how do you find the best deals out there?

[MunchiesMommie]

And how do you know they are good deals?

 

[moniquem]

I would just say to compare, compare, compare. You need to know basically where & when you'd like to stay, for how long, etc. and then I go to my favorite three sites, Costco, AAA & Getaway Today and compare. You get many perks from both Costco and AAA - so if you are a member of either, I suggest utilizing all they have to offer... but with that being said, getaway today dot com has really great prices if you just wanna go on a budget...

HTH!!

 

[MunchiesMommie]

We are AAA members, and my parents have a Costco membership.

We are really flexible about when we go, we are just hoping for sometime in the month of February. And I don't really care where we stay, we can't afford any of the Disney hotels I don't think.

If we do the Alaska "Kids Fly Free" thing, it looks like we could do a whole package staying a several different hotels:

Embassy Suites Anaheim = $1,305.40

Sheraton Universal Hotel = $1,375.40

Disney Paradise Pier Hotel = $1,853.40 (they give you a giftcard, doesn't say how much)

And a couple other pricier hotels.

It looks like those prices are just for hotel and airfare, and then Park Hopper passes would be more I think. On Alaska's site it says it includes them though. It also says it would be $771 per adult flying from Seattle, which is where we'd fly out from.

 

[victorandbellasmom]

We are AAA members, and my parents have a Costco membership.

We are really flexible about when we go, we are just hoping for sometime in the month of February. And I don't really care where we stay, we can't afford any of the Disney hotels I don't think.

If we do the Alaska "Kids Fly Free" thing, it looks like we could do a whole package staying a several different hotels:

Embassy Suites Anaheim = $1,305.40

Sheraton Universal Hotel = $1,375.40

Disney Paradise Pier Hotel = $1,853.40 (they give you a giftcard, doesn't say how much)

And a couple other pricier hotels.

It looks like those prices are just for hotel and airfare, and then Park Hopper passes would be more I think. On Alaska's site it says it includes them though. It also says it would be $771 per adult flying from Seattle, which is where we'd fly out from.

How many adults? How many kids? We've never booked an all inclusive package (air, hotel, hopper) as we've found it cheaper to price it ourselves. If the bonus perks (mickey's toontown madness, priority seating at DCA shows) aren't a big deal, then getawaytoday.com has pretty decent rates for hotel and hoppers. Also sign up for southest airlines ding program. We've gotten some pretty good rates in the past ($636 for a family of 4 out of seatac). Hojo's also has a great entertainment rate of $59-$64 a night.

 

[MunchiesMommie]

2 adults, 2 kids. I don't know what Mickey's Toontown Madness or priority seating is. I haven't been to Disney since 1994. My kids will be 2.5 and 5 when we go.

Where do you get these bonus perks from? Do travel agents usually have perks to hand out if you go through them.

I want to do as much as we can for as little $$ as we can, lol, doesn't everyone?

 

[4bugzinarug]

With kids that age, you really might think about a package through Costco.com or AAA.com in order to get the priority seating for the shows, toontown morning madness. Those passes are a HUGE help when traveling with small children ... especially because the shows seem to be one of the things that they like the most!

I think Costco.com is throwing in a "free" character breakfast for certain travel dates through the end of this year. When looking online at packages & choosing your hotels consider staying in a hotel with kid-suites (king and a bunk bed). We stayed at Residence Inn Resort area in a two bedroom/two bathroom suite last year ... totally rocked!! At the time, they were doing a 4th night free promotion through AAA travel ... it truly was the best price out there and the room was amazing!

If you decide the priority seating & other package perks are not worth it to you then the HOJO is really an amazing deal for what it is (currently the #5 hotel out of 99 Anaheim hotels on tripadvisor.com). This year, we are going to get Hojo's adjoining rooms at the $54/per room rate (entertainment card discount). This is a much cheaper way to end up with a two bedroom "suite", and the kids will have their own bathroom, tv and fridge.

Another good deal out there right now is Hyatt's 117/night "family suite" rate (see travelzoo). My only issue with this room was the room layout, it didn't really work well for us (hotel room door in kids' end of the suite, windows ONLY in kid's end of suite).

Be sure to factor hotel parking and continental breakfasts into your pricing plan. Hope this helps a little, GL with your trip!

