booking through Disney vs. AAA

[heathernfrankie]

A fairly newbie here. We're thinking about going to Disney in September 2011. Is it better to book through Disney itself or should we book through AAA? I'm just wondering if there are any extra benefits to using one over the other?
We're probably going to book 2 rooms b/c we have 3 adults going and 2 kids. That way Grandma can have her own alone time away from the boys at night

TIA....

 

[pkondz]

First of all to the DIS. As for booking through Disney vs. AAA... You'll probably have differing opinions on that. I have a AAA membership myself, but prefer to book through Disney. Not sure if you can take advantage of free dining with AAA (you do know there's free dining during your stay right? No? See here for all discounts: http://www.wdwinfo.com/discounts.html) which could potentially save you hundreds of dollars. Also, look into the family suites at All Stars Music Resort. It may or may not help you out too. Good luck!

 

[PrincessTiffany]

A fairly newbie here. We're thinking about going to Disney in September 2011. Is it better to book through Disney itself or should we book through AAA? I'm just wondering if there are any extra benefits to using one over the other?
We're probably going to book 2 rooms b/c we have 3 adults going and 2 kids. That way Grandma can have her own alone time away from the boys at night

TIA....

No reason to book with AAA, you can do it all directly through Disney. Plus if you ever want to make any changes to your reservation you have to do it through the TA, as you do not own your reservation. The only time I would recommend using AAA is if there is absolutely no other discount available, and that doesn't happen very often. You will be there during free dining and that's a considerably larger discount than anything AAA can give you.

We are a family of 6 and we always get two connecting rooms. The All-Star Movie Family Suites are fine, but I know that my mother-in-law would not sleep on a fold out, yours might.

 

[bartleyosu]

The advantage to booking through AAA which i have done twice is if you are going to use the extras, mainly for young kids. You get a storytime experience, preferred viewing for afternoon parade, diamond card with discounts, special parking if you are taking car. Advantage booking thru Disney you can see your reservation and call disney number and they can see it. I have done both. Go get a AAA book and then decide. As others have stated there will be no further discount because you are getting free dining. You can book online and have it transferred to AAA later if you want. I did. Have a great time.

 

[bushdianee]

I've booked both ways. My AAA agent can usually find us better airfares than Disney offers. She was also able to make my ADRs and BBB appts. I just gave her our 1st &2nd choice restaurants and time preferences. The story time was great both times we used it. Very small groups and a lot of character interaction. We had the Fairy Godmother 2yrs ago and Jasmine this summer. The diamond discount card came in handy also as not everybody in our group had a Disney Visa (both give 10% at certain stores. I think AAA also has free parking if you have a car.

 

[jchrapcyn]

If you are going to be there with a car AAA has the diamond parking

 

[heathernfrankie]

We don't plan to go there with a car, but I would like to rent a car down there for 1 day b/c we want to go to Sea World. My boys, especially my youngest, are NUTS about dolphins, turtles, etc.

 

[ccrosner]

I'm booking this time through AAA as we are going to add a night at IOA/HRH on to our time at WDW and with AAA I can get trip insurance for both. I would usually book directly but with all of the ins and outs of ticketing, hotels, etc. it seemed reassuring to have a TA help me.

 

[disney11fan]

a fairly newbie here. We're thinking about going to disney in september 2011. Is it better to book through disney itself or should we book through aaa? I'm just wondering if there are any extra benefits to using one over the other?
We're probably going to book 2 rooms b/c we have 3 adults going and 2 kids. That way grandma can have her own alone time away from the boys at night

tia....

used the same agent at ] aaa handled everything except our flight which was done thru southwest. Our agent booked all our dinning reservations,hotels and evern made changes we needed.


Would say aaa was a great help

 

[heathernfrankie]

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. I got a price via Disney's website and then via AAA. They are the same price. So, who knows how we will book it. Maybe via AAA b/c we can make payments.

 

[ladyhawk14624]

This is the first time we've booked through AAA. I usually do it all myself but we usually stay off site (large group so we rent a large house). Our TA at AAA has been great. She booked everything and has been wonderful with all my changes (we've changed resorts, the number of days, car rental etc). I made the dining reservations online though. I just felt that it would be easier for me to make those rather than go through her. So far so good. We have to go to AAA and pay the final balance off in a couple of weeks. I'm not sure how much we'll use all the extras that you get from AAA since this is a childless trip. I guess we'll wait and see.

 

[loganpaulsmom]

I just booked my second WDW trip through AAA. I found the pricing to be cheaper than Disney. I agree, that since you don't "own" your reservation it can be a little annoying.. For example: I called WDW yesterday, because I realized that the day I booked to leave was the MOST expensive of that week to fly. So, I thought I could change my reservation and fly out a day earlier by calling WDW. I called and gave the number and she said she could see that I was coming, but she could not make changes, I had to go through AAA. It was not really a big deal, I called and another agent made the changes for me.
I also find that making your airlines reservations yourself, will save you. AAA charges $10 to make them.. and I am assuming that they are much more expensive going through AAA.

 

[loganpaulsmom]

Also, as for dining. I always book myself. I don't want to relie on someone else to make them for me. The last thing you want is for an agent to forget that its 180 days and then not call..

 

[csharpwv]

ALWAYS book through a travel agent - they will help you plan your trip and get the most out of your vacation - both financially - and time wise.

A travel agent (a good one) won't cost you a penny more - and you will have a better experience.

If you would like me to recommend an agent - just PM!

 

[pkondz]

ALWAYS book through a travel agent...

Have to disagree with this one, sorry! While for many people, booking through an agent is the way to go, some people (I dunno, like, me! ) actually enjoy looking for the discounts and ADRs, etc. and doing it themselves. If that isn't your cup of tea, then by all means use an agent. Make sure the agent is knowledgeable though. I recall being at AAA a few years ago talking with an agent on an unrelated trip when we started talking about Disney. I knew way more than she did!

 

[heathernfrankie]

If we book through AAA, we are going to use the agent we used when we went in 03. She's very knowledgeable. I think we're going to book our Disney part of the trip via her (booking, tickets, etc). However, I will reserve the dining on my own and book airfare on my own. I didn't know AAA charges $10 for air flights. I'm going to wait and check out Southwest airlines and go from there. We're about an hour from Philly and they fly directly into Orlando.