AAA vs free dining?

[xraydave]

We are planning a trip in late March. We wanted to stay 3-30 through 4-4. However if we check in 3-29 we can take advantage of the free dining plan and can stay until 4-5 and still spend about $600 less!
My question is this, would a membership with AAA save even more money or would we simply get a discount off the rack rate and not qualify for the free dining?
Thanks.

 

[Ambassador]

That is a good question, and we had not considered our upcoming Feb 2012 trip in quite this way. Because we are staying Deluxe and are selective of our limited Dining experiences (breakfast in room, picnics, Signature dinners), the AAA room-only rate proved better than the WDW FDP. I don't know if AAA offers a discounted FDP.
It is implied that you do not have AAA membership, and may not be able to get a quote from AAA: is this correct? Hopefully other AAA Dis'ers can offer better advice than I.

 

[mickeynut1]

We are planning a trip in late March. We wanted to stay 3-30 through 4-4. However if we check in 3-29 we can take advantage of the free dining plan and can stay until 4-5 and still spend about $600 less!
My question is this, would a membership with AAA save even more money or would we simply get a discount off the rack rate and not qualify for the free dining?
Thanks.

Disney does not allow stacking of discounts, so you would have to run the numbers and see which one was the bigger savings between a AAA room discount and free dining. Free dining requires you to pay rack rate for the room, so you would not be able to get a room discount and get free dining on top of that.

 

[kaffinito]

You would have to use one or the other.

AAA gives a 10% discount and with the FD promotion you get either Quick service dining at a value or regular DDP at a mod or higher but pay rack rate and purchase at least 2 days worth of tickets per person.

As mickeynut1 said, you'll have to crunch the numbers to see which one would be the better deal for you. You can call CRO to check on AAA discounts for you dates without going through AAA Travel.

 

[jmasgat]

Agree that you should just call CRO and ask about the AAA rates. I have AAA rate for a stay in January, but it didn't apply to the weekend nights on my reservation. (Could be 'cause it is marathon weekend) And it was 15% on the other nights. Also, checking the AAA site was useless--there travel app showed all Disney hotels as "Sold Out".

Good luck finding the best discount!

 

[spritna]

im in the same boat, no aaa as of right now, but going in late sept or early oct. next year. gonna stay mod or value 2 adults only. the gamble is wait and see if free dining is offered or buy my aaa membership. what do you mean by call your CRO?

 

[nkereina]

Correct, you can only use one discount or the other. Like free dining, AAA discounts are based on availability - it's not automatic if you book with AAA or have a membership. Only a certain number of rooms are allotted per day per resort for the AAA rate, and the AAA rate is room only. It is not a significant discount so if Disney is offering another promo like free dining at the same time, you are better off going with Disney's promo.

If you do not have an AAA membership but want to price out a package with them at the AAA rate, you can still do that - you just can't book it. If you want to book it, the agent helping you should be able to sign you up for an AAA membership. In some clubs, they will waive the initation fee (around $15 depending on the club) if you are booking a trip as well. The membership will also give you the road service benefits for a year. If you have no interest in getting a AAA membership, you can still book your trip with them as they are still a full service travel agency - you just won't get the AAA rate or perks that come with an AAA package.

 

[Queen2PrincessG]

We are planning a trip in late March. We wanted to stay 3-30 through 4-4. However if we check in 3-29 we can take advantage of the free dining plan and can stay until 4-5 and still spend about $600 less!
My question is this, would a membership with AAA save even more money or would we simply get a discount off the rack rate and not qualify for the free dining?
Thanks.

I was told that you could use both. I however am traveling on days where free dining is not offered.

 

[snykymom]

im in the same boat, no aaa as of right now, but going in late sept or early oct. next year. gonna stay mod or value 2 adults only. the gamble is wait and see if free dining is offered or buy my aaa membership. what do you mean by call your CRO?

CRO is Central Reservations Office. It's not "your" CRO; it's Disney's at the regular reservations phone number.

 

[Missyrose]

I was told that you could use both. I however am traveling on days where free dining is not offered.

You were told incorrect information. Disney does not allow anyone to stack discounts.

 

[vossjemi]

We have AAA and initially got 15% rate off room only. But then free dining came out and it was definitely a better deal for us. All you can do is run the #s both ways and see. We are saving about $100/day with free dining versus AAA and the reservations we wanted to make.

 

[spritna]

thanks snykymom.......sounds like aaa discount would be a last resort. lets hope they extend the free dining into the end of next year....or for a pin code, (which ive only gotten one in 12 years)

 

[havoc315]

The AAA discount tops out at 20%. So even if you despise the dining plan, free dining will almost always save you more than the AAA discount.

The exception would be something like 2 adults in a deluxe club level room. In that circumstance, the 20% could be a better deal than free dining.

 

[pjhootch]

Yep, the numbers are going to vary for your family depending on whether you're staying value, mod or deluxe, how many people you have in one room, and what your eating habits are.

In general the free dining plan is a bigger saver at the mods. AAA discount room only may save more money at the deluxes unless you have a bunch in one room and they are huge eaters. lol.

Values only have the quick service dining plan. So the room only discount often doesn't amount to much, but for some people the CS plan doesn't do the trick since you have no table service meals included.

Basically you need to crunch the realistic numbers about how you would eat on your trip (or how you COULD eat if you were trying to accomplish a certain goal), and get a quote on a AAA discount for your dates.

By how you "could" eat, what I mean is: If we (family of 5) were on a tight budget, we could-and have- done almost all CS meals, splitting meals even periodically. That allowed us to have a nice TS meal here and there without breaking the bank. Kept the food budget manageable. If that is an acceptable meal plan... that makes a room only discount a better deal.

When we want to have a sit down meal every night and not worry about the price or budget, we are better booking the free dining plan an getting everyone in one room. Hard to do with 5, without going to a deluxe, which then blows the budget anyway.

Count the mouths you are feeding and price out your ideas.