To buy a Package or not..

[juibarra]

I am going to Disney and planning to stay at Pop from 8/5-8/12. I have made a AAA Room Only Reservation for $516.60(7 nights). I am able to get 6 day basic tx for 1279.20 (2 A and 2 C-one of which is 13 and the other is 5). The problem is that we are really interested in getting the Dining Plan and are considering paying for it since it does not look that it will be free for us. I went on the WDW site and it tells me that if I buy the package through them it will be $2395.62 for room, 6 day tx, and DDP. I guess I could book through AAA and get about $129 off of this price for the AAA room discount portion, which makes the package $2262.62. Should I just buy everything seperately (including the food) or get the package w/the DDP? Any advise you can offer would really be appreciated. Thanks!!

 

[saikai]

That's a tough one! You might want to wait a day or so just to be sure the dates will not include your stay. When I went last year I booked through AAA and was told I couldn't combine their discount with the dining plan. I don't know if that is true or not, but they couldn't get me any lower price than I got through the Disney sight. Good luck and have fun!

 

[twinspluscade]

I am going to Disney and planning to stay at Pop from 8/5-8/12. I have made a AAA Room Only Reservation for $516.60(7 nights). I am able to get 6 day basic tx for 1279.20 (2 A and 2 C-one of which is 13 and the other is 5). The problem is that we are really interested in getting the Dining Plan and are considering paying for it since it does not look that it will be free for us. I went on the WDW site and it tells me that if I buy the package through them it will be $2395.62 for room, 6 day tx, and DDP. I guess I could book through AAA and get about $129 off of this price for the AAA room discount portion, which makes the package $2262.62. Should I just buy everything seperately (including the food) or get the package w/the DDP? Any advise you can offer would really be appreciated. Thanks!!

That's a tough one! I guess if I were you I'd check out the menus on allears net. Figure out what'd you order at the restaurants you want to eat at, and then add up the prices. If it's cheaper with the package and DDP..go with that. Otherwise I'd stick with the AAA room only reservations.

 

[HM]

The questions to ask yourself:
How do we usually eat while at WDW and how would the dining plan fit into this? I think most people don't eat enough usually to make paying for the plan worth it, but only you will know. If you tend to do mostly counter service and don't eat appetizers and desserts at meals, then you are paying for something you wouldn't normally get. You'll save money by not getting the plan.

Also, I think you can do a lot better on your ticket prices. Go to Mousesavers.com and sign up for their email newsletter. On the 15th of the month you'll find a link on the newsletter for ticket discounts.

I plan on getting 7 day hoppers with the plus options for four adults for less than you quote above (around $302 each).

 

[bartleby1]

I am going to Disney and planning to stay at Pop from 8/5-8/12. I have made a AAA Room Only Reservation for $516.60(7 nights). I am able to get 6 day basic tx for 1279.20 (2 A and 2 C-one of which is 13 and the other is 5). The problem is that we are really interested in getting the Dining Plan and are considering paying for it since it does not look that it will be free for us. I went on the WDW site and it tells me that if I buy the package through them it will be $2395.62 for room, 6 day tx, and DDP. I guess I could book through AAA and get about $129 off of this price for the AAA room discount portion, which makes the package $2262.62. Should I just buy everything seperately (including the food) or get the package w/the DDP? Any advise you can offer would really be appreciated. Thanks!!

The ticket quote of 1279.20 seems REALLY high for 6 day basic tickets. I don't think that could be correct, unless maybe they gave you a quote for no expiration, park hopping, water park, type tickets. If you only want basic 6 day tickets, without hopping or water parks, you should be able to get them through the mousesavers newsletter/undercovertourist link for slightly over $800. Keep in mind though, that you wouldn't be able to add dining on if you purchase your tickets separately.

So, if you can get a room only ressie for $516.60 and tickets for a little over $800, that is only $13XX.XX. Then, you need to figure out if the dining plan is worth $1000 to your family or not (providing the figure of $2395.62 that you got from the disney site is correct).

We are going Aug 12 - Aug 24 so I doubt we'll be getting free dining. For our family, it isn't worth paying for the plan so currently I have a room only ressie for POR and I'll get my tickets thru undercovertourist. Of course, if free dining becomes available, I'd switch to a package in a heartbeat!

 

[juibarra]

Thank you all for your wonderful advise. Now if Disney would just start the free DDP promotion on 8/5, all would be solved. Here's hoping!!

 

[5fordisney]

Hi, I'm chiming in late, but I 100% recommend the dining plan! It was worth every penny to us. We wanted to eat one nice meal a day at places like chef mickeys, liberty tree tavern, epcot restaurants, etc. We would have averaged out of pocket somewhere around $90 a meal for 2 adults, 3 children, tax and tip. We payed around $110 a day for the DDP, and got the one meal we wanted, plus appetizer and dessert which we never usually order, a counter service meal, and a snack for $15 more a day for 5 of us. We thought it was really worth it! You can only get the dining plan when you purchase a package. We used AAA to book our vacation and were able to get room, tickets, and DDP, plus still use AAA's room discount. You can get tickets cheaper when purchased separately but it's a trade-off for the dining. Although I have a friend who never gets dining and prefers it that way and is just as happy. Whatever you decide, have a great trip!

 

[Cherlynn25]

We went last year in march and bought our package through AAA. They were able to give us the room discount along with our package. From what I have read you just cant combine AAA discount with FREE dining.

We had 2A, 3C (7,5,1) and we came out way ahead with the dining plan. i think what we liked most was the fact that we could order what we wanted with out feeling guilty. With out the plan the boys probably would have had to share a few meals and would have rarely been aloud to get dessert. We really enjoyed the freedom of the dining plan.

 

[juibarra]

I am sorry, I just realized my mistake. I meant to say that we can get tickets for $762.60 so with the AAA room ressie, it will total $1279.20. Lately I have been crunching so many numbers that my brain can't think anymore!

This will be our first Disney Trip with our 5 year old and it will be nice to take her to the character dinings. I looked through the menus and if we get what the DDP allows, it will be $1320. The cost of the DDP for us is around $924, but we loose the lower cost of the tickets. I am still hoping a great deal comes our way.

Thanks everyone!!