Which way is best to book my "package"?

[summerw]

I'm so excited! We've booked plane tickets for our first ever trip to WDW, even though we are DLR passholders. It will be the first trip for my mother, and a big one for her since she isn't able take trips like this on her budget. And a first for me, my husband and our 3 year old.

I really respect how many experts there are on this board. Please help me figure out which way is best to book. I have quotes from AAA and Disney. I'd rather book through Disney, but I don't want to pay too much more. We're going Dec 1-11, so I'm a little worried if I don't book a package now, ticket pricing will go up. It usually goes up over the summer, right? Maybe it would be better to just book now and hope Free Dining comes out for my dates? I'd love any input. Below is the pricing I got.

All of these are 10 nights at Pop, 2 rooms, Regular Dining, 10-day MYW base tickets (3 adults, 1 child (3))

AAA package: $5042

Disney package: $5282

AAA room only through Disney booking:
2 Rooms $2116.14
10 Day MYW tickets from Undercover: $1182.81
Dining plan for all 4 of us : 1696.40
TOTAL if room only booking: $4995.35


So booking the room only through Disney would be cheapest if the tickets and DP don't go up before December. AAA would be the next cheapest, but then I have to deal with the AAA agent who doesn't always call back promptly. And the Disney package is the most expensive by $283. Is $283 worth the lesser headache? If there's anything I've forgotten or If you have stories about problems with room only vs package or stories about booking through AAA, I'd love to hear it all. Thanks.

 

[tzolkin]

I'm so excited! We've booked plane tickets for our first ever trip to WDW, even though we are DLR passholders. It will be the first trip for my mother, and a big one for her since she isn't able take trips like this on her budget. And a first for me, my husband and our 3 year old.

I really respect how many experts there are on this board. Please help me figure out which way is best to book. I have quotes from AAA and Disney. I'd rather book through Disney, but I don't want to pay too much more. We're going Dec 1-11, so I'm a little worried if I don't book a package now, ticket pricing will go up. It usually goes up over the summer, right? Maybe it would be better to just book now and hope Free Dining comes out for my dates? I'd love any input. Below is the pricing I got.

All of these are 10 nights at Pop, 2 rooms, Regular Dining, 10-day MYW base tickets (3 adults, 1 child (3))

AAA package: $5042

Disney package: $5282

AAA room only through Disney booking:
2 Rooms $2116.14
10 Day MYW tickets from Undercover: $1182.81
Dining plan for all 4 of us : 1696.40
TOTAL if room only booking: $4995.35


So booking the room only through Disney would be cheapest if the tickets and DP don't go up before December. AAA would be the next cheapest, but then I have to deal with the AAA agent who doesn't always call back promptly. And the Disney package is the most expensive by $283. Is $283 worth the lesser headache? If there's anything I've forgotten or If you have stories about problems with room only vs package or stories about booking through AAA, I'd love to hear it all. Thanks.

I'm a bit confused by your numbers.

I don't know why a non-discounted package through Disney would be more expensive than purchasing each element separately. Sometimes when you price out the package it automatically adds insurance/room location upgrade/park hoppers/something else so that may account for some price difference so be sure to double check everything.

Also, I didn't think you could purchase the dining plan without purchasing a package (with tickets) through Disney. So your third option wouldn't work. You could not get a room only discount, tickets from UT, and the dining plan.


I usually choose between package vs. room only depending on what discounts are available. If free dining or some other package discount is offered it may be cheapest to go with that. If a good room only discount is offered, you may save more booking with that and paying OOP for your food.

I think ticket prices usually go up in the summer (August?), so if you see a discount before then you can book with that. If a better discount comes out, you can always switch if something better becomes available.

 

[Fire14]

An idea: Buy 2 Adult AP or since your DLR goers premier AP ( will get you AP benies for both parks) This will than allow you to book room +dinig without tixs. YOu than can buy everyone else Tixs from AAA office, UCT, or direct from Disney.

 

[summerw]

I'm a bit confused by your numbers.

I don't know why a non-discounted package through Disney would be more expensive than purchasing each element separately. Sometimes when you price out the package it automatically adds insurance/room location upgrade/park hoppers/something else so that may account for some price difference so be sure to double check everything.

Also, I didn't think you could purchase the dining plan without purchasing a package (with tickets) through Disney. So your third option wouldn't work. You could not get a room only discount, tickets from UT, and the dining plan.

The room-only included a AAA discount.

However, I don't know how I so stupidly missed that you needed to buy a package to be on the dining plan. Oops. I just assumed you could buy it if you were on property.

An idea: Buy 2 Adult AP or since your DLR goers premier AP ( will get you AP benies for both parks) This will than allow you to book room +dinig without tixs. YOu than can buy everyone else Tixs from AAA office, UCT, or direct from Disney.

So AP holders are also allowed to be on the DP? My mother and I have a pass, but my son is still 2 right now and my husband doesn't have one (poor guy works too much to use it). I was thinking about getting the premier AP, but then I was thinking if I bought it now and they released free dining for my dates, that would be a bummer, since I wouldn't be able to take advantage.

