Never use a AAA TA again!

[cmadara]

UGH!!! I should have known better, but I went to a AAA TA to book my WDW trip. Ok, first of all, she had very little knowledge of WDW- I told her things. Booked the trip, against my better judgement again booked a package rather than RO. Then Free Dining came out- I didn't qualify with my dates . She called me 3 weeks after it came out to tell me about it- not realizing that I didn't qualify- duh!
Then when GP discounts came out, I had to call her so she could check to see if my resort qualified. By the time she did that (after I called her) there was no availability.
Then, Tuesday night, I got an e-mail with a new offer- code H8J. I called WDW directly and was told again that I could not modify my ressie- only AAA could. But there was plenty of availability for my resort- even showing up on the website. So, I called my AAA TA first thing in the morning to ask her to call. By the time she got around to it, all availability was gone!!!! Now, it was only a $200 discount, but STILL $200 bucks is $200 bucks!!
Well, I guess this was my lesson learned. I was so aggrevated with, I told her that I would never book with AAA and especially her again, she was like "why?"
Always book directly with WDW using AAA discount- that way, the power is in your hands!

 

[Jiminygirl]

I called my local AAA office with discount questions and they couldn't have been more clueless! I was informing the "Disney Specialist" about all kinds of things about resort rates- calling them was useless.

 

[loudisneyfan]

Can you book the AAA/CAA rate directly with WDW? We booked through CAA (Canadian equivalent to AAA) and they are the same; clueless. The only reason I booked through them was to get the discount before all the GP discounts came out.

 

[canopynut66]

if you are far enough away from going cancel it and book it yourself thru Disney Travel. then you can get either the room discounts OR the free dining. If your going to be there on a night free dining going on it will then be good for your whole trip. with a Magic your way package you can get tickets and your dining all thru WDW. If AAA charges a fee to cancel it would depend on what they charge you but might still work out in your favor. if you stay in say a value and get free QS meals you can also upgrade at a small price per person to MYWD and then get the TS and CS and snack a day. which is what we do. used a TA for first trip years ago and then been doing ours and several for friends since.

 

[loveshak22]

I am not a AAA member...if I join (think it's about $60 now) what will I really save on my package? Can you use AAA and the RO or FD promo (assuming one comes out for late Jan 2013, which historically speaking it will).

Sorry to hijack the thread

I actually used AAA like 6 years ago and I actually had a great lady helping me but like you said, I like having the control!

 

[loricdietzel]

We got books/pamphlets on Disney from AAA because I wanted to let the kids look at them. The one they gave my DD was three years old. It was advertising Toon Town (which has been gone over a year now) and a few other things that have been gone even longer!

 

[ErinsMommy]

Do you mind sharing which AAA office you used? I also live in NJ and wonder if this is what's to come if and when FD or RD come out.

 

[cmadara]

Do you mind sharing which AAA office you used? I also live in NJ and wonder if this is what's to come if and when FD or RD come out.

South Jersey- Beckett
I was really disappointed! I forgot to put in my original post that she also forgot to post a payment when I requested- I have Disney Visa and I break my payments up. Something made me call her to make sure she posted it and she had forgotten!
I lkie control!

 

[LisaTC]

I think with any travel agency you need a Disneyaholic like us on the Dis! If they haven't been there, they can't know. I concur with the above posts...is it more than 45 days away? Cancel it and do it yourself. I know you may risk some ADR's, but at least you'll have your control.

We booked our first trip last year with AAA. She was great, but had been there numerous times as well as Disney cruises. We were lucky. I did know a lot from the board as well.

You can book your own and get the AAA discount if you are a member and no other discounts are currently ongoing. If there are other discounts (and there is, which you've clearly mentioned) you can get those, but not the AAA discount. I think the AAA discount is good only when you might be stuck with rack rate and nothing else.

 

[carolinamama]

Unless something has changed, if you want the AAA discount on a package, you have to go through AAA. But that's only for a package
- not RO. A friend of mine is a standard agent, and I couldn't go through her. I'm hoping for FD or something like that, but we had to go with the discount we know for now. We can always change it. I wanted to hold off to do it ourselves, but we were running into a room availability issue.

And yes, if an agent makes your ressie, you can't change anything yourself.

AAA is definitely spotty. I had a great agent, then she left and we moved over one town. That local office stunk. The agent gave me the wrong quote THREE times on the same day. I ended up going through the regional agents at their 1800 number. That agent was great for two trips, then left. This time, I called the same number, and I ended up with a no nothing agent. Didn't know about the marathon, didn't know room particulars. I was telling her things. I took a chance and tried the local office again. I've got a great agent now who is on top of things and knowledgeable.

In short, if you don't like the agent, don't book through them. Get another one. Tell the next agent you just didn't mesh with the other one and you need a Disney nerd.

 

[Tinkerbella001]

I think with any travel agency you need a Disneyaholic like us on the Dis! If they haven't been there, they can't know. I concur with the above posts...is it more than 45 days away? Cancel it and do it yourself. I know you may risk some ADR's, but at least you'll have your control.
.

I couldn't agree more! There are some great Disney planners out there, but they are not at the big name agencies. If you start asking basic questions and they don't automatically know the answers - MOVE ON!! Ask them how many times they've been to the park and note their enthusiasm. Is this merely a "job" for them or are they passionate about it? Anytime a client calls me, I do what they have asked IMMEDIATELY! I check the discounts multiple times a day and have all upcoming trips on a calendar so as to not forget any important detail. It's actually a way I cope with my own Disney withdrawal

 

[kddisney502]

I had a great AAA agent for my first disney trip as an adult. She wasn't a huge disney fan, but she had been there recently so that was a big help. I have since decided to do the planning myself, but that's because I enjoy doing it. I also like to change or make modifications, without feeling like I'm bothering someone.

 

[AliceIn]

The woman at AAA I worked with was a Disney expert. She took care of everything for us and was absolutely wonderful. When I went earlier this year, there were no discounts at all for the week that we went, so the AAA discount was at least 10%. The extra perks of the Diamond parking, the extra 10% discount card for DTD stores, a preferred Wishes viewing ressie, plus an Epcot Princess Storytime event made booking with AAA well worth it.