Can someone explain AAA to me?

[BrookeTx]

I know you have to purchase a membership through AAA.

What kind of discount on Disney Packages should I expect?

I have already booked my trip, would I call Disney to apply the AAA discount?

If you have a AAA discount, can you apply any codes that Disney has?

TIA

 

[Mcbruns]

To purchase a Disney MYW package, you DO NOT have to have a AAA membership. They are a separate piece of AAA. I don't want to get flamed (it may be different in other states) but for us in PA we do not have a membership and have used them for our past 4 trips. We always use the same rep and have never had any problems. I believe you need a membership for room only discounts.

Last year my husband figured out a 17% savings. For our upcoming Grand Floridian stay, we saved over $800.

If you're booked with Disney, you cannot apply the AAA discount with Disney. I would call your closest AAA office for a quote and go from there.

 

[lemondog]

I don't know how PA works, but for most of the country you have to be a member to receive the AAA discount, whether it be room-only or thru a package. Sometimes they don't ask for your number, but if Disney asked to see your ID card and you didn't have one, you risk being charged rack rate at check-in.

As for discounts, there are 2 ways you can get one. If you are only booking a room, and buying tix separately, you can call Disney CRO directly and book your room. You tell them you're a AAA member and you can get a room discount if one is available, anywhere from 10% - 20% savings depending on the resort and season.

If you are wanting to book a package (this is the only way you can get the DDP, fyi) then you must book thru a AAA travel agent. Although the tix and DDP are the same price as if you booked thru Disney, you will get the same AAA discount on the room portion of the package.

I guess the short answer to your question is this -- if you have booked a MYW pkg thru Disney, then you will have to cancel and rebook thru AAA to receive the discount. If you have booked a room only ressie thru Disney, then you can just call them directly and have them apply the AAA discount to the existing reservation.

As far as codes that might come out, you can use one OR the AAA discount, but not both.

IMO, the AAA membership is worth the savings. Our yearly fee was $90, but we saved $500 on a 7-night MYW pkg at the Poly. Not to mention the other benefits of having AAA throughout the rest of the year. Good luck!

 

[Moediddly]

I had 3 reservations booked through Disney and when I called AAA to see about their rates a few months ago they were the same price. I called again last night and between the 3 ressie's I saved $528! Go figure the price difference all of a sudden! So, I renewed my membership so I could get the lower prices on the packages. I then called Disney and cancelled my original ressie's and will get all of the money paid in so far. With the amount saved I'm a few payments ahead! Plus, the TA from AAA said she would keep looking in case a better code came along to lower the rate some more. I'll still be looking at the Dec 07 code watch but it's nice to know I have someone watching for me as well. If I didn't already have all of my AR's booked she would have booked those for me too. I mentioned my parents anniversary and she noted that on the ressie too. I had the best customer service with her.

 

[Aliceacc]

I called Disney yesterday and booked 6 nights at the Contemporary for August 2008... room only plus the park tickets. (How is that different from a package w/o dining??)

She said that AAA rates weren't out yet.

Yet I read here that lots of people here have gotten the AAA discount for 2008.

what do I do?

 

[lemondog]

Alice,

Call back and talk to a different CM. The rates are definitely out. Good luck!

 

[beth_cam]

I called Disney yesterday and booked 6 nights at the Contemporary for August 2008... room only plus the park tickets. (How is that different from a package w/o dining??)

She said that AAA rates weren't out yet.

Yet I read here that lots of people here have gotten the AAA discount for 2008.

what do I do?

How is it different from a package?
The package includes some tiny incentives like a free round of mini golf (for 1 person in your party), a free bit of time on a sea raycer (when you buy some time), a free 5X7 pic, luggage tags.
Package requires a deposit of 200, room only requires one nites deposit (in yourcase your deposit is larger)
Package you must pay off by 45 days from arrival, room only you pay off upon arrival.
Package you will be charged by Disney for changes after 45 days from arrival, I'm not sure what it is for room only but it is much lower or maybe not at all. Cancellation policy is also different. AAA may have other charges.

