Has anyone used AAA?

[cursivesailor]

Has anyone booked their trip using their AAA membership? Is it worth looking into? Their website seems so vague. Theres no where to entering it in on Disney's website either. Ive never used my AAA membership at disney for whatever reason and now I am wondering if I have possibly been missing out on discounts.

What about calling the Disney reservation line?

 

[BrittanyRose428]

We used AAA over this past summer, my grandpa paid, so I guess I really don't know all the details. The pamphlets you pick up there say that you get certain discounts with some of the hotels I believe, but I didn't see any hugely noticeable difference. (But again, I didn't pay for it). We went to the local AAA office to book it, and the agent we had was extremely helpful (or would have been if we didn't already know everything). :lol: She explained the park hoppers, and the Magical Express service and whatnot, but I would have been fine with all of that on my own. So I'm really not sure what the discount was. :shrug: I think we got vouchers/coupons to use during the trip because we booked with AAA, but they were things that we weren't planning on doing anyways.

I do agree though that the website is very vague. Not to sound like a know it all, but I know enough about Disney to book the trip myself, I would just be interested in seeing what the cost difference is, I don't really care to go and get a lesson on the dining plan and ticket options again. :lol:

Maybe if you called them you could get a quote? We just showed up when we randomly decided to book it, it was actually right before they closed and we felt horrible because we didn't know that, I hate to be those people.

 

[G00fyDad]

Horrible, Horrible, Horrible experience. :brick: :brick:

I'll never use AAA again. You may have a better experience than I did, but ours were lazy, uncaring, and ignorant of the Disney system. Sure, they had been doing Disney vacations for a while, but they are (around here at least) useless. The agent tried to "sell" me on the perks that they give to AAA members exclusively. It turned out to be the very same things Disney gave to anyone booking. :hammer: Then when the Free Dining promo came out I called AAA to make sure that they were booking the Free Dining. I had talked to them a few days before and told them what I wanted for a resort with the FreeDDP promo and they assured me that it would be fine. Well, the day of..... no answer at 7am. No answer at 7:30, 8:00, 8:30, or 9:00!!!! Finally at 9:30 they stroll into the office. I had already called Disney and was told that AAA needed to call to book the promo. UGH!! The AAA agent told me "no problem" and went to call Disney. 1.5 hours later I had to call AAA and the agent said "Oh, yeah. I got off the phone with them ages ago. They don't have any more Pop Century rooms associated with that promo. Sorry." I could have slapped the crap outta her. I said "CALL BACK AND GET WHATEVER RESORT YOU CAN!! I STILL WANT THE PROMO!!" :brick: Another 1.5 hours later and she still has not called back so I called her. She said "You have a room at All Star Sports .... blah, blah, blah.... and you have a king size bed .... blah, blah, blah...." WHAT?!?!? We are a family of four and we have a king size bed??? That idiot had to call back and after another 45 minutes she did actually call me back. Wow. She then acted like she did me a favor by going out of her way like she did. Then she tells me that I can stop by and pick up our documents 30 days prior to the trip. I show up at the 30 day mark, and she's on vacation now and no one knew where she put my stuff. We were calling Disney, calling her, ect.... no luck. Disney finally sent some new ones out, and then 4 days later, the travel documents that the agent had arrived.... IN THE MAIL. :brick:

Never again will I go with that place!

 

[DisneyJoe]

You can call Disney direct or your travel agent to get aaa room only discount. For a package you must call aaa.

 

[cursivesailor]

I guess I should clarify my original post.... I dont really need AAA to book the trip. I just meant get a discount. I am mostly curious about this from a money-saving standpoint.

Thanks yall!

 

[G00fyDad]

I guess I should clarify my original post.... I dont really need AAA to book the trip. I just meant get a discount. I am mostly curious about this from a money-saving standpoint.

Thanks yall!