I'd love to have the premier, but the upgrade from my super cheap pass would be a lot, and I doubt I'd use the extra dates that aren't blocked out. I'm not a big fan of the crowded days anyway. Hazard of being fortunate enough to live less than 15 miles away!

Thanks for the responses. I think I'm thinking myself into circles about it.

 

[Fire14]

The room-only included a AAA discount.

However, I don't know how I so stupidly missed that you needed to buy a package to be on the dining plan. Oops. I just assumed you could buy it if you were on property.



So AP holders are also allowed to be on the DP? My mother and I have a pass, but my son is still 2 right now and my husband doesn't have one (poor guy works too much to use it). I was thinking about getting the premier AP, but then I was thinking if I bought it now and they released free dining for my dates, that would be a bummer, since I wouldn't be able to take advantage.

I'd love to have the premier, but the upgrade from my super cheap pass would be a lot, and I doubt I'd use the extra dates that aren't blocked out. I'm not a big fan of the crowded days anyway. Hazard of being fortunate enough to live less than 15 miles away!

Thanks for the responses. I think I'm thinking myself into circles about it.

Yes Ap holdrs can book DP My trips are currently booked as such. You would only need 1 Ap holder/room.

 

[Marionnette]

I'm so excited! We've booked plane tickets for our first ever trip to WDW, even though we are DLR passholders. It will be the first trip for my mother, and a big one for her since she isn't able take trips like this on her budget. And a first for me, my husband and our 3 year old.

I really respect how many experts there are on this board. Please help me figure out which way is best to book. I have quotes from AAA and Disney. I'd rather book through Disney, but I don't want to pay too much more. We're going Dec 1-11, so I'm a little worried if I don't book a package now, ticket pricing will go up. It usually goes up over the summer, right? Maybe it would be better to just book now and hope Free Dining comes out for my dates? I'd love any input. Below is the pricing I got.

All of these are 10 nights at Pop, 2 rooms, Regular Dining, 10-day MYW base tickets (3 adults, 1 child (3))

AAA package: $5042

Disney package: $5282

AAA room only through Disney booking:
2 Rooms $2116.14
10 Day MYW tickets from Undercover: $1182.81
Dining plan for all 4 of us : 1696.40
TOTAL if room only booking: $4995.35


So booking the room only through Disney would be cheapest if the tickets and DP don't go up before December. AAA would be the next cheapest, but then I have to deal with the AAA agent who doesn't always call back promptly. And the Disney package is the most expensive by $283. Is $283 worth the lesser headache? If there's anything I've forgotten or If you have stories about problems with room only vs package or stories about booking through AAA, I'd love to hear it all. Thanks.

You cannot get the dining plan without booking a package, so you cannot do what you have planned.

I don't think that you will room prices or the dining plan go up between now and the end of 2012. Tickets price hikes usually happen in late July or early August. They happen "without warning" but someone on the DIS usually gets inside information and posts a heads up.

If you absolutely want the dining plan and you will be staying 10 days or longer, you might want to consider getting one WDW annual pass. With that AP, you would be able to book any AP room discount and add the dining plan to your reservation. Then you could purchase the 10 day MYW tickets from UT for everyone else.

There is also the possibility that free dining will come out for early December. In that case, you might make out better than the AP discount, since you plan to stay in value rooms. But there is no guarantee that they will offer it and with 3 adults and 1 child in two rooms, the savings on the dining plan may be eaten up by having to pay the rack rate on two rooms and the gate price on 4 tickets.

I know that it doesn't help you to make your decision. My gut says to wait and see what comes up in the fall unless the ticket price rumors show an increase that is extremely huge.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

I'd love to have the premier, but the upgrade from my super cheap pass would be a lot, and I doubt I'd use the extra dates that aren't blocked out. I'm not a big fan of the crowded days anyway. Hazard of being fortunate enough to live less than 15 miles away!

Thanks for the responses. I think I'm thinking myself into circles about it.

Would the cost be more than buying a 10 day ticket for you? Plus you can spread the payments out on the monthly payment plan. If you'd like the time to pay off your visit by booking now and I get that, save that money each month and book later. Or if FD is offered swap your reservation to include it. Hopefully FD comes out for your visit - we had it and loved it when we visited WDW but I don't think I'd ever pay for it. To pre pay for meals at DLR I put $$ on a Disney Gift Card you can add money to a Disney GC by calling DelivEARS ~ 877-560-6477 *you give the CM your credit/debit card info and they mail you the receipt. Last time I did this *a couple months ago* the $$ was on the GC the next day. I email my card # and pin so if the card is lost/stolen I can get it replaced. I'd rather have 1 card then several.
You could purchase a DGC and every 2 weeks add money, $25, $50....
If FD comes out, you could use the DGC to pay for part of your package.
Put what the DP would cost you on a GC, if you don't use it all when you visit WDW you could always use it when you visit DLR

 

[adventure_woman]

Totally different idea....you could rent ponts and stay DVC and get a 1bed for all of u (if u guys could share a room). You could then get the tickets elsewhere and still get the DDP and still use DME. Just an idea.

