OH NO!!! Another AAA discount question!

[CleveRocks]

Frankly, I'm used to answering questions on the Transportation, Theme Parks & Attractions, and Resorts forums.

I thought I understood all of the mechanics of how the AAA discount works, but it seems there's a gap in my knowledge big enough to ride the monorail through.

I know Disney's definitions of a room-only reservation and of a package. I know I can get the AAA discount (if available) on a room-only reservation directly through WDW or through the TA of my choice. I know if I want the AAA discount on a package that I must go through a AAA TA.

I'm just not 100% clear on what the AAA package discount actually discounts. Does it discount ONLY the room rate?

A few details ... it's unlikely we'll buy the DDP (although the new quick-service option looks semi-appealing to me). Whether I buy my tickets through WDW as an add-on to my room-only, or book the tickets as part of a package with AAA discount, or buy them at my local AAA office ... frankly I don't care. I just want to save the most money possible.

If I'm not buying the DDP, then the small differences between a room-only and a package are totally unimportant to me. I guess the bottom-line question (FINALLY!) is ...

Will an AAA room-only discount plus my cost of park tickets be the same price as an AAA package discount? Is there any FINANCIAL benefit of one versus the other (I'm not talking about a Planet Hollywood voucher or a souvenir luggage tag, I'm talking money money money)???

 

[sharadoc]

I am so with you, but here is what I think I've discovered/decided.

Room:
1. The AAA package will have discounted room rate and discounted tickets.
2. You can book a discounted room rate direct through Disney.
I have control of my reservation doing 2. Plus I can pay in full at check-in, rather than 45 days out which will be 2 weeks before Christmas for me.
Tickets:
3. I can buy discounted tickets direct from AAA, separate from a "package." I will save around $25 buying discount tickets for 4 of us and I have to go pick them up or pay shipping, so net savings around $15. And I will have separate tickets and room keys.
4. I can add tickets, no discount, to my room key at check-in.

I think we're doing 2 and 4. The fear of losing tickets is worth giving up the discount.
Hope this helps.

 

[CleveRocks]

Room:
1. The AAA package will have discounted room rate and discounted tickets.
2. You can book a discounted room rate direct through Disney.
I have control of my reservation doing 2. Plus I can pay in full at check-in, rather than 45 days out which will be 2 weeks before Christmas for me.
Tickets:
3. I can buy discounted tickets direct from AAA, separate from a "package." I will save around $25 buying discount tickets for 4 of us and I have to go pick them up or pay shipping, so net savings around $15. And I will have separate tickets and room keys.
4. I can add tickets, no discount, to my room key at check-in.

Well, it's nice to know someone's in the same boat as me, but I still don't know the answer. Using your "numbers" above, which is cheaper ... #1 or a combo of #2 and #3???

Of, and by the way, I already secured my AAA room-only discount. When I called yesterday (when the 2009 rates came out) I was told the AAA rates weren't out yet, but today they were!

 

[CleveRocks]

3. I can buy discounted tickets direct from AAA, separate from a "package." I will save around $25 buying discount tickets for 4 of us and I have to go pick them up or pay shipping, so net savings around $15. And I will have separate tickets and room keys.

I can help you with this part ... even if you buy your tickets in advance at your local AAA office, when you check-in at your resort you can have the CM add those tickets onto your room key, and thus you don't have to carry around your KTTW card and your separate ticket if you don't want to. This goes for tickets bought from any legitimate source, not only from AAA.

 

[brentalex]

I believe that if you purchase a package through a AAA travel agent you can get the discount on the room, but everything else will be full rate. You will not be able to get a discount on any other part of the package. However, you can get a room only discount and buy the tickets separately and get a discount on those. But this will not be a package. You will not be able to get the dining plan, and you will not get any of the other little perks you get with packages.
I think the best deal, since I have no interest in the dining plan, is to get the room only discount and buy the tickets seprarately, whether through AAA or wherever you can get the best price.

 

[catne]

Originally Posted by sharadoc
Room:
1. The AAA package will have discounted room rate and discounted tickets.
2. You can book a discounted room rate direct through Disney.
I have control of my reservation doing 2. Plus I can pay in full at check-in, rather than 45 days out which will be 2 weeks before Christmas for me

Sharadoc-not to high-jack the thread, but how did you get the pay in full at check-in option? When I booked directly through Disney, I had to pay in full 45 days in advance of arrival. Or is the pay when you get there just for room-only reservations?

