No AAA Room only discount???

[Denezer]

I have booked room only reservation for POFQ for next May directly with Disney. I went to my local AAA office yesterday and they told me there is no AAA discount on room only. She said it has to be a package. She callled WDW in front of me and they confirmed this. I am so confused!! Does anyone understand this?

 

[DianeV]

Thats not true unless they just havent released them for next year yet

 

[babybunrab]

I got a AAA room-only discount, but it is for this August, not 2006.

 

[Denezer]

I am hoping it is just too early for next May. However the AAA agent was sure she was corrcect. I guess I won't go back to her.

How did you get the discount? Did you book thru AAA or WDW?

 

[cepmom]

I booked a AAA room only discount through my TA (Small World Vacations). You can also book it directly with Disney, once the 2006 AAA room only discounts have been released.

edited to add: found this info on Mousesavers.com

AAA discounts for room-only reservations:

2005 discounts became available in mid-August 2004.


Hopefully your 2006 AAA discount will open up around the same time period this year.

 

[DisneyFreaks]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I was told you book a "AAA room Only" discount through Disney not AAA. They only book packages through AAA directly. We got all of our AAA room only discounts by calling CRO. Hope this helps a bit.

 

[johnnyr]

I have booked many room only AAA discounts directly with WDW. Never through our local AAA office. I would guess, Disney hasn't finalized the 2006 contract with AAA yet.

 

[EthansMom]

AAA discounts for 2006 have not been released yet. You can book AAA room-only reservations through CRO, but AAA packages have to go through AAA.

 

[eeyoresmountainpals]

Can any of you tell me what kind of % (discount) AAA gets on room-only ressies? Thanks!

 

[pooh2001]

The WDW reservations told me end of August 2005 for AAA rates in 2006.

From what I heard - AAA is 15% off rack rate.

At least it's something off rack rate

 

[PatMcDuck]

I think it depends on the season? It seemed like I got 20% off Value this September.

 

[brettb]

Based on my samplings, for Value season, it's roughly 15% for Deluxes and 20% for Moderates and Values. I can't speak for other seasons.

So the nightly discount (including tax) ranges from about $18 for a Pop Century standard room and about $59 for a Garden View room at the Grand Flordian.

I mention this to highlight the difference between giving up the discount to get free MYW dining (if available) given that each adult is $35 and each child is $10.

Setting aside that staying at the GF is just plain more expensive, the free dining is far less of a "deal" at the deluxe hotels than at the values.

Brett

 

[Tiffany]

I have booked room only reservation for POFQ for next May directly with Disney. I went to my local AAA office yesterday and they told me there is no AAA discount on room only. She said it has to be a package. She callled WDW in front of me and they confirmed this. I am so confused!! Does anyone understand this?

I do not believe AAA disconts for 2006 are out yet. They usually do not come out until late summer early fall.

 

[Carrieberry]

That is weird that she told you she could book a AAA package for 2006 though. None if the 2006 package rates are out yet, even if you call Disney. They told me end of June, start of July.

Anyone know what the AAA discount is for a PACKAGE? Might be worth our joining AAA if it makes a difference. We want to book a 2006 package with dining. I ooked at mousesavers and only saw info for AAA discount for room only. Thanks!

 

[Carrieberry]

Oh also, I got on my local AAA page and it is not showing ANY available rooms onsite for 2006 at all so I am sure it is just too soon.

 

[PoohHappens]

Here is info as I understand it as we have just used AAA (actually CAA using cro or us agent) :
Room only can be booked through CRO or AAA agent 20% off value and moderate and 15% off deluxe. One thing to note if your booking is over two seasons AAA agents cannot fix this--you will pay one rate for the first few days and the other rate for the last few. If you book through CRO you will get the rate you check in under for the entire stay. If you check in during value you will continue that rate after the season changes if you book through CRO but not though AAA. If you check in during a higher rate you would need to make 2 seperat ressies with CRO
AAA packages can only be booked through AAA not CRO. Essentially you are getting the discounted room rate and the rest of the add ons at regular price (ie MYW tickets and dinning etc) Some AAA offices carry MYW tickets at a discounted price but it varies from location to location and sometimes per state. They only carry one or two varieties ( ours only carried non-exp and we did not want these because they are more expensive.
I hope this answers some of the questions here.
As for 2006 I do not believe 2006 rates are avail yet.

