Book through Disney or not for good neighbor hotel?

[KPK02090]

We are looking at booking the Fairfield Inn Anaheim and I'm trying to decide if I should book the hotel directly and get tickets from undercover tourist or book through the Disney website. It's slightly more expensive going through the Disney site. Are there any advantages to booking through Disney?
Thanks for any help - this is my first trip to DLR!

 

[AcuraTL]

Book the cheapest way you can find.

 

[BadPinkTink]

book direct with the hotel. Hotels actually prefer you to book direct, as that way they can manage the booking, apply discounts, change dates or cancel very easily.

 

[22Tink]

I always book directly through the hotel and then purchase my tickets from wherever I can get the best discount. The last couple of trips the Canadian resident deal through Disney was the best deal for us but I've also used Ares Travel and UT for discounted tickets.

 

[NannyBeBe]

I always speak directly to the hotel and ask them to send me an email confirmation of my reservation.

 

[avalon451]

Good neighbor designation doesn’t mean anything . Book directly with the hotel. Check LastMinuteTravel for tickets, lately they’ve had the best prices. Also, check the sticky threads at the top here for best tips and tricks!

 

[tarheelalum]

I always book direct.

 

[starry_solo]

Book direct!

 

[Jimsig]

Why pay more when you don't have too?

Get the room and tickets the cheapest way possible. As @avalon451 said check LMT for tickets. For a free membership google "free LMT memberships". Just make sure it's a link for a LMT membership discount and not something similar.

I have used LMT the last two years and they had the best prices of anyone.

 

[KPK02090]

Thanks everyone! Just wanted to be sure there weren’t any perks to booking through Disney. We will definitely be booking direct through the hotel and buying tickets from a 3rd party. I’ve never used (or heard of) LMT, but will look into it.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

LMT may have lower prices on multi-day tickets, but UT will have comparable prices and allow you to pre-purchase MP. So which vendor (both are authorized by Disney) you choose just depends on what you want.

 

[avalon451]

Thanks everyone! Just wanted to be sure there weren’t any perks to booking through Disney. We will definitely be booking direct through the hotel and buying tickets from a 3rd party. I’ve never used (or heard of) LMT, but will look into it.

Yup, many folks here use one of several authorized ticket resellers, including Undercover Tourist, GetAwayToday, LastMinuteTravel, or aRes. I think LMT is the one that doesn't let you add MaxPass ahead of time, but it's so easy to add once you're there, that doesn't make a difference to me. Also I don't necessarily WANT it ahead of time for my entire stay, because my first and last travel days are short enough that I won't really need it.

Just for grins, I just now went and researched current ticket prices. I looked for 4 day parkhoppers, both with and without MaxPass. Here's what I found:

Book through Disneyland: $380.00 w/MaxPass (+$60) $440.00
" GetAwayToday: $360.00 w/MaxPass (+$60) $420.00
" Undercover Tourist $350.95 w/MaxPass (+$60) $410.95
" aRes Travel: $348.70 w/MaxPass (+$60) $408.70
" LastMinuteTravel $336.00 (can't add MaxPass ahead; but add daily for standard price of $15 a day-+$60 = $396.00)

So for a standard 4-day hopper, LMT saves you $44 over Disney, aRes saves you $31.30, UT saves you $29.05, and GAT saves you $20.

By the way, LMT has the world's clunkiest website. Find a code for a "free membership," get signed in first, then search for "Activities" rather than putting in your destination. Once you get to the Activities page, THEN put in "Anaheim" and your dates, and DLR tickets should show up.

 

[ParkHopper1]

As other have stated...Good Neighbor booking has little advantages...and FYI, if you book through any other third party sites you are bottom of the barrel when it comes to the properties. If you have any issues, overbooking situation or other problems Third Party bookings are the least priority for management to accommodate knowing there is zero brand loyalty and you just want the lowest price.

I ALWAYS book direct unless there is a VERY compelling reason or savings. May end up costing you more in the long run.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

I book with Getaway, and get a free night sometimes, like this feb I have a free night. Also, have never had a problem with them.

 

[StormyCA]

From my understanding you're supposed to be able to 'scan in' LMT tix into the app ahead of time. Does anyone know if you'd be able to add MP at that point, before you enter the parks?

 

[theluckyrabbit]

From my understanding you're supposed to be able to 'scan in' LMT tix into the app ahead of time. Does anyone know if you'd be able to add MP at that point, before you enter the parks?

We weren't able to add MP to our LMT tickets until the tickets had been scanned by a CM at the gate. After that, it only took a minute to add MP via the app.

 

[NewbieMouse]

OP - I would just book direct; it's simpler and there's no real advantage to going through Disney if (as other posters have said) there are other ways to get cheaper park tickets. Adding MaxPass is easy once you're in the park - link your credit card to your Disney app and it's super easy and quick; I've done it before I'm even walking under the railroad bridge!

Yup, many folks here use one of several authorized ticket resellers, including Undercover Tourist, GetAwayToday, LastMinuteTravel, or aRes. I think LMT is the one that doesn't let you add MaxPass ahead of time, but it's so easy to add once you're there, that doesn't make a difference to me. Also I don't necessarily WANT it ahead of time for my entire stay, because my first and last travel days are short enough that I won't really need it.

Just for grins, I just now went and researched current ticket prices. I looked for 4 day parkhoppers, both with and without MaxPass. Here's what I found:

Book through Disneyland: $380.00 w/MaxPass (+$60) $440.00
" GetAwayToday: $360.00 w/MaxPass (+$60) $420.00
" Undercover Tourist $350.95 w/MaxPass (+$60) $410.95
" aRes Travel: $348.70 w/MaxPass (+$60) $408.70
" LastMinuteTravel $336.00 (can't add MaxPass ahead; but add daily for standard price of $15 a day-+$60 = $396.00)

So for a standard 4-day hopper, LMT saves you $44 over Disney, aRes saves you $31.30, UT saves you $29.05, and GAT saves you $20.

By the way, LMT has the world's clunkiest website. Find a code for a "free membership," get signed in first, then search for "Activities" rather than putting in your destination. Once you get to the Activities page, THEN put in "Anaheim" and your dates, and DLR tickets should show up.

Thanks for doing that legwork! Do you think those prices would change between now and December?

 

[TomServo27]

I am staying a Best Western mini suite in November. Booked direct with them when I needed to change my reservation from Monday through Sunday to Saturday to Saturday I wasn’t able to online because the end of my stay was completely booked up. But I was able to call them directly and was able to get it changed if I would have booked through Disney I don’t think that would have been possible.

 

[Funtimeswithteenagers]

With last minute travel, it says tickets must be used by may 23,2019. Do they expire? Can I buy now and use them end of March 2020? I’m worried tickets will go up if I wait until January to buy.

 

[Captainkidd76]

Good neighbor designation doesn’t mean anything . Book directly with the hotel. Check LastMinuteTravel for tickets, lately they’ve had the best prices. Also, check the sticky threads at the top here for best tips and tricks!

Lol, I was wondering about that. Are any of the motels/hotels not designated as Good Neighbor?