Travel Package through Costco

[FireBreathingRubberDucky]

Has anyone booker their vacation through Costco before? How does the promotional gift card delivery work? Is it picked up at the front desk at check in like the park tickets? Does it come in the mail? Do they send it as a eGift Card to the email you listed at checkout? Thanks!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Look through the posts on the first page of this thread. You should find the answers to your questions there. If you still have questions after that, post them here!

 

[SeaDis]

*EDIT: Sorry don't know what I was thinking when I wrote that reply. The ticket value definitely isn't the same as buying from the parks and if you use the tickets to upgrade to a pass, you'll get less than face value. Our 5-day PH were valued at $289/ea. Looking at the historical prices at the time, they were $370 face value from Disney. It was still a better deal than buying tickets and hotel room separately.

Hope to clarify: Costco was using the current Disney ticket promo, which expires in May. Those tickets are $290 on Disneyland.com, so the value for upgrading is correct. If you shop Costco for June dates, the ticket prices in the package increase and so will the value for upgrading.

 

[aroseinwintr]

Has anyone booker their vacation through Costco before? How does the promotional gift card delivery work? Is it picked up at the front desk at check in like the park tickets? Does it come in the mail? Do they send it as a eGift Card to the email you listed at checkout? Thanks!

You get everything at your hotel now.

 

[twodogs]

When I have priced out Costco packages for the GCH, I always see almost the exact same price it would be through Disney, with the only upside to using Costco being the gift card (lanyard and pin also, I guess). However, since you can only book as a package through Costco, the cancellation policy is worse then how I normally book (room only, tickets from Disney but purchased separately), so I have never booked through Costco. Am I missing something or is the discount better through Costco with Good Neighbor hotels?

 

[sunshiinedaydream]

When I have priced out Costco packages for the GCH, I always see almost the exact same price it would be through Disney, with the only upside to using Costco being the gift card (lanyard and pin also, I guess). However, since you can only book as a package through Costco, the cancellation policy is worse then how I normally book (room only, tickets from Disney but purchased separately), so I have never booked through Costco. Am I missing something or is the discount better through Costco with Good Neighbor hotels?

Sometimes they are better than buying good neighbor hotel direct, sometimes not. Usually the perks are most of the plus side. Or you get a better room/hotel for the same price as booking separately. Costco travel is actually done through the Disneyland reservation site. So the reservation is with Disney, not Costco. It’s kind of like using a corporate code for Marriott, but in this case you are using a Costco code for Disney.

 

[LeiaOfAlderaan]

When I have priced out Costco packages for the GCH, I always see almost the exact same price it would be through Disney, with the only upside to using Costco being the gift card (lanyard and pin also, I guess). However, since you can only book as a package through Costco, the cancellation policy is worse then how I normally book (room only, tickets from Disney but purchased separately), so I have never booked through Costco. Am I missing something or is the discount better through Costco with Good Neighbor hotels?

I don’t think you’re missing anything—the cancellation policy is worse when booking a package, at least for the onsite hotel portion (30 days vs 5 days). For our upcoming trip the Costco package price was $40 more than booking it myself separately, but with the $185 gift card I decided to go for it since it’s $145 in free money (plus we get 2% back from Costco).

 

[twodogs]

I don’t think you’re missing anything—the cancellation policy is worse when booking a package, at least for the onsite hotel portion (30 days vs 5 days). For our upcoming trip the Costco package price was $40 more than booking it myself separately, but with the $185 gift card I decided to go for it since it’s $145 in free money (plus we get 2% back from Costco).

Thanks, that is about what I was seeing too for the GCH. I guess I could change to the Costco package when we get closer in time to the trip and are more sure about it. I always worry we will have to cancel for a health issue in a chronically ill family member, so I try to get the best cancelation policy we can get.

 

[DizMe]

I'm not sure if this is still done, but the last time I booked a package with Costco it included a gift card (amount depends on how long you stay) AND a character meal voucher for each member of your party. That may be only if you're booking an on site hotel; not sure about that. The hotel prices were relatively the same as if I booked it myself, but figuring in the gift card and the value of the character meal vouchers for all 5 of us, it was sometimes a significant savings. You could use the vouchers toward most dining options, not just character meals, so we got a lot more out of them by NOT using them for a single character meal. We would use, say, 2 vouchers for a breakfast and use the other 3 for a dinner.

 

[sunshiinedaydream]

Thanks, that is about what I was seeing too for the GCH. I guess I could change to the Costco package when we get closer in time to the trip and are more sure about it. I always worry we will have to cancel for a health issue in a chronically ill family member, so I try to get the best cancelation policy we can get.

They offer travel insurance as well when booking.

 

[sunshiinedaydream]

I'm not sure if this is still done, but the last time I booked a package with Costco it included a gift card (amount depends on how long you stay) AND a character meal voucher for each member of your party. That may be only if you're booking an on site hotel; not sure about that. The hotel prices were relatively the same as if I booked it myself, but figuring in the gift card and the value of the character meal vouchers for all 5 of us, it was sometimes a significant savings. You could use the vouchers toward most dining options, not just character meals, so we got a lot more out of them by NOT using them for a single character meal. We would use, say, 2 vouchers for a breakfast and use the other 3 for a dinner.

