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Disneymademoiselle
01-11-2006, 09:11 PM
I am unsure if any of you have heard about the current AAA promo, which includes a 2 night stay at a Disneyland Resort Hotel, ParkHopper Pass, etc. for $250 per adult. Regardless of the promotion, I was wondering if you padders have booked a vacation with them under such a promotion? Is $250 too good to be true?

Yes, I know I can most likely find cheaper hotel prices outside the resort, but my aunt has not been to Disneyland in years and she heard about the promo through AAA.

kkmickey
01-12-2006, 07:23 AM
I usually book with AAA, and have always been pleased. The BEST part of booking an onsite property with AAA is that you get the ENHANCED fast pass, which is great!

MsYumiBr
01-12-2006, 10:26 AM
In my experience, their great rates are usually for a standard city view rooms (parking lot view). I like resort view (pool or DTD) so this didn't work for us when I tried to use their promo last time. It was called something like Magic Days. Let me know if you get the resort view.

DianeM
01-12-2006, 10:56 AM
I've never booked a vacation through AAA, but I've dealt with their insurance and automobile coverage for decades, and gotten travel information and tickets through them for the past 2 years. They generally offer good deals, great service, and are quite reputable. Yes, you could stay off site for less (maybe make it a three day trip for the same price), but if you want to stay on-site, this seems like as good a deal as you're going to get.



Yes, I know I can most likely find cheaper hotel prices outside the resort, but my aunt has not been to Disneyland in years and she heard about the promo through AAA.

hlbtimes2
01-12-2006, 11:27 AM
Where, it more then likely, gets to good to be true is availabilty. Simular to the kids fly free promo with Alaska air right now. They are advertising a $585 for one adult and 1 child, 5 day parkhoppers, airfare and hotel. Problem is the dates! Its almost impossible to find dates that work. They have a lot of black outs and limited seats.

I'm not saying this in a bad way against AAA, they are a great company. But as we all know, there is usually catch of some sort! If your dates are flexible, I'm sure you will be able to get a great deal.

JosieGirl71
01-12-2006, 12:57 PM
Can anyone get that deal? Or do you have to be a AAA member?

CamCay
01-12-2006, 01:39 PM
We book through AAA and have always found it to be an exceptional deal. Yes the Enhanced Fastpass is the key, but the prices are always the best. I found this deal yesterday online and agree it is well priced. The city view from the Marina tower allows you to view fireworks from your room if you're high enough. It's not the same as from inside the park but if you have little ones it works. You only have to be a member of their towing service to qualify, which i believe is about $69 per year. It's well worth it.

bobster
01-12-2006, 04:22 PM
$250 is a great deal, I am looking at the AAA brochure right now and the list price for the 2 night Resort Magic package is $339. So your saving $89 per person. I always book through AAA just to get the enhanced Fastpass since you cant get that through Disney Travel anymore. You do not have to be a member to book through AAA though AAA members get a better rate. The list price for the above is $339 for members and $369 for non-members so it does not take much for the membership to pay for itself.

Agent
01-12-2006, 05:22 PM
CamCay, do you have the web address of the promotion. I know I would still have to call my local AAA office. But, they are perhaps the least knowledgeable travel agency I have ever used!!

Also, I take it the refillable mug for the parks would still apply?

Disneymademoiselle
01-12-2006, 09:39 PM
Agent, here is the AAA website address: http://www.csaa.com/travel/travelofferdetail/0,1438,1003020100%257C4968,00.html

Thanks to all of you for your words of advice. I'll be heading to AAA tomorrow.

CamCay
01-13-2006, 09:42 AM
You know i always book online, and the website i go to required me to enter my membership number to see the deals. So i don't know if it's different than the one you're looking at. I have never gone to a AAA office to book. I am glad you found the website. When were you planning on going?

hlbtimes2
01-13-2006, 09:46 AM
I think a lot of it depends on where you live. I'm in WA. The rates are always higher then the WDT rates. But, you dont have to be a member. I dont know if the rates are less for members or not.

Agent
01-13-2006, 12:41 PM
Disneymademoiselle, thank you. I had to plug in a Sacramento zip code because, as usual, our Oregon club can't find the special. It is not even on the web site for our state. Go figure!

dizy4disney1
01-13-2006, 01:56 PM
We are planning a trip the end of July into August. Haven't used AAA before, but since I'm driving down this year, was considering joining just in case I need assistance on the road.

When booking rooms with AAA or buying tickets, do you buy direct from AAA or do you just tell the hotel or Disney Travel you have AAA?

And is enhanced Fast pass still offered in July? I'm assuming that means being able to hold multiple fast passes? And do you only get this if you stay at a Disney hotel? I was actually planning on Hojo for part of our trip and then the last few nights at either DLH or GC. So how would that work?

Lots of questions - but all that really matter is - I'm going back to Disneyland!:)

MsYumiBr
01-13-2006, 02:39 PM
We are planning a trip the end of July into August. Haven't used AAA before, but since I'm driving down this year, was considering joining just in case I need assistance on the road.

