AAA membership

[m1tchells]

With money being tight, I am looking for every opportunity to save a few bucks....every opportunity BESIDES cancelling our upcoming trip. I know several of you are AAA members. Do the benefits (discounts) of the membership outweigh the membership costs? Will not be using it for roadside assistance as we already have great service with our auto insurance.

 

[Jaylens Papa]

I would check first with what you want to reserve. Some things have the discounts, lots dont. When I booked I was told because I booked the site, the tickets and the dining plan there where no AAA discounts. Last April I had to book seperatley and got a discount on the site for 1 of my days only.
Another thing I learned on the forum and by calling, you might get a different answer by different cast members each time you call. A call back the next day may get you some different results.

 

[BradyBz12]

I know there are a lot of discounts AAA offers that we haven't taken advantage (just because I keep forgetting!) and we have gotten discounts at the Fort before (not much, but it helped) however if it weren't for the roadside assistance, I don't think it would be worth it for us.

 

[LarryJ]

With money being tight, I am looking for every opportunity to save a few bucks....every opportunity BESIDES cancelling our upcoming trip. I know several of you are AAA members. Do the benefits (discounts) of the membership outweigh the membership costs? Will not be using it for roadside assistance as we already have great service with our auto insurance.

IMO NO since on average you will never get back even the basic cost of a single membership over say 5 or 10 years.

Larry

 

[mikron]

We have been members for years for discounts and emergency services. We get more discounts outside of Disney at parks and other places. Would not join for Disney trip only. We cover our motor home with AAA and it cost $80.00 more per year. The coverage is for emergency service for the motor home.

 

[DaveInTN]

I bought a membership last year when we did AP's, because AAA South had great prices on the passes that paid for the membership cost. Beyond that, about the only discount we received on our Disney trip with AAA was at Earl of Sandwich. So no, I doubt it would be worthwhile for you.

 

[m1tchells]

Yeah...on the annual passes it would save us a total of about $14. So if I could find another $50 worth of savings for the year.... Of course, we were also going to try to hit Universal for a couple of days and we would save a little there as well. As far as resort discounts are concerned, it would probably just be one more thing they would shoot me down on...FR discount...no. AP discount...no. Disney Visa discount...no. Do I want to add one more piece of rejection into my life?

 

[SandrA9810]

I never had issues getting a discount at the fort. Usually I just said I've got AP, AAA, and fl resident, what's my best discount. Only once or twice was AAA the best discount available. It was usually on par with FL rate, but not better than AP.

AAA has been a life saver. Twice in the same wonderful stay at the Fort, we locked the keys in the truck and had to call AAA to come pop the locks. The nice thing about being on property, is if anything happens, Car Care will come tow for free (which is AAA approved), but it doesn't count as one of your calls. The only thing Disney PoPo and Car Care can't do, is open the locks. And for Gary's (Disney calls them for you, at least connects you to them) it's 40 bucks a visit. So AAA saved us 80$ on that trip to the fort.

If you've already got roadside, then it might not be a real saver. Countless times AAA has been there when we needed them. So it's more than paid for the coverage. That's what happens when you drive older cars that need everything under the hood replaced.

 

[des1954]

I would never consider not having AAA. We have the plan that includes the MH, and actually had to use it one time. I can't speak for other areas in the country but, when we had road side assistance through Allstate, I wished I had checked into how many tow truck & locksmith companies they had contracts with before I signed up. I once was stranded in downtown Tampa with a dead battery at 5pm. It took Allstate 3.5 hours to get someone to me, because they had so few companies to call upon. Another time I locked my keys in my car (same parking garage in downtown Tampa, same 5pm quittin' time), and AAA had a locksmith to me in less than 30 minutes.

AAA has come to my rescue maybe a total of 10-12 times in the 25+ years I've had them, but when I needed them, it was worth every penny I've spent over the years. Before the internet, I had them prepare trip-tik's for even the simplest of trips because they always marked places to watch for construction or speed traps. They also give free maps for any location, and guide books that can't be beat. Now instead of asking for trip-tik's, I can go online and get reliable directions from them. Sometimes Google Maps have lead me astray, and so has my GPS, but AAA is always dead on!

