Do You buy a DL Pkg???

[tink2dw]

Hi,I am just starting to research a trip to DL,is it like going to WDW where it was cheaper to book things seperately?? Or would you suggest a pkg?

At this point the plan is Two parents,one teen to go for 10 days,stay off disney property, rent a car, go 2 day to DC, 3 days DL and go to Knotts 1 Day and Universal 1 day,Sea World 1 to 2 days at end of trip to visit relitives too.

Does the Disney travel Co. still have features for Universal,Knotts,and Sea World???

How would a Budget trip to DL compare to the cost of a WDW trip?? Can it be done a whole lot cheaper??

Should we skip Universal since it won't compare with universal Fl.??

Are AP's better than Hoppers for DL and DC??

 

[pattievers]

Don't pay for the add on features!

We have done this in the past. Mostly because I like to have as much of it paid for as possible.

Imagine my disappointment when I arrive at Knotts Berrry Farm, and they have a get in free with a toy deal! I paid for those tickets, and could have donated the toys I donate anyway.

Universal has buy one day get one free with Discover.

Same for Sea Wrold (I think).

Anyway, there are ALWAYS deals on the other parks.

Maybe some of the California people could post a list as they hear of them?

Patti
Lexington, Ky

 

[Judy from Boise]

I don't know the answers to all your questions, but about the packages....we always stay on property at WDW and havenever booked a package.

At DL we have almost always stayed off site and gotten great packages through Southwest Vacations, which I book on their web site. I beleive that Alaska airlines also has some good deals. I know that Southwest has all the options you are looking for in the way of cars and tickets...but if you stayed at 2 different hotels you would need 2 different ressies.

 

[TrlyScrumptious]

I just paid for our Disney Travel package yesterday. We leave in four weeks! I had originally booked air, car rental, hotel (DLH-resortview, concierge) and park tickets (6-day hoppers) for the three of us though them. Then, I surfed around the internet and found that air and car rates are quite low right now. So, I cancelled the air and car rental from WDT and self-booked the air (for 3, TX <--> CA) and a car (Enterprise, mid-size) for $810.00. The hotel/tickets part of the package came to $3250.00, for a total cost of $4060.00. Through WDT, the total cost was a little over $4500.00, so I saved $500 by self-booking just the air and car rental.

 

[LuvTigger]

I've found that planning a DL trip is a lot different from WDW. I have been more successful in finding good packages (usually hotel plus at least Disney tickets, sometimes tickets to one other park too) for DL.

As someone else mentioned, the first thing you'll probably want to do is decide if you want to stay at a DL hotel, or not. Although I love staying at DL Hotel (and will be staying at GC on next trip in Oct.), it is a lot harder to find any kind of a discount, so we often stay off site. (I like the Best Western Park Place in and the Howard Johnson). Plus, because the atmosphere is totally different, I don't feel as left-out if I don't stay at a DL Hotel. (I have a feeling that staying at GC this year will change my view on that though!)

This year, I booked thru DU (which quoted me less than the "official" Disney site, and they also got me a DC discount right off the bat). When I was researching prices, I got 2 quotes from DU, room only, and Resort Magic Package (park hopper, breakfast, some other things) for 3 nights theme park view. They told me that DL no longer discounts room only, they will only discount packages. The room only quote was only $100 less than the package which included park hoppers for 2 adults. A 3-day park hopper for one adult is $116, so for us it was a no-brainer to get the package.

In my offsite stays, I've booked at least 3 packages. The first one was years ago, and it truly was a deal (esp. since we live in Hawaii and airfare is usually pretty high), with air, car, 4 nights at BW Park Place, and tickets to 2 parks. The second one was thru MKC travel, also a good deal with hotel, DL tickets, and we were able to pick 1 or 2 other parks. The third was thru HoJo, hotel, DL tickets, and 1 or 2 other parks.

I do agree that sometimes it's better to not add on those other parks. On our last trip, we went to Magic Mountain, and McD's had a $10 off coupon!

If you want to stay onsite, the only discounts I've been hearing about are AAA and DC. I don't know about AP. I wouldn't totally rule out packages at DL, but be sure to do your homework first if saving $$$ is your main priority. If you're looking at going to Universal and Knotts, go to their website (if you haven't already) and see what their current prices are and compare.

 

[Minybear]

We have always did the package but this is the first year we did not do airline through Disney Travel since their tickets were way way to expensive. I saved $170 on airline tickets from AZ to CA with me purchasing tickets on my own (and the first time I purchased on the web).