Do travel agents save you money?

[Allison1027]

I'm hoping to go to Disney next year at the end of May. We have 2 adults, kids who will be 12, 11, and 4. I want to stay at AoA, but DH is balking at the price. What are some tips to help me save as much $$ as possible? Our dates are somewhat inflexible, due to school and custody stuff.

So, I know we will eat breakfast in our room. We aren't interested in character dining or TS and can split meals. We'll use 5 park days with no hopper. Can a travel agent save us money, and do they make commission based on how much the vacations cost? I see room discounts but I'm thinking they may not fall into the dates we can go.

I've never planned a vacation before, and I want to save money so hubs is not so hesitant the next time! What would the average price for a family of at AoA be?

Thanks in advance

 

[Madteaparty001]

For the most part finding a really good travel agent is like finding a diamond in the rough. They can not give you a discount any lower than what Disney can give you, some may offer a $50 gift card if you're spending enough money or a welcome gift basket. There are several ways to save money, certain times of year have different discounts, I don't really think anyone can recommend anything until we have more information in what you want out of your vacation.

What is your budget?
How many days do you want to stay?
How many days in the parks?
Do you want to go to any parks that aren't Disney?
Do you want a room with a kitchen so you can cook your own meals?
Is driving your own car/rental an option or do you want transportation included?
Can you travel in the off season or only during peak times when your kids aren't in school?

So many more questions that can effect the best vacation for your family

ETA: okay I must have speed read your post because I see you did answer some of these questions, end of May can be hot, do you think the kids may want to spend less days in the parks and add some water parks on? AoA is relatively expensive for a Value, you may get better bang for your buck at another Movies or Pop. You could also rent DVC points and get a 1 bedroom suite with a full kitchen, that way most of your meals can be cooked in your room.

 

[tina.tina]

Since you have a family of 5, you could look at a Moderate that could accommodate you all or 2 rooms at another Value resort. Renting DVC points as a PP suggested could be a good idea. Offsite is another possibility since you could spread out and have more room for less $$$.

 

[Allison1027]

The total budget is $5k, is this reasonable, or can we come in less than that? That includes room and tickets, food, driving/gas, spending $, all of it. An ASMusic suite is an option, I just really like AoA. I thought about adjoining rooms, and its still an option, but with 3 kids, I think one door in and out will be the best for us. Husband likes the idea of resort transportation, so we won't be driving to the parks. I don't think we'll be going to any water parks and I know we'll only be visiting MK, Epcot, and HS. Our schools let out right after Memorial Day. Are there generally any discounts offered that time of year?

Thanks for the help!

 

[Allison1027]

Do any of the moderates have 2 bathrooms? Thats a huge plus for us.

Thanks!

 

[Allison1027]

Also, I just can't wrap my head around renting DVC...I don't understand how it works.

 

[hicksnichols]

I've went with 2 kids the week following Memorial Day and with 3 kids in mid-June with the dining plan both times. We ate breakfast in the room or used our snack credit for it since we aren't big breakfast eaters. We then had one TS and one CS meal a day. We spent around $3500 the second time but 2 kids were under 10 so the tickets were a little cheaper. We had the park hopper but only had 4 day tickets. That price includes a $50 gift card for each kid to spend on souvenirs. During the second trip we stayed at a moderate (Port Orleans Riverside) that had space for 5 people total. My six year old slept on the Murphy bed. A four year old should be fine on it. It was cheaper than a suite, even the All Stars Movie suite and the pool has a good slide. We did get room discounts both times. I think it was spring room discounts. That time of year was crowded but we still had a blast. I definitely think you could go for less that $5K at that time of year.

As far as renting DVC, we are trying it for the first time and its all been smooth so far...

 

[tina.tina]

The total budget is $5k, is this reasonable, or can we come in less than that?

Just check the prices for that time this year. Just realize the prices will increase some for next year.

 

[Madteaparty001]

Your time of year usually yields an up to 35% discount, though AoA suites would qualify for 20% (usually, and the little mermaid rooms are often excluded). You can find what rack rate Disney is charging this year here: http://www.mousesavers.com/2015-art-of-animation-room-rates-season-dates/ . All-star Music will be slightly cheaper for a family suite. They both have 2 bathrooms.

