[alexa1466]

I'm planning on going down to WDW in December 2003. I am a new AAA member (two weeks to be exact) and am wondering if there are any benefits/discounts of going through their travel agency for making reservations or getting tickets. Thanks!

[charlene]

Hi Alexa,

I found there package deals to be alittle over priced. But I you are planning to do things seperatly (forgoing the package)
you can get some good discounts.
I believe they give a 5% discount on hopper passes...and discounts at off site hotels and rental cars as well.
Now if you do book a package with them the do have "perks" which include:

a diamond card that you can use at selected restaurants for 10%off, also a discount at some downtown disney shops or on Souviner photos too. You also get preffered parking if you have a car.

Your best bet is to stop in or call your local AAA office and have them send you a brochure on their disney packages.. It a color brochre with 45 or more pages. My kids even just enjoy looking though the pages in anticpation.

[didamullan]

I only know that you get a 10% discount for the room.:heart

[mickey]

Originally posted by didamullan
I only know that you get a 10% discount for the room.:heart

Actually, the rate varies throughout the year:

During Value Season you can get up to 15% off at the Disney Deluxe and Home-Away-From-Home resorts, or 20% off at the Value and Moderate resorts and the Ft. Wilderness campsites.

During Regular Season you can usually get up to 10% off at the Disney Deluxe and Home-Away-From-Home resorts, or 15% off at the Value and Moderate resorts and the Ft. Wilderness campsites.

During Peak Season you can usually get up to 10% off at the Disney Deluxe and Home-Away-From-Home resorts, or 15% off at the Value and Moderate resorts.

The only problem is that during times of the year when these discounts are available, there are typically discount closer to 35% to 40% available to anyone. If you are planning last minute, and are not a Disney Club member or an Annual Passholer, it is often the best discount.

AAA does offer some nice plusses if you book a package through them, but you often pay more for the package. I would suggest getting a price from them and then a couple other prices to compare.

[Goofette]

Last year I got my room for a special rate through mousesavers, and so I needed to buy tickets seperately. We priced them wherever we could find them, and found our AAA office to have the best price. We bought 3 park hoppers and saved quite a bit of money. I would definately check them out.:)

[DisneyStar28]

Does anyone know if AAA offers good discounts on hotels outside of WDW resort? We are planning on going over New Year's next year so staying on property will be out of the question due to the holiday rates that WDW charges. We have found several package deals on Expedia but am wondering if AAA could beat those prices. Any input would be great! Thanks!:D

[Goofette]

Originally posted by DisneyStar28
Does anyone know if AAA offers good discounts on hotels outside of WDW resort? We are planning on going over New Year's next year so staying on property will be out of the question due to the holiday rates that WDW charges. We have found several package deals on Expedia but am wondering if AAA could beat those prices. Any input would be great! Thanks!:D

I want to say the standard is about 10% off (maybe higher, I can't remember). But something we learned to do after being burned by a couple of hotels is ask what the rate would be. When they tell you, then tell them "oh, I also have AAA" and see what they tell you. I was calling back and finding out they weren't giving us our savings. They were just hiking up the room, then knocking off the % and it was ending up the same price no matter what. So that's when I started doing that, to make sure to get the percentage off. Not all hotels did that, but several unfortunately :hmmm

[didamullan]

Sorry, I was thinking of Am. Express the resorts only give 10% if you have that card. We joined AAA and took a car trip up the coastline of Ca. to WA. and found that the hotel coupon books were far better prices than we ever got from AAA so we did
n't renew it and go on hotel.com or even look at hotels on the Disney grounds and see online what prices you can get.

[alexa1466]

If your looking for discounts outside of the resort, I would also try looking in the Entertainment book. You can even go onto Entertainment.com and check the listings of hotels that are offered in the Orlando area. I'm going down next December and we were looking at some hotels outside of the resort (we ended up booking a hotel at POR) and I was surprised how many were listed...Grosvernor Resort, Embassy Suites, etc. I had a similar experience also with a hotel when I called for rates also. Before knowing that the Grosvenor was in the Entertainment book, I called to see what their rates were. I called a couple days later and asked them what the discount would be (I didn't tell them I had called previously) with the Entertainment card and they quoted me the same price also. Definitely do your research beforehand with any hotel and make sure your actually getting a discount.

[Goofette]

I forgot to mention this also. We just signed up for AAA so we could save money on our trip. Around this time last year they had a special where you could sign up for the gold membership, and get a 2nd person on for free, so we did that. Well, so far AAA has been a lifesaver for me. When I was driving back and forth to work at the Disney store, I ran out of gas one day :dazed within 45 min, they were there with enough gas to get me to the next town. Then it snowed for several days here, my battery was dead, and my car was sitting in the driveway. I called and they told me it was covered. Within an hour there was someone there to jump my battery and I was on my way. My husbands truck broke down, they towed it home, and I had a flat, they came right out and fixed it. I was thanking my lucky stars that I had gone to WDW, because if not, I wouldn't have signed up for them. Now I won't be without it

(no, this was not a commercial ;) :D )