Question on Resort Packages

[ColorsOfTheWind]

Hey everyone

I was looking at Vacation Packages on Disney, and I was wondering, is it cheaper to not get a Vacation package?

Right now, we are debating between CR and the Poly, but we have friends who want to stay in POP, and it said it was 1,027 dollars for 5 nights. That didn't seem right..

And a side note... Poly/ Contempo?

Thank you!

 

[davedmaine]

I don't believe it's any cheaper. Also, cancelations policies are a lot more lax with a room only reservation..
I'd go with Contemporary. The walk to MK can't be beat.

 

[Atchley]

I don't think it really makes a difference. If you are getting a dining plan, then you would have to purchase a package.
If not, you can do a room only reservation and sometimes get your tickets cheaper through another broker.

 

[minnie mum]

It really doesn't make any difference. You can pay rack rate for a room only reservation and buy your tickets separately. You can get small discounts on tickets thru AAA or certain outside sellers. Or you can buy a package and pay for rack rate on the room plus tickets.

The bigger savings come when you can get a discount on room rates with a room only reservation or free dining with a vacation package.

Just a matter of timing (having your vacation dates coincide with an available discount) and personal preference.

As for which resort to select for this trip- which one feels best to you? Which do you like the looks of best/has the amenities that make you go "OOOOOH!"? They're both on the monorail, so I'd just pick the one that appeals to you the most.

 

[Sue M]

My personal opinion, but I think it's cheaper to go room only, buy your tickets from Undercover Tourist, and pay OOP for dining. I find the WDW Dining Plan isn't the deal it once was, with rising costs. We went without the DDP last Jan, and just put the $ aside that we would have spent on the DDP and put that money on Disney Gift Cards to use for Dining. I found we saved $. And we ate well.

Free dining at deluxe may or may not be cheaper for you, as you have to pay rack rate. For us it was always cheaper to take the room discount and buy the DDP. Have to do the WDW math

 

[Maggie'sMom]

My personal opinion, but I think it's cheaper to go room only, buy your tickets from Undercover Tourist, and pay OOP for dining. I find the WDW Dining Plan isn't the deal it once was, with rising costs. We went without the DDP last Jan, and just put the $ aside that we would have spent on the DDP and put that money on Disney Gift Cards to use for Dining. I found we saved $. And we ate well.

Free dining at deluxe may or may not be cheaper for you, as you have to pay rack rate. For us it was always cheaper to take the room discount and buy the DDP. Have to do the WDW math

This is what I decided to do this time around. In the past, I've always booked a package using a room discount (general public discount, AAA, or PIN) and purchased tickets and the DDP. But I barely broke even using the DDP last time and decided I wanted a bit more flexibility with my dining. So this time around, I booked my room using a 30% general public offer, bought tickets through Undercover tourist (saving $24 per ticket), and I'm paying OOP for dining.

The free dining discount was never as good a deal as the room discounts for me because it's always just me and my DD and we were staying at Deluxe resorts. 30% to 40% off the room was always a much bigger savings.

 

[Sue M]

This is what I decided to do this time around. In the past, I've always booked a package using a room discount (general public discount, AAA, or PIN) and purchased tickets and the DDP. But I barely broke even using the DDP last time and decided I wanted a bit more flexibility with my dining. So this time around, I booked my room using a 30% general public offer, bought tickets through Undercover tourist (saving $24 per ticket), and I'm paying OOP for dining.

The free dining discount was never as good a deal as the room discounts for me because it's always just me and my DD and we were staying at Deluxe resorts. 30% to 40% off the room was always a much bigger savings.

Same here, I go with my older DD, so discount is always better. We aren't getting the DDP this Aug either.
Using a Gift card for dining, is just like having the DDP, just show a different card

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Same here, I go with my older DD, so discount is always better. We aren't getting the DDP this Aug either.
Using a Gift card for dining, is just like having the DDP, just show a different card

DD and I are going for 10 nights this time around. For the two of us, the basic DDP was going to be roughly $660. I bought $700 in gift cards at Giant Eagle (getting the FuelPerks) using my Chase Freedom cc (which has 5% cashback on grocery purchases April through June) and will use those gift cards to pay for our dining. I'm anxious to see how much will be left on the gift cards at the end of the week. We'll apply whatever is left on the gift cards to our room charges the night before checkout.

 

[navywifetill2002]

It really depends on the promotions that are available.

We are going for 8 nights and were planning on staying off site with hotel points (we were left with $350 to pay OOP), buying tickets from Undercover Tourist, and doing lots of character dining. We were looking at about $1900 and when I was playing around I discovered were were traveling during the Free Dining promotion, we're now staying at ASMo (upgraded to the regular DDP) and the price was only $50 more then we planned and we are staying on property, using ME (no need for the taxi from MCO), and getting all our character meals plus 8 Quick Service meals and 24 snacks.

As much as I thought I'd never get a dining plan and didn't feel I needed to stay on property this deal was just too good to pass up.