Disney World Vacation Package Discounts
LAST UPDATE: 10/9/24
Walt Disney World vacation package discounts are slightly less common than discounts on individual components (room, tickets, food), but there are good vacation package discounts to be had, and this page covers them all.
A “vacation package” for Disney World includes a room at an official Disney resort, plus either tickets or a dining plan or both. Disney World packages are popular because they offer convenience and simplicity, but sometimes you can save more creating your own “package” by buying tickets, hotel and food separately. Disney Vacation Package discounts are not always available for all future dates, and are released just 3-5 months in advance, so it’s a good idea to start your search early and keep checking back to see if package discounts have been released for the time frame you want.
Not sure which resort to pick for your Disney vacation package? Read about the various Disney resort types and our recommendations for the best values in each category.
Jump to:
- Is a Disney World Vacation Package For You?
- Vacation Package Features & Options
- Our Value Recommendations
- Package Discounts For Everyone
- Disney Visa Cardholder Discount Packages
- Annual Passholder Packages
- Ticketless Packages with Dining Plan
- Bounceback Package Offer
- Package Promotions with Small World Vacations
- UK Resident Packages
- Canadian Resident Packages
- Online Travel Agencies
- Membership Discounts
- Trip Insurance
Is a Disney Vacation Package For You?
A Disney vacation package has traditionally included two key things: a hotel room and park tickets. (A hotel room by itself is not a package – it’s called a “room-only” reservation.) The park tickets must be multi-day tickets (2+ days), but can be any of the various park ticket types: Base (one park per day), Park Hopper, Water Park & Sports or Park Hopper Plus. You can also add a pre-paid dining plan to any package. There is also a “ticketless” package that includes a dining plan but no tickets. The “ticketless” package is not available online; you need to book it with a travel agent or over the phone with Disney.
A lot of people like Disney’s vacation packages because they are convenient and worry-free. You get everything you need (except airfare) with one purchase. However, it is important to note that the standard full-price Disney vacation packages are designed for convenience rather than savings. In most cases you will not automatically get a discount by purchasing a package! It can be cheaper to book a “room only” reservation (ideally with a discount) and then buy the package components (tickets, meals, etc.) separately.
When Disney offers package discounts, usually they are calculated as a discount on the hotel portion of the package and are identical to a room-only discount offered at the same time; the tickets and dining plan are charged at full price. However, Disney sometimes offers exclusive promotional package discounts, particularly in the off-season, that do not have any room-only equivalent, where you get a discount on dining instead of (or in addition to) a hotel discount. Disney World packages have rules about advance payment, cancellations and changes that are usually much more restrictive than those associated with “room only” reservations. If you’re not sure about whether to buy a package vs. just booking your room and tickets separately, read our information on the pros and cons of vacation packages vs. room-only reservations to help you decide.
It can be difficult to sort out what is best for your particular situation. If you find all the package options confusing or overwhelming, we think it’s a good idea to have someone knowledgeable on your side, making sure all the details are covered. If you aren’t 100% sure of all the details of what and how to book, we strongly recommend using a travel agent who specializes in Disney travel. It costs you nothing, and you can sit back, relax, and have all the vacation planning and hassle taken care of by someone else. We recommend (and use) Small World Vacations, the largest, most experienced Disney-focused full-service travel agency.
If, on other other hand, you know exactly what you want and are happy to handle the booking yourself, you can get extra discounts on Disney World packages from Undercover Tourist. For those who like to research every aspect of their own bookings, self-service is a great option and the discounts are an extra bonus.
If you think you’d rather buy the various parts separately, take a look at our Disney World Resort Discounts page, where we cover room-only discounts on Disney hotels. If you are considering staying in a non-Disney hotel (and it’s worth considering; the savings can be significant), you’ll also want to check our recommendations for the best hotels near Walt Disney World. And of course you should visit our Walt Disney World ticket discount pages, and read our tips on saving money on food and drink.
Vacation Package Features & Options
Disney World vacation package options, prices and benefits change every calendar year. In most years, only a few minor things change, such as the list of shops and restaurants that provide coupons and discounts to package buyers. Occasionally there will be more extensive changes; when there are, we list them below.
The specific package you get is based on your check in date. So if you check in any time between January 1 and December 31, 2024, you will get the 2024 package benefits and pricing for your whole stay, even if the stay extends into 2025.
