Good deal or not????

[rgo772]

I called last night to get a quote from WDTC and I dont know if is a good, ok, or bad deal any help would be great.
(Package Deal)

2 Adults
2 kids 8&5

Date
6/13-21 2005

Hotel
Coronado Springs
Standard Room
Room Price 1329.04

Air
American Airlines
Round trip no stops
DFW-MCO
6:40am-10:08am 13 Jun
7:26pm-9:05pm 21 Jun
Air Price 843.60

Tickets
10 Day MYW+ hopper
Ticket Price 905.26

Vacation Insurance

Total Price 3173.00

Thanks again

 

[zurgswife]

how many people...??? adults children

 

[sanibelover]

I don't think this is a good deal.

You could get a much better room rate with a discount code. I figured you would be paying $150 plus tax...is this correct?

Why 10 day tickets? Are you gettting no expiration? Looks like you are only there for 8 days.

Also, you have awhile before you will be traveling. You probably could do better than $210/person for airfare. Maybe some folks familiar with DFW could give you more info here.

Package deals don't save you any money. You almost always can do better (usually much) booking everything yourself. Check out www.mousesavers.com for all of the discounts. Have fun!!

 

[buzz2400]

If you have AAA get a quote from them. It is really hard to find out if you get a good rate right now because the program is so new. You can always book and keep looking to see if any codes are issued. Did you ask WDW for both a quote for tickets and room separate and then for a package. You can also request a quote from dreamsunlimited.

 

[zurgswife]

Hotel..
$166.31 per night (probably could do better with a room only discount.)

Air
AA 4 ppl...$963.60

Tickets
10 day MYW + hopper $850

I think just because the room could go down lots that you could save money even if you spend a few dollars more on airfare....

 

[Rebeccapaige!]

Hi, I think the air price is pretty normal but the hotel is horrible I paid $85 a night for a moderate hotel which is what the coronado is. with taxes this came to around $660 for 7 nights!! the Myw tickets can be purchased seperately for a great price at a place called ticketmania.com You need to also remember that, that price doesn't include your food or souveniers! I went to allearsnet.com and looked at approx. what'd we'd chose for food, and came up with around $250 in sit down dinners including tax and tip, about one a night, and a very generous figure of $250 for our counter service. I planned on taking $700 in food money if my hubby came with us. so I think you can save a lot waiting for a code to come out!
Becky, Paige and Hailey
"daddy can't come this time cuz he has to keep track of the new house were building"

 

[maggiew]

Are you buying 10 day MYW tickets so you can use on a future trip?? If not, I don't think you need a 10 day ticket. How much time will you have for parks on your first and last day? Waht time does your plane arrive/depart? You might also want a "down" day during the week. Going that many days continuously will wear down kids that young.

I know its only a $10 difference between the 7 and 10 day MYW, so maybe its worth it. But also the extra $40 could buy a character meal or something.

Maggie

 

[rgo772]

Thanks for all your help so far. The reason I picked ten days because we will be there nine days and I have arranged my flights to get there very early in the morning the first day and leave late the last day. So if I would have taking the 7 day I would have to push the kids a lot more to see what we want. With the 10 day if we only want to go a half day then swim at the hotel when the park gets crowded then we won't have to worry about running out of time. The extra money on tickets I think is worth it but I could be wrong since I have never been there. We do have Six Flags over Texas here so I am hoping the lines are close to what they have. Also, the price I posted of 3173.00 is about 1200.00 less than it was 2 weeks ago for the 8 nights 9days we will be there. Any more info would be greatly appreciated.

 

[kutchyone]

The rack rate for your hotel would be $1,495.22 with tax so your not getting much of a deal on the package there. Do they have such a thing as a 9 day MYW ticket. You probably will not be going to the park every day of your stay. What is included on your tickets, hopper, no expiration? We are flying from Cleveland to Orlando, $132.40 roundtrip, tax and fees each. Our flight dates are June 07th to June 16th with a flight in the evening on our departure day like yours. You probably can do better on the air and hotel. Really think about your ticket needs too.

