I did it- EEEEk- I booked the trip- advice?

[TaurusNYY]

OK so I booked a trip through AAA for Sept using the free meal plan but of course now I have some doubts- we have it booked from Sunday- Wed. and the meal plans ends the 25th. We are staying at the POFQ. The meal plan requires a 2 day hopper pass- I am concerned that 2 days isnt enough for my little one. I am considering going from Sat -Wed- but need to figure out how much extra that will cost- flights/room. Anyway how does the trip sound so far? I am nervous now its too short. So far cost wise its really good. We still have to find flights.

 

[sflen]

OK so I booked a trip through AAA for Sept using the free meal plan but of course now I have some doubts- we have it booked from Sunday- Wed. and the meal plans ends the 25th. We are staying at the POFQ. The meal plan requires a 2 day hopper pass- I am concerned that 2 days isnt enough for my little one. I am considering going from Sat -Wed- but need to figure out how much extra that will cost- flights/room. Anyway how does the trip sound so far? I am nervous now its too short. So far cost wise its really good. We still have to find flights.

you can always add days if you want too. The more days you go the price goes down.

 

[TaurusNYY]

you can always add days if you want too. The more days you go the price goes down.

Does the price reduction usually just apply to the parkhopper passes or room rates as well? I am thinking since we are getting the free meal plan it pays for a day. Thanks in advance.

 

[tinkermommyof3]

Congratulations on booking your trip! There is an upcharge for adding a Park Hopper to your Base Ticket. So if you remove Park Hopper you will have the option of entering one park a day of your choice. This will save some money. This has no effect on room rate. You can add Park Hopper to your base ticket while in WDW if you decide at a Guest Service location if you think you want to hop. No need to put the money out upfront in you are not sure. I noticed that you mentioned AAA requires a 2 day Park Hopper and not just a Base Ticket with Free Dining. WDW usually just requires a minimum of a 2 day Base Ticket. If this is so, then what I said will not work with a AAA Free Dining Package, only a WDW Free Dining Package.

 

[Missytara]

Does the price reduction usually just apply to the parkhopper passes or room rates as well? I am thinking since we are getting the free meal plan it pays for a day. Thanks in advance.

Park hopper is the same cost whether you use it for one day or 10 days.

Free dining requires you to purchase a minimum of a two day tickets; you can purchase tickets for length of stay.

The price of the ticket goes down each day, the more days you purchase.

Room rates do not go down. You are paying full rack rate for the room. You cannot stack discounts; if you wanted a room discount you would have to give up free dining.

 

[jk2006]

If you can afford a few extra nights, and are travelling a long distance to go, I would add on. We stay at ASMo & just booked a 9 night trip, we go every fall, & every year seems to be one day longer than the last. Park tickets are so much cheaper those extra days, and with the free dining the cost of the room is a wash. We are spending $1500 for our flights. To add 2 more days onto our trip added around $300 to our total package, that would be the cost of at least our meals alone anywhere else. We won't have to feel rushed or if it rains that's ok having some buffer time built in.
Good luck!

 

[Princess-ish]

How old is your little one? A day at the Magic Kingdom, and if you do in fact have the park hopper option, a split day at AK and DHS is probably all you "need!"

Did you only book through Wednesday the 25th because that's when Free Dinning ends? I know when booking though Disney, as long as your arrival is within the discount promotion, the discount will extend through your entire stay. So if you wanted to arrive Sunday the 22nd and stay the whole week, you would still have the Free Dinning promotion through out your stay.

I just attempted to book a moderate (1 adult and 1 child) arriving Sunday the 22nd and staying through Friday the 27th, but unfortunately, POFQ wasn't available. I was able to book Caribbean Beach, 5 nights, with a 6 day basic ticket (1 adult, 1 child) and Free Dinning for $1565.

I prefer adding days during the week, as opposed to Fridays and Saturdays, since rates are slightly higher on those nights. Especially with the Free Dinning promotion, since you're paying rack rate!

I also just attempted to book Saturday the 21st through Wednesday the 25th, at POFQ, and it showed unavailable. I was able to book Port Orleans Riverside though. Of course, this is all through the Disney website and you may have a different experience with AAA.

