Question about room/ticket booking

[th0rthemighty]

Planning the first trip to Disney for the family. Plan is to go the first week of December and staying at the Art of Animation. Had a question about booking the hotel and park tickets. Is there any difference or advantage to purchasing the park tickets with the room booking as part of a package deal or purchasing them separately? I was thinking of booking just the room now, and purchasing the tickets at another time, figuring if there was a room offer or ticket special that became available it would be easier to apply them. I just wanted to make sure there wasn't anything I would be missing out on if I did this in regards to linking the tickets and magic bands to my hotel room, etc. Thanks for the info.

 

[siren0119]

Zero effect on linking tickets to your MDE, magic band, etc. whether you do a room/ticket package now, or do a room now and buy tickets separately.

Sometimes you can get a good room only discount (though I don't think AoA has been eligible for room discounts in a while), in that case you do a little better booking the room separately. There are pretty much never ticket discounts through Disney direct. You DO have the option of buying tickets through an authorized reseller at a discount, there is no difference in the way they are linked up in your MDE account other than the fact that you do it manually using the ticket number.

 

[cbrown1007]

It would no be easier to apply a discount later if you don't add tickets now. Same thing. I'd add tickets, because you don't have to pay them in full with a package. I have plenty of clients that I add discounts to later on, and I like them to already have a package booked. Just easier in my opinion this way.

 

[RN2003AZ]

The cancellation policy on packages is much more generous than separate bookings. The $200 deposit is fully refundable until 30 days prior to travel on the package and you could still apply a discount should one become available. If you book a room only reservation now, a 1 night deposit would be due and then the final balance at check in. You could still apply a room discount should something become available. The difference is that once you purchase tickets separately those would be non-refundable entirely. Hope this helps clarify!

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Planning the first trip to Disney for the family. Plan is to go the first week of December and staying at the Art of Animation. Had a question about booking the hotel and park tickets. Is there any difference or advantage to purchasing the park tickets with the room booking as part of a package deal or purchasing them separately? I was thinking of booking just the room now, and purchasing the tickets at another time, figuring if there was a room offer or ticket special that became available it would be easier to apply them. I just wanted to make sure there wasn't anything I would be missing out on if I did this in regards to linking the tickets and magic bands to my hotel room, etc. Thanks for the info.

If you book a room and ticket package now, you are still eligible for any room-only or package discounts that come out. Don't be fooled by the term "room-only" discount - it can be applied to a package. The room portion of the package is what would be discounted in that circumstance. You will need to be flexible with discounts, however. Just because a discount is released, doesn't mean you will automatically qualify. You will need to check the discount inventory and either see if your resort/room category is available in the discount or consider modifying to a different resort/room category to get a discount.

There are pros and cons to room-only vs. room/ticket packages. The biggest pro is (as PPs have mentioned), you only have to put $200 down to book the room, with the balance due 30 days prior to check-in. The other pro is, if you have to outright cancel that package between 30 - 2 days prior to check-in, you only lose $200 (you can always move your package to other dates to avoid the cancellation fee). Another pro - you lock in today's ticket prices. The con - it is typically cheaper to purchase tickets from a third-party seller (like Undercover Tourist). The downside to that, however, is, you have to outright purchase those tickets and they are typically non-refundable once purchased.

It all comes down to when you want to outlay your money for your vacation, IMHO. The package keeps your money a little more secure, IMHO.