pkg deal vs booking seperately-UPDATE in post 16

[abookworm]

So has there been a consensus which is usually the better deal?
I got an awesome deal last spring with the kids fly free deal so I only looked at the pkg deals.
But for early Dec the best pkg deal i can find so far for Sun -Fri 2 adults 3 kids is $3000 (air and moderate hotel like BWPPI) with a 3 day hopper.
I have not tried pricing out individually yet, not sure where to start.
What are your thoughts on this?
thanks

 

[Master Mason]

Here is a question, are you planning on going back again, you were there in march and going back in Dec, if you going again next year you might want to buy an AP, more days in the park when your there, and you wouldn't need passes next time, just something to think about.

I bought an AP in april and already have 6 days in the parks and going this weekend for a couple more. Starts saving you money pretty quickly. Plus the discounts you get with the AP

 

[JadeDarkstar]

how much is ap?

 

[Master Mason]

how much is ap?

It depends on which one you get. I got the Premium, $359 No black out days, free parking 15% off food from the CS and TS resturants, 10% off merchandise.

so far just in parking fees I have saved $60

 

[JadeDarkstar]

umm dose a dvc get any discount or do you know?

 

[dizzyami]

I have never had to deal with airfare - so that aspect I cannot really comment on. I had always done packages - then learned cool little tricks like entertainment rates at hotels and other discount hotel sites. I would play around with it and see what you can find. In terms of PH's you can buy those (if not buying a package) through a few different places - and may want to consider upgrading to an ap (as suggested) if you will be returning in 2008.

 

[abookworm]

Going 2x this yr is just a fluke because we are living in Seattle. But we'll be moving after the 1st of the year so won't be back next year, therefore, don't need an AP.

I signed up for the mousesavers newsletter and have a few others bookmarked so I'll do some shopping around to see what I can find. A pkg deal is convenient though

 

[clcb13]

Howdy! I am from Wa too...down here in Vancouver. I find that it varies from one vacation to another on which way is better. There are just so many different deals and packages throughout the year that every time we go I have to work from scratch. I think you are going to have to just do some research--reading these boards should help!

I usually start by looking at all the packages offered through Disney, Airlines, and travel sites such as Orbitz. Then I compare prices to what it would cost to book everything individually. Most places have websites or you can call them direct. For instance, our trip in July I found the best price was actually through Alaskan airline's vacation packages. Their kid's fly free promo was over for our travel time so I was surprised! We got $200.00 round trip per person tickets into John Wayne non stop (thats tax & fees included) our hotel at BWPPI and 4 day park hoppers. Our whole vacation is costing $1500.00---two adults and one child. Alaska had a 10% coupon I got in the mail that I applied to the whole package and that was the cincher for us. Next time I am sure this won't be the cheaper way to go. I probably could of gotten even cheaper this time by staying at HOJO but that is a long walk with a 5 year old.

Keep a constant eye out for airfare deals. We subscribe to Southwest airlines and Alaksa email so we hear about cheap deals quite often.
I hear people on these boards talking about entertianment rate for Hojo's so that might help for your dates. Also, I think staying over a Sat night lower your airfare if you can swing it. Check into flying into different airports too.
Good luck in your planing!

 

[ter-moo]

I have never found a package cheaper than pricing things out separately. I think the only advantage to a package is that it's less work for you, and you can make payments in advance.

Otherwise, it's SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper to do the work and book everything separately.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

So has there been a consensus which is usually the better deal?
I got an awesome deal last spring with the kids fly free deal so I only looked at the pkg deals.
But for early Dec the best pkg deal i can find so far for Sun -Fri 2 adults 3 kids is $3000 (air and moderate hotel like BWPPI) with a 3 day hopper.
I have not tried pricing out individually yet, not sure where to start.
What are your thoughts on this?
thanks

It is my experience that most of the time, you are better off booking things on your own unless, you see a really good promotion on the packages. By doing so, you aren't limited to good neighbor hotels. Some of the hotels in the area not on the list are quite good and significantly cheaper. You can usually find better deals on Airfare on your own. You're not going to get a huge discount on tickets but we did save $40 a piece by buying them on line.
The meal plan stinks at DLR. So unless that changes, I'd never throw that in with a package.
But you do have to do a lot of your own research booking separately and the cost savings of doing so depends upon it. The key is to plan ahead, know what your windows of opportunity to go are, and just look for deals. And you have to devote about 5-10 minutes every day to look because you never know when they are going to pop up.

