Aaa ?

[Tracy Savage]

Are there any advantages or disadvantages when booking WDW packages thru AAA?

 

[snykymom]

AAA often has discounts on the room portion of a package, and sometimes on tickets. It also has some perks for packages - special Wishes viewing area, diamond parking pass that gets you closer towards the front of the lot, storytime. These perks vary from club to club, so check your local AAA office for the perks that apply in your area.

The downside is that AAA owns the reservation, so must handle all communications with Disney.

 

[Tracy Savage]

Thank you!

 

[catne]

Just a heads-up...the actual room discount can be as little as 5%...and if you're booking a package through AAA you will not be able to get discounted tickets on the package (the same one-discount-per-booking applies through AAA too.) You can book any of the discounts through AAA (even the free dining) but when you book one of Disney's discount through AAA that's all you get (they won't give you both free dining AND the AAA room discount, for example.)

we used to book through our AAA office, but quit a couple of years ago when they started charging a booking fee ($10 at time of booking and $10 each time you make a change...these are AAA fees, not Disney change-fees.) So when booking a package deal, like a free-dining discount package, it actually cost $10 more to book through AAA than it would have cost to book myself. Most of the "benefits" in the AAA packet are exactly the same you get from Disney for the Magic Your Way package. The special parking is worthless at Magic Kingdom parking, so-so at the other parks since depends on what end of the row you get. If you're lucky it can be very close, but just as likely to have you on a long hike (and tram service does not stop at AAA diamond parking at some parks...so you can end up with a longer walk sometimes.)

AND to top it off...I had to tell the "Disney Specialist" what discounts were available...and your Disney packet (mickey mail) goes to the AAA office , and then they are supposed to mail it on to you. Last straw for us was the trip we booked, got to be about a week before the trip and we had not yet received our packet...called the AAA agent and she says "you're supposed to come in and get it" First of all, no one called or emailed to tell us to come get it, and second of all, it was a 90 minute round-trip drive to get to their office so we really would have preferred they just mail it out, but by then it was too late, we were leaving in a couple of days!

 

[minnie mum]

We had similar less than stellar dealings when we booked with them. Our TA said she knew all about Disney vacations, and yet I was the one who had to call her, repeatedly, because of mistakes with the reservations. I've booked my own trips since then. I'm not saying all of their TAs are like this, just that it could be one of the "disadvantages".

 

[I Love Pluto]

We must have the "Saint of AAA Travel". We have booked our WDW trips through her for the last 8 years.

After we have booked, she keeps her eye out for any possible discounts. She applies them for us & notifies us. She makes certain that I get the 2-bed HC room we need. She checks with us when we're at WDW - just to be sure that we're satisfied. She sends us a "welcome home" card each year.

I guess Sheila (from AAA in Delaware) deserves the Travel Agent of the Year Award!