2025 Package Changes
For 2025, there were minor changes to the official Disney packages. The two core dining plans have returned: the standard Disney Dining Plan or the Disney Quick Service Dining Plan. The rates for most Disney hotel rooms have gone up by 3-6%, which is fairly moderate, historically. The “Magical Extras” discounts have changed slightly, with 10% discounts added for several Disney Springs restaurants, including Cookes of Dublin, Eet, Frontera Cocina, and Raglan Road.
2024 Package Changes
For 2024, the two most popular dining plans have returned; you can add either the standard Disney Dining Plan or the Disney Quick Service Dining Plan to any Disney Resort Hotel Package. Pricing for hotels has gone up again; we’re seeing increases of 4-7% for Value and Moderate resorts, and 7-10% increases for Deluxe and Deluxe Villa resorts. The “Magical Extras” discounts are largely the same as 2023, with a new discount of 10% off Surrey Bike rentals at multiple resorts.
Current Package Options
- Disney Resort Hotel Package – This is the basic Walt Disney World vacation package, which includes accommodations at a Disney-owned-and-operated resort hotel, and Walt Disney World tickets for everyone in the group. By default, it includes Base (1 Park Per Day) tickets, but you can add Water Park & Sports, Park Hopper or Park Hopper Plus options (for more money).
- Disney Resort Hotel Package Including Disney Quick Service Dining Plan – This package includes everything from the Disney Resort Hotel Package, and adds a dining plan that includes two quick service meals and one snack per person, per package night, plus a resort refillable mug per person. You can choose from dozens of counter service restaurants across the Walt Disney World Resort.
- Disney Resort Hotel Package Including Disney Dining Plan – This package includes everything from the Disney Resort Hotel Package, and adds a dining plan that includes two meals (one table service, one quick service) and one snack per person, per package night at more than 100 restaurants across the Walt Disney World Resort. This plan also includes a resort refillable mug per person.
- Walt Disney World Annual Passholder Package with Dining – Walt Disney World Annual Passholders can purchase a special vacation package with either the Quick Service Dining Plan or the standard Dining Plan. It is not available online; you must book it with a travel agent or over the phone. The room rate on an Annual Passholder Package will include whatever current Annual Passholder hotel discounts are available, but the dining plan will always be charged at full price. This package does not include admission tickets, since obviously Annual Passholders don’t need that component of a vacation package.
- Ticketless Package with Dining – This is essentially equivalent to the Annual Passholder Package: it combines a hotel room and either the Quick Service Dining Plan or the standard Dining Plan. You do not need to have an Annual Pass to book this package. It is not available online; you must book it with a travel agent or over the phone. Usually you can combine a hotel discount with this package (assuming your dates and resort qualify), but you can’t get exclusive package discounts like Free Dining. This is an option to consider if you really like the dining plan, but prefer to get your tickets from a discount source or have leftover tickets from a previous trip.
- Disney Springs Resort Area Hotel Package – This is a simple combination of a stay at one of the Disney Springs Resort Area hotels plus 2-day or longer Walt Disney World tickets. A Disney Dining Plan cannot be added to this package.
Thanks to Small World Vacations for info.
- We have two basic recommendations for booking Disney packages, depending on whether you prefer full-service or self-service. A great full-service agency gives you better, more personal service. A great self-service site can provide discounted packages. Both approaches are perfectly good ways to go – it really depends on how you prefer to book travel.
- For full-service package bookings, we recommend Small World Vacations. They give you fantastic service, including a dedicated travel agent you can contact by email or direct phone number. If you find it complicated to figure out the confusing array of Disney hotels and Disney’s discount windows, a full-service agent can break it all down and find your best option. Small World Vacations is the largest and oldest Disney-focused agency in the world, and their agents are the most experienced in booking Disney travel! We recommend them wholeheartedly!
- For self-service package bookings, we recommend Undercover Tourist. Their base room and package rates already include any existing Disney package or room discounts, PLUS they add their own discounts! This is strictly a do-it-yourself approach, but there’s no real downside versus booking with Disney – Undercover Tourist has a robust, easy-to-use website, and they have the same cancellation policies and other relevant terms as Disney. You can read more about why we like Undercover Tourist here.
