can anyone explain AAA discounts?

[ghester]

Hey y'all,
This is so weird. We called AAA to find out about discounts for our trip next year. They gave me a room quote and package quote, the thing is neither quote was really a discount. I even made this comment to the travel guy that was the same price I was getting off Disney's website. He didn't offer anything else helpful. On top of that I called WDW and they said they couldn't give me a room only AAA discount , but I called again and the CM gave me a AAA discount for room only (site only) It was almost $200.00 cheaper. My DH suggested I keep calling until I get what I want and then snatch it up. I have been trying to figure out the best way to get everything at the best deal. We were going to book the dining plan but I would rather stay longer and eat less On AAA website I can get the tickets about 50.00 cheaper, but if any of you pros know better discounts please let me know. By the way this is by far the best FW dis. group there is. Y'all are serious Disney campers Tanks for the info

 

[BradyBz12]

We've booked all our past packages through AAA and always got some sort of a discount over rack rates. It varied depending on time of year (usually between Oct-Dec) and where we stayed.

This year we needed room only and found there was no advantage to booking it through AAA as they offered no discounts for campsites unless booked with a package.

 

[LarryJ]

Hey y'all,
This is so weird. We called AAA to find out about discounts for our trip next year. They gave me a room quote and package quote, the thing is neither quote was really a discount. I even made this comment to the travel guy that was the same price I was getting off Disney's website. He didn't offer anything else helpful. On top of that I called WDW and they said they couldn't give me a room only AAA discount , but I called again and the CM gave me a AAA discount for room only (site only) It was almost $200.00 cheaper. My DH suggested I keep calling until I get what I want and then snatch it up. I have been trying to figure out the best way to get everything at the best deal. We were going to book the dining plan but I would rather stay longer and eat less On AAA website I can get the tickets about 50.00 cheaper, but if any of you pros know better discounts please let me know. By the way this is by far the best FW dis. group there is. Y'all are serious Disney campers Tanks for the info

I might be mistakened, but you get the AAA discount from AAA for packages, but for rooms/site only you have to go thru WDW as these are not offered by AAA directly. Also, these discounts seem to be hit or miss depending on when you call. We tried to get AAA for our trip next month at one time and only 1 day was available and like three weeks later we got the discount for 30 days

For our Xmas 2009 trip I turned all this over to Rhonda and she got 2 days in Dec with the discount and have my fingers crossed for the cheaper Jan dates since my last communication with her was they hadn't released those yet.

I don't think you can get them for either the pre holiday or holiday seasons and might not even be available during the peak season, but I'm sort of unclear on the later.

Larry

 

[LarryJ]

Sorry double post

Larry

 

[We4mickey]

We have gotten AAA discounts on our campsite this year. We do not have a package booked. We always book directly with Disney. If you call and they have your dates avaiable, book it. The next time you call, it may not be there.

 

[clkelley]

The best discount on tickets I have found is with Undercover Tourist with the Mousesavers special discount link.

Go to Mousesavers.com and sign up for their newsletter. On the 15th of each month the newsletter will come out and will provide the special link for the extra discounts.

 

[gaffney09]

I'm dealing with the same thing with AAA right now too. One thing I found out was they automatically add their travel insurance which came out to be around $200 extra for us. So I'm actually going back to my AAA agent and removing the insurance (and changing some other things with my reservation around, too.) But the thing my agent told me was that AAA doesn't really price things separately, unless you add one thing at a time. If you end up getting room reservations plus tickets or dining, it will just come out to be one total, and not broken down by catergory. Which kinda stinks. But usually AAA does offer some sort of break on prices (maybe not on the dining plan, but at least on tickets and lodging)
If I find anything new out from my AAA agent tomorrow, I'll be sure to post it.

 

[MadFF]

Nope, I can not explain AAA discounts!

AAA also regularly runs "specials"... You have to keep checking their site. We booked our October trip to FW through AAA back in January (I think it was), and got a substantial discount. We did end up getting "trip insurance", but got it through Disney. The Disney insurance was less than AAA's insurance. The discount we got was enough to cover the insurance, and then some. Also, with booking our trip so far in advance, who knows what could happen.

The AAA agent that I have been dealing with is very helpful. She has made the effort a few times to find out any "deals" for me, and has helped with bookings, dates, hotel reservations for the trip down, etc. I don't really know how AAA works, but I would guess that if you get a good "agent" it can make a difference.

Oh, the AAA agent asked me about adding AAA trip insurance, she did not automatically add it. And then she made the effort to find out that Disney insurance was less!

