Costco DL Package - Should I stop second guessing it?

CrabbyPatty

DIS Veteran
Joined
May 18, 2009
Messages
960
To recap -- We got a package from Costco for our 5-night DL stay - party of 6 - 3 adults and 3 kids. 3 day PH tickets, 1 premium character "experience", Mickey's Morning Madness, priority seating at California Adventure shows (Alladin) and $20 Disney gift card, plus Disney pins with a lanyard or something. We're staying at the Desert Palms Inn & Suites in a room with two big beds and a sofa sleeper - the Borrego suite - with free breakfast and free parking.

Anyhoo - now that I've made the reservation, I'm compulsively checking around other DL-area hotels to see if I can put together a better deal. I keep on reading posts about these great rates for hotels, but with our bigger group, I'm just not finding those great rates for suites, and getting 2 rooms is pretty expensive. And I'm using a series of discount codes when I check the various hotels.

Fellow Costco package folks - can I relax, knowing that the Costco package is a pretty good deal? I like that the premium meal is rolled into the package, plus getting that extra Morning Madness (in addition to the Toontown morning event) will be nice for the girls - who love the little kid rides and all the character stuff.

Also, did anyone end up paying more once they got to a hotel for "resort fees" or anything additional when using a Costco package? THANKS!
 
I like that the premium dining is rolled into the package, plus getting that extra Morning Madness (in addition to the Toontown morning event) will be nice for the girls - who love the little kid rides and all the character stuff.
!

I just want to make sure you know that Morning Madness IS the Toontown event, not to be confused with a Magic Morning, which is one hour early entry to DL. You will get one Magic Morning with your 3-day PH's, which is standard whether you book a package or not.

Usually packages are more expensive than booking separately, but sometimes they include worthwhile extras. If you've priced everything separately (room, tickets, character meal) and find the package to be a better deal then stick with it :)
 
We booked a Costco package for our first big trip. IT was basically the same cost as any other package, and it was the simple option. Realized as the trip got closer that getting an AP and using the AP rate for that time would have been a better option financially (we were upgrading to APs anyway), but I got the other extras from the package which were worth it to have at least once.

Make sure you've looked at what disneyland's dining plans actually mean. They are usually not a money *saving* deal, are often just dollar for dollar, and more of a pre-payment plan, than a savings.
 
Thanks for the info! So, we get a Morning Madness (which is the special package event) plus the Magic Morning. It's hard to keep those apart!

FYI - the premium dining experience is basically one breakfast or lunch at either Ariel's Grotto or Goofy's Kitchen, so it's not the same as the dining plan. We are used to getting the dining plan at WDW, since I think is definitely worth it, but I had read that the DL does it differently and that's it more of a voucher thing.
 

I just booked the same exact package from Costco as you. Same hotel and such. Did you book your package where you got the fourth nite free? After doing countless searching I think the Costco package was the best deal out there. Escpecially with the premium character dining incl. and the prefered seating at the DCA shows...
 
Hi - yes, it was with the 4th nite free at the Desert Palms. We'll have to compare notes once we're both done with our trips!

I like that the Costco package has the little extra things - like the character meal (we're planning on going to Ariel's Grotto), the Disney pins and lanyards for the girls, the preferred seating at DCA (we'll probably do Alladin) and the extra morning time. With the youngest being 4, I don't know that we'll be able to do World of Color!
 
Yes will have to compare notes although we booked the kids suite. So will be interesting to know how you liked your room. We have a 6 and 3 yr old and are planning to put our 3 yr old down for a late nap(if he goes for it :) ) and then are pre-ordering the picinic meal for the WOC so we can bypass the rush for the fast pass in the morning.

We did book way in advance as we are going the week before xmas and we are looking forward to see how Disneyland looks like at xmas....
 
I just researched Costco, AAA, GAT and a la carte. We found that for us, with the hotel choice and the fact that we were already planning a character meal, Costco was the best deal by... less than $10 I think. It was minimal, but it got us the most of the things we wanted. (GAT hotel we wanted was sold out.)
 
We are also booking desert inn thur Costco. We are doing the kids suite as well. I have priced out with and with out the package (hotel and tickets) and the package ended up costing the same I did not price out ariels or goofys since we plan on doing both getting the package which pays for one of them it's cheaper for us. Also if a discount comes out between the time you booked and your trip you can call to have the discount applied to your trip. If it's less then 30 days before your trip they do charge a fee.
 
To recap -- We got a package from Costco for our 5-night DL stay - party of 6 - 3 adults and 3 kids. 3 day PH tickets, 1 premium character "experience", Mickey's Morning Madness, priority seating at California Adventure shows (Alladin) and $20 Disney gift card, plus Disney pins with a lanyard or something. We're staying at the Desert Palms Inn & Suites in a room with two big beds and a sofa sleeper - the Borrego suite - with free breakfast and free parking.

Anyhoo - now that I've made the reservation, I'm compulsively checking around other DL-area hotels to see if I can put together a better deal. I keep on reading posts about these great rates for hotels, but with our bigger group, I'm just not finding those great rates for suites, and getting 2 rooms is pretty expensive. And I'm using a series of discount codes when I check the various hotels.

Fellow Costco package folks - can I relax, knowing that the Costco package is a pretty good deal? I like that the premium meal is rolled into the package, plus getting that extra Morning Madness (in addition to the Toontown morning event) will be nice for the girls - who love the little kid rides and all the character stuff.

Also, did anyone end up paying more once they got to a hotel for "resort fees" or anything additional when using a Costco package? THANKS!

We got a Costco package last year and stayed at the Anabella. It was the best deal I found. We did not pay anything once we arrived, but I do not recall if the Anabella had fees or not. I think the fees are already included in the package. I loved the fact that it included the meal, otherwise, we would not have done a character meal on that trip. I think that is an added bonus that made it worth it. Also, the gift card. DD got to have $20 to spend on her choice of souvenoir.
 
Thanks for the replies. I'm hoping that if Disney does end up doing 5/3 PHs that it happens before our 30-day deadline so we can get that added onto our package.
 





Receive up to $1,000 in Onboard Credit and a Gift Basket!
That’s right — when you book your Disney Cruise with Dreams Unlimited Travel, you’ll receive incredible shipboard credits to spend during your vacation!
CLICK HERE









DIS Facebook DIS youtube DIS Instagram DIS Pinterest DIS Tiktok DIS Twitter DIS Bluesky

Back
Top Bottom