**Edited to Add**
I found all this information through the Disney website itself (Disneyworld.com)... Special Offers... Free Dinning. From there you can play around with dates, resorts, tickets, etc. It would be the best way for you to get an idea on pricing and options. At that point, you can pass along your findings to AAA to see if they're able to book that exact package. We always book directly through Disney, so I'm unsure how it all works with AAA!

 

[TaurusNYY]

I was told that WDW requires a 2 day park hopper pass for the free dining package. If I add the extra day I will no longer be able be able to stay at PORFQ and instead PORR, due to availability. I also am a resident of Florida so maybe I can buy one extra day ticket by itself to save some money.

 

[TaurusNYY]

my daughter is 4 and yes I am seeing the same days as you - AAA also offers preferred viewing for firework shows and story times at epcot- I do not know further details

 

[MinnieLovesMickey12]

NO Disney does not require you to buy park hopper tickets. They only require 2 day base tickets to get the free dining.

 

[TaurusNYY]

I am going to call back and confirm- thanks.

 

[Missytara]

I was told that WDW requires a 2 day park hopper pass for the free dining package. If I add the extra day I will no longer be able be able to stay at PORFQ and instead PORR, due to availability. I also am a resident of Florida so maybe I can buy one extra day ticket by itself to save some money.

It sounds to me like your AAA TA has very little knowledge of Disney because of the questions you are asking.

Ticket number of days and resort number of days available for a discount are totally different things.

I suggest you call back on insist and having a TA who knows Disney.....I mean if you have to repeat it over and over, do it. You are getting shortchanged.

 

[QueenQueso]

I suggest you call back on insist and having a TA who knows Disney.....I mean if you have to repeat it over and over, do it. You are getting shortchanged.

This, exactly. I don't have AAA, so I don't know anything at all about any deals they might have, but I know ALLLLL about a TA not being fully informed. Just this week I had to explain to mine that Park Hoppers cost extra. Park Hoppers being on our tickets cost us $244 that I don't think we will use, she couldn't imagine why I wanted them off since they were 'free.'

We're travelling with my grandma, who insists on using a TA for every vacation ever, but I do all of my own research for everything before I let her make a change or book anything for me.

 

[TaurusNYY]

So I called back WDW and was informed that a base ticket is only necessary and not a hopper. This including an extra day just cost me an extra 100 dollars and change. I was very happy with the service and information given. I do believe my first agent at WDW I spoke today told me a hopper pass was necessary which is why I had it in my mind. Anyway, the only debate now is if I want to deal with AAA and the benefits they offer. I must admit I felt in great hands with the WDW rep. We are now staying from 21-25, Free Dining plan- 2 base tickets- and another we can decide to buy there if we want. I feel very happy, the total was 1407. I think thats goods being that I thought the same deal was going to cozt me 1700+ a few hours ago. Thank you all.

 

[Missytara]

This, exactly. I don't have AAA, so I don't know anything at all about any deals they might have, but I know ALLLLL about a TA not being fully informed. Just this week I had to explain to mine that Park Hoppers cost extra. Park Hoppers being on our tickets cost us $244 that I don't think we will use, she couldn't imagine why I wanted them off since they were 'free.'

We're travelling with my grandma, who insists on using a TA for every vacation ever, but I do all of my own research for everything before I let her make a change or book anything for me.

I used a TA my first three trips, because I was doing the old land/sea package and I didn't know a thing about cruises. I had a wonderful TA all three times. While she was not a Disney over-the-top kind of person, she knew what I needed and she had cruised a million times.

Well, Mary went on vacation for a week and the Owner of the company saw my reservation was coming up in a couple of weeks and snagged it - she was an over-the-top Disney person and this was only my second trip. She calls me back and says she got me an upgrade from POR standard room to a upper floor, fireworks view at the Dolphin. Back then, the cruise packages included transfer, so I did have bus service to the resort.

Well, I get there and they know of no such request as top floor, fireworks view on my reservation. Back then, I didn't have as much info as I do now being on the boards. Well, I end up in a fourth floor room facing the loading dock, which started with activity every morning around 7 am. I asked to be moved, but they were full to capacity.

Luckily the next year, I did get to stay at POR and I have never looked back. And I book it myself now so I have control over my ressie.