The dining voucher is no longer offered this year but I do remember seeing it last year.

 

[bcdisney]

We just went to Disneyland last month. I booked our package through Costco because it turned out to be about $300 cheaper than when I priced the hotel (Fairfield Inn) and 5 day park hoppers separately. Plus we got the $145 gift card. So either the tickets were cheaper or the hotel was but either way it was a good deal and I still can’t figure out why.

 

[sunshiinedaydream]

We just went to Disneyland last month. I booked our package through Costco because it turned out to be about $300 cheaper than when I priced the hotel (Fairfield Inn) and 5 day park hoppers separately. Plus we got the $145 gift card. So either the tickets were cheaper or the hotel was but either way it was a good deal and I still can’t figure out why.

I was so bummed when booking ours because I planned out the Fairfield hotel but had to wait to pull the trigger. A week later it was gone still sour about it haha

 

[bcdisney]

I was so bummed when booking ours because I planned out the Fairfield hotel but had to wait to pull the trigger. A week later it was gone still sour about it haha

Yeah. I changed my mind on the Fairfield a couple of weeks before our trip and tried to book the Courtyard next door but it turned out to be booked up. Plus there was the late change penalty fee. Fairfield turned out to be okay though. And very Disney in the room. I Hope you can go there next time.

 

[Collmal]

The first weekend in May is the Summit Cheerleading Championship. That could be part of why it’s booked already...

 

[VonSweets]

The first weekend in May is the Summit Cheerleading Championship. That could be part of why it’s booked already...

That’s in Orlando, not Anaheim.

I booked at Fairfield through Costco initially and was able to change to Courtyard Theme Park when I was still over 60 days out at no charge. Now when I checked both are sold out. So I didn’t know about the change fee but it must not apply if your still a ways out from your trip.

 

[aroseinwintr]

I'm not sure if this is still done, but the last time I booked a package with Costco it included a gift card (amount depends on how long you stay) AND a character meal voucher for each member of your party. That may be only if you're booking an on site hotel; not sure about that. The hotel prices were relatively the same as if I booked it myself, but figuring in the gift card and the value of the character meal vouchers for all 5 of us, it was sometimes a significant savings. You could use the vouchers toward most dining options, not just character meals, so we got a lot more out of them by NOT using them for a single character meal. We would use, say, 2 vouchers for a breakfast and use the other 3 for a dinner.

This year Costco packages still offer a gift card, but in the past the card was $50. Now it is $145 I think and no character meal vouchers. but the gift card is almost the same amount you meal voucher was for.
this is from the Costco website.

Disney Gift Card
Book a Costco Travel vacation package with a stay at a Disneyland Resort hotel and receive:

• One Disney Gift Card up to $245 value
• Stay 2 to 4 nights and receive a $185 Disney Gift Card
• Stay 5 nights and receive a $205 Disney Gift Card
• Stay 6 nights and receive a $225 Disney Gift Card
• Stay 7 or more nights and receive a $245 Disney Gift Card

Disney Gift Cards—one card per vacation package—can be redeemed at the following participating locations:

• The Disneyland Resort
• Walt Disney World Resort
• Select Disney Store locations in the United States
• shopDisney.com
• Disney Cruise Line
• Adventures by Disney

Book a Costco Travel vacation package with a stay at a Good Neighbor Hotel and receive:

• Stay 2 nights or more and receive a $145 Disney Gift Card
• Disney Gift Cards—one card per vacation package

 

[tarheelalum]

Booking packages to Disneyland is usually a bad deal. Not always, but if you book things on your own, you will very likely get a much better deal that is refundable if you have to cancel.

 

[gogirlgo]

Just booked our trip through Costco (for a Nov 2019 trip), and we saved $300 (at Homewood Suites Convention Center) compared to the pricing directly with Hilton. Our other hotel picks cost more through Costco travel, but happily, this was our top choice, so saving $300 plus the $145 gift card (and the 2% Costco cash back) worked out in our favor. The extra "magical" discounts and pin/lanyard are fun extras.

I fully grilled the travel rep on the phone (answered the phone: Walt Disney Travel for Costco) about changes/cancellations. You can cancel without penalty up to 30 days prior. The penalty within 2 days of your trip is $200. No cancellations within 1 day of arrival. You can also change without fee up to 30 days prior (if you want to add days or different hotel), and there's no fee to change within 30 days if the adjusted price is higher. So they definitely don't charge you to spend more money!

My advice: Price your trip individually, then price it through Costco travel (which has identical pricing as the Disneyland website, btw, but you get the extra Costco promotion in addition to the Disney perks). Sometimes you'll save, and sometimes you won't. It'll all depend on your hotel pick.

Disclosure: Airfare is a whole different ballgame. All the cancellation rules, etc. do not apply to airfare. So book that thru any travel site at your own risk.

Bottom line: We're booked for November! Cannot wait!

 

[Gretchen1973]

One other thing to note, if you are a Costco Executive member you will receive a 2% reward now on travel that comes in your check before you are up for renewal.