Cheapest way to book?

[JMCDisneyBound]

We are planning a trip to ASM on Thanksgiving this year for a 10 night stay!! We went to disneyworld.disney and went through the whole process and chose all the packages we wanted and even airfare. Is this the place to get the best price or is there someplace else, like a travel agency that can get it cheaper. Our total price was $3500 for three( meal plan, park hopper, 10 day ticket, air fare) I actually think this is very reasonable but would like to look over all my options. Thanks for any input

 

[spiceycat]

AAA members get a discount.

 

[connorsmom911]

If you're willing to do the legwork, you can often get a better deal by doing it yourself and booking each portion seperately. AAA members can get discounts on room-only reservations, often airfare is cheaper doing it yourself (don't know where you're flying from) and tickets can be purchased much cheaper than directly from disney (try going to mousesavers.com, signing up for their montly e-newsletter and there you will find an exclusive link to discounted tickets from ticketmania and others). I have researched many trips, both for my family, extended family, co-workers and friends, and have always found that unless disney has a super deal going on (like the historic 7 for 4 or 7 for 5 deal), you can usually always book it cheaper by yourself.

If you're uncomfortable doing that, try some of the disney specialist travel agencies mentioned here on the boards. I have gotten quotes from small world vacations and others by e-mail, and often they will go above and beyond helping you secure the best rates and advanced dining reservations, etc.

Good luck and enjoy the process...planning and researching trips for others is how I survive my own disney addiction between trips!!! (Yes, I wish it was easier to become a disney travel agent here in Canada...)

 

[PinkTink63]

It takes some time, but I always get a better deal doing it myself. There is only 3 of us, so those "kids fly free" kinds of deals are never a deal for us. I try the disney website everytime also. I can always beat their deal! A good website to find deals is mousesavers.com
Hope this is helpful!
Stephanie

 

[JMCDisneyBound]

Thanks for the replys everyone. Looks like I need to start looking for different deals to save some money!

 

[PinkTink63]

I don't know what kind of accomodations you are looking for, but a great way to save money and stay at Disney is DVC. They have kitchenettes, micro, toaster, etc. for moderate prices. Go to the rent/trade boards on Dis. I just rented out my available points to people. I wish I would have known about this the first time I went to WDW.
Stephanie

 

[bubba73]

I am very interested in this thread because I already have tickets to the parks but I am looking for a good deal on a resort room. I have gotten a price from dreamsavers.com for Coronado for 7 days, 6 nights for $865. for 2. Is that pretty good or should I keep looking? It is already about $75 less than Disney's website. Thanks for any help!!

 

[JMCDisneyBound]

Hey, just wanted to let everyone know how this turned out for us. First, I had a travel agent book the trip for us and all they did was use the disneyworld site and gave me the exact same price that I got using that site. Then I looked into getting the rooms through AAA and purchasing the park tickets, dining plan and air seperate. I could not do it this way because AAA and a rep from Disney said I had to have a "package" deal to be able to get the dining. So, I ended up using AAA for the package and they saved me $230 off the price that Disneyworld.com gave me. Needless to say, I think AAA is worth $120 a year for two drivers because I already made that back and more. Sorry to sound like an ad for AAA but I'm really happy to have found such a good deal. :ban



AAA

 

[disneyfreakk]

I know this is a little late, but if your dates are flexible you can save even more money by staying during the Value season!

2006 Seasons

Value Season: 1/1 - 2/15, 8/27 - 10/4, 11/26 - 12/19
Regular Season: 4/23 - 8/26, 10/5 - 11/25
Peak Season: 2/16 - 4/22
Holiday Season: 12/20 - 12/31

 

[JMCDisneyBound]

Thanks for the heads up on the value season but we are missing that by two days. We are arriving on Nov. 23 (Thanksgiving), and leaving Dec. 3
We have already put a deposit down and purchased the airline tickets. Now it's just wait, wait, wait and wait some more

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

I am very interested in this thread because I already have tickets to the parks but I am looking for a good deal on a resort room. I have gotten a price from dreamsavers.com for Coronado for 7 days, 6 nights for $865. for 2. Is that pretty good or should I keep looking? It is already about $75 less than Disney's website. Thanks for any help!!

According to the numbers you've given, I'm assuming that you're going during Value Season. If you have a AAA membership and book either by yourself, thru AAA or using a TA who knows how to book a AAA room-only, your total would be about $744. That's a 20% discount over Disney's rack rate for a std. view room at a moderate hotel during Value Season. Dreamsavers.com is only giving you less than a 10% discount off the rack rate.

 

[mseg16222]

We are planning a trip to ASM on Thanksgiving this year for a 10 night stay!! We went to disneyworld.disney and went through the whole process and chose all the packages we wanted and even airfare. Is this the place to get the best price or is there someplace else, like a travel agency that can get it cheaper. Our total price was $3500 for three( meal plan, park hopper, 10 day ticket, air fare) I actually think this is very reasonable but would like to look over all my options. Thanks for any input

I found a good website from a family member that went that is the Orlando Visitor Center ! The webs site is orlando vactions. That is one word. I am unable to have URLS's in my posts yet. LOL Not helpful to me because I need tickets and dining package. Hope that helps

 

[disneyfreakk]

If you booked your airfare through southwest you can change your dates/flights without penalty! Also, Disney wont charge you anything to rearange your travel dates either