i can't buy dining if i booked w/ an AP rate??

[tuckerkeys]

just called to add dining to my may ressie....but the CM told me i wasn't able to add dining since i booked room only with an AP rate...is this true? thanks!

 

[Luv2Roam]

What you were told is correct.

 

[lark]

It seems like it might not be a bad idea for a sticky making some very basic points that seem to get asked alot.

1) Anyone can book an AAA room rate -- an AAA agent, another travel agent, or you yourself directly through CRO.

2) The only way to get the dining plan is to book a MYW package. Usually this means you have to pay rack rate for the room. There traditionally is one, and only one, exception. If you book your MYW package through an AAA agent, you can get an AAA discount on the room portion of the package. To recap -- if you want to purchase the dining plan, you must either (1) pay rack, or (2) book through AAA.

3) Traditionally, when disney has offered free dining, you must pay rack for the room. You can book it through whomever you want, but there will be no discount, including an AAA discount, AP, Florida passholders etc.

4) When disney offers other package discounts -- for example free park hopping or plus features -- you usually have to buy the package through disney and pay rack, but you MAY also be able to book through an AAA agent and pay the reduced AAA rate for the room portion of the package.

 

[johnvree]

It seems like it might not be a bad idea for a sticky making some very basic points that seem to get asked alot.

1) Anyone can book an AAA room rate -- an AAA agent, another travel agent, or you yourself directly through CRO.

2) The only way to get the dining plan is to book a MYW package. Usually this means you have to pay rack rate for the room. There traditionally is one, and only one, exception. If you book your MYW package through an AAA agent, you can get an AAA discount on the room portion of the package. To recap -- if you want to purchase the dining plan, you must either (1) pay rack, or (2) book through AAA.

3) Traditionally, when disney has offered free dining, you must pay rack for the room. You can book it through whomever you want, but there will be no discount, including an AAA discount, AP, Florida passholders etc.

4) When disney offers other package discounts -- for example free park hopping or plus features -- you usually have to buy the package through disney and pay rack, but you MAY also be able to book through an AAA agent and pay the reduced AAA rate for the room portion of the package.

Great idea and thanks for the info Lark.

 

[FoodLover]

4) When disney offers other package discounts -- for example free park hopping or plus features -- you usually have to buy the package through disney and pay rack, but you MAY also be able to book through an AAA agent and pay the reduced AAA rate for the room portion of the package.

Great summary, but #4 is incorrect. Standard AAA package discounts on the room rate can NEVER be combined with any other offer, including ticket upgrades, etc. Sometimes AAA agents claim otherwise, but in every single instance I've investigated in the past 5 years, they have been wrong. I don't believe they are deliberately misleading clients -- it's just confusing.

Mary
MouseSavers.com

 

[Ub_Iwerks]

I've been reading Mary's newsletter for a few years, and I would bet my last dollar that the previous comment is correct.

I have read about AP holders who do book the Dining Package, but only get a 1 day/1 park ticket and then use their AP for the other days. The number of days you get dining is based solely on how many nights you are staying at a Disney Resort. Whether it is worth it for you depends on time of year you are going and what resort you are staying in. We were staying at the CR, so it wasn't worth it for us. We bought the Disney Dining Experience Card instead that gave us a discount at sit-down restaurants and cs at AK. Our kids aren't big eaters, so this was a better deal for us.

 

[lark]

Great summary, but #4 is incorrect. Standard AAA package discounts on the room rate can NEVER be combined with any other offer, including ticket upgrades, etc. Sometimes AAA agents claim otherwise, but in every single instance I've investigated in the past 5 years, they have been wrong. I don't believe they are deliberately misleading clients -- it's just confusing.

Mary
MouseSavers.com

I thought that when the free hopper/pluses MYW package came out, there was a special AAA code that could be used to get the AAA off of the room discount AND get the free ticket upgrade. In fact, isn't that the genesis of the sticky at the top of this board that says not to post the AAA codes?

Not alot of people were able to get it, but a few did get it and reported here that they did (including some who booked through an AAA agent who posts here often -- I've forgotten her name.) I don't remember who it was, and my search skills are kind of crummy, but they were pretty regular posters. I think it was around November '05, but I could be wrong.

 

[Luv2Roam]

Lark, what you are writing about was probably a specific AAA package that was offered. And I would not be surprised if a PIN was attached to something like that.

 

[FoodLover]

I thought that when the free hopper/pluses MYW package came out, there was a special AAA code that could be used to get the AAA off of the room discount AND get the free ticket upgrade.

Nope. Some people THOUGHT they were getting the AAA room discount AND the free upgrade, but in reality they were paying the same as they would have if they'd booked directly with Disney, or through a non-AAA travel agency.