When booking rooms with AAA or buying tickets, do you buy direct from AAA or do you just tell the hotel or Disney Travel you have AAA?

And is enhanced Fast pass still offered in July? I'm assuming that means being able to hold multiple fast passes? And do you only get this if you stay at a Disney hotel? I was actually planning on Hojo for part of our trip and then the last few nights at either DLH or GC. So how would that work?

Lots of questions - but all that really matter is - I'm going back to Disneyland!:)

[Wow. Sorry this is long.]
I can answer this one. AAA is great because you never know when your car breaks down, you lock your keys in it (while it's running), or blow a tire. Besides all that, you can get discounts at certain restaurants (like the character breakfasts, Napa Rose and Jazz Kitchen). Just keep breaking out the card.

Enhanced Fastpass (or Fastpass BONUS as AAA is calling it these days) is only encoded in the tickets you buy through AAA that comes with the vacation package. If you want the special tickets, you must go through AAA. You can't just buy the room, etc. without the tickets. Check the brochure from AAA (you can request one for free) and you should see the expiration date of the offer on it. I can't remember. We've got APs and they want $400+ just so we can have the Ehanced Fastpass feature. No thanks. I'll stand in line. It will probably rain anyway.

As far as which hotel to stay at, that is personal preference. I just like DLH. GCH has a wierd smell to it that I don't like very much. It's probably the coffee roasters in DCA. I stayed there during the Halloween event and it was okay, but the room was smaller and more expensive than the DLH. The truth is, I missed Tinkerbell. lol.

I believe with all of the vacation packages there is a 2 night minimum. After that you can switch hotels. They can do that for you too. It's part of the Good Neighbor hotel packages. Tickets from AAA with the package are encoded for early entry one day and the fastpass Bonus feature (EPN Zone discount might still be on there but that was last summer). Mickey's Toontown Morning Madness has vouchers. Preferred seating to Alladdin are also vouchers. Make a reservation for the show through vacation planning. It works better than the AAA PS vouchers which are a walk-up and hand them the ticket thing. You also get vouchers for the red AAA lanyard and pin. The pin is very exclusive so don't let your kid wear it and lose it. I think that's all of it. The Snow White show should be back by then. I suggest making PSs for that show. It's great. That's all I know from the AAA package I got last July. I'm getting another one this month so if anything is different I will let you know.

dizy4disney1
01-13-2006, 03:53 PM
Thanks for the info. Guess I'll go to the AAA website and join, then figure out what to do next. Looks like my 19 year old will be going with us. He plans on joining the Navy in Sept. so most likely it will be a very long time before we go again together. So I'll probably stay the whole time at Hojo. Which is my favorite hotel off site, by far.

DianeM
01-13-2006, 04:41 PM
If you're driving down, don't forget to drop into your local AAA office after you join and get maps of Anaheim and California, and while you're at it, you can get free maps of anywhere you want. Whenever we plan a trip, our first stop is AAA to get maps and travel guides. The travel guides (also free) have great information on destinations, restaurants, and hotels. And in some locations you can get your vehicle inspected to make sure it's road worthy before your trip and get a temporary key so that if you lock your keys in the car you won't have to call for service.


We are planning a trip the end of July into August. Haven't used AAA before, but since I'm driving down this year, was considering joining just in case I need assistance on the road.

gkeep
01-13-2006, 07:52 PM
I am in Oregon - our AAA always has Disney Days in January where they offer something extra to book. I waited until Jan 3 to book our trip that is in one week. For waiting we get - a free refilable mug for each person in our party for the length of our stay. It is for 5 refills a day, but they say they don't count. This is a huge bonus if you add it up! I also booked the good neighbor package with AAA for 2 nights - w/ 5 day parkhoppers, and then reserved the rest of the nights myself at a great entertainment book rate ( we are staying at the hojo). Can't beat the free stuff and a great rate!

vegasmommytoDL
01-22-2006, 08:32 PM
In my experience, their great rates are usually for a standard city view rooms (parking lot view). I like resort view (pool or DTD) so this didn't work for us when I tried to use their promo last time. It was called something like Magic Days. Let me know if you get the resort view.

I went June of 2005 with a AAA trip staying at the Disneyland hotel. They gave us a FREE upgrade. I doubt I'll ever get a room that nice for the rest of my life. It had a seperate bedroom, 2 bathrooms, it overlooked the pool and we were on the 2nd floor from the top in the Marina tower. BEAUTIFUL!!!!!

The treatment we got the entire trip was top notch.

faithbaby
01-23-2006, 11:57 AM
AAA's deal is awesome! As someone else mentioned, though, is availability. For us, we are perfectly happy with a Good Neighbor hotel, so the deal can't be beat! For $647 we got 3 nights at Hampton Inn and Suites, 3 day park hopper tickets and all the AAA bells and whistles -- including the drink cups which will provide a huge savings! Our hotel has a hot breakfast buffet, too - more $$ savings! This is for a family of 4. The current AAA deal has to be booked by 1/31/06 and have to travel by April 25th 2006.