February or April, AAA discount, and other questions....

[4boysrus]

We just returned from our first trip to Disney. We loved it so much, that we are wanting to go back next year! I have a couple of questions though...

We went in February (10-17) this year, and while we loved the crowd levels, and the weather wasn't bad, we are considering going in late April for '08. I know that there is a little price difference in room rates between value season and regular season, and obviously it will be warmer. If you could choose, which month would you pick? We'd go around the same time in February, and late April if we choose then. Is there a big difference in crowd size? Will it be too hot for us since we have young kids? I'm open to all opinions.

Also, if we were to join AAA, how much of a discount can we get on rooms?

And lastly, what is the very earliest that we can book our trip package? Do we have to wait til the new rates are released or can we do it now, knowing that the price will change?

 

[TMB1203]

We just returned from our first trip to Disney. We loved it so much, that we are wanting to go back next year! I have a couple of questions though...

We went in February (10-17) this year, and while we loved the crowd levels, and the weather wasn't bad, we are considering going in late April for '08. I know that there is a little price difference in room rates between value season and regular season, and obviously it will be warmer. If you could choose, which month would you pick? We'd go around the same time in February, and late April if we choose then. Is there a big difference in crowd size? Will it be too hot for us since we have young kids? I'm open to all opinions.

Also, if we were to join AAA, how much of a discount can we get on rooms?

And lastly, what is the very earliest that we can book our trip package? Do we have to wait til the new rates are released or can we do it now, knowing that the price will change?

Hi, we were there at the same time. Loved the weather expect for Thurs/Fri and then it got cold (haha, I'm near Chicago and said FL weather was too cold).

I am DVC so I don't know about booking.

This is the first time we have went in Feb. I really preferred the Feb. trip over April. The weather is a bit warmer in late April, but you'll have more crowds.

I originally wanted to go back next Feb., but we've never been in Nov. so we are going to try that this year. Plus we got AP this year and want to get our money's worth.

 

[ransom]

Also, if we were to join AAA, how much of a discount can we get on rooms?

And lastly, what is the very earliest that we can book our trip package? Do we have to wait til the new rates are released or can we do it now, knowing that the price will change?

I just went through the process of figuring out the AAA thing, so here's what I found out:

- A certain number of rooms are set aside at the AAA rate, and it's first come, first served. If they're gone for a given date, then you can't get the rate.

- Room discounts can be 10-20%.

- You can get the discount through Disney if you're a AAA member, but only if you make a "room only" reservation - meaning, you can't get a package that includes the dining plan if you go through Disney.

- If you reserve your room through AAA, though, you can get the discounted room included in a package. The rest of the package is undiscounted, but you do get the room discount (if available).

As for booking ahead, you can do that up to 500 days in advance, but when new prices are released, your rate will go up accordingly.

Have fun!

 

[4boysrus]

I just went through the process of figuring out the AAA thing, so here's what I found out:

- A certain number of rooms are set aside at the AAA rate, and it's first come, first served. If they're gone for a given date, then you can't get the rate.

- Room discounts can be 10-20%.

- You can get the discount through Disney if you're a AAA member, but only if you make a "room only" reservation - meaning, you can't get a package that includes the dining plan if you go through Disney.

- If you reserve your room through AAA, though, you can get the discounted room included in a package. The rest of the package is undiscounted, but you do get the room discount (if available).

As for booking ahead, you can do that up to 500 days in advance, but when new prices are released, your rate will go up accordingly.

Thanks so much for the information!!

Hi, we were there at the same time. Loved the weather expect for Thurs/Fri and then it got cold (haha, I'm near Chicago and said FL weather was too cold).

This is the first time we have went in Feb. I really preferred the Feb. trip over April. The weather is a bit warmer in late April, but you'll have more crowds.

Thanks for the feedback. Even though it was pretty cool in the mornings on Thursday/Friday, those were our fave weather days. lol. comfortable. not too hot and not too cold (after 10 a.m.). I'm leaning towards February again.

 

[littleelvis]

We have went in Feb two years in a row now and we are going again next Feb and Feb 09. We love Feb. The weather is a gamble BUT always better than WI. We were there at the beginning of Feb this year and we missed 9 days of sub freezing temps. The schools were closed 3 days that we thought DS was going to miss, yes the weather was 70 and sunny at WDW everyday but we had 5 days out of 9 that it was 70 or higher To us you can't ask for much more. And the crowd level is why we do it too. We were at MK on 2/4 for EMH and walked on everything! And during the day like 10 and 15 min waits. That's what we love about it, I don't know if my kids would know what to do with crowds or long lines they are very used to Feb now. Good Luck deciding.