The AAA discounts are of secondary importance to me - but if I can score a AAA discount at the Fort - all the better! Plus - a LOT of businesses offer AAA discounts. Just about every store at the Buena Vista Outlet Mall on SR535 offers a discount, and so do a lot of restaurants. You need only ask.

 

[clkelley]

For roadside, we switched to Good Sam, but I kept my basic AAA as a single because usually my 2 week December trip to the Fort saves me my membership fee. Historically over the past 5 years, the AAA discount on a partial in pre-holiday has been better than even Passholder rate.

(I switched because Good Sam had better rates for the 4 cars and my camper than AAA+ RV) Good Sam also is guaranteed to have RV service in every state, where AAA+ RV "service" is not available in every state. I didn't want to get stuck in a state where AAA is not available to tow my camper.

I book the December trip far enough in advance that I have always gotten the AAA rate for that trip.

 

[ghester]

For roadside, we switched to Good Sam, but I kept my basic AAA as a single because usually my 2 week December trip to the Fort saves me my membership fee. Historically over the past 5 years, the AAA discount on a partial in pre-holiday has been better than even Passholder rate.

(I switched because Good Sam had better rates for the 4 cars and my camper than AAA+ RV) Good Sam also is guaranteed to have RV service in every state, where AAA+ RV "service" is not available in every state. I didn't want to get stuck in a state where AAA is not available to tow my camper.

I book the December trip far enough in advance that I have always gotten the AAA rate for that trip.

Thanks for that little tip. We are planning on purchasing AAA plus RV just because of our trip to florida. Dh thinks it would be smart in case we needed the camper towed. I will need to check into which states are covered I can not imagine thinking we had paid for a service that was not provided. We have only ever camped locally so we have never felt like we needed coverage. We will look into good sam as well thanks

 

[herdtoDisney]

We do not own a trailer, but we have a boat-we just came back from a local camping trip today, and our AAA membership more than paid for itself when Dh's truck blew a water pump on the highway, this mornng!!!

We also use ours to get discounts on stuff like movie tickets-we are a family of seven and just last week, saved $3 a ticket on them. So just that there was $21. We also have saved on room reservations for taking our oldest boy to college next month.

With our older vehicles, AAA has always been great for us-we've used their tow service nearly every year.

 

[LarryJ]

As an update and this is not for everyone, but we have ressies for 10/15 till 12/1 this year and DW got a outstanding CM who spent almost two hours with her and turned out 2 ressies into 5 with three AAA discounts for 12 of the 45 days we will be there and the estimated savings from this one phone call was around $156 and we still have to call for more AAA dates between now and when we get there.

It's a little of a hassle to check in and out, but we have the time and usually drive to all the parks except MK so we can work with this.

Larry

 

[medic9016]

Thanks for that little tip. We are planning on purchasing AAA plus RV just because of our trip to florida. Dh thinks it would be smart in case we needed the camper towed. I will need to check into which states are covered I can not imagine thinking we had paid for a service that was not provided. We have only ever camped locally so we have never felt like we needed coverage. We will look into good sam as well thanks

Look into Good Sam's or Coach-Net for your RV. AAA charges add up in a hurry when adding one or two more people. The price is cheaper ,they specialize in RVs and Travel Trailers. They do not charge for more people. Both are good in Canada and Mexico.

 

[stacktester]

As an update and this is not for everyone, but we have ressies for 10/15 till 12/1 this year and DW got a outstanding CM who spent almost two hours with her and turned out 2 ressies into 5 with three AAA discounts for 12 of the 45 days we will be there and the estimated savings from this one phone call was around $156 and we still have to call for more AAA dates between now and when we get there.

It's a little of a hassle to check in and out, but we have the time and usually drive to all the parks except MK so we can work with this.