 

[CinderellasMama]

Since you will be flying out of Dallas/Ft Worth, have you checked out Southwest Airlines? I found flying out of Albuquerque on Southwest was way cheaper than American. You should check into it! Also, we are flying into Tampa instead of Orlando and it's a lot cheaper~~but my brother in law lives in FL so we have someone to drive up around.

Brenda

 

[rgo772]

I tried southwest but they do not have a direct flight from dallas to orlando and I really do want a stop anywhere I just want a direct flight. I tried all the online travel sites and the best rate I could find for a 9 day trip so far was 843.90 and that price was the price I got when I call WDWT. I am so confused now any help would be great. Also, my tickets will be hoppers that will expire

 

[speedyf]

I agree that the difference in the tickets is not much....so, you can probably stay with the 10 day ticket. The place to save money would be the hotel and air.

Air fare is a little tricky. It's early right now for those dates because Southwest doesn't even have their fares listed yet. Last year, we booked Southwest at the end of January for May.

As for Southwest flying direct to Orlando, you can't get a flight on Southwest direct from Dallas from what I've been told. I have a friend that lives in Dallas. For some unknown reason, Southwest can only fly to certain states direct from Dallas (Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, etc). When he wants to use Southwest to save money, he said he usually has to drive to Oklahoma City (about 3 hrs) to get a direct flight. I don't know if that's something you would want to do or look into.

We flew Southwest from New Orleans to Orlando for $38 each way last May (22nd -29th). We originally booked at $65 each way on a promotional, non-refundable fare. Then, I saw a post on this board that Southwest had dropped their rates and all I had to do was call and they would lower my rate to the $38 rate. It was unbelievable!

On the hotel room....I would contact Disney again and ask for for the AAA rate on the room. Even though you are not a member, they usually won't verify your membership until you check in. You can save up to 20% on your room rate just with that discount.

Last year, I booked the AAA rate at Pop Century and received a rate of $84 per night on the room. I figured that if no other discounts came out, I would join AAA for $50 and still come out ahead saving $15 per room on 2 rooms over 7 nights ($210 savings). Well, discount codes did come out and we were able to get the rooms at $69 per night instead....so, I didn't need the AAA membership and thus I never signed up.

I will be doing the same thing this year. Booking at ASMo with AAA and hoping for a code to maybe move up to a moderate instead for around $90 per night.

The good thing with a room only reservation through Disney is that you can apply discount codes as they come out. I originally booked my rooms last year with the AAA code. When, the other code came out....I just called Disney and they applied the code and my room total went down.

Hope this helps a little.....
speed

 

[phorsenuf]

How much is the adult ticket? It might be worth buying an AP to get the room discount (and of course extra trips always happen). I would price it with at least one AP and figure what the hotel would be with the discount. Then price a 7 day ticket out at Ticketmania. I would also take the first day to relax and enjoy the resort and Downntown Disney or go play mini-golf. Use your last day to pick up all the souveys you've been eyeballing and maybe take some time to visit other resorts for future trips.

 

[rgo772]

Thanks for all your help so far. I guess I am now thinking about just book room only and joining AAA so when the discounts come out I can get the better rate. I think I can do that. Please tell me if I book now can I change to the cheaper rate without having to pay or can I do that at all?? Also should I book now or should I wait for a while to book and look for better rates. I guess I am nervous about waiting to long and Coronado Springs will be booked. Am I worring for no reason?? Pls help when is a good timeline to do everything?? I have to go between these dates 6/13-21 and I want to stay at Coronado Springs.

 

[JC Butterfly]

First let me say, WELCOME to the DIS!!! :jumping4:

As you can already see, there is a wealth of information on these boards and everybody wants to help, but when you're planning your first ever trip it gets overwhelming really quickly and I know you just want everything to go smoothly and want to feel like you got a good deal.