Our Value Recommendations
The first thing you need to bear in mind is that Disney REALLY wants you to stay for at least 5 nights/6 days. For that reason, the tickets included in your package are heavily discounted on longer (5 to 10 day) stays. Remember that tickets are usually the biggest single expense in your package, and 7 day tickets cost only a little more than 4 day tickets. So live it up — price out the longer vacation and you’ll probably be surprised how little the extra cost will be.
For most people who buy a vacation package, the plain Resort Hotel Package (no dining) or the Resort Hotel Package Plus Disney Dining Plan will be the best value.
There is a daily, per-person cost to add the regular Disney Dining Plan to a basic package (current prices can be found on the dining plan page). With the regular Dining Plan you’ll get a table service meal, a counter service meal and two snacks each day.
The Disney Dining Plan should be thought of primarily as a way of pre-paying your food expenses. It’s not really intended to be a discount plan. It’s possible to save a little vs. paying cash, and if you work every angle you can save more. Working every angle, though, means ordering only the most expensive items on the menu at every meal and eating at the highest-priced restaurants, which feels like a fairly significant constraint. One big exception: if you have children 9 or under and plan to visit a lot of buffets (half your table-service meals or more), you’ll probably save money without really having to work at it, as Disney’s child buffet prices are very high compared to other meals. Adding the Dining Plan to your package does allow you to prepay all or most of your food expenses (except for tips), and frees each person to order whatever they want without worrying about the price. If that sounds like an enhancement to your vacation, then a dining plan may be a good choice. Read our view on the pros and cons of the Dining Plan.
If your family isn’t into table-service dining, there is the Quick Service Dining Plan. The Quick Service Dining Plan is not a great way to save money, but might be attractive for other reasons. You will be lucky to break even vs. just paying cash for your meals and snacks. The Quick Service Dining Plan is not particularly flexible, since there’s no way to spend the meal credits on table service, buffets, or most smaller carts, food trucks or kiosks. For a light meal on the go, those kiosks and “snack” locations are often the best deals available. Bottom line: we don’t recommend the Quick Service plan as a money-saving strategy. It’s a good choice if you don’t like table-service restaurants and you want to pre-pay for your meals.
Package Discounts For Everyone
Disney usually has a selection of discounts available to anyone, including international guests. No special code or membership is required to use these, but there can be minimum stay lengths, blackout dates and other requirements. (We include Disney+ subscriber offers in this section, as the cost to subscribe to Disney+ is low enough to make them effectively available to anyone.)
Jump to:
- Save, Stay & Play Package Offer
- Winter and Early Spring Package Offer
- Fall and Holiday Package Offer
Save, Stay & Play Package Offer
Get up to $200 per night off the total price of a package including park tickets and a stay at select official Disney World resorts. Valid for most arrivals from February 26 – June 30, 2025. Package must have a minimum of 3 nights stay and a 2-day or longer ticket. Some resorts have lower discounts (see below).
As long as you check in on a valid day, you get this discount for the whole stay (up to 14 nights).
Sample discounts off normal 2025 Disney World room rates:
Get $200/night off Deluxe & Deluxe Villa Resorts:
- Bay Lake Tower, Contemporary, Copper Creek Villas, Boulder Ridge Villas, Animal Kingdom Lodge, Animal Kingdom Villas (Jambo and Kidani), Beach Club Resort, Beach Club Villas, BoardWalk Inn, BoardWalk Villas, Grand Floridian Resort, Old Key West, Polynesian Village, Polynesian Villas, Riviera, Wilderness Lodge, Yacht Club, Villas at Grand Floridian
Get $120/night off Moderate Resorts & Family Suites:
- Cabins at Fort Wilderness, Caribbean Beach, Coronado Springs, Port Orleans Riverside & French Quarter, Family Suites at Disney Value Resorts
Get $60/night off Value Resort (excluding Family Suites):
- All-Star Movies, Music & Sports, Art of Animation, Pop Century
Offer excludes Campsites, 3-bedroom villas, Deluxe Suites at non-Villa Resorts, Tower Studios at Riviera, Bungalows and Island Tower 2-bedroom Penthouses at Polynesian Villas, and Cabins at Copper Creek. As with all Disney promotional discounts, some resorts, room types and date combinations will not be available. It’s important to be flexible if you want to book a discounted room.
