using AAA package at campground

[Jbolen2 3]

We have reservations for ft wilderness in nov for the 20-25th in a prefered loop. We originally were going to just pay for 5 day park hoppers when we got there and do our own food but have spoke about seeing if we could save anything booking all 3 with AAA. After speaking to a agent she said we would have to transfer our site to them since it is booked solid for those dates. My question to fellow members here is basically will we gain anything bundling it this way of your past experience? Ive done the meal plan several times when staying in a room but never have used it when staying at the campground in my past visits.

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

We've done a AAA package at the campground before, with and without the dining plan.  You gain a few AAA perks like the Diamond Parking Pass, and usually some coupons for a few things.  I don't recall if the package actually would have saved us any money over booking everything separately.  If it looks like the numbers add up to a savings for you, it might be worth doing.

 

Depending on how many in your party and how your normally eat on vacation, the dining may or may not be a good deal for you. We haven't gotten it in a long time - since before they dropped the appetizer and gratuity.  I crunched the numbers a couple of years ago - wrote up a few days worth of what I thought we'd typically eat, and added up the prices paying out of pocket vs dining plan - and it just didn't add up. Plus a biggie for us was that we didn't want to be locked into planning out dining for every day and therefore having to make ADRs months in advance. 

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

I don't believe you would see much of any additional savings booking it all with AAA. Also if it is outside of 30 days since you initially booked the reservation can not be transferred.

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

For us, the dining plan doesn't save money, so I don't get it. If you eat at some of the most expensive 1 credit restaurants, order the most expensive thing on the menu, and would usually order 1 dessert per person (even at a CS restaurant), you can save some money. 

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Whoops

[Jbolen2 3]

dining plan set to the side will there be any savings on our 5 day park hopper? We have 5 people in our group

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

dining plan set to the side will there be any savings on our 5 day park hopper? We have 5 people in our group

 

Depends on the AAA office.  They're independently operated and not all give discounts on WDW tickets.  Ours up this way do not. I know that some do give a small discount on tickets (particularly some of the southern offices).

[Cortezcapt (Derek) 156]

We purchased our annual passes plus a couple one day/one park tickets at our local AAA here in Florida as well as some seasonal passes one year at the AAA in Orlando. We did save around 5.00 a ticket I believe. Im not sure how it works with anything but annual passes, but for Florida residents you do not get an actually get a ticket, you get a card to go exchange for your tickets, these have no way of being linked to your reservation or of making FP+ before your first park day.

[Jbolen2 3]

Looks like buying tickets from under cover tourist is a light discount and doing our food at out discretion is the best route.

[cindymac11 43]

We've done a AAA package at the campground before, with and without the dining plan.  You gain a few AAA perks like the Diamond Parking Pass, and usually some coupons for a few things.  I don't recall if the package actually would have saved us any money over booking everything separately.  If it looks like the numbers add up to a savings for you, it might be worth doing.

 

Depending on how many in your party and how your normally eat on vacation, the dining may or may not be a good deal for you. We haven't gotten it in a long time - since before they dropped the appetizer and gratuity.  I crunched the numbers a couple of years ago - wrote up a few days worth of what I thought we'd typically eat, and added up the prices paying out of pocket vs dining plan - and it just didn't add up. Plus a biggie for us was that we didn't want to be locked into planning out dining for every day and therefore having to make ADRs months in advance. 

We have done the AAA package several times before we bought APs. Generally, we saved about $100-$120 per reservation over booking the room and tickets through disney. When we got our itemized bill, it always looked to me like the discount was really only on the site and the tickets were full price.  We have never done the dining plan simply because we don't eat out enough to make it worth it - mainly because we'd go broke if we did. We like to carry in snacks and light meals and save our dining out for dinner shows or character dining places (we only do ONE of these per trip), vs eating expensive (allbeit tasty) hamburgers.

[geoffdaddy 33]

We have booked through AAA a few times. To us, the biggest advantage is the AAA Diamond Parking pass, which when there's space available puts you right up near the Handicap and group parking goes, and that was very convenient when we were stroller-bound with the kids. I think at best we saved about 15% over booking separate and that was only for specific "Disney Days" promotional times of the year for AAA, otherwise there's no difference in cost.

 

We have also done Dining plan and no dining plan. My wife and I really loved the dining plan the first time we got it, and the second time was good too. When the third time rolled around we bailed because we were starting to have to pay for the kids, and the way the dining plan works, it's an all or nothing proposition... everyone on the reservation gets it or no one gets it. Both our kids will only eat mac and cheese and PBJ sandwiches, which we pretty much always pack in to the park (and some days we do for ourselves since lets face it, most of the QS meals aren't that great). What a waste that would be! Two dining plans for mac and cheese... no thanks.

 

Some other issues we have with the dining plan is that it's great when it's a free perk, but when you're paying for it, the only way to get your money's worth out of it is to ensure that you use ALL of it. That means lots and lots of advance dining reservations, and that tends to cramp our style a bit. On top of that your bill tends to be higher since everyone is getting a desert (we typically share a single desert if we get one at all), a drink (instead of water for example), and that tends to inflate the bill that you then tip off on top of the cost of the DDP. If you are a foodie (and everyone in your party is too) then it might be worth doing.