Separate hotel/ticket bookings

[xipetotec]

Am I crazy or is it considerably cheaper to book a good neighbor hotel on its own and buy tickets than it is to book a package through the Disney site?

OTHER than an early morning in the parks, is there any other benefits to doing it the latter way? Because at the prices I'm looking at...

 

[ChloroformSdxn]

I've found, especially as a Canadian, that the Disney site generally doesn't offer much in the way of discounts. My local travel agent can always do better, especially when it comes to "Good Neighbor" hotels. They can usually get me a deal by booking the airline and hotel together.

You always get one extra morning in the parks with the multi-day tickets, it doesn't matter if you book through Disney or not

 

[clb79]

You get one magic morning with any ticket purchase of 3 days or more with or without hotel. If I understand correctly you only get the daily "early entry" perk if you are staying in one of the 3 Disney properties, it doesn't extend to the Good Neighbor Hotels, but I could be wrong.

 

[5forMickey]

I always book my Hotel and tickets separate, even staying on site. Sometimes "Get Away Today" has some good offers. As the other's have said, you will still get your one early entry if you purchase a three day or more ticket (but I'm not sure if you do if you buy it at the gate?)

 

[xipetotec]

And other than that, no other benefits by booking through Disney? I know when you book a package to WDW, you get vouchers, and sometimes little souvenirs like luggage tags or what not... Not that these would really be of enough value to make a huge difference...

 

[sherilaine]

I can't imagine booking an offsite hotel through Disney. You can get way better prices elsewhere as well as even buying the tickets elsewhere.

 

[ChloroformSdxn]

You might get some luggage tags but I thought those were mainly reserved for people who booked the onsite properties. I don't think there's any perk to booking Good Neighbor hotels through Disney.

 

[clb79]

And other than that, no other benefits by booking through Disney? I know when you book a package to WDW, you get vouchers, and sometimes little souvenirs like luggage tags or what not... Not that these would really be of enough value to make a huge difference...

I second checking GetAwayToday.com as an option. We already had our tickets purchased (we had planned on an RV for our trip and its no longer available so I had to find a hotel with only a month to go until our trip). Their package prices are right there with the prices I have found booking separately (even last minute though options are limited for me at this point). I am seriously considering using them next time we book a trip, even their "hotel only" rates were comparable to the rates I am finding on Hotels.com and other sites.

They have offers with free hotel nights (varies depending on length of stay and hotel) and they frequently have ticket offers too (4 days for the price of 3 or Adult Tickets at Child prices). What also stood out to me on their site is they also negotiate some of the fees (parking, etc.) into their price so they are free or discounted and have popup boxes for each hotel that tell you what is included in the listed rate (taxes are also included). Their packages come with the luggage tags and souvenir backpacks for the kids and stuff.

I did purchase discounted ART passes through them as part of our original trip plans (5 days for the price of 3 and kids free) to get from the RV Park to DLR. We will still be using those

 

[Sew into Disney]

I spent hours researching the best price for my kids and I. I eventually chose to book directly through the hotel website for our rooms and I am getting tickets from the LMT club. We still get one morning early in the parks so that works for us.

 

[dcraythorn]

I looked at staying at an off site hotel, I looked at booking thru Disney, then Getaway Today. Getaway Today was about $600.00 cheaper, and it did include the 5 day hoppers.

 

[DisneyPhans]

Definitely, and it's more fun to fully customize your own experience.

In fact, you can HOTWIRE the Disney resort hotels and the good neighbors, with 10% coupon codes, plus cashback.. The savings are so much greater that it almost makes no sense to book vacations through Disney.
You can still get tickets with magic morning at a discount, too.

 

[clb79]

I spent hours researching the best price for my kids and I. I eventually chose to book directly through the hotel website for our rooms and I am getting tickets from the LMT club. We still get one morning early in the parks so that works for us.

I had been watching prices on hotel.com and booked after prices jumped on several places. I went to the hotel's website to see how much money I was saving and they were running a promotion that wasn't there before for my length of stay. Between that promotion and the AAA rate I got the room for 75.00 less a night. Once you have an idea where you want to stay, it is definitely a good idea to see if you can get a better price booking direct.

 

[mpadilla89]

I have never booked directly through disney website. It is almost always more expensive. We always book a good neighbor hotel package through costco and get some nice extras for even lower than the disney site. Getaway today is also less expensive and gives you packages. Im not a fan of booking through AAA since you have to call them for anything you want to change or have a question about and its about the same price as Disney