1) Packages are designed for convenience of the traveler not for saving them money. As you noted, the price has come "down" for you but that's because of the conversion to Magic Your Way tickets. The price you have been quoted now is considered "rack rate" and it will not go up. This is the price that you use as comparison from this point on.

2) You can call WDTC and request a quote for a room only and yes go ahead and ask for the AAA rate (don't worry about joining AAA just yet). You could also ask for a AAA package rate as I'm not sure how that will affect your price of tickets.

3) If Disney books your airfare for you you will not get your seating assignments until like 2 weeks prior to your trip and there is a good chance that your family will not be sitting together. If this is not important to you, then I wouldn't worry about it. But I do think that you could get a better airfare on your own. Or if you are uncertain about doing this yourself, find a travel agent that you'd be willing to work with. One of the sponsors of these boards is Dreams Unlimited Travel. I have used them multiple times and continue to recommend them. They are great about applying discount codes as they come out so you don't have to worry.

4) Do you have a Disney Visa card? They sometimes offer special room rates to cardholders. Also, if you charge your vacation package to it you will receive 6 months of 0% interest on paying it back, this may help you out.

5) I wouldn't worry about the Coronado Springs resort being "booked up" as it's huge! and there are so many options onsite that for the timeframe you are looking at it needn't be a concern.

6) The annual pass is a good suggestion. If just one person in your family (yes, even one of your kids) has an annual pass, it entitles you to discounts on your resort, some food places, and 10% off at the World of Disney store. With all of these perks it practically pays for itself. They haven't released annual pass rates for June yet, but you could expect it to be anywhere from 15-25% off of rack rates.

I guess I would use this time to be exploring your options. If it makes you feel better, when you book room only, there are no penalties for cancelling it (not sure if this holds true for packages or not).

Brenda

 

[maggiew]

Thanks for all your help so far. The reason I picked ten days because we will be there nine days and I have arranged my flights to get there very early in the morning the first day and leave late the last day. So if I would have taking the 7 day I would have to push the kids a lot more to see what we want. With the 10 day if we only want to go a half day then swim at the hotel when the park gets crowded then we won't have to worry about running out of time. The extra money on tickets I think is worth it but I could be wrong since I have never been there. We do have Six Flags over Texas here so I am hoping the lines are close to what they have. Also, the price I posted of 3173.00 is about 1200.00 less than it was 2 weeks ago for the 8 nights 9days we will be there. Any more info would be greatly appreciated.

I think the 10 day ticket would be good for you, then. It is only a few dollars more but lets you spread out your park touring over a long length of time so it will be easier on the kids.

You can book your hotel now to reserve your spot and then wait for a code to come out. You can then just try to have the code applied to your reservation. If there are any rooms left with that code for that resort, then it will be no problem. But you should also be prepared to pay that original price, in case codes do not come out.

Have fun!
Maggie

 

[sanibelover]

My only question about the 10 day would be: Do you really think that you will be going to a park every day that you are there? You may want (and need) at least a couple of very low key days-maybe just the pool, rent a boat, play mini-golf. The parks get exhausting. It's an effort just to get to the gate at some of the parks,and with kids it can be a major production. I would think that 9 days in a row at a theme park would start to really get old (and I love Disney). Just something to think about....

 

[MichDISer]

I think that you should keep the 10 day PH option because I read that you can add the "no expiration" option later on, toward the end of your trip (the only thing is that you have to pay the full no-exp. price even if you add the option on at the end of your trip).
You can wait and see how many days you have used and figure out if it is worth it to save the remaining days or just let them expire.

