DLR AAA Packages

[cgh]

Any positive/negatives with booking with AAA?

We are getting a discount of almost 10% in a quote for peak time when there are no apparent discounts out there. (this is for the Disneyland hotel)

But, before I book, I want to make sure there weren't any regrets out there for anyone who booked a AAA package.


Thanks!

 

[specialks]

Do you need parking? If not, consider looking at Costco -- they give the same package but include a $20 gift card + free character meal as opposed to free parking and a AAA savings card. Also, if you don't care about all the bonuses "MTTMM + priority seating" then consider getawaytoday -- they normally come under in price from the others. We enjoyed our AAA package and needed parking so no real real regrets.

 

[cgh]

We will need parking (will have a rental)-but I think it is a wash because parking is for Mickey & Friends garage-I'll have to ask about that.

Good tip on costco-I'll have to look into that. We're members there too.

 

[specialks]

We will need parking (will have a rental)-but I think it is a wash because parking is for Mickey & Friends garage-I'll have to ask about that.

Good tip on costco-I'll have to look into that. We're members there too.

Yes, parking through AAA is for M&F. I think that is $15/day now. So you do mean you will drive & park to DLR or are you leaving your rental at the hotel and walking to the parks.

 

[cgh]

We plan on staying at the Disneyland Hotel, so I assume we would just park there. I can check to see if we can leave the car in M&F overnight, I suppose.

I checked out costco-and it was still $140 over the AAA price I was quoted. I sent a message to verify tax was included, as I find it odd that they are so much below everyone else. (and well, the agent has made other errors-ie. adding on a meal plan when I said I wanted one meal at Goofy's kitchen, etc.)

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

Ultimately all packages booked through WDTC, AAA, and Costco are WDTC packages with different perks.

 

[alphie1991]

Interesting -- I just compared the same dates/hotels, etc between AAA and Costco and Costco is almost $400 cheaper than AAA and you get the added Costco perks.

 

[pixiewings71]

You can NOT leave your car in M&F's overnight, it will be towed. Honestly, that was the only reason we went with AAA for our trip in April, we wanted the free parking because we were staying far enough away that we wanted to drive in every day.

 

[cgh]

Interesting -- I just compared the same dates/hotels, etc between AAA and Costco and Costco is almost $400 cheaper than AAA and you get the added Costco perks.

That is interesting. Perhaps it is time of year and room category/or package?

I was just looking for the Disneyland Hotel for 4 nights in August, one Premium character meal and 3 days of tickets, and Costco was $150 higher.

So, I guess definitely check both and see. The negative I find with AAA is the clueless agent and its nice with Costco you can book directly online.

ETA: And perhaps your AAA quote wasn including stuff that you didn't want it to. (since my agent originally signed me up for a meal plan for some reason). I'm waiting for a printout with everything clearly written before I give a deposit.

 

[helenb]

Do ou have to be a Costco member to book with Costco?

 

[cgh]

I just wanted to add that I decided to cut AAA loose due to a bit of agent incompetence. There were a number of issues with the attempt at booking, and some unclear correspondence. I'm sure it is very agent specific so someone might have luck going this route, but not me.

 

[specialks]

Sorry you had problems with your agent. Do you have a aaa travel office nearby? Also, you can book online with aaa too, just like Costco they route you to WDTC to book it.

 

[NewbieMouse]

When I was looking at quotes I found AAA and Costco to be almost identical (as pp have said, it's really booking through the same company, just a different agent). Of course, the first time we went, I found this out after I had already booked with AAA, so I was kicking myself for having lost out on the premium dining voucher perk. The second time we booked with Costco and it went perfectly, it was just like I had booked with WDTC direct.

I would double check with the AAA agent what they're including; it seems odd they'd be so much lower.

 

[Disneylandfan1]

Probably the best thing to do is just compare package prices. When we booked our last trip in December the price for the Costco package with a "free" character meal was exactly the same price as the AAA package with vouchers for a premium character dining at Goofy's Kitchen. As previously stated, both of these travel companies book through WDTC so I don't know that there would be a huge price difference, you just have to compare. We did book through AAA because we worked with a Disney knowledgeable TA, and we were happy with our experience. Our TA also made our dining reservations for us, which was nice because it was over Christmas and very competitive. We did like the Diamond card that came with our package which gives you discounts to DTD restaurants, and I know we used the free kids meal at Rainforest Cafe (unfortuately I threw the card away and don't remember what else was included). You also get preferred seating to some of the shows, Aladdin being most helpful, and tickets to TTMM. I was also told they will lower the price of your package to match the current special, which is a WDTC policy I believe, so if a summer discount surfaces it could lower the price of your reserved package (fingers crossed!). I would probably not be very comfortable working with a TA who was less experienced with Disney.

 

[cgh]

Yeah-that was it. The agent really did not know Disneyland. I should have walked away and switched the first time, when I said I wanted to stay at the Disneyland Hotel and she said "which one?" To which, I had to say-that one, the Disneyland Hotel.

I definitely think it is worth checking out, and maybe if done in person it would be better (this was phone and e-mail). I would do a lot of research on my own though so that you can troubleshoot if something doesn't sound right. (ie. A Goofy meal plan instead of a dinner at Goofy's kitchen)

I'm hoping some discounts will come out. We'll see.

With that-the discounts are applied unless you have already made full payment or within the 30 day window?