 

[summerw]

Yes Ap holdrs can book DP My trips are currently booked as such. You would only need 1 Ap holder/room.

That's awesome. Thanks for your input. Basically, the Premiere Pass is $749. I have the $199 pass. Even if they actually gave me credit for the $99 parking pass, which I seriously doubt, the difference is still $451, about $150 more than what the 10-day tickets would cost. However, I would also save 20% on DW souvenirs and 10% more than I save now on DL food and souvenirs. This is definitely something to consider. Maybe this...

So I don't know if Disney would let me do this, but if they offered both passholder discounts on room only AND free dining, could I book one room for myself with the ph discount and one room for the other three with free dining? Unfortunately, we need connecting rooms. Seems like that might cause an issue.

You cannot get the dining plan without booking a package, so you cannot do what you have planned.

I don't think that you will room prices or the dining plan go up between now and the end of 2012. Tickets price hikes usually happen in late July or early August. They happen "without warning" but someone on the DIS usually gets inside information and posts a heads up.

If you absolutely want the dining plan and you will be staying 10 days or longer, you might want to consider getting one WDW annual pass. With that AP, you would be able to book any AP room discount and add the dining plan to your reservation. Then you could purchase the 10 day MYW tickets from UT for everyone else.

There is also the possibility that free dining will come out for early December. In that case, you might make out better than the AP discount, since you plan to stay in value rooms. But there is no guarantee that they will offer it and with 3 adults and 1 child in two rooms, the savings on the dining plan may be eaten up by having to pay the rack rate on two rooms and the gate price on 4 tickets.

I know that it doesn't help you to make your decision. My gut says to wait and see what comes up in the fall unless the ticket price rumors show an increase that is extremely huge.

Hmmm. Thanks for weighing in.

If my calculations (and countless spreadsheets) are right...

$1044 in savings on two rooms if they gave the best case scenario of 40% off for passholders
$1120 in savings from free dining if they offered it

So free dining is the winner by a little. Also, if they offer free dining, I like the idea of using it because then it would just make way too much sense to upgrade to a moderate. That's a cost I'm having a hard time justifying since Pop seems so nice and I know my 3 year old would love it. I agree with your gut completely though.

Would the cost be more than buying a 10 day ticket for you? Plus you can spread the payments out on the monthly payment plan. If you'd like the time to pay off your visit by booking now and I get that, save that money each month and book later. Or if FD is offered swap your reservation to include it. Hopefully FD comes out for your visit - we had it and loved it when we visited WDW but I don't think I'd ever pay for it. To pre pay for meals at DLR I put $$ on a Disney Gift Card you can add money to a Disney GC by calling DelivEARS ~ 800-362-4533 *you give the CM your credit/debit card info and they mail you the receipt. Last time I did this *a couple months ago* the $$ was on the GC the next day. I email my card # and pin so if the card is lost/stolen I can get it replaced. I'd rather have 1 card then several.
You could purchase a DGC and every 2 weeks add money, $25, $50....
If FD comes out, you could use the DGC to pay for part of your package.
Put what the DP would cost you on a GC, if you don't use it all when you visit WDW you could always use it when you visit DLR

Thanks, that's definitely good input. We do that for DL a lot with the gift cards. I think we just like the dining plan option because we go to DL so much and every time we pay for a meal there, we end up budgeting ourselves down because the prices are so outrageous, ie it's so hard to order a $15 hamburger when there's a $5 one a few miles away. If we have the DP, that's 10 days of not worrying about the cost and just enjoying eating wherever we want. We definitely have the savings for souvenirs going on gift cards now though.

Totally different idea....you could rent ponts and stay DVC and get a 1bed for all of u (if u guys could share a room). You could then get the tickets elsewhere and still get the DDP and still use DME. Just an idea.

Unfortunately, between the toddler and my mom, I don't think we could do a 1 bedroom. We will have a scooter for my mom and the stroller for my son, so we'll be renting a car. Thanks for the input though and a great idea if not for my desire to prevent what I know would make for cranky mothers and husbands. They get along great, but 10 days in one room would probably test that to the limit.







Overall, I love all your suggestions and thoughts and am totally open to these and more. AAA says I can get my $400 deposit back as long as I cancel before Oct 16. I would hope free dining would be out before then. Thanks for the info that the Dis usually posts ticket increases before they happen.

I guess it comes down to how easy it would be to change my package if FD or another deal comes out. I know it would be easy if I just book directly with Disney.

Does anyone have any input on how it is with AAA? I'm worried that it will be a mad rush to book resorts once it does come out and AAA won't have the same offerings. Will I have a hard time if book with AAA for now...then if FD comes out and I can't get a hold of my agent or if AAA isn't offering what I want under FD, snap up a package with Disney and then cancel with AAA as soon as I can get a hold of my agent?

Thanks, everyone. I feel like I'm asking crazy, convoluted questions, and you guys are still giving great answers.