When the free ticket upgrade offer was running, dozens of people sent me e-mails detailing the "great deal" they had gotten through AAA on those packages. There was a "special" code for AAA and in most cases they had been told they were getting a "special" AAA package. But in every single case, I priced it out on the DisneyWorld.com web site and they were paying the same as the general public.

AAA almost always has its own code when package specials are released, but the only purpose of such codes is to allow Disney to track the sales for marketing purposes. There are no extra AAA discounts associated with those codes. The reason they can't be published on this site is that they are only available to AAA members (not the general public). But if you have the "general public" code for the same package, it's the same deal anyway.

I have nothing against AAA - I'm a member myself. But AAA members need to realize that the only time there's any advantage to using AAA for a package is when there are no other package specials running.

Disney is extremely consistent on this one point - you can only get ONE discount on your room or package, be it AAA, AP, or a package special such as free ticket upgrades or free dining.

Mary
MouseSavers.com

 

[thesoldtrain]

Don't mean to hijack the thread, but since this came up, I have a question that I think pertains to this.....Mary or anyone else who knows... do you know if you can book a discounted AAA room with dining through AAA, then? Would the "dining" portion be considered an addtl. deal, and so they don't allow it to be booked? I thought I had read in other threads that you could book a Magic Your Way with dining through AAA and still get a AAA discount on the room portion? Does this require a code?

Thanks!

 

[DebbieB]

I've been reading Mary's newsletter for a few years, and I would bet my last dollar that the previous comment is correct.

I have read about AP holders who do book the Dining Package, but only get a 1 day/1 park ticket and then use their AP for the other days. The number of days you get dining is based solely on how many nights you are staying at a Disney Resort. Whether it is worth it for you depends on time of year you are going and what resort you are staying in. We were staying at the CR, so it wasn't worth it for us. We bought the Disney Dining Experience Card instead that gave us a discount at sit-down restaurants and cs at AK. Our kids aren't big eaters, so this was a better deal for us.

AP holders can get the dining plan by only buying a 1 day ticket with a package. However, they can't get the AP room discount, the room has to be at rack rate. You can save the 1 day ticket and apply the value towards your next AP.

Regarding AAA - see Mary's response above. You don't get a room discount with the dining plan.

 

[dopeyfanatic]

Doesn't this mean though that if you book through AAA, you can get a room discount if you're paying full price for the dining package...as in not a time when they offer the free one....?

 

[DWDreams]

One thing I want to add since the OP mentioned having an AP. Don't forget about your ability to order the Disney Dining Experience card with your AP. It's $60 (I think) and you get 20% discount off most meals. I find that this works very well for me money-wise in terms of booking room only with either AAA rate or AP rate if available and then getting the dining discount.

For example, 7 nights at Poly GV with AAA discount of 15% this August gives you a total for room of approx. $2069. Rack rate for 7 nights is approx $2434, so about $350 more. If an AP rate comes out, the discount would be slightly higher. For a family of 3 such as mine, the room savings plus a discount on dining is enough not to justify rack rates. Now I suspect that doesn't hold true for a larger family and I'd think that's where the free dining package can really be put to good use.

 

[magsmom]

I costed out the AAA price for free dining for my mom and dad and the price was exactly the same as the amount on the disney website ($435 pp for 6 days).

AAA does give you some perks if you book the MYW package, like preferred parking, however.

In regards to the OP question, I am an AP holder and am doing the free dining at the beginning and end of my vacation (I'm buying 1 day base passes which will be used to updrage towards new AP's in the future), and am paying for dining while I am at BWV (on DVC points). The beginning of our vacation is an add-on from our original plan. The end of our vacation, well, I figure that it is cheaper to stay at POFQ with free dining than at the Dolphin with DDE.

 

[lark]

Nope. Some people THOUGHT they were getting the AAA room discount AND the free upgrade, but in reality they were paying the same as they would have if they'd booked directly with Disney, or through a non-AAA travel agency.

Fair enough. I stand corrected. (Not that I ever had much doubt you were right -- disagreeing with you about codes is a little like disagreeing with Einstein about physics.)

 

[FoodLover]

do you know if you can book a discounted AAA room with dining through AAA, then? Would the "dining" portion be considered an addtl. deal, and so they don't allow it to be booked? I thought I had read in other threads that you could book a Magic Your Way with dining through AAA and still get a AAA discount on the room portion? Does this require a code?

Sure, you can book any of the regular vacation packages (including the MYW Plus Dining) through AAA and get the AAA discount on the room portion. What you can't do is get FREE dining or other special package offers PLUS the AAA discount.

Mary
MouseSavers.com