 

[victorandbellasmom]

Mickey's Toontown Morning Madness:
Wake up and enjoy MICKEY'S TOONTOWN MORNING MADNESS* an hour before Toontown opens to the general public; at Disneyland Park opening. This enhanced experience offers you the opportunity to meet and greet some of your favorite Disney characters.
The Mayor of Toontown, Mickey Mouse, leads a comical ceremony in which everyone "becomes" a citizen of Toontown - and that's when the madness begins!
Your favorite characters will be showing off their homes, playing games and getting everyone involved in their Toontown "civic duties!" Don't forget to ask for an autograph from Mickey or some of his pals - they're always happy to oblige!

Priority Seatig vouchers for DCA shows
Gets you into special seatings or shortened lines for certain shows at DCA like Aladdin, It's Tough to be A Bug, and a couple other shows.

You can get the extra perks by booking through WDTC or any company that uses them like aaa or costco.

Have you thought about whether you want to walk, drive or take the ART (a shuttle which services hotels around disneyland)to disneyland. If you plan on bringing a stroller, be forewarned that you'll have to collapse your stroller for the parking tram and the ART shuttle. If bringing your own stroller, we've found it easier to have a hotel within walking distance. If you plan to drive you can save money by getting your parkhoppers through aaa. Their parkhoppers include free parking at the Mickey and Friends lot.

 

[MunchiesMommie]

That toontown thing is a MUST for us.

We are flying, I was hoping to rent a stroller there so I don't have to deal with checking it at the airport. Walking distance would be fine, or a shuttle if the hotel offers it.

I'll check the AAA site now and see what they say.

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

I have always found AAA to be the most expensive.

If you go with Embassy Suites, make sure it is the Embassy Suites South, it is pretty close to the park. I would definitely stay there over PPH, you get a suite and a cooked to order breakfast. It will save you money and get your day started nicely.

 

[victorandbellasmom]

I have always found AAA to be the most expensive.

When we used them in 2005, they were about $150 cheaper than booking through WDTC. At that time, costco wasn't doing their disney packages. I just plugged in random dates and compared costco and aaa and costco was cheaper by $4, however it gave you more bonuses like a $20 giftct card and a character breakfast. So it's really about a $100 cheaper.

 

[jemilah]

I just booked though Costco , just became members 2 weeks ago ! They were about 80.00 less then AAA. AAA is always cheaper then Disney. I think airfare should be booked on your own , I don't see much of a discount from either. Getaway today is low frills , and you get vouchers you need to change into tickets, not parkhoppers right away.
From costco I am getting room , parkhoppers and free 20.00 giftcard and character BF for each of us , pin, MTTMM and discounts. AAA gives free parking.
STUDY thats my best advice , take notes you may get confused.

 

[mariezp]

I always book as far in advance as I know my dates. You can always cancel reservations but you cannot go back if you miss a deal.
This year I booked my room in January for our September trip. I was very happy at the time because I saved $10 per night from the previous year. 10 nights made for a pretty good savings.
Just recently someone was excited about the $20 they had saved by calling back and checking rates. They were staying at the same property but their rate was $60 a night more than mine. Needless to say I did not mention my savings but was rather pleased with it myself. After this, I am totally convinced that shopping ahead, and checking back OFTEN pays off!

 

[DizMe]

As others have said, you really have to check and compare. I printed up package offers from Costco, AAA, WDTC, Expedia, and getaway.com. Getaway had the best price, but we wanted a view room (DLH) which they didn't offer (plus I didn't actually find out about them until after we'd booked). Costco and AAA had very similar packages, but the AAA one was about $150 less for what we wanted and gave us a view room. Costco included a "free" character breakfast, but I preferred to save the $150 since I'm not keen on character breakfasts anyway. That was back in May for a mid-October trip.

The downsides: if you book a package, you are stuck paying a hefty penalty if you cancel ($100 from AAA, not sure about the others). You may not have chosen a good weekend for getting a better discount if one comes along (like the 4th night free promotion). For instance, we've always used the 4th night free thing but this year I booked a package with AAA before it came out, as I was told it would only cost $25 to change over if/when the promotion turned up again. Unfortunately, I'd purchased air at a really good rate but that locked us in to a weekend that was not available for the 4th night free promo. If you find that an AP rate would give you significant savings, even after paying the extra to purchase the AP, you have to pay the cancellation penalty if you've got a package.

On the positive side, we got our reservations and airfare at a good rate, even without the other promos, and did not have to worry that everything sold out quickly for our time period. We have what we want and it's paid for Next year, though, I will seriously look into Gay Days (which I learned about too late this time) or make hotel-only reservations and then wait for AP fall rates to come out and switch over if I can.