Renting DVC has a lot of pluses for a larger family, standard rooms have kitchenettes (microwave, mini fridge, toaster, sink, and coffee maker). 1 bedrooms have 1 separated room with a king bed, a living room with sofa bed, a chair bed, full kitchen, and 2 bathrooms. A Value resort family suite is set up the same way except it does not have a kitchen and has a murphy bed instead of a chair bed. Here is a calculator to help you figure out the cost of using DVC: http://www.dvcrequest.com/cost-calculator.asp

With the dates I put in as an example of what you told me a standard at the Wilderness Lodge would actually be cheaper than a suite at AoA. Animal Kingdom Lodge 1 bedroom is a few hundred more. The downside to renting DVC is there really is no flexibility in changing your dates down the road, canceling is also nearly impossible as well, trip insurance is very recommended if that is a problem.

Since 2 of your children are over 9 Disney will treat them as adults when it comes to pricing. That means tickets are going to put a dent in your pocket. I mitigate this cost by having good credit and using credit card bonuses to pay for them. Barclay Arrival+ card has 50,000 point bonus sign up when you spend $3000 in 3 months, that's $500 you can apply towards your tickets (though it is recommended to buy through Undercover Tourist to insure it shows up as a travel expanse).

The moderates that will sleep 5 is Port Orleans Resort - Riverside, Caribbean Beach, and a cabin at Fort Wilderness Lodge. The cabin will also give you a full kitchen.

ETA: Port Orleans Riverside http://www.mousesavers.com/2015-port-orleans-riverside-room-rates-season-dates/ and Caribbean Beach are about the same price and are your cheapest options.

 

[720L]

You don't need a travel agent, you have the DIS!

 

[EPCOTgrl1]

Sometimes they do save you money. When I was a CM the travel agent that I work with found a better hotel deal for my parents that I could have ever found. When I called to cancel their hotel the CM asked me why because I had gotten them a really great deal. I told them that they found a cheaper room and ended up with free dining for less, we both agreed that the travel agent was a better deal.

 

[Ava]

Since you don't seem to be interested in the dining plan, you can purchase your park tickets through Undercover Tourist to save some money. Sign up for the Mousesavers.com newsletter, they send out a special link that gives a slightly better discount on tickets through UT.

Like others have mentioned, Port Orleans Riverside and Caribbean Beach resorts both have rooms that will sleep 5. They only have a mini-fridge and a coffee maker though, no microwave or toaster, so your options for in-room meals will be more limited. The suites at AoA and ASMusic are a bit more expensive but both have a kitchenette with a microwave in addition to the coffee maker and fridge, so you have a little more ability to cook in the room. The cabins at Fort Wilderness are a bit more expensive than the suites but have a full kitchen, so you could definitely cook most of your meals in the room if you go this route.

I think you can definitely do a trip for $5k if you are driving down. Check out the Budget Board on here - those folks have all sorts of ideas and tips for both saving money and earning extra money towards Disney trips! You have almost a year to plan and save for it too, which helps a lot. Good luck!

 

[jojuvanlaanen]

We are a big family of 7, we always drive down, and we budget between $4,500 and $5,000 which includes spending money. We buy our tickets from Undercover Tourist. Staying on actual Disney property is not really an option for us due to cost of the rooms big enough to hold all of us. We stay at Bonnet Creek and I HIGHLY recommend it!!!! we rented the room through vacationupgrades.com. He came highly recommended through the DIS. we stayed in a 3 bedroom presidential suite (1,200+ SQ FT) for $120/night. That was a special deal because it was a slow time or something, I think usually it's a 2 bedroom suite for $120/night...but still plenty big enough. They have transportation to all the parks and are located super close to Disney Gates. It has a FULL kitchen so we would eat breakfast in the room and pack sack lunches and snacks for the parks. We usually just did one meal in the parks so that cut down costs majorly. I would also buy souviners at Walmart and the local outlet malls instead of inside the parks, but there are a few cheap souviners that you can get in the parks that are pretty cool. Like the pick a peal at Epcot and the Mr. Potato head disney pieces at DTD.

I also found lots of creative ways to save money to put in our 'Disney fund' before we left, so it was like free money that did not come from our paychecks. Things like rebates, cash back offers, any extra money earned or extra money saved ( money earned from dog sitting or refunds...money saved from a lower insurance bill or cutting cable costs...etc.) Disney CAN be done with a big family!!!