And to the OP, when we book through AAA and get a package, they always throw in something extra, on top of the freebie discount coupons Disney puts in the package. For example, this year in May, we booked 2 room/tix/DDP packages through AAA (both on DH credit card) We received a $25 Disney gift card for each room and a car DVD player from AAA...they had 2 promotions going at the time we booked it so we got both of the promo gifts on top of the room discount (which was 20% off during the last week of May) And if you drive (your own car or a rental car) that AAA diamond parking pass is very nice...the AAA parking is about as close to the entrance as your can get...right next to the handicapped parking. It's so close we rarely took the tram because it was faster to walk to the car.

 

[CleveRocks]

Sharadoc-not to high-jack the thread, but how did you get the pay in full at check-in option? When I booked directly through Disney, I had to pay in full 45 days in advance of arrival. Or is the pay when you get there just for room-only reservations?

You guessed it right in the last sentence above.

Terms for a room-only reservation are one night's room rate + tax due within 14 days of booking (immediately if booking online), and then the balance due at check-in. If you booked over the phone, you can pay earlier if you want. If you booked online, you can't pay early and MUST pay upon check-in (an off quirk, to say the least).

Terms for a package reservation are $200 due within 14 days of booking (immediately if booking online), and then the balance is due no later than 45 days prior to travel. You can pay early no matter how you booked. If you buy trave insurance through WDTC, you must pay that within 14 days, also. If you buy air travel through WDTC, you must pay for the airfare portion IMMEDIATELY, while you're still on the phone.

There are also different terms for cancellation, etc.

 

[catne]

thanks...for a minute there I thought I had handed my money over to the Mouse long before necessary

We had a package in May and we have a package in September...so that's why my money had to turn into Disney money so soon.

 

[tiger4me2]

Terms for a package reservation are $200 due within 14 days of booking (immediately if booking online), and then the balance is due no later than 45 days prior to travel. You can pay early no matter how you booked. If you buy trave insurance through WDTC, you must pay that within 14 days, also. If you buy air travel through WDTC, you must pay for the airfare portion IMMEDIATELY, while you're still on the phone.


Strange not knocking you on the insurance but I was able to add the insurance 30 days after I book when I made final payment not 14 days afterwards. Maybe I just got lucky. But that what I was told when I booked it.

 

[zagafi]

Actually, the $200 deposit is now due SEVEN days within booking!

 

[wdhinn89]

I believe that if you purchase a package through a AAA travel agent you can get the discount on the room, but everything else will be full rate. You will not be able to get a discount on any other part of the package. However, you can get a room only discount and buy the tickets separately and get a discount on those. But this will not be a package. You will not be able to get the dining plan, and you will not get any of the other little perks you get with packages.
I think the best deal, since I have no interest in the dining plan, is to get the room only discount and buy the tickets seprarately, whether through AAA or wherever you can get the best price.

I found the exact same thing. When quoted a package through AAA, the price was AAA room discount +regular DDP cost+regular tickets prices. (Discount was on the room portion only.) So we booked through Disney and got the AAA room rate and went to the AAA office and bought park tickets at a discount and skipped the meal plan which we never purchased before anyway. Saved us more money this way. Plus they gave me 2 AAA Diamond Passes which came free with the park passes.

 

[MommyBuzz909]

Check Disney first and then call AAA. AAA was able to beat Disney by $120 for me. Yes, it's only $120, but still, saving money is saving money!! Plus, my AAA office is like 5 minutes away....Disney World is a 4 hour plane ride!!!

 

[CleveRocks]

Actually, the $200 deposit is now due SEVEN days within booking!

THANK YOU for bringing this to everyone's attention. Excellent point! This represents a huge change.

I can back up your fact, as well. I just got my AAA rate today when I called up. Since this is a change to my room-only reservation, they send a confirmation e-mail. Even though I paid a deposit a few weeks ago (when I originally made the reservation), it lists at the bottom of the e-mail that a deposit (equal to one night's room rate + tax) is due on 8/11/08, which of course I don't have to pay since I already paid a deposit. The point, however, is that today is 8/04/08, and 8/11 is 7 days from now.