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

I called last night to get a quote from WDTC and I dont know if is a good, ok, or bad deal any help would be great.
(Package Deal)

2 Adults
2 kids 8&5

Date
6/13-21 2005

Hotel
Coronado Springs
Standard Room
Room Price 1329.04

No bargain here. That's the rack rate for "regular season", which is $149/night plus 11.5% tax. If a room-only discount comes out (probably in mid-March), you could expect to save as much as 40% off the rack rate. The AAA discount for a just a room is 15% off the rack rate during "regular season". I've had the Disney VISA since it came out and I have yet to see a discount through them that hasn't also been offered to the general public by using another "code" for the same type of discount.

Air
American Airlines
Round trip no stops
DFW-MCO
6:40am-10:08am 13 Jun
7:26pm-9:05pm 21 Jun
Air Price 843.60

$211/person RT for direct flights & the times that you want is not too bad of a price to pay. I understand that airfare from DFW to MCO is almost never cheap. If you feel comfortable with this price, go to American Airlines and book it yourself. Make sure that you understand all their fees, including any that involve cancellation or rescheduling flights.

Tickets
10 Day MYW+ hopper
Ticket Price 905.26

10-day MYW + Hopper (expiry, no "Magic Plus")
2 adults + 2 children
Ticketmania Price = $864.00
price includes tax & shipping

I'm also of the opinion that you could probably get by with the 7-day MYW + Hopper (expiry). This would give you 7 days to visit the 4 theme parks. It's certainly doable as long as you tell yourself that there is no way that you're going to "do it all", anyway. I've been to WDW a total of 8 times. I still haven't sone it all. A "non-park" day in the middle of your visit will allow everyone to take a break from long, hot lines. You can sleep in, grab a character breakfast at Chef Mickey's, resort hop, do miniature golf, visit a water park or hang out at the totally awesome pool at CSR.

If you decide to purchase an annual pass for one adult in order to get the room discount, it can only be purchased from Disney. The cost is $420.68 (including tax). It just went up a couple of weeks ago, so I would not expect another price increase before your trip. Do not purchase an AP thinking that you'll save money on the room. There are no guarantees that Disney will offer an AP discount for your time period or for the resort that you want. While CSR does get rooms at the AP rate, they offer fewer than the other moderates because it is a convention resort. You might want to be a little flexible with your resort choice if you decide to go this route.

Vacation Insurance

Skip it. If you book everything yourself, the tickets will be good until their initial use, the room can be cancelled as late as 5 days prior to your reservation and the airfare (while not refundable) could be rescheduled. Even if you go with the package and want the insurance, check around for cheaper rates. Disney's insurance isn't a bargain.

Total Price 3173.00

Thanks again

It's not a bad price but you can do better. Keep your eyes open for the room-only codes and post any questions that you have. We all love to help.

 

[kutchyone]

I'm also of the opinion that you could probably get by with the 7-day MYW + Hopper (expiry). This would give you 7 days to visit the 4 theme parks. It's certainly doable as long as you tell yourself that there is no way that you're going to "do it all", anyway. I've been to WDW a total of 8 times. I still haven't sone it all. A "non-park" day in the middle of your visit will allow everyone to take a break from long, hot lines. You can sleep in, grab a character breakfast at Chef Mickey's, resort hop, do miniature golf, visit a water park or hang out at the totally awesome pool at CSR.

Right on the money! On our 2000 trip we planned a day in the middle to go to a waterpark. That morning we asked the kids, 13 yr old boy, 2, 11 yr. old girls and a 5 yr. old girl if they wanted to go to Blizzard Beach. They all asked if they would have to get on a bus to go there. When they found out that they would they asked if they could just go to the pool (Port Orleans Riverside/Dixie Landing back then), eat at the hotel and just handg out. It was a really nice day, no fussing and running around just relaxing. The kids knew that they needed a break too. It gave us a chance to do a little laundry and the adults (3) were able to charge our batteries. This trip, husband, daughter (16) and I have built in many "days of rest" because we have never had a chance to really enjoy many of the "free" things at Disney. 10 days of parks only will drive you and the kids insane! Believe us when we tell you that.