Booking package vs. booking separately

[musclemouse]

I was playing around with the booking tool on Disney site. This is what I came out with for family of four:

Package: 12/7 - 12/13 at Pop - standard room. 5 day ticket no hopper no water parks etc. No dining. $ 1399.80

W/O package booking standard room and booked for 5 day tickets w/o hopper and water parks etc. $1481.00

Difference in favor of booking separately $82. Not a huge deal but why the difference? I figured that booking as a package would be cheaper. I don't understand.

 

[jcb]

I'm surprised the package is cheaper. Everytime I price it, it is not, but it could be because I typically stay in a deluxe.

 

[FtWildrns5]

I was playing around with the booking tool on Disney site. This is what I came out with for family of four:

Package: 12/7 - 12/13 at Pop - standard room. 5 day ticket no hopper no water parks etc. No dining. $ 1399.80

W/O package booking standard room and booked for 5 day tickets w/o hopper and water parks etc. $1481.00

Difference in favor of booking separately $82. Not a huge deal but why the difference? I figured that booking as a package would be cheaper. I don't understand.

I think that what you need to do is try comparing a non package price with the tickets purchased from one of the reputable websites, ie underground tourist. They will be even cheaper if you use one of the discount codes from mousesavers. Depending on the number of tickets you are purchasing it could be a good savings over the price of purchasing them from the Disney site.

 

[musclemouse]

I was playing around with the booking tool on Disney site. This is what I came out with for family of four:

Package: 12/7 - 12/13 at Pop - standard room. 5 day ticket no hopper no water parks etc. No dining. $ 1399.80

W/O package booking standard room and booked for 5 day tickets w/o hopper and water parks etc. $1481.00

Difference in favor of booking separately $82. Not a huge deal but why the difference? I figured that booking as a package would be cheaper. I don't understand.

MAJOR OOOOOPS!!! I wrote it backward. It's booking it separately that would be cheaper. I came up with $1399.80. Sorry for confusing y'all. Traditionally packages would be cheaper. This is why it's confusing to me.

 

[jcb]

I wondered. We all "oooooooops" from time to time.

As I said, my experience has been that "straight" packages are typically more (not counting savings from dining or other discounts). I think others have said it is not.

You get extras with packages, however, such as a photo and frame (or some freebie) and personalized luggage tags. My guess is that is why the package is more. It has been so long since I booked a package that I can't remember what all comes with it.

 

[CanadianGuy]

This question is a better fit on our Resorts & Booking Board than here on the ThemeParks board. I'll be moving this one there for you!

Knox

 

[mousebit]

Check to be sure your package does not include travel insurance. The Disney site used to automatically include it unless you elected NOT to take it.

 

[Coconuts]

Isn't it also true that if you don't book a package then you can't get DDP?

 

[brentalex]

My experience has been that booking separately has always been cheaper than a package. Unless there is some special package freebe - free dining, or free ticket upgrade or something. Otherwise a package just seems to be something that makes it slightly easier to deal with, one call and you are done. For our trips we have generally used a AAA discount for the room, and bought tickets online someplace, used to be ticketmania, now mostly undercovertourist. A package just has not seemed to be something that would save me any money.

 

[bigbabyblues]

Isn't it also true that if you don't book a package then you can't get DDP?

That is correct. You must have a MYW package for everyone in your party with at least 1 day's worth of park admission. The # of park tickets do not have to match the # of nights you stay.

Unless you have an AP. AP holders can now book room + dining without buying any tickets.

 

[mickeynut1]

Whenever I've priced a package as opposed to each item separately, the difference is usually only $1 or $2 . Of course I've never gotten a code during the past 7 years we've been going to Disney, we do not have APs or belong to AAA, so that would definitely make a difference; but just pricing it straight up with no discounts of any sort always seems to come out about the same for me .

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

I was playing around with the booking tool on Disney site. This is what I came out with for family of four:

Package: 12/7 - 12/13 at Pop - standard room. 5 day ticket no hopper no water parks etc. No dining. $ 1399.80

W/O package booking standard room and booked for 5 day tickets w/o hopper and water parks etc. $1481.00

Difference in favor of booking separately $82. Not a huge deal but why the difference? I figured that booking as a package would be cheaper. I don't understand.

I went back and checked your dates and figures. When I priced a package at Pop for your dates, 2 adults, 2 kids under 10, I got $1399.80. When I priced the room separately, it was $554 and the tickets (using the prices on the DIS) were $839.24. Total, it was $1393.24; the difference is probably tax.

I noticed that to upgrade to a preferred room at Pop was $81, and it defaults to preferred, so you may have forgotten to click the "update" button when you checked the pricing online.