Oh..... ummm.... LOL I guess my reply was a tad overkill then. :ROFLOL: In that case, yes, I would definately use the AAA for a room only discount. The package discount is never worth it anyway. And keep looking for a better deal offered by Disney. You may see one that is better than AAA and since they cannot both be used, you may save more by switching.

 

[flynnibus]

I guess I should clarify my original post.... I dont really need AAA to book the trip. I just meant get a discount. I am mostly curious about this from a money-saving standpoint.

Thanks yall!

The AAA discount is normally about 10-15%

It's worth it vs paying standard rates.. but when promos come along, the Disney promo maybe better than the AAA rate.

As DisneyJoe said, you can get the AAA rate right on the Disney Res line.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

In the past I have used the AAA room only discount getting 20% off on my room in January last year. Worth it if you want to budget a trip. I booked my 2013 January trip and now that most of it's been paid for I have to wait until Aug comes and add the AAA Room Only discount then.

 

[Master Yoda]

I guess I should clarify my original post.... I dont really need AAA to book the trip. I just meant get a discount. I am mostly curious about this from a money-saving standpoint.

Thanks yall!

The AAA discounts tends to be the "better than nothing" discount. Disney's promotions tend to be the better deal.

 

[wolf359]

The AAA discounts tends to be the "better than nothing" discount. Disney's promotions tend to be the better deal.

I agree, and the service/knowledgability level varies quite a bit from agent to agent.

One bonus seems to be that there are often AAA discounts available at times Disney has nothing. I've had the "luck" of booking my last two summer trips in-between times when Disney was offering any discounts but I was still able to get 15% from AAA.

So since I'm a AAA member anyway, I always give them a chance. If you are looking to book a room-only trip, it also is worth it to call Disney in addition to talking to a AAA agent. Once I was able to get a better AAA discount on a room only stay from Disney directly than my quote from a AAA agent.

Some of the smaller perks are also nice if you're already booking through AAA. I drove to the parks a lot more than usual on my last trip and the Diamond parking was a BIG benefit. Some of the perks in the AAA discount book also came in handy, though again they're nothing worth going out of your way to book through AAA just for them.

 

[Master Yoda]

I agree, and the service/knowledgability level varies quite a bit from agent to agent.

One bonus seems to be that there are often AAA discounts available at times Disney has nothing. I've had the "luck" of booking my last two summer trips in-between times when Disney was offering any discounts but I was still able to get 15% from AAA.

So since I'm a AAA member anyway, I always give them a chance. If you are looking to book a room-only trip, it also is worth it to call Disney in addition to talking to a AAA agent. Once I was able to get a better AAA discount on a room only stay from Disney directly than my quote from a AAA agent.

Some of the smaller perks are also nice if you're already booking through AAA. I drove to the parks a lot more than usual on my last trip and the Diamond parking was a BIG benefit. Some of the perks in the AAA discount book also came in handy, though again they're nothing worth going out of your way to book through AAA just for them.

This is so true. Way back in the day when I used AAA I found that the agents typically came in 2 extremes. They either had a level knowledge that would rival your best Disney specific agent or their knowledge peaked at "That is the one in Orlando, right?":lol:

 

[wolf359]

This is so true. Way back in the day when I used AAA I found that the agents typically came in 2 extremes. They either had a level knowledge that would rival your best Disney specific agent or their knowledge peaked at "That is the one in Orlando, right?":lol:

It's also true that after having "grown up Disney" I just can't fairly judge them anymore. I live and breath the parks, I've been going to Disneyland and Walt Disney World since I was 5 years old, I own most every book about them and spend a lot of time here and on other Disney-related websites.

So it isn't fair to try to compare one part of someone's job to a hobby I've had for over 35 years. Even still, it can be frustrating when you walk in the door with every detail planned out and written down because I know what I want AND I'm trying to make their job easier and they can't even find "All Star Music" on their computer screen...