Like I said, big change. I got used to having two full weeks to delay calling in my deposit. For people who like to mail in a check for their deposit, this new 7-day window is indeed a big change.

 

[CleveRocks]

Thank you all for your responses.

 

[nickandlarisa]

I thought because I was new at this AAA was complicated, glad to see a few vets still have questions!

What if we DO want dining?
Would AAA package = WDW package with AAA discount? If the only thing discounted is the room rate, are those discounts comparable no matter who you book the package through?

Thanks!

 

[RMulieri]

I thought because I was new at this AAA was complicated, glad to see a few vets still have questions!

What if we DO want dining?
Would AAA package = WDW package with AAA discount? If the only thing discounted is the room rate, are those discounts comparable no matter who you book the package through?

Thanks!

It would be comparable to a regular MYW with dining plan thru disney, except with AAA you would basically have a discount on the resort portion of the package, where with disney unless you had a pincode there would be no dicounted resort portion on the pkg.Now if say, you had the dilemma I had this year...I booked a 1 bdr villa at the BCV and MYW with dining thru AAA.Then free dining was released.AAA could have gotten me free dining, but I would lose the discount on the resort.I had to crunch the numbers to see which one saved me moe money...the AAA discount did.

 

[sharadoc]

I can help you with this part ... even if you buy your tickets in advance at your local AAA office, when you check-in at your resort you can have the CM add those tickets onto your room key, and thus you don't have to carry around your KTTW card and your separate ticket if you don't want to. This goes for tickets bought from any legitimate source, not only from AAA.

That is great news. Thanks for that info - it makes the AAA discount tickets a better option.

Originally Posted by sharadoc
And to the OP, when we book through AAA and get a package, they always throw in something extra, on top of the freebie discount coupons Disney puts in the package. For example, this year in May, we booked 2 room/tix/DDP packages through AAA (both on DH credit card) We received a $25 Disney gift card for each room and a car DVD player from AAA...they had 2 promotions going at the time we booked it so we got both of the promo gifts on top of the room discount (which was 20% off during the last week of May)

That's interesting. I have heard that AAA agents can "take over" a room only booking with Disney and convert to a package. If they run something like this, I'll consider switching. A second DVD player would be great with two kids. And who can't use the $25 gift card.?

So - my AAA contact/agent just called me. I told her about my reservation, but she still wants to price out the package for me. She told me she can take over my reservation, so we'll see. At least I'll have an apples to apples comparison, sort-of, kind-of, whatever!

Thanks for all the info - both of you.

 

[wdhinn89]

That is great news. Thanks for that info - it makes the AAA discount tickets a better option.




That's interesting. I have heard that AAA agents can "take over" a room only booking with Disney and convert to a package. If they run something like this, I'll consider switching. A second DVD player would be great with two kids. And who can't use the $25 gift card.?

So - my AAA contact/agent just called me. I told her about my reservation, but she still wants to price out the package for me. She told me she can take over my reservation, so we'll see. At least I'll have an apples to apples comparison, sort-of, kind-of, whatever!

Thanks for all the info - both of you.

Where you offered any free gifts from the agent. When I got a quote, I wasn't offered anything, but I didn't ask. I would appreciate your reply. I love FREE items

 

[sharadoc]

Where you offered any free gifts from the agent. When I got a quote, I wasn't offered anything, but I didn't ask. I would appreciate your reply. I love FREE items

I just now got the quote. $2921.10 for the package - room and base tickets. If I book it myself, I'm at around the same price. Nothing extra offered. I'm verifying now - I just sent a note asking if something else besides room and tickets came with the package, so I'll let you all know.

NEW INFO: Here's what she told me

You will get a $15 planet Hollywood meal voucher for one person, voucher to rent a sea racer which you pay for 60mins and get 90mins, 1 round mini golf for one person, 1 5x7 photo which they take at the entrance at the parks, 30 min arcade card to use at the resorts, discount card that offers varies discount to the stores, food, recreation and tours, a preferred parking voucher to park at the parks and story time telling experience.

I believe this is the same as booking the basic Disney package. The mini golf and discount card looks interesting. Anyone use this package recently?

 

[wdhinn89]

It is the same perks that you get with the Disney Package.

I was given 2 Diamond parking passes when I purchased my park tickets on Sat. Unfortunately, we are flying and can't even use them but if I was driving I guess it would be considered a perk.

Thanks for your reply