Has anyone booked through Expedia?

[Cynderella]

We've had our upcoming trip in November booked through Disney at POR for a rate of $139/night - my mom went on Expedia and found rates at $119 a night which is obviously a nice savings. She tried to call Disney to see if they'd honor the rates and they wont. So she wants to cancel our disney reservation and book it through Expedia. It just seems shady to me. Has anyone booked through them? Any problems? I wanted to get some expert advice through here before my mom did anything. So help please! Thank you in advance :wave:

 

[Pioneer Hall]

If you would like to send me the details of your trip I will see what promo codes there might be available to get you a good rate.

You can send me an email at evan@kingdomkonsultant.com or call 1-866-566-7858.

 

[gboiler1]

We booked through Expedia a couple years ago and had no problems. I believe they buy X number of packages and discount them. Sometimes you get a better deal by adding air. I wouldn't fear it at all.

 

[mgraef]

I booked through expedia last year and had no problems. Save your money. This year I booked through Disney directly, then right after paying, I checked with AAA which had a deep discount. You might try them as well. Cancelled with Disney for no charge.

We ended up payin an additional $120 to add the meal plan to our package which we did not have before. Otherwise the savings was $470. A huge difference for a week long trip.

mg

 

[David]

We have booked two trips through them and those two were the last two we will EVER book. We booked a trip to Disneyland for three days continuing on for a week in Hawaii. I made it very clear that we wanted a late flight out so we could have three full days at DLR and bought the 3 day park hopper. After booking our trip, I printed the docs and saw a change to an earlier flight to Hawaii, meaning that we could not go to DLR the third day. They refused to make any changes to the flight or to a 2-day Park Hopper without a hefty fee, so we were stuck.
The next time, it was just to book a hotel for us. They quoted a rate which we accepted and had charged to our account. By accident, the hotel charged our VISA for the rooms as well. And guess what, the rate the hotel was charging was about $70.00 less than Expedia had charged us a month earlier when we booked. Of course, they would not honor the lower rate that the hotel charged, so we lost out again with them.
In addition, you will have surcharges on a your hotel that they forget to tell you about until you check in.
Two times with that bunch was enough for me!

 

[jjgoo]

I would check and see if the $119 includes all the taxes and fees. I would bet you will find that it does not because then actual room price without taxes/fees would probably be close to $100.

I would really check around with other travel agencies and see what rates they can get you. Also, check to see if there is any discount for booking a package (tickets or airfare with room).

In my humble opinion it is always nice to have a name and phone number to call if you have any problems. You only get that with a real travel agency.

Best of luck with getting some good rates. I booked my package through AAA for October and got a great discount over what Disney was offering directly.

 

[David]

We also use AAA and have nothing but great service from them. Our agent knows about my Disney fetish and always lets me know about special Disney nights they are having and is super to work with. When we used Expedia (see tirade a few posts above) their initial cost was less, but given the hassle from them vs the ability to speak with or e-mail our agent and get a quick response is no comparison.

 

[wannabeBelle]

I would check and see if the $119 includes all the taxes and fees. I would bet you will find that it does not because then actual room price without taxes/fees would probably be close to $100.

I would really check around with other travel agencies and see what rates they can get you. Also, check to see if there is any discount for booking a package (tickets or airfare with room).

In my humble opinion it is always nice to have a name and phone number to call if you have any problems. You only get that with a real travel agency.

Best of luck with getting some good rates. I booked my package through AAA for October and got a great discount over what Disney was offering directly.

Very well put!!!!! As always a smart consumer does some shopping around!!! I agree with the ability to speak with one person regarding all your questons and information for a trip. It certainly makes dealing with the details a LOT easier. By all means check out the exact same combination of items and see which one gives the best discount and go with that. The old adage applies here " If it sounds too good to be true it probably isnt!" Belle

 

[disneyfamilyof4]

I agree you should shop around for your best deal. I have used both Expedia (not for Disney) and Travelocity (for a Disney trip) and have been pleased with both. I did some shopping around for the trip I am planning now and was able to get my best deal through Southwest.com vacation planning. You may want to look there, too. Good luck!

 

[Cynderella]

Don't mean to bump this thread but I just wanted to thank everyone for their input. We are looking into some other places to get rates. Thanks again! :wave:

 

[KrazyKowboy]

I agree you should shop around for your best deal. I have used both Expedia (not for Disney) and Travelocity (for a Disney trip) and have been pleased with both. I did some shopping around for the trip I am planning now and was able to get my best deal through Southwest.com vacation planning. You may want to look there, too. Good luck!

I agree fully with disneyfamilyof4. I used Expedia in 2004 and Disney in 2005. Was satisfied with both. I found in my checks for our trip this year though that flight costs are a good bit cheaper if bought separate and directly through the airlines, rather than a part of the total package. The case may vary with your location and timing of your reservations, but check out your options before you book your travel plans.

Also, check when you book your trip with Disney for seasonal rate changes. This year I booked our rooms for All Star Music checking in on 11/25 and staying 7 nights. The value season starts on 11/26. The value season rates drop $20 a night on the 26th, but becasue I'm checking in on the 25th i'm charged the regular season rate for the entire length of stay. I could have changed my plans to check in and out a day later and saved $140 had I been aware ahead of time.
I just assumed I'd pay the regular season rate for the 25th and see it drop to value season rates for the next six nights, but that is not the case. Just check it out when you're booking during the season rate transition periods.

You can check the season dates on Disney's rate charts here : http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/resorts/seasonalityChart?id=SeasonalityChartPage

 

[Epcot82Guy]

One thing to check is the use of DME. We booked through Hotels.com for our trip (last week). The reservation was no trouble at all, but reserving DME was a bit of a nightmare. If you don't plan to use this, though, everything should be fine.