 

[graphite1326]

Has anyone booked their trip using their AAA membership? Is it worth looking into? Their website seems so vague. Theres no where to entering it in on Disney's website either. Ive never used my AAA membership at disney for whatever reason and now I am wondering if I have possibly been missing out on discounts.

What about calling the Disney reservation line?

I booked with AAA this time and have done it in the past. I have also booked with Disney myself. There didn't seem to be much difference in price. However, when I booked with Disney I first did it on line and apparently it didn't go through correctly. They did charge my credit card though. But I had never recieved a confirmation to my email. I called Disney and they had no record until I gave them the Credit Card bill number. They found it that way. We then decided to add another day and called and booked that. Well it didn't turn up on final paperwork. But tthe charge did. I am glad I took it with me, I avoided an emabaressing situation.

But, I am surprised how little these AAA agents know about Disney.

 

[radev104]

We always use AAA to book our room. It ususally is cheaper than through Disney. Last year we bought our tickets through my fiance's work (a lot cheaper than through Disney) and booked the room through AAA. This year we had our annual passes and booked the rooms through Disney again. We never had problems. You only get the perks from AAA if you book certain resorts and packages.

 

[disneygirl76]

Has anyone booked their trip using their AAA membership? Is it worth looking into? Their website seems so vague. Theres no where to entering it in on Disney's website either. Ive never used my AAA membership at disney for whatever reason and now I am wondering if I have possibly been missing out on discounts.

What about calling the Disney reservation line?

Hey there, I had to call AAA 1-888-919-MAGIC and they did a quote for me.

 

[fdcfjj]

I have used AAA in the past. I have received a 20% discount on my rooms. Once at Animal Kingdom Lodge and another time at Pop Century. Quite often, Disney offers discount rates on their rooms as well. Just check their website under "tickets and packages" and you will see "special offers". Even after you book your trip, if you find a better offer, notify your travel agent or Disney reservations and mention you would like the discount you came across.

 

[nepalostparks]

I booked with AAA this time and have done it in the past. I have also booked with Disney myself. There didn't seem to be much difference in price.

...

But, I am surprised how little these AAA agents know about Disney.

Price-wise, no matter who you book with it will generally be pretty close for the basics like room, ticket, etc. Going through a travel agent, especially one who is knowledgeable on Disney, can make life easier by finding the best rate, doing the research, and being able to answer your questions without spending your time searching online.

I think a lot of people are surprised by the fact that in most cases, booking through a travel agent will cost the same, if not less, than doing it yourself. And even if there is a slight price difference, the amount of time and hassle saved is usually more than worth it.

As to the lack of knowledge of AAA agents, like others have mentioned, it is hit or miss. But that's because they are a general service travel agency - the agent who knows little about Disney might know everything about Europe.

I had a personal experience about 4 years ago at a AAA travel expo. They had a special presentation by a AAA "Disney Expert" from the local office, and so naturally I was interested to see if I could learn anything new. At that point I was more of a novice of Disney World planning - I read the Unofficial Guide and spent some time here and allears, but I wasn't as knowledgeable as I am now. After about 15 minutes of the presentation, all very basic stuff, she started taking questions. Second question in was about the Dining Plan, and she started responding with information that was just completely wrong. A few more relatively basic questions, most of which she unable to answer, and we got up and walked out. "Expert" was apparently being used loosely as a term that day :lol:

 

[olisarow]

It is a funny one. Would you like to explain a little more about AAA?

 

[real mad hatter]

Yeh,we call them pencil batteries,good for alarm clocks,etc.

 

[graphite1326]

I just booked a trip thruogh AAA. I have also booked a trip through Disney in the past. There really isn't much difference in the price. However, when I booked my trip myself, there were mistakes made. Not by me but the person on the other end of the phone. If you book it yourself through Disney save all your receipts and take them with you. I have never had a problem when I booked through AAA, and if there were it's their problem.

Also, after I booked my trip through AAA I received a discount offer from Disney. AAA honored it and updated my reservation. I now have the meal plan at no extra cost.