63 for kids (ages 3-9).

Hope this all helps

Good luck!