Do packages really save?

[cmdg]

We have just booked a room at WL for next summer! Packages aren't out yet, but we wonder if they actually save $ if you don't use the extras (mini-golf coupon etc).

Also hoping some type of discount eventually comes out for the end of July 2013

 

[smitch425]

We have just booked a room at WL for next summer! Packages aren't out yet, but we wonder if they actually save $ if you don't use the extras (mini-golf coupon etc).

Also hoping some type of discount eventually comes out for the end of July 2013

Packages can save you money depending on the time of year you go. For instance, if you would have booked a rack rate package for July of this year back in May, you would see a savings because the ticket prices went up this month. Package tickets did not go up as the 2012 package prices were set last year. If you would have booked a room only for this July and bought your tickets when you arrived, you would be paying the new rate for tickets.

Did that make sense.

 

[cmdg]

Packages can save you money depending on the time of year you go. For instance, if you would have booked a rack rate package for July of this year back in May, you would see a savings because the ticket prices went up this month. Package tickets did not go up as the 2012 package prices were set last year. If you would have booked a room only for this July and bought your tickets when you arrived, you would be paying the new rate for tickets.

Did that make sense.

Perfect sense! I'll have to call to see how many days we have left on our current tickets.

 

[smitch425]

Perfect sense! I'll have to call to see how many days we have left on our current tickets.

They will not be able to tell you how many days are left. They can only check that at the gate. They will be able to tell you if there are days remaining, though.

 

[bpesch]

Packages are rarely a money saver. It's more about convenience than anything else. So do a side-by-side comparison with prices and you should be able to get a good idea if you are actually saving money.

 

[Hitchhiking Ghost]

We have just booked a room at WL for next summer! Packages aren't out yet, but we wonder if they actually save $ if you don't use the extras (mini-golf coupon etc).

Also hoping some type of discount eventually comes out for the end of July 2013

I think the Disney Packages are like going to McDonalds and saying I'll have a Big Mac, Fries and a drink and it ends up being $6. Or you walk up and simply say, I'll have a #1 and its $6. Same price, just more convenient to order it as a #1.

Ignoring the possibility of ticket price increases, I think about the only monetary advantage to booking it as a package is that you get some "extras" like bonus points for your resort arcade, or a free round of mini-golf or free time on a sea raycer if you purchase additional time. Small things like that.

Disney will offer GP or pin code deals on packages, but without those special offers the packages don't price out cheaper than if you purchased all the components (resort, tickets, ddp) ala-carte.

 

[clanmcculloch]

If you do not have any kind of discount then room + tickets directly from Disney but not as a package will be within pennies of a package including room and tickets. But, if you don't have a discount that requires a ticket purchase then you can save a bit of money on your tickets by buying them from Undercover Tourist, especially if you use the link in the Mousesavers newsletter which gives you a few dollars more savings over their regular discount.

That being said, I don't prepurchase my tickets until I know what kinds of discount (if any) will be available during my trip. If the best discount for me is a package discount then that's what I go with. If the best discount for me is a room discount then I book that and go ahead and order my tickets from Undercover Tourist. It really is the discounts that are available that make the difference as to which is better. If there are no discounts at all then it's better to book the room only reservation and order your tickets from UT.

Of course this doesn't taking the dining plans into consideration. Most people don't save money using the dining plans but there are some who do. If you want to purchase a dining plan then you have to book a package. This requires a ticket purchase (or an AP ticketless package if you purchase an AP or booking by renting DVC points and adding a dining plan but I really shouldn't complicate this any more than it already is).