 

[abookworm]

Thanks, I've already gotten the cost down by $300 with just a few searches so I'll keep working on it-yippee!

 

[Bsbllmom]

I have never done a package or anything because I live so close but I do know that at the Costco here they sell a 4 day park hopper for $129. I don't know how good that price is since I never priced tickets before but that might help.

 

[mystic_path]

I would definately look into paying seperately. I usually go travelocity for flight and hotel packages and then get my passes seperately. Its much cheaper I found to go that route.

 

[jklmum]

We too are planning a trip in early December and with all the research we've done the package deal from disneyland.com is the lowest - even lower than doing it all seperatly. Of course it's our flight that hurts us, we are from Canada and the closest airport we can get is Fargo, ND which is quite expensive and a 7 hour drive just to get there. But all in all, still the cheapest way to go that we've found! Our trip is just under 3000 and includes air, transfers, 3 day park hopper, 3 days of meals, and hotel.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

Last year we did our first trip to DL, and bought a package through AAA. This fall we're purchasing everything separately, and I'm very pleased with a great airfare rate I got through a friend. DH and I have talked ourselves into getting at least 1 AP, which will save us the cost difference between park hoppers and the AP in one trip alone. We're considering a 2nd trip next spring, so still debating on whether to get the deluxe or premium AP, and whether to get one or four!

It will be interesting to compare the two trips to see how it all comes out in the end!

 

[abookworm]

Quick update!
I booked our air, hotel for 5 nights (HoJo ER at $69 per night), 2 day park hoppers SEPARATELY and saved almost $900 over the best pkg deal I could find a few weeks ago (thru Disney, AAA, Costco, etc)!
The only thing left is a rental car but my Dh thinks he has enough points to get a few days free so we'll proably only need to spend $100 at most on a car. I had not priced the rental car in the pkg deal anyway.

The only extra thing we would have rec'd with a pkg deal was a few coupons and the lanyards which we already have. So I don't think I missed anything big at all.

I also didn't have to spend a ton of time on this either. I checked on things about 15 min a day maybe 2x per week for the last few weeks. Maybe 3 hours total research time.

I'm so glad I posted this and got some great ideas-thanks everyone!

 

[joeysmommy]

Last year we did a package thru AAA and I didn't feel that it was a very good value. 5 nights at DLH,airfare etc
I really didn't need the lanyards, pins, luggage tags and fun book.

I booked everything seperately this year and it was much cheaper, staying at PPH 6 nights, airfare at $49 each way for 4 people and it's a better deal.
Also, if I need to change dates at the last minute I don't have to worry about travel insurance (which I think is ridiculously priced) and all the AAA phone tag with my agent last year drove me crazy.
Maybe a fee with Southwest if we have to change our flight, but as long as we change the hotel ressies within 72 hours we're fine.
I'll probably never book a package deal again. It's just really a timesaver, but not a great value.
You can learn everything you need to know on Disboards or my other favorite Disney discussion board..you know who you are

 

[yipee]

We book everything separately as well, and often find significant savings! I agree, the packages are more for convenience as you definitely have to work harder to find the good deals on your own! (Especially watching for airline deals)

One reminder, too, is that you can still get AAA rates with most hotels if you have a card. You don't need to book through AAA to get the rate. I've also often found that I get cheaper rates by phoning the hotel direct, and asking for AAA or other discounts. You'd be surprised with some of the deals you find just by asking what kinds of specials or discounts are being offered!

Good Luck!

 

[Master Mason]

For the rental car try price line. I have seen people getting mid size cars for as little as $14 per day....

 

[jklmum]

I guess everyone in lucky to have access to AAA!!! We don't have that here. Also, a question for joey's mommy - how did you get airfare for $49 and where are you flying from?! The cheapest flight we could find was from Disneyland.com and it was $1000.00 for 3 of us! If we could get cheaper flights - the flights through expedia and travelocity were considerably higher - then it would probably be cheaper to book seperatly!