Larry

Ok so is it or is it not worth having. First the OP can't save but you save over $150 just because you stay longer. Is Disney the only place who will ever give a AAA discount. Is the card junk? I use mine quite a bit. I even ask at restaurants and other businesses if they have a AAA discount. There needs to be more research before the question is properly answered.

 

[AuburnJen92]

 

[LarryJ]

Ok so is it or is it not worth having. First the OP can't save but you save over $150 just because you stay longer. Is Disney the only place who will ever give a AAA discount. Is the card junk? I use mine quite a bit. I even ask at restaurants and other businesses if they have a AAA discount. There needs to be more research before the question is properly answered.

The only reason I still have AAA which I have had for like 20 years since my primary road assistance is Coach Net is for WDW because we stay for extended times and for us it makes sense and I have the 100 mile rider for extra flexibility. For most including the OP it's still my opinion having it for just the discounts is not worth the cost so I think I can speak with 20 years experience using it. No more research on my part is needed to simply give my opinion which I did and clearly stated in my first post that I was only giving my opinion. You don't seem able to tell the difference in posts that are stating a fact or simply giving an opinion or personal experiences.


Larry

 

[des1954]

I have AAA 100 mile plan plus RV coverage. We have it for two drivers. I stick with AAA because it's the best option for us. If I get discounts to attractions, hotels, campgrounds, theatres, restaurants, and stores, to me, that's just a plus.

As of right now, all our traveling is limited to Florida, and AAA has never left me stranded for more than 30 minutes when I needed them. My worst case scenario was when I went to start my car in my garage & the battery exploded. Of course, I pulled the car in "head first", and the tow truck driver knew exactly what to do to manually put the car in reverse (auto tranny) so he could pull it out of the garage without damaging the tires. He towed the car to the dealer, and even gave me a lift back to my house. It was a total of 40 miles round trip. He didn't need to give me a ride back, but he did.

I once had Allstate's roadside assistance, and the one time I used them, it took them 3.5 hours to get to me. I was in downtown Tampa (which all of downtown Tampa is a rough area), after 5pm, and scared as sh*t. I had to stand outside of the parking garage & wait for the tow truck. This was before cell phones. I had AAA the next day.

AAA may not be the best option for everyone, and when we finally get to a stage that we travel out of the state, I may change to Good Sam's or another company. But for right now, AAA is my best option.

My father insisted I get AAA when I purchased my first car back in 1972. They have "saved" me on many occasions in 38 years. The one year I decided to try someone else, it was a complete failure.

 

[callieriggs]

Okay, nobody has addressed the other perks of AAA. We sometimes get a small discount when we use them to book our trip but we LOVE the AAA parking. We would rather drive ourselves to the parks because with AAA you get to park right next to handicapped parking. The only park that isn't good for is MK but if you are at the Fort you can take the boat for that anyway. This will be our first time not staying at the fort. As hard to believe as it is, we are staying at the POP with free dining and it is less than staying in a pop-up/tent site becuase they don't have free dining at the Fort. Go figure! Might feel differently if we had a big camper or RV but now we have a bathroom and real beds to sleep in! We think AA is worth the parking perk...and this year I am hoping to try out the storytime from AAA plus you get a free photopass pic.

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Okay, nobody has addressed the other perks of AAA. We sometimes get a small discount when we use them to book our trip but we LOVE the AAA parking. We would rather drive ourselves to the parks because with AAA you get to park right next to handicapped parking. The only park that isn't good for is MK but if you are at the Fort you can take the boat for that anyway. This will be our first time not staying at the fort. As hard to believe as it is, we are staying at the POP with free dining and it is less than staying in a pop-up/tent site becuase they don't have free dining at the Fort. Go figure! Might feel differently if we had a big camper or RV but now we have a bathroom and real beds to sleep in! We think AA is worth the parking perk...and this year I am hoping to try out the storytime from AAA plus you get a free photopass pic.

I have always understood that you only get AAA parking if you book your trip as a package through AAA. You are then issued a special parking permit for that trip only. If you don't book a package through AAA, you don't get to park in the AAA spaces.

Right?

TCD