Not understanding the advantage to a package

[rileyroosmom]

Keep hearing how great the new ticket package is. I booked a room only with a postcard pin at Poly 5/28-6/4 for 239/night. Could not add the dinning option on. I just sat and did the numbers. My stay including 7 day hopper tickets bought at Ticketmania is 2,959 (me, dh, ds11,ds8,dd4). The package through the WDW web with the dinning package is 4,748. Big difference. I don't understand why everyone says the package is so great. Seems to me getting things separate is cheaper. Am I missing something?

 

[drp4video]

I have never understood the package advantage either. I always book separate room, car and air. It always comes out cheaper.

 

[javaj]

We used an email pin for the room and were able to add the dining plan (had to add 1 day passes to make it a package). We really wanted the dining plan so it was worth it for us. Our total for 6 nights, 2 rooms, 4 adults, 2 children at WL Woods View was $3154, this is with 1 day passes and 6 nights dining.

According to the CM I spoke to last week, the ability to add dining to the pin rates is new and not widely known yet. I think they have corresponding package codes for for room-only codes. For instance, you'll have a three letter code for the room-only rate, then you have a different one for a package using that room-only rate with tickets, then you have yet another code for a package using that room-only rate with tickets and dining.

Keep hearing how great the new ticket package is. I booked a room only with a postcard pin at Poly 5/28-6/4 for 239/night. Could not add the dinning option on. I just sat and did the numbers. My stay including 7 day hopper tickets bought at Ticketmania is 2,959 (me, dh, ds11,ds8,dd4). The package through the WDW web with the dinning package is 4,748. Big difference. I don't understand why everyone says the package is so great. Seems to me getting things separate is cheaper. Am I missing something?

 

[Pixiedusttravel]

We used an email pin for the room and were able to add the dining plan (had to add 1 day passes to make it a package). We really wanted the dining plan so it was worth it for us. Our total for 6 nights, 2 rooms, 4 adults, 2 children at WL Woods View was $3154, this is with 1 day passes and 6 nights dining.

I am fairly new to this forum. I was just wondering how do you get an e-mail pin? I've heard of the postcards, but e-mail? Where do you find these?9

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

In my opinion there isn't an advantage to booking a package unless you have a package discount. We are considering a package for our next trip because we are eligible for a discount. If we had a room only discount PIN we would definitely use that. You are VERY lucky!!!!

 

[TDC Nala]

Apparently you can add a package to a postcard rate room, but the package must be inclusive of park tickets. An above poster, who apparently has at least one annual pass, had to add one-day park passes in order to also add the dining package. Seems you can't add dining unless you also add tickets.

I've seen other posters say it's possible to book a full package with tickets and dining at an AAA rate, but only if you book it through AAA. You can't add to an AAA rate room, you must rebook the reservation as a package.

 

[rileyroosmom]

Javaj -so you bought 1 day tickets through Disney, which allowed you to add the dinning package for 6 days? Where are you purchasing the other days tickets from? The price you quoted does not include the rest of the days tickets? Does the dinning plan go by how many tickets, or how many nights? When I asked to add the dinning I was told no, how did you get it? Sorry for so many questions, still trying to really understand this whole system!

 

[javaj]

We have APs, so we don't need tickets at all for this trip. We will save the passes for a future trip, CRO verified that since they expire 14 days after 1st use, they will not expire if not used.

The dining package is for the length of stay. We are doing the package for 6 nights, so we are getting 6 nights of dining. We did the package only for 6 nights then added a 2 night room-only for 2 nights so we could use our leftover vouchers.

I was told by the CM that dining can be added with the room only rate as long as tickets were added too. He said that this was a new thing, and that not all the CMs knew about it yet.

Sorry I can't help you with how to get a CM that knows how to do it, but I'd say just try again or tell the CM that you just talked to a friend who did this and was told that it was a new thing and that they just learned about it recently too.

Our $3154 price included the 6 nights stay for 2 rooms (1833 -- 137 plus tax for 6 nights for each room), 6 nights dining (1070 -- 35 for each adult, 10 for each child, X 6 plus tax), then 251 for 1 day passes for 4 adults and 2 children.

Don't worry about asking more questions, I just wish I could help more!

Javaj -so you bought 1 day tickets through Disney, which allowed you to add the dinning package for 6 days? Where are you purchasing the other days tickets from? The price you quoted does not include the rest of the days tickets? Does the dinning plan go by how many tickets, or how many nights? When I asked to add the dinning I was told no, how did you get it? Sorry for so many questions, still trying to really understand this whole system!

 

[rileyroosmom]

I understand now! Those APs come in handy don't they. I don't have an AP so I guess I should just keep everything the way it is.
Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. Have a great trip!

 

[vsimeone]

I'm sure this doesn't help the poster but we have purchased packages for our last two stays because DH has an American Express Rewards card through his employer. He earns "points" on the card for various sales and the points translate to dollars at selected establishments. They are good at WDW but only for a vacation package - not the separate items. We have never quite understood it but it kind of means that our trip is "free" so we have never bothered trying to book everything separately like we did in the "old" days.