Any of the packages EVER worth it?

Spoisal

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jul 11, 2001
We went to Disney in Jan & did not use a package. Got a great rate on the room, so all was good. Are packages ever worth it? If so, what is a good package (and conversly, what is a bad package)? What must you do to make the most of it?
 
We used Sunshine Getaway pkg. and were happy with it. We really wanted length of stay passes or now they are Ultimate PH I guess. They came with our pkg. and our room rate at BWI- boardwalk view was around $235 a night. I know better AP rates could be had but AP made no sense for us. Our plan did not include any meals or flex features.
 
Great question. A buddy of mine told me of the great deal he got with his package. 5 nights, all food included (3 meals and a snack p/p per day) all the golf he wanted, a fishing excursion, leave a legacy brick (if that is what it is called) blah blah blah. It came to about $3400.00.

He kept on telling me how I should do the same thing. When I explained to him that it would cost me over $10,000 for the five of us for nine days he just didn't understand. We ended up doing the entire trip for $6,000. That was everything goodies, MNSSHO and costumes, food, travel...everything.

He thought that he got a great deal and it is IF you do everything that is included in your package. He didn't go golfing or fishing. He didn't use the spa treatment. He did eat at the best restaurants and ordered the most expensive stuff...his wife didn't because that is not what she wanted.

I looked at the packages extensively before our first trip. Two things make them worthwhile 1. Very convenient!! Getting a package makes preparing for a trip easy. 2. If you plan on taking advantage of most of the perks(all, seems to be impossible to me, I can't see how anyone would have the time but I'm sure some have done it) that come with the package then it pays off.

If you really aren't sure whether a package for you ask yourself some questions like:

Am I willing to book flights, resort rooms, dinner PS's etc. on my own?

How much am I willing to pay for someone to do those things for me?

Which perks am I going to be able to take advantage of?

If you are not going to use all the perks write up a check list of what you will be doing and get the prices of those.

Food... well we have 3 kids. 10, 7 and 4 we found that 1 to 2 sit down meals a day would be more than enough. Supplementing a dessert or snack between sit down meals or innstead of a meal worked great. We never would have eaten 3 full meals a day.

It's a lot to think about but if you research it you should be able to come up with a plan that works for you, whether its a Disney plan or one of your own.
 


Well, in my experience, when I priced everything individually, I came up with an overpayment in the hundreds of dollars for packages.

While you may not generalize every time, you have to remember that the commission has to come from somewhere! I know that some agents start charging at 4 - 6 percent of the total cost, plus Disney gets its own share of the cake too, raising the price of the total components by hundreds of dollars. In most cases, Disney pays the agents from the chunk the packages pull out of you.

I do not do it myself but, if a person is comfortable with paying that price to have everything done and booked, then let him/her be! It is his/her wallet anyway. It just annoys me that with a lot of those packages you get vouchers. If I am going to pay extra, I'd expect to get the tickets I need rather than have to stand in line to swap anything at the parks or airport!

Wanda
 
The regular year-round packages that Disney offers are essentially "convenience" not "discount" packages. Their cost is determined by just the addition of the regular price of their incremental parts (room, tickets, etc.) Some of the high end packages that include meals or golf can actually end up being cheaper if the participant overly indulges in the included part--for example the guest actually eats three large meals a day and drinks a lot of alcohol at lunch and dinner; or for golf, plays two times a day (and does it mostly at Osprey Ridge, the most expensive course). However, even then their cost is prohibitive if you have kids and have to pay package rates (reduced somewhat) for them as the kids aren't going to be eating like the adults or drinking expensive alcohol at meals to make up for the cost of the package.

Nevertheless, Disney does offer true discount packages during some times of the year such as the summer or fall getaway packages and occassionally other seasonal discounts. Those can be worth looking into.
 

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