 

[DznyRulz]

I could be mistaken but when I last booked a trip to Disney through AAA, IIRC 2001, I seem to remember that AAA added on a fee to the package cost. This might have been their insurance but I don't remember it being listed as that. I thought it was a travel agency fee.

Until recently I always booked directly with WDW, over the phone not online, and got the AAA discount, 20% in value season. I have had it where the AAA discount wasn't available for my dates but I made the reservation to lock in our dates and called back frequently until the AAA discount was available and had it applied to my reservation. For our next trip I went with our lovely moderator, Rhonda, and Dreams Unlimited. Rhonda made the reservation for me getting our desired dates with the AAA discount and the best part is their services are free. Dream Unlimited is paid by Disney after our trip. I love the way Dreams Unlimited works with, and for, you. For more info, read this.

 

[BradyBz12]

From the AllEars site...

"AAA Special Rates - During the least busy times of the year (typically during Value Season), AAA members can get 20% off campsites. Make reservations by calling (407) W-DISNEY. "

 

[HappyCamper87]

I was under the impression that they have AAA rates available through Disney but they only offer so many per timeframe or hotel.

So, the way I understand it, if there are 50 rooms that have the AAA discount available for October and all of those discounts have been taken advantage of then there are no rooms left with that discount available.

Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. We were able to get the AAA discount for our campsite in October but we scheduled it back in April/May timeframe.

Hope this helps.

 

[ghester]

Thanks for all the help and advice. We were able to call Disney and get the AAA room only discount.They put a seven day hold on it, so I am going to go ahead with the deposit. I think it is probally the best deal we can get.

 

[DznyRulz]

I was under the impression that they have AAA rates available through Disney but they only offer so many per timeframe or hotel.

I've been under that impression as well however, I've always been able to get the AAA discount, eventually.

Thanks for all the help and advice. We were able to call Disney and get the AAA room only discount.They put a seven day hold on it, so I am going to go ahead with the deposit. I think it is probally the best deal we can get.

 

[loveDmouse]

I find the AAA discount process to be a confusing one. I got it on our first trip no problem through Disney and had a package. Last year I couldn't get it at all but was able to use a different code for a discount. This year I have tried AAA and two different codes so far with no luck getting any of them.

Now they are offering free dining but you can't get that on a campsite either. It is just my husband and I. Wonder if I could talk Disney into that.

 

[SandrA9810]

I booked 3 nights for halloween under the AAA discount. Which came to about 33$ for a partial site. I had to split it between a regular discount and my cast discount because they weren't allowing it for halloween night. Which is the most important night.
Every time I called to make a ressie it was always, Fl resident?, Passholder?, AAA member?, at least I could usually score on one or the other. And it was a toss up of which one was cheaper. This time AAA was cheaper than Fl resident. But I always did my booking by calling W-disney. The discount on the internet was never comparable, and you can't look up multiple discounts like that.

 

[DznyRulz]

This year I have tried AAA and two different codes so far with no luck getting any of them.

Keep calling back to see if there is a AAA discount available that can be applied to your reservation. They will issue a credit to your card. After I made our reservation in February for our trip last August I called back every couple of days for about three weeks before I got the discount. I don't know if they do this for other codes but they do for the AAA discount.

 

[loveDmouse]

Keep calling back to see if there is a AAA discount available that can be applied to your reservation. They will issue a credit to your card. After I made our reservation in February for our trip last August I called back every couple of days for about three weeks before I got the discount. I don't know if they do this for other codes but they do for the AAA discount.

Thanks for the advice. I will keep trying.

 

[mrzrich]

This year we needed room only and found there was no advantage to booking it through AAA as they offered no discounts for campsites unless booked with a package.

I might be mistakened, but you get the AAA discount from AAA for packages, but for rooms/site only you have to go thru WDW as these are not offered by AAA directly.

Larry

That can't be right. I got a site for two separate trips through the AAA south website last night. I checked WDW site for a premium site in March and it was $106. I booked online with AAA and got the site for $89.

I also got a premium site in June for $78 a night that the WDW site quoted for $95

 

[PrincessMom98]

We booked through AAA when we went in Aug. When I called Disney reservations they told me they could give me the AAA discount on a room/campsite only reservation but we wanted a package so we could get the DDP. The CM told me that the only way to get the AAA discount applied to my package was to book with AAA directly which I did. The discount only applied to the campsite portion, not the tickets or DDP but at least it was something. One word of warning though, if you book through AAA be sure to check the details in your confirmation because Disney can't fix it once you are there. My AAA agent dropped a day in the middle of our split (package/room only) reservation and it cost us a lot of time and aggravation trying to get it corrected once we were there.