Can I do better with this reservation?!?

[ajf3]

Hey all -

Currently have the following trip booked:

8 nights Pop Century MYW
8 days admissions (plus pack)
8 days mealplan (2 adults, 2 children)

= $2492

Anyway, I just found out some friends from FL are going to tag along for a few days AND we're considering either upgrading to a moderate resort (~+420) for the duration OR adding 2 extra days of room only at a moderate resort onto the end of the trip so we can check out what the nicers resorts are like.

I've been reading here about AP discounts where you can get moderate resort standard rooms for $109 (which is only $10 more than we're paying for POP).

Also, I read about the FL discounts...

I'm wondering about these kinds of questions...

1) Are the AP discounts compatible with the MYW package... do all people in the room need an AP, or can just one make the resv? Ie, can I buy 1 for myself & keep the rest of the package the same for the wife & kids?

2) With the FL discount, do all people in the room need to be from FL, or just the person making the reservation? ie, can we set up the reservation through them to save money?

Thanks!

 

[Took]

OK, I'll do my best on these. FYI, there are many other threads on these boards that also talk about these issues, so you many want to check those, too.

1) AP discounts on rooms are for room only reservations--you can't get an AP discount on a package. Only one person in the room needs to have the AP to get the discount. I don't think you can 'split up' packages--it's everyone gets in on it or none, to my knowledge. Thus, you couldn't get an AP then let the rest of your party have a package deal. But you could get ONE AP, then let the rest of the group get MYW tickets.

Also, AP discounted rooms ARE limited. Call to check availability forr your dates/resort before you buy the AP--you can always buy one after you make the reservation (but b/f checking in).

2) Only the person who makes the reservation needs to be from FL to get the discount. That person would need to check in to the room, also (no letting a FL person make the reservation but not check into the room--NOT that you were suggesting this, but I don't want others to get the wrong info.). When your friends join you, you might well let them make the reservation so that you can all get the discount.

Hope this helps,
Took

 

[sanibelover]

For the most part, the only discount you can get on packages is AAA. Some people have posted and said they were able to use room code discounts toward packages, but that's the exception. You probably can "do" Disney cheaper if you buy all of the parts separately. Some folks have good luck with the meal plans, others not so much. It does take planning to utilize the meal plan effectively. There are lots of threads addressing all of your questions as another poster said. Just start reading..................it could take months!

 

[ajf3]

Thanks for the quick replies! I'm off to do some more research, but since this seems to be a little bit of a grey area, let me lay out exactly what I was considering for the FL discount so I can see if it would be ok or not.

1. Our friends are from FL. They would arrive at the same time as us and check into two rooms that they made reservations for. Room 1 would be for them, room 2 would be for us.

2. They would depart after 3 days, we would remain for all 8.

3. The people in our room would have 8 day plus tickets and the meal plan.

I've got the feeling that this isn't kosher/won't work, but thought I'd ask anyway... I'm concerned about them checking out of one room after 3 days, but not the other and also whether or not we would be asked for ID upon entrance to parks, or at meals...

Thanks again & I'll be digging through all of the other posts!

 

[Took]

I'll give this another go...

OK, yes, your friends can get a room only discount for the two rooms for at least the three days they are there. I don't know about whether you could keep your room after they leave.

If you get a room-only discount, you cannot get a package with tickets and meal plan.

Therefore, you need to do your homework to see if you can save more money by getting a discounted room, paying for MYW tickets separtately, and buying meals separately. Whether you can save will partly depend on the kind of ticket options you purchase and the number and expense of the meals you want.

Quite frankly, we find it difficult to have more than one sit-down meal per day and, even then, we're likely to share meals as two of us aren't big eaters. We rarely eat dessert, either. Thus, we don't spend that much on food. We save money by getting at least one AP, using it for discounts on room and food, and skipping the package thing.

GOod luck planning,
took

 

[dphie28]

Hey all -

Currently have the following trip booked:

8 nights Pop Century MYW
8 days admissions (plus pack)
8 days mealplan (2 adults, 2 children)

= $2492

We have booked our vacation thru AAA. We have two rooms. One of the rooms is 2 adults, 1 junior (adult park tix) and 1 child.

7 nights at ASMo
8 day PREMIUM tickets
5 night meal plan (split the reservation to a package for 5 nights, room only for 2).

= $2,346.93 for the above room.

So, although yours is for one extra night ($99), we have an adult ticket and meal plan in place of your child. So, it seems that AAA may get a better rate for you. The other room of our reservation is for 2 adults and 1 child. The cost for that (with the same package as above) is $1,865.23.

I am considering removing the park tickets and getting them thru ticketmania instead for a $100 savings on our group of 7 overall.

 

[tbelfonti]

I have had very good luck with http://www.magicalmemoriestravel.com in getting great deals

 

[robinb]

Mary over on MouseSavers has a great page called "Walt Disney World Annual Pass Resort Discount Savings Calculator"

http://www.mousesavers.com/annualpass.html

The other advantage to an AP is that you can purchase a Disney Dining Experience (DDE) card for $50. That card will give you 20% off of just about every restaurant (including alcohol) in WDW. Once you spend $250, everything else is gravy. Our family of 3 spends about $80 per day on food, so we will break even on the DDE card on day 3 .