Staying on property - how to plan for best package.

[WDWRids]

Just got back from a great trip and stayed off site. Planning our next trip which will be on property in late 2012 or 2013. REALLY NEED SOME HELP!!!

How do I go about finding the best deal for onsite with a food plan? I look at all the options and really get confused.

We would like to stay at POR.

Should I get a Disney credit card? Do the rewards help with room, etc?

Any tidbits from the onsite experts are needed and will be much appreciated!!

Thanks everyone!!!

 

[donalduck]

No you don't need to get a Disney Card. Just watch for the special rates that the disboards post. You can get up to 35 percent off your hotel room at disney. Just always keep on looking you will find good deals.

 

[WDWRids]

Thanks - where is the best place to find them on the boards? They seem to be all jumbled in.

 

[jennyf2]

Thanks - where is the best place to find them on the boards? They seem to be all jumbled in.

Yep, just watch the boards & beware it is ADDICTING !!!!! I have a Disney Visa & love it. I always have an xtra $300-400 every year from Disney Rewards that I use for my August trips. Have a GREAT time planning, its half the fun!

 

[I Love Pluto]

Our AAA agent explains EVERYTHING to us. You get a discount (the amount depends on the season).

Try AAA. You might like it.

(No, I am NOT a AAA agent!)

 

[Hootch]

a link at the top on the right hand side "Discounts" that has all of the ones available to he public. There is a sub forum under Disney Resort titled "Disney Discount Codes and Rates " where people discuss codes.

Disney sends out pins which are special offers. How they choose the recipients is something of a mystery. Some people claim that registering at Disney, searching and saving potential vacations, ordering custom maps, etc can put you on the list.

It seemed to work for me. I had several offers and eventually one that got me 20% off a moderate resort room. This was for June. There were no public discounts for room only for that time.

There are threads discussing tactics on that board.

 

[WDWLODGE]

Thanks - where is the best place to find them on the boards? They seem to be all jumbled in.

Keep checking on mousesavers.com. They do a great job of updating when discounts for WDW become available. Keep an eye open for free dining packages. They are typically available if you plan to visit in Sept. or Oct.

We have a Disney Visa Card and we charge everything possible on it. We do this knowing that 1. We always pay off the balance each month, and 2. We are earning money towards our Disney Vacation. Another thing we do is our local grocery store offers fuel perks. Basically you spend so much at there store and you get money off per gallon price of gas. At these stores they sell Disney gift cards, so we buy them with our Disney Visa and also save on our gas. Then we pay for our vacations with the gift cards. It adds up.

 

[Blackbeltdisneygirl]

My parents have the Disney card and use it for their trips. It's great b/c they get the rewards for using it, and can use it towards their next trip. Since my husband and I do not use credit of any type as a personal choice, we go the route of using the gift cards from our grocery store. We get free gas for buying them there, and I love free gas! We like the free dining, so we will try and go at a low crowd time with free dining. If there isn't a free dining offer for the time frame you are planning, you could always book the trip and then change your booked dates when a new offer or a pin come up. When we booked our 2010 trip, we booked with the free dining, and then heard about the $500 gift card special. I called, and the CM did a price/savings comparison for me. They ended up figuring out that we were losing money if we switched to the gift card special. Needless to say, we stuck to the free dining.

 

[Linleedo]

Just wanted to let you know. AAA doesn't offer any discounts for Disney World.As a matter of fact, they actually add on their commission prices. We booked with them & came home & looked online at the disney website. We were surprised that it was cheaper to book it ourselves. When we questioned the travel agent, she admitted the above facts to us! We had purchase our tickets through the agency & just paid for them. The other fees & costs were waived. Amazing! So keep an eye on the Disney Website. Register with them to start receiving e-mails & possible "pins" sent to your e-mail address for discounts.Don't be deceived by AAA advertisements

 

[pepe of ohio]

We've made over 40 trips to WDW and always snag a discount.....we always go during value season....we never get a package....rather have the room only discount offered...and don't want some of the stuff offered in a package....we do not like any of Disney's dining plans.....hate ADR's 180 days out and vacationing around a schedule....we try to keep our stays as cheap as possible and still stay deluxe and have a free reign on what we do and see.....we watch and get emails from mousesavers.com for the codes and plan our trips around the discounts....food is secondary in our trips.....

 

[WDWLODGE]

We've made over 40 trips to WDW and always snag a discount.....we always go during value season....we never get a package....rather have the room only discount offered...and don't want some of the stuff offered in a package....we do not like any of Disney's dining plans.....hate ADR's 180 days out and vacationing around a schedule....we try to keep our stays as cheap as possible and still stay deluxe and have a free reign on what we do and see.....we watch and get emails from mousesavers.com for the codes and plan our trips around the discounts....food is secondary in our trips.....

I agree that packages are usually not the cheapest way to go. The only time we ever booked a package was when we got free dining a few years back. This was the cheapest route to go that year. We usually alot $75-$85 a day for food. Since we go every year for about 11 days per trip we buy an annual pass and use it for 2 trips. Plus with the annual pass we also get 35 - 40% discounts on our room. We do like the 180 day ADR's though, but we also love to plan our trips well in advance.

 

[Blackbeltdisneygirl]

Everyone has such different tastes! We LOVE the dining plan! It makes it so easy for us with 7 people in our immediate family and up to 12 with extended family! We only have to worry about tips. We go during free dining, so it is the most cost effective trip for our family. To each their own I guess!

 

[WDWRids]

Thanks everyone! You have given me great things to think about.

 

[frannable]

If you book yourself, and are flexibile about the resorts, don't forget to ask the Disney reservationist to check for any discounts or upgrades available during your visit. Call when you have a good block of time available. They will work with you. But you have to ask - they don't volunteer the information.

 

[WDWRids]

Thanks, FranO!! I am not shy about asking for better deals!!

 

[Julie521]

Just wanted to let you know. AAA doesn't offer any discounts for Disney World.As a matter of fact, they actually add on their commission prices. We booked with them & came home & looked online at the disney website. We were surprised that it was cheaper to book it ourselves. When we questioned the travel agent, she admitted the above facts to us! We had purchase our tickets through the agency & just paid for them. The other fees & costs were waived. Amazing! So keep an eye on the Disney Website. Register with them to start receiving e-mails & possible "pins" sent to your e-mail address for discounts.Don't be deceived by AAA advertisements

I am not so sure about this. I saved 30% on my room with booking through them, and got not commission prices added on. I checked the price on Disney world for the same week we are staying, same options, and everything was the same? Maybe its a regionally thing?