Buying tickets through Expedia - any disadvantages?

[jlsmith376]

Expedia (and several other sites like Orbitz and Undercover Tourist) have a 10% off special right now on a 7-day park hopper. Ebates has 3.5% cash back on activities with Expedia. For my family of 5 the combination will be a pretty big savings. Are there any disadvantages to buying through Expedia? I have bought through Orbitz before (with the legendary 20% cash back Ebates deal a few years ago) and it was a little bit of a hassle to get the code to link the tickets in MDE but well worth it for the discount. Can I expect at least a similar experience? Has anyone bought tickets through Expedia lately?

 

[Leelo]

I have not bought tickets from Expedia but I find the best Disney ticket prices on Undercover Tourist's website. Prices include tax on there and work out the best every time for me.

 

[maburke]

I bought tickets through Expedia this morning. They had the same price as UT, but UT has 1% back on Ebates, Orbitz has 2.5%, and Expedia has 3.5%. That's $20, $50, and $70 to me, so I went with Expedia. OMG, I'm cheap, but I'm not sure this is worth the trouble. I spent 1 hour on the phone with Expedia, and 20 minutes on the phone with Disney, and I still don't have anything that I can enter into MDE to make my FP+ reservations. So far, my advice is to stick with UT.

 

[Leelo]

I bought tickets through Expedia this morning. They had the same price as UT, but UT has 1% back on Ebates, Orbitz has 2.5%, and Expedia has 3.5%. That's $20, $50, and $70 to me, so I went with Expedia. OMG, I'm cheap, but I'm not sure this is worth the trouble. I spent 1 hour on the phone with Expedia, and 20 minutes on the phone with Disney, and I still don't have anything that I can enter into MDE to make my FP+ reservations. So far, my advice is to stick with UT.

Good to know! I use ebates as well but I have been using UT for a long time. They ship fast and I trust them. Plus they offered refunds for hard copy tickets up until a certain date and we bought at 7 mos out when they had a 7 day park hopper for the price of 4 days. I know expedia and other sites like that do not always offer refund on flights and rooms. Do they offer refunds on tickets?

 

[maburke]

I think their park tickets are completely nonrefundable. I'm willing to accept that for the ebates $$, but I think the etickets from UT would have been much simpler.

 

[jlsmith376]

I bought tickets through Expedia this morning. They had the same price as UT, but UT has 1% back on Ebates, Orbitz has 2.5%, and Expedia has 3.5%. That's $20, $50, and $70 to me, so I went with Expedia. OMG, I'm cheap, but I'm not sure this is worth the trouble. I spent 1 hour on the phone with Expedia, and 20 minutes on the phone with Disney, and I still don't have anything that I can enter into MDE to make my FP+ reservations. So far, my advice is to stick with UT.

Thanks so much for your response! I think I might go with Orbitz then because it is 2.5% cash back on ebates and I have bought tickets through them before and after I was able to get the code had no problems getting it in MDE. I have used undercover tourist before and had a good experience, but if you read the fine print on Ebates is says there is no cash back on tickets through undercover tourist.

 

[maburke]

Thanks so much for your response! I think I might go with Orbitz then because it is 2.5% cash back on ebates and I have bought tickets through them before and after I was able to get the code had no problems getting it in MDE. I have used undercover tourist before and had a good experience, but if you read the fine print on Ebates is says there is no cash back on tickets through undercover tourist.

Okay, thanks for the tip on no ebates for tickets on UT. Can you tell me how you got the code from Orbitz? My co-traveller bought them there, and hasn't tried getting the code yet. I assumed that since Orbitz and Expedia are now the same company (the voucher number from Orbitz even starts with EX, just like my Expedia voucher) that they'd be the same hassle.

 

[jlsmith376]

Okay, thanks for the tip on no ebates for tickets on UT. Can you tell me how you got the code from Orbitz? My co-traveller bought them there, and hasn't tried getting the code yet. I assumed that since Orbitz and Expedia are now the same company (the voucher number from Orbitz even starts with EX, just like my Expedia voucher) that they'd be the same hassle.

It was a few years ago but you had to email customer relations (I think it was something like customerrelations@orbitz.com) and ask for the my magic code. Others called and got it, but the key was to ask for the my magic code.