 

[pixiedust247]

What type of AAA membership do you have, regular or plus? And does anyone highly suggest getting a membership in order to get a better deal? Meaning, you wouldn't purchase a reservation without AAA...Thanks!

 

[Aliceacc]

Alice,

Call back and talk to a different CM. The rates are definitely out. Good luck!

THANK YOU!!!! I just did and saved $327

 

[Aliceacc]

I called Wednesday night and booked the package, but the CM couldn't find the AAA code.

Based on the advice I got here, I called back on Thursday morning. After 10 minutes on the phone, their computers went down, so I had no luck.

I called back Thursday afternoon. After 15 minutes on the phone, we had it all worked out. But the computers were still sluggish, and the CM couldn't get me a confirmation. He suggested that I call back if I didn't get an email with the new numbers.

No e mail.

I called back this morning and got the CM to find the codes. She said I should get an e mail with the new numbers. We'll see

But I am going to keep calling until I get that $300+ off my bill!

edited to add: (5 minutes later) OK. The email arrived.

For 6 nights next August at the Contemporary, Garden Wing, GArden view (room only), and 7 days parkhopper passes for my family of 5, it's a grand total of $3163. The original quote I got on Wednesday night was $3612.65 So I'm saving a grand total of $449.65

You guys don't have a private plane you want to lend me, do you?

 

[beth_cam]

I called Wednesday night and booked the package, but the CM couldn't find the AAA code.

Based on the advice I got here, I called back on Thursday morning. After 10 minutes on the phone, their computers went down, so I had no luck.

I called back Thursday afternoon. After 15 minutes on the phone, we had it all worked out. But the computers were still sluggish, and the CM couldn't get me a confirmation. He suggested that I call back if I didn't get an email with the new numbers.

No e mail.

I called back this morning and got the CM to find the codes. She said I should get an e mail with the new numbers. We'll see

But I am going to keep calling until I get that $300+ off my bill!

edited to add: (5 minutes later) OK. The email arrived.

For 6 nights next August at the Contemporary, Garden Wing, GArden view (room only), and 7 days parkhopper passes for my family of 5, it's a grand total of $3163. The original quote I got on Wednesday night was $3612.65 So I'm saving a grand total of $449.65

You guys don't have a private plane you want to lend me, do you?

Okay so you are saying CM and that makes me think you mean you are calling disney. You are also talking about parkhopper passes. So part of the problem if infact you are talking to disney is that they may (no matter what you are actually telling them to do) be trying to book this as a package. They can not get you the aaa discount on a package. You do not need to have a package to get the tickets, you can book room only with the tickets as a separate purchase. If you are booking a package with a aaa discount you have to do that through aaa. Of course I dont know all the specifics but I just thought this may be at the root of some of the confusion.

 

[Aliceacc]

It was Disney central reservations.

Honestly, I think the problem was mostly that they were having computer issues yesterday.

Each person I spoke to on the phone honestly tried to help me. Each came thaaaaat close to getting the job done. And today's call did. I'm guessing that my first CM probably tried the dates for this year and the codes were long gone.

Big picture: We've all dealt with computer gremlins. My trip is a year from tomorrow, so it's really no big deal that it took a few days to get this settled. And I did save oodles of money.

My AAA agent knew less than I did... he suggested that I book 2 rooms in the Contemporary for my family of 5, since none of their rooms could accomodate that number of people. (This, after a long explanation of how I wanted the cheapest room they could find since we were breaking the budget to stay there in the first place.) He also told me to try to book at the end of August. Perhaps had I booked when I first spoke to him in early July I could have gotten the cheaper "standard view" room.

So ultimately it just made more sense to call Disney with my AAA number and book it myself. I had been back and forth on the idea of the DDP anyway, so not getting a package isn't the end of the world.

Hey, I saved money and we're going to Disney in 366 days!!