 

[DemoBri1]

I secured a AAA rate quote through a AAA TA, and then I received a quote from WDW direct. The WDW direct rate was better than the TA quoted me. Shouldn't these have been the same.

Another difference that I found was that my AAA TA seemed to have access to less rooms than the WDW CM. When I tried getting a CY view at WL, my TA said those rooms were gone, but when I called down to WDW, the CM said there were plenty available.

My advice would be to get quotes from both sources, and then book with the one that had the better rate.

 

[jz117]

When we tried to book our honeymoon with AAA early this year (since we had heard they had some kind of honeymoon registry program), we were shocked at the quote they came back with for a package - since I had already done my research, I knew we could get prices WAY (and I mean like at least $50/night) cheaper. (I believe they tried to justify this by explaining other benefits you'd get ... like the Magic Express shuttle service, etc., that are already included for all guests anyway!)

When I calculated it later, it seemed they were including full rack rates in the package - maybe I just got a bad agent, but if they do this to all packages, people are getting ripped off. We are using the AAA room-only discount (booked through Disney directly) and got a rate of $234 for a savannah view at AKL (this is for value season in Oct., but the non-discounted rate was approx. $280 so we are saving about $50/night). I was tempted today to try to get an AP rate, but it doesn't really look like it will save us anything when you consider the cost of the AP itself vs. the length of our stay.

Bottom line - Being a AAA member definitely has its perks, but you're better off just using your membership to get a discount than using their travel agents and packages, since you are not necessarily getting any kind of deal at all.

 

[pjupton]

One thing to note if your booking is over two seasons AAA agents cannot fix this--you will pay one rate for the first few days and the other rate for the last few.

This is new to me. I thought you got the rate on youc checkin day for your entire stay regardless of who booked the trip.

Can anyone else confirm or deny?

 

[WDWBetsy]

When we tried to book our honeymoon with AAA early this year (since we had heard they had some kind of honeymoon registry program), we were shocked at the quote they came back with for a package - since I had already done my research, I knew we could get prices WAY (and I mean like at least $50/night) cheaper. (I believe they tried to justify this by explaining other benefits you'd get ... like the Magic Express shuttle service, etc., that are already included for all guests anyway!)

When I calculated it later, it seemed they were including full rack rates in the package - maybe I just got a bad agent, but if they do this to all packages, people are getting ripped off. We are using the AAA room-only discount (booked through Disney directly) and got a rate of $234 for a savannah view at AKL (this is for value season in Oct., but the non-discounted rate was approx. $280 so we are saving about $50/night). I was tempted today to try to get an AP rate, but it doesn't really look like it will save us anything when you consider the cost of the AP itself vs. the length of our stay.

Bottom line - Being a AAA member definitely has its perks, but you're better off just using your membership to get a discount than using their travel agents and packages, since you are not necessarily getting any kind of deal at all.

When I started looking into booking back in January, many AAA agents were giving incorrect quotes (due to Disney computer problems) which didn't reflect AAA discounts. Unfortunately I have seen numerous postings where this continued to happen to others. The best thing to do is to calculate everything ahead of time so you know approximately what you should be paying - and don't hesitate politely questioning a AAA travel agent to recheck the rates with Disney (AAA discounts are subject to availability, of course, but they should be able to verify if the discount was applied). That doesn't mean that all people getting package quotes from Disney are not getting accurate ones though. It's just a shame that those not prepared with what the cost savings should be could be overpaying or not getting the packages they want.

Yes, it's a hassle, but after switching to a southern California AAA agent who was willing to help me, it's worth the $356 savings we're getting with both the AAA discount, plus we're getting the dining plan. Of course, I will be watching to see if any other deals pop up for our time - so I'm always ready to jump ship to a better deal!