 

[Tigerlulu]

Isn't parksavers and Expedia the same company?

I've used parksavers and it was a matter of just waiting a couple days for their emails. They emailed the code to link the tickets. It was super easy. Would think Expedia would do the same but I actually don't really know.

 

[jlsmith376]

Isn't parksavers and Expedia the same company?

I've used parksavers and it was a matter of just waiting a couple days for their emails. They emailed the code to link the tickets. It was super easy. Would think Expedia would do the same but I actually don't really know.

I have heard that they are the same company too so hopefully they send an email with the code.

 

[jlsmith376]

Okay, thanks for the tip on no ebates for tickets on UT. Can you tell me how you got the code from Orbitz? My co-traveller bought them there, and hasn't tried getting the code yet. I assumed that since Orbitz and Expedia are now the same company (the voucher number from Orbitz even starts with EX, just like my Expedia voucher) that they'd be the same hassle.

The extra $20 over Orbitz got the better of me so I ended up buying through Expedia/Ebates this morning. I see what you mean by their customer service. I emailed them and from the response they have no idea what I am asking for. I have not called Expedia directly but from some further research I did read a tip to call Disney's ticketing line. They were very helpful. I was told that it takes 3 days to get the Disney confirmation number. They told me to call them in 4 days and they will be able to give me the 12-digit confirmation number. The number to call is 407-566-4985 Option 5. I am hopeful that Expedia sends the number in an email before then. I will report back on my experience.

It is taking some time to recognize the cash back in my Ebates account. Ebates claims it could be 6 weeks from the date of travel, which I guess would be the voucher date. I recall the cash back showed up in my account a few days after I purchased tickets from Orbitz.

 

[seashoreCM]

deleted ......................

 

[jlsmith376]

I promised to report back on my experience so here it goes. I did end up buying the tickets through Expedia (10% off gate price for 7 day park hopper) and also got 3.5% cash back on Ebates. Cash back is showing as pending in my Ebates account but may be up to 6 weeks after the date of the voucher before it is deposited. I saved about $310 for five, 7-day park hoppers, over the gate price. I now have the tickets linked in MDE. Expedia customer service was clueless and a waste of time (both call and email responses). I called Disney ticketing 2 days after purchase at 407-566-4985 Option 5, gave them the voucher numbers (they start with "EX") and my disney account email address, and they linked the tickets for me. So a little bit of a hassle but well worth the money I saved over the gate price. My advice is if you buy tickets through Expedia don't bother contacting their customer service - wait a few days then call Disney ticketing to link. If you need tickets to link right away don't use Expedia.

 

[maburke]

So I bought 4 tickets through Orbitz for a family traveling with us, and then I saw that ebates on Expedia was higher, so I bought our 5 tickets through them. As I said above, I wasted a lot of time on the phone with Expedia and then with Disney the day after I bought them, until finally Disney told me to call 407-566-4985 Option 5. I waited another two days before trying again, and by that time, I got an email from Expedia with the numbers in it (not the voucher numbers, the 12-digit numbers that started with the first four letters of my first name). I entered those numbers into MDE and they worked. I don't know if I would have got the email with the ticket numbers if I had not called, but they did not reference my call in the email.

Once I'd done all that, I still had to deal with the Orbitz tickets. For them, I started by calling that Disney ticketing number, Option 5. I got right through to someone who knew exactly what to do, and she was able to give me the numbers (again, starting with the first four letters of the first name) and I entered them into MDE myself and they all worked fine.

My ebates from Expedia have come through, but Orbitz is still showing as pending. So from my experience, next time I would do Expedia over Orbitz. They have higher ebates (at least at the moment), they send an email with the numbers (though it took two days), and the ebates came through more quickly. Either way, it seems the Disney ticketing, Option 5 people are the best ones to talk to if you have any trouble with linking to MDE. And next time I know to do it at least a week before I want to do FP+! (Though I did end up getting everything I wanted.)

Thanks everybody, for all the great advice!

 

[jlsmith376]

I just got an email from Expedia with the Disney confirmation numbers to link to MDE. It looks like Expedia sends it out 3 days after purchase. Wish they would tell us to expect an email with MDE linking instructions in the FAQ's or itinerary.

Ebates cash back has been credited now.

Hope the information in this thread is helpful to others.