What's the best deal for vacation package? AAA or Travel Agent

[wishesuponastar]

Last time we went to WDW we booked through AAA and honestly, I didn't even look into any other travel agent source. We are a family of 4.

How did you get the best deal for your trip? And I am talking about on-site deal in a Value hotel. Going in August next year.

 

[Fire14]

AAA should be able to offer you any public offer that any other TA could offer you. I personally could take or leave aaa Disney perks but I'm not your normal WDW traveler either. by going thru AAA you get the AAA rm discount if not more and if you book dining as part of pkg. you get Storytime ( must be booked in advance of travel) and VIP fw viewing ( must be booked in advance of travel).

 

[SarahKate]

If there are no WDW offers out there, then AAA can be a great deal because we will usually save a few hundred bucks. But if a good discount is released then we rebook under that since you can't double dip. The diamond parking pass is great for us since we like to drive ourselves to the parks. We are also already members and the membership fee is well worth the cost even without booking through them! We have used roadside assistance a number of times. They will be able to quote you the exact same price as any other TA would.

Also, our AAA office sent us a check for $100'for paying off our balance about a week before it was due!

 

[kstand]

I got a better deal offer through Small World Vacations than I got through AAA, and a better deal yet when I booked separately myself (no package) through orbitz using promo codes and e bates. $2200 something vs $2100 something vs. $1900.
ETA: booking it myself saved me $397.64 over AAA quoted price!!

 

[letsgoreds]

You are better off planning yourself! Renting points/DVC + Undercover Tourist tickets + Disney gift cards (5%) to use for OOP dining.

There are also a couple of Disney specific travel agents that book blocks of rooms (like at BC/YC) and pass the discount on to their customers. They are usually for specific dates, but offer a great discount.

 

[wishesuponastar]

I don't think we can go the DVC route because we are hoping for free dining.

 

[Fire14]

I don't think we can go the DVC route because we are hoping for free dining.

If you choose free dining unless you want aaa perks there is really no reason to book w them.

 

[sjs314]

You are better off planning yourself! Renting points/DVC + Undercover Tourist tickets + Disney gift cards (5%) to use for OOP dining.

There are also a couple of Disney specific travel agents that book blocks of rooms (like at BC/YC) and pass the discount on to their customers. They are usually for specific dates, but offer a great discount.

I was able to book a agency exclusive deal at the Poly for a week not normally discounted by Disney at a substantial savings even better than the AAA discount and park tickets slightly cheaper than UT.

I normally book myself but I do think this is far better than what I will be able to book for the Fall myself

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

I would book it myself. If anything goes wrong with your flights you will have better control of dealing with the situation because you booked it directly with the airline. Same thing with the hotel. If you have to make any sort of changes to your trip you wont have to wait for the TA or AAA office to open to help you.

 

[DisMomme]

We're DVC now but we made several trips prior to buying in. We never found a better deal than booking everything ourselves. We fly SWA for cheap (or we used to, can't find the great fares now that we used to get), rent a car and stay onsite for less than AAA can get us. We used to buy our tickets there though and then bridge them if necessary at WDW. (Our AAA agent would call us before a Disney ticket price increase so we could get them cheaper. She would also throw in a AAA parking lot pass too)

Another bonus, we owned the reservation and could make any changes without having to call our TA. Obviously we enjoy the control over our trip, half the fun is in the planning for us.