Booking Rooms and Tickets separately is cheaper then booking Package?

[CableKC]

I went directly to the Disneyworld website and priced out a Vacation Package ( for room and tickets ) for 2 adults and 2 children ( all over 10 years old ) for a stay at the All-Star Movie Resort. I then did the same thing again ( still through Disneyworld.com ) but booked the room and tickets separately ( where everything was the same ).

I found that when I book it separately, it is $95 cheaper then if I booked it together as a whole vacation package.

Has anyone else noticed this?

If you have....do you know why there is a difference? I would think that it would be cheaper if you booked a package as opposed to doing it separately ( and not the other way around ).

Is there any advantage of booking the Vacation package as opposed to doing it separately?

 

[Lollipop Mom]

When you price a vacation package on Disneyworld.com it automatically adds trip insurance. You have to actually click on the book my vacation or something like that link to see that. You have the option to decline the insurance at that point. Room only reservations don't automatically add the insurance. The insurance is priced per adult and with 2 adults it's around $90 so that's probably where the difference is. They should be the same price since you are getting a rack rate room and advance purchase price tickets either way.

As far as advantages to booking one or the other, I'm a disney TA and I actually recommend to my clients that they always start with a room only booking even if they are pretty sure they want the package. We can always switch them to a package quickly and easily before they leave but the room only option gives me MUCH more flexibility in finding them discount opportunities. We price the package they want and I tell the to buget for that b/c unless ticket prices go up (which isn't likely to happen soon), we know the vacation won't be MORE expensive than that but there is a chance we can get it for less before they leave. I'm not anti-package at all, I switch a lot of them to a package a week or so before travel with no problems. If someone tells me they don't want to start with room only, I'm fine with that. I just want to make sure that they understand the differences in policies and why I recommend what I do. (and for the record it has nothing to do with commissions...commission is better on a package to be honest but I fell starting with room only is better for the client, not just for me.)

 

[swilphil]

If you book room-only, you can get save a lot of money if a discount code comes out for your trip. You also would be able to buy tickets from a broker like Ticketmania and save a little more. I believe the cancellation policy is much more lenient with room only.