Is there an advantage to booking tickets separately?

littlejen22

DIS Veteran
Joined
Apr 19, 2011
Messages
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I am booking one night, we are staying offsite in the middle of our trip and need days onsite before and after. The price seems to be the same if I book the room and then book the tickets or if I do it as a package. What advantages and disadvantages would there be to booking as a package?
 
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The reasons most guests buy packages is 1) for convenience, and 2) because they want package coupons, package promotions (like free dining) or add-ons (like the dining plan).

Are you considering buying tickets with that package?

If so, you should book a package only for the first onsite stay. Book tickets for the entire time you need them with that stay. Then book a room only for the last night.

Or, you can book both first and last nights room only, and just purchase tickets separately. The biggest advantage of this would be the more lenient cancellation, payment and change policies for room only reservations as opposed to packages.
 
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In your case, a package with tickets would be fine.

It's when the offsite stay is prior to the onsite package stay that causes a FP booking problem.

If you want the package perks, book the package with onsite Stay #1 for all the ticket entitlements that you'll need.
 
We mostly book room only reservations and buy our tickets separately. We do this so we can get the room only discount and because it has different cancellation policies. We can cancel a room up to 5 days in advance. The deposit can also be less depending on the resort you book.

When we work the numbers the package usually comes out a few dollars more. I guess that's paying for those extra little coupons you get. But we wouldn't use them anyhow. Only other perk to a package, besides certain discounts, is that they get those cute little luggage tags. I never get those with room only bookings. :sad1:
 

We usually get our tickets with points (airmiles in Canada) or from undercover tourists since they are cheaper than on wdw website and you get a physical ticket. If you want the dining plan with your stay you can book a ticketless package. I've done it last year without any issue.
 
If booking package be careful of needing to make amendments and remove the ticket. They have to cancel the room , then rebook. If no rooms are available during this process then you loose the room just for one amendment of the ticket removal.
 
The cancellation policy for package - 5 versus 30 -versus room only is a major factor for us. Full payment is required for a package deal at the 30 day mark. You can also save a little by buying tickets from an authorized re-seller if you are going for several days. It's not huge but there is little effort required.
 
We always book a room only and buy the tickets separately. They are many advantages to that. You don't have to pay in full until check in. You can cancel five days ahead of time for a full refund. You don't have to have everyone on the same ticket plan. You can make changes within 30 days of check in without incurring a penalty, and it is just more flexible in general.
 
We bought our tickets separately from a broker because the price was much less. We actually still booked a "package" though because we booked room and dining plan.
 
We mostly book room only reservations and buy our tickets separately. We do this so we can get the room only discount and because it has different cancellation policies. We can cancel a room up to 5 days in advance. The deposit can also be less depending on the resort you book.

When we work the numbers the package usually comes out a few dollars more. I guess that's paying for those extra little coupons you get. But we wouldn't use them anyhow. Only other perk to a package, besides certain discounts, is that they get those cute little luggage tags. I never get those with room only bookings. :sad1:
We are exactly the same. Dining paid OOP always is a better deal for us plus we like the flexibility of five day cancellation
 












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