Offer subject to end at any time.
- We have two basic recommendations for booking the Save, Stay & Play Package Offer, depending on whether you prefer full-service or self-service. A great full-service agency gives you better, more personal service. A great self-service site can provide discounted packages. Both approaches are perfectly good ways to go – it really depends on how you prefer to book travel.
- For full-service package bookings, we recommend Small World Vacations. They give you fantastic service, including a dedicated travel agent you can contact by email or direct phone number. If you find it complicated to figure out the confusing array of Disney hotels and Disney’s discount windows, a full-service agent can break it all down and find your best option. Small World Vacations is the largest and oldest Disney-focused agency in the world, and their agents are the most experienced in booking Disney travel! We recommend them wholeheartedly!
- For self-service package bookings, we recommend Undercover Tourist. Their base room and package rates already include any existing Disney package or room discounts, PLUS they add their own discounts! This is strictly a do-it-yourself approach, but there’s no real downside versus booking with Disney – Undercover Tourist has a robust, easy-to-use website, and they have the same cancellation policies and other relevant terms as Disney. You can read more about why we like Undercover Tourist here.
Winter and Early Spring Package Offer
Get up to 25% off the room portion of a package at select official Disney World resorts for most stays January 1 – April 30, 2025. Get up to 20% off for most stays Sunday to Thursdays nights from January 1 – February 20, 2025. Get up to 25% off for stays most nights February 23 – April 30, 2025. There is no minimum stay length.
Booking must start on a covered date. Booking can extend into excluded dates, but no discount will apply to the excluded dates.
Sample discounts off normal 2025 Disney World room rates:
Get 10% off:
- Value: Art of Animation Little Mermaid Standard Rooms
- Club Level Rooms
Get 10% off (15% off most stays February 23 – April 30, 2025):
- Value: All-Star Movies, All-Star Music, Pop Century
- Moderate: Caribbean Beach
Get 15% off (20% off most stays February 23 – April 30, 2025):
- Value: Art of Animation Family Suites
- Moderate: Coronado Springs, Port Orleans – French Quarter
- Deluxe: Polynesian Village Resort, Wilderness Lodge
- Deluxe Villa: Animal Kingdom Villas – Jambo House, Boulder Ridge Villas, Copper Creek Villas & Cabins, Polynesian Villas & Bungalows
Get 20% off (25% off most stays February 23 – April 30, 2025):
- Value: All-Star Sports
- Moderate: DVC Cabins at Fort Wilderness, Coronado Springs – King Bed Rooms, Port Orleans Resort – Riverside
- Deluxe: Animal Kingdom Lodge, Beach Club Resort, BoardWalk Inn, Contemporary Resort, Grand Floridian, Yacht Club
- Deluxe Villa: Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani Village, Bay Lake Tower, Beach Club Villas, BoardWalk Villas, Villas at Grand Floridian, Old Key West, Riviera, Saratoga Springs
This can also be booked as a room-only offer.
Offer excludes all resorts not listed, all 3-bedroom villas, Deluxe suites, bungalows and Island Tower rooms at Polynesian, Tower Studios at Riviera and cabins at Copper Creek. As with all Disney promotional discounts, some resorts, room types and date combinations will not be available. It’s important to be flexible if you want to book a discounted room.
Offer subject to end at any time.
- We have two basic recommendations for booking the Winter and Early Spring Package Offer, depending on whether you prefer full-service or self-service. A great full-service agency gives you better, more personal service. A great self-service site can provide discounted packages. Both approaches are perfectly good ways to go – it really depends on how you prefer to book travel.
- For full-service package bookings, we recommend Small World Vacations. They give you fantastic service, including a dedicated travel agent you can contact by email or direct phone number. If you find it complicated to figure out the confusing array of Disney hotels and Disney’s discount windows, a full-service agent can break it all down and find your best option. Small World Vacations is the largest and oldest Disney-focused agency in the world, and their agents are the most experienced in booking Disney travel! We recommend them wholeheartedly!
- For self-service package bookings, we recommend Undercover Tourist. Their base room and package rates already include any existing Disney package or room discounts, PLUS they add their own discounts! This is strictly a do-it-yourself approach, but there’s no real downside versus booking with Disney – Undercover Tourist has a robust, easy-to-use website, and they have the same cancellation policies and other relevant terms as Disney. You can read more about why we like Undercover Tourist here.
