Booking separately and booking as a package

[WalkersMom]

Is there really a savings? I typically do not use a TA service and just book through Disney online. This is our first trip to DL and it's way different than planning for WDW.

We are looking into a good neighbor hotel, rather than a resort.

 

[tweak89]

We tend to book out "package" vacations through Southwest Vacations as our closest airport is a Southwest hub. We almost always save money over booking separately. We've used them to book WDW and Universal Orlando Resort stays and for our upcoming trip to Disneyland (where we are staying offsite). We book out tickets through Undercover Tourist but for Disneyland we are trying Last Minute Travel as they have the cheapest prices.

The savings booking through Southwest comes with the rooms, as they tend to be cheaper when booking through them instead of separately.

 

[smartlabelprint]

I book my hotel with the hotel. THe plane with the airline.
The tickets through last minute travel club

 

[StormyCA]

Booking a package via Disney directly usually costs about $60.00 more than booking room only + ticket purchase through Disney directly. For your $60 you get lanyards, a pin, and a coupon book of mostly useless coupons. And IIRC the cancellation policy is different for room only vs package, but I don't know offhand which is more 'favorable'.

I once gave the price comparison to the CM on the phone and asked if they'd give me the package for the separate price. Nope. Asked why the package was more expensive, she didn't know.

There's even more difference if you book separately and get your tix through LMTClub.

 

[lalasmama]

Most commonly, I do it all separately, because we save more that way. But, we are also retired military, and can't get military discounts through packages (at least that we've found). So, I always check Get Away Today to see if they have a better offer, but they've never been able to beat piecemealing our own plans.

Really, you need a way to get to the resort (place, train, automobile, and any necessary transportation to and from there, like uber), a place to stay (hotel, motel, camp, RV, VRBO, or AirBnB, etc), and tickets to the parks (Last Minute Travel Club is often the cheapest, apart from military tickets or convention tickets if applicable).

Really, easy peasy overall in comparison to WDW. We're heading to WDW in a few years, and my head is spinning at everything to learn and choose and figure out! DL is so much easier to me!

 

[bumbershoot]

I don’t lump airline in with anything else.

And I do the math for trips to see if package is the same as or better than booking separately.

And there are plenty of good hotels in the area that aren’t classified as “good neighbors”. I think there’s a sticky thread with links to local hotels.

 

[gerilyne]

If I am staying at a good neighbor hotel, I book everything separately from where I can get the cheapest rate for rooms and tickets. If staying onsite, I book through Disney just for the ease of payments and such. I always book flights directly through Alaska since it seems to be cheapest for us.

 

[tarheelalum]

Booking a package for Disneyland usually is not the best deal. I'm sure there are exceptions but in general it's a bad idea financially.The best way is to book everything individually, with the ability to cancel without penalty, if you find a better deal. In general I stay away from websites like travelocity and book directly with the hotel. And I always book everything with southwest so I can cancel or change without penalty. So after you book, which should be as early as possible, keeping looking for better deals.

 

[ChrissyLou]

We used to do packages through AAA, but now that I am more travel saavy I price it out a variety of ways to ensure I am getting the best deal, however there are still some good packages out there (Alaska or Southwest for us), but there are a lot of variables -- our last few trips have all been done separately. I like not having to pay a deposit (and/or monthly payments) or the entire trip up front and doing it separately allows me to pay for it over time. Once the hotel reservation is made I can still check periodically for hotel rates in case something better comes up. We use LMT Club for tickets too.

 

[darph nader]

A while back I book a DL package through a TA for my daughters 3rd birthday. Was supposed to get a lanyard and lithograph. She turns 44 next month.

 

[10SE]

Booking a package via Disney directly usually costs about $60.00 more than booking room only + ticket purchase through Disney directly. For your $60 you get lanyards, a pin, and a coupon book of mostly useless coupons. And IIRC the cancellation policy is different for room only vs package, but I don't know offhand which is more 'favorable'.

I once gave the price comparison to the CM on the phone and asked if they'd give me the package for the separate price. Nope. Asked why the package was more expensive, she didn't know.

There's even more difference if you book separately and get your tix through LMTClub.

I have to believe that most people booking a package directly through Disney are not aware that they up-charge you for the tickets when you add them to your hotel reservation. This is literally the most expensive way to buy park tickets.

 

[avalon451]

Every time I've priced out the difference, booking separately cost quite a bit less. Especially if you do travel alerts to get the best airfare price, and use LMT or something similar (I've used GetAwayToday a few times).

 

[azdisneylover]

If you are going to book thru Disney, I suggest booking it thru Costco because you do get a few perks, one big one is the character meal for each person. Plus, if you have the Costco membership that you get 2% back, it now includes travel. You put a deposit down, then you can make payments and use gift cards.

 

[StormyCA]

Just for comparison, I just priced out our current trip to WDW and the difference between the package and separate purchase came out to $2.00. And that's just as likely to be an error in my calculations or using the wrong tax percentage as I'd done similar calculations before and they've priced out the same.

 

[luulu1999]

I love getawaytoday.com i dont book airfare with them but can get hotel tickets as well as tickets to other places