Entertainment Book - Is it worth it??

[chanty]

I was looking at ordering the entertainment book of 2005 for Orlando...
Has anyone bought it or the ones in the past?? Is it worth the $25 you pay for it???

Chantal

 

[spiceycat]

I use my DVC to stay at WDW - and when offsite my other timeshares - so no it was worth it for me.

I got it for the restuarants and most of the restuarants were in other cities.

the few in Kissimmee or Orlando were very far from where I was staying or were MacDonald's type of places.

they did have the All Stars at WWOS.

 

[moonmomma]

I recently rec'd my Orlando Entertainment Book. i bought it for Orlando rather than my home city after looking thru the discounts available on the Entertainment.com website.

I am staying off-site in a Villa for the month of February and figured it would be a good way to try some of the dining options in it. What really convinced me was the 50% discounts for four people to the Titanic Exhibit- a MUST see for me!

As long as I can use enough of the discounts to cover the cost of the book, it makes it seem worthwhile for me. I was able to get it for $15 + $5 shipping.

Last year I was able to use it for a last minute stay at one of the Universal on-site hotels, as well as a stay at the Hilton on Clearwater Beach. For the hotel discounts, you only need the card...it doesn't have to be the Orlando edition.

 

[chanty]

Where did you get it at that rate???

Chantal

 

[Fortuosity]

If you don't need it until later in the year, you can get a discounted one. I purchased my Orlando one last year (summer 2004, expired in November 2004) for $10 plus $5 shipping through mypoints.com.

If I'm not mistaken, you can also get a free trial version for a week or two where you can download coupons online. Too, and again if I'm not mistaken, I think you can purchase an online subscription for certain periods of time according to your needs.

Not sure if that helps any, but that's my (limited) experience.

 

[momto4obkids]

I was looking at ordering the entertainment book of 2005 for Orlando...
Has anyone bought it or the ones in the past?? Is it worth the $25 you pay for it???

Chantal

If you go to www.mypoints.com they have $5 off and free shipping for the entertainment books,plus you get your 750 points which is almost enough for a $5 gift certificate.

We got one last year and it more than paid for itself. We rented a ford excursion for 11 or 12 days for $379 total using their rental codes and coupons! This year i have a mini-van booked with their codes and am getting two weeks for $409!

hth!
Amanda

 

[moonmomma]

Where did you get it at that rate???

Chantal

Chantal: i THINK it was because I had one last year and I registered on their website...They were offering $25 with free shipping recently....

 

[BonnieA]

It's worth it to me. I always stay offsite and eat some meals offsite. I am using the Alamo free day coupon that is in the book. I will also use the one for Jungle Jims, Pebbles and the Trattoria Del Porto at the Portofino Bay Resort at Universal. I have more restaurants marked that I may or may not go to. But the book will definately same me money.

 

[Blueberry]

I bought one last year later in the year, paid $10 with free shipping for it an got over $40 out of it in Rental Car Coupons alone, plus a wonderful restaurant off site that cost us as much as a meal at McDonalds when done and discount off purchase at Walgreens..When done we figured we had gotten about $80 dollars out of that book...

 

[MScott1851]

Mine paid for itself immediately. I used it to get an Entertainment Rate at Hard Rock, and used the "One Free Day" coupon at National. That alone saved me almost $640.

 

[chanty]

Thank you everyone! I guess it would be well worth the money then!

Chantal

 

[fccabs]

My Fiance and I are planning to stay at the Hard Rock for 4 nights as part of our Honeymoon in December. We've been looking at the Entertainment book to try and get a discount on our room but we noticed that the current one is only valid until Novemebr 2005. Do we have to wait for the 2006 book to be published to get Decemebr 2005 discounts or is December not covered by the book???

Also is the entertainment book only valid for U.S citizens or can anyone use them???

 

[moonmomma]

You will not have to have your card to MAKE the ressie.....but you MUST have it at check-in to get the rate. (in my experience) You could make your ressie when you can get the entertainment rate and purchase the new book when it is released. Good luck and happy planning!!

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

I got the orlando book as well as the N.H. book because I live in Mass but am always in N.H. The reason I got Orlando was that the card in the front for many of the nicer restaurants alignes with the card from NH there is no difference so even if I only use one or two of the coupons in Orlando I will more than get my money's worth in NH> If you live in an area that has Entertainment offers then it is worth it to get orlando and match the rest of the card offers to your area. I saved over 150.00 last year and that was little effort. Also that is after I subtracted the 30.00 I paid for the book.

 

[chanty]

Just bought mine from their site directly...$10 off - got it for $20 with shipping! Good deal!

Chantal

 

[LilBuckaroo]

If you are purchasing the Entertainment Book thinking to use the discounts only for any of the three Universal hotels, you may want to find out first if they are even being honored before buying one. My guess is neither hotel staff nor Entertainment staff will be able to tell you anything. So far those hotels are not offering the Ent rates, even though the book includes them on their listings. That is the only reason I bought the book to begin with! I have had to book at gently discounted AAA rates so far but it's better than nothing.

 

[WernerW]

There are rumours that there will be no Entertainment rate at all for Universal hotels this year. So if this is the reason for buying it, wait.

You can make reservations for Entertainment rates without having the book. All you need is the card at checkin time.

Also note:
- If you have the entertainment book, ALWAYS ask for a special entertainment rate whenever booking a hotel anywhere.
- All you need for Entertainment rates is the card from the book, not special vouchers
- So, if there is a entertainment book for the town you live, you may be better off buying this one.
- Holiday Inn Hotels (ichotelsgroup.com with: intercontinental, Holiday Inn, Crownplaza, Candlewood, Indigo, Staybride) allow to check the entertainment rate on their website. Select "Entertainment Card" from the "rate preference" listbox.

 

[dcibrando]

There IS a discount for Universal, as well as Busch Gardens and Sea World

if you'd like... you can order a 2005 Entertainment.com through the non-profit organization I run. If you order through us they are right now $10 off... I'll be using mine for my Disney trip just for the $30 off Hotwire coupon... I'll get my plane tickets even cheaper! They got some awesome rental car coupons and hotel discounts as well. Even disney hotels.

go to http://www.funyouth.org/fundraisers.htm

I know this is a shameless plug... but just wanting to help you guys out since you've helped me out on here so much. We get a small amount from sales, but more excitement knowing it's helping families have a great orlando (or wherever) vacation for less! tks!

Message from the Webmasters: this poster has obtained permission from the owner of this site to post the link to the Entertainment books his organization is selling.

 

[WernerW]

@dcibrando:
Well there are some coupons, right, but not for the hotels.

 

[dcibrando]

there are discounts for some of the Disney hotels at Downtown Disney...as far as universal, I don't know.

You can always purchase a book FOR Orlando (instead of your current location) and get a lot of restraunt coupons (like buy one get one meal free) along with the nationwide coupons