Fall and Holiday Package Offer
Get up to 30% off the room portion of a package at select official Disney World resorts for most nights November 24 – December 25, 2024, or up to 20% off the room portion of a package for stays Sunday to Thursdays nights from October 6 – November 21, 2024. There is no minimum stay length.
Get FREE Park Hopper when you book as a package and include 4-day or longer tickets!
Booking must start on a covered date. Booking can extend into excluded dates, but no discount will apply to the excluded dates.
Sample discounts off normal 2024 Disney World room rates:
Get 10% off (15% off for most stays December 9 – 25):
- Deluxe & Villa: Animal Kingdom Villas – Jambo House, Boulder Ridge Villas, Copper Creek Villas & Cabins, Polynesian Village Resort, Polynesian Villas & Bungalows
Get 10% off (20% off for most stays December 9 – 25):
- Value: All-Star Movies, All-Star Music, Art of Animation Family Suites, Pop Century
- Moderate: Caribbean Beach
Get 15% off (25% off for most stays December 9 – 25):
- Value: All-Star Sports
- Moderate: Coronado Springs, Port Orleans – French Quarter, Cabins at Fort Wilderness
- Deluxe & Villa: Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani, Bay Lake Tower
Get 20% off (30% off for most stays December 9 – 25):
- Moderate: Coronado Springs – King Bed Rooms, Port Orleans Resort – Riverside
- Deluxe: Animal Kingdom, Beach Club, BoardWalk, Contemporary, Grand Floridian, Wilderness Lodge, Yacht Club
- Deluxe Villa: Beach Club Villas, BoardWalk Villas, Old Key West, Riviera, Saratoga Springs, Villas at Grand Floridian
This can also be booked as a room-only offer.
Offer excludes all resorts not listed, all 3-bedroom villas, Deluxe suites, bungalows and Island Tower rooms at Polynesian and cabins at Copper Creek. As with all Disney promotional discounts, some resorts, room types and date combinations will not be available. It’s important to be flexible if you want to book a discounted room.
Offer subject to end at any time.
- We have two basic recommendations for booking the Fall & Holiday Package Offer, depending on whether you prefer full-service or self-service. A great full-service agency gives you better, more personal service. A great self-service site can provide discounted packages. Both approaches are perfectly good ways to go – it really depends on how you prefer to book travel.
- For full-service package bookings, we recommend Small World Vacations. They give you fantastic service, including a dedicated travel agent you can contact by email or direct phone number. If you find it complicated to figure out the confusing array of Disney hotels and Disney’s discount windows, a full-service agent can break it all down and find your best option. Small World Vacations is the largest and oldest Disney-focused agency in the world, and their agents are the most experienced in booking Disney travel! We recommend them wholeheartedly!
- For self-service package bookings, we recommend Undercover Tourist. Their base room and package rates already include any existing Disney package or room discounts, PLUS they add their own discounts! This is strictly a do-it-yourself approach, but there’s no real downside versus booking with Disney – Undercover Tourist has a robust, easy-to-use website, and they have the same cancellation policies and other relevant terms as Disney. You can read more about why we like Undercover Tourist here.
Disney Visa Cardholder Package Discounts
From time to time, Disney Visa cardholders will be offered a special discount that is either inherently a package or is a room-only discount that can be converted to a package by adding tickets and/or a dining plan. When there are package-specific discounts available, we list them here.
Also check the room-only Disney Visa discounts, as any Disney hotel booking can be booked as a package by adding tickets and/or a dining plan.
Annual Passholder Packages
Annual Passholder Packages are vacation packages that have a room and dining plan but no tickets (since annual passholders obviously don’t need tickets). They can be booked any time, and when Passholder “room only” discounts are available, those discounts apply to the room portion of a passholder package. The Dining Plans are always full price and these packages are never eligible for “Free” dining, or other packages that involve reduced-price Dining Plan like “Stay, Play & Dine.” These bookings are subject to regular Walt Disney Travel Company package rules. Annual passholder packages can only be booked through a travel agent or via calling the Disney Reservation Center; they are not available online.
Please Note: Only the Quick Service Dining Plan and the standard Dining Plan are currently available to book.
Thanks to Small World Vacations for info.
- To book an Annual Passholder Package, we recommend filling out a quote form with Small World Vacations. They give you full service, including a personal travel agent you can contact by email or direct phone number, and we recommend them wholeheartedly!
- Why book with a travel agent? We find that the overall experience is better booking a package through a good full-service agency than direct with Disney, and the extra service costs you nothing; their prices are identical to Disney’s, including all package discounts. Booking packages, especially discounted packages, often involves comparing many different booking options to see which gets you the best deal, and that’s one of the many things the best travel agents are great at doing.
Ticketless Packages with Dining Plan
Please Note: Not currently announced – might be available after January 9, 2024.
Ticketless Packages with Dining are vacation packages that include a room and dining plan but no tickets. They are just like the Annual Passholder Packages, above, except that they don’t include the Annual Passholder room discounts. They can be booked any time, and when “room only” discounts are available, those discounts apply to the room portion of these packages. The Dining Plans are always full price and these packages are never eligible for “Free” dining, or other packages that involve reduced-price Dining Plan like “Stay, Play & Dine.” These bookings are subject to regular Walt Disney Travel Company package rules. Ticketless packages can only be booked through a travel agent or via calling the Disney Reservation Center; they are not available online.
Thanks to Small World Vacations for info.
- To book a Ticketless Package, we recommend filling out a quote form with Small World Vacations. They give you full service, including a personal travel agent you can contact by email or direct phone number, and we recommend them wholeheartedly!
- Why book with a travel agent? We find that the overall experience is better booking a package through a good full-service agency than direct with Disney, and the extra service costs you nothing; their prices are identical to Disney’s, including all package discounts. Booking packages, especially discounted packages, often involves comparing many different booking options to see which gets you the best deal, and that’s one of the many things the best travel agents are great at doing.
Bounceback Package Offer
“Bounceback” vacation package offers are offers made by Disney ONLY to guests who are currently staying at one of the official Walt Disney World resorts. The idea is to encourage you to “bounce back” to Disney World by planning your next vacation right now. These offers are not always available and could end at any time.
When a bounceback vacation package offer is available, you may be able to book a discounted vacation package (accommodations plus at least a 1-day Base Ticket) for a stay on selected dates at a Walt Disney World resort. Not all dates are offered, and not all resorts and room types will be included.
To qualify, the reservation for your next vacation must be made after you check in or up to 7 days after you check out, and there are no exceptions made. You must call the number provided (usually on a flyer in your room) and pay a $200 deposit when booking.
If you don’t get a bounceback offer on a flyer in your room, the resort TV channel may be showing this offer, or you may receive an email from Disney during your stay. You can also try asking the front desk and/or Housekeeping for a flyer. Even if you can’t find a flyer, you can dial x8844 from your room phone and ask if there are any current offers. You can also call (407) 934-7639 from your mobile phone, but keep in mind you must actually have checked into a Disney-owned hotel to be eligible to book a bounceback offer.
- The current offer appears to be a room-only discount offer, which can be booked as a package if desired, by adding full-price tickets and/or dining plan. It comes and goes, and has varying discounts depending on resort and date.
Package Promotions with Small World Vacations
Small World Vacations frequently offers nice Disney World vacation package promotions exclusively for MouseSavers Newsletter readers. Be sure to sign up for out FREE monthly email newsletter so you’ll hear about the latest offers!
UK Resident Packages
The Disney specialist travel agency we recommend, Small World Vacations, gladly works with clients around the globe. They have many clients from the UK and Ireland. Unfortunately they cannot book UK-specific offers, but sometimes the American offers are a better deal. It’s also worth noting that the US vacation package offers have much more advantageous cancellation and change policies than the UK holiday package offers.
- To book any Walt Disney World holiday offers that are specific to UK visitors, go to the UK Walt Disney Travel Company website.
- You can also check the UK Visitors page for current package offers that are specific to the UK.
Canadian Resident Packages
Canadian residents can book the US offers listed above. The Disney specialist travel agency we recommend, Small World Vacations, gladly works with clients around the globe. They have many clients from Canada.
In addition, you can visit Walt Disney World’s Canadian website and select the Special Offers tab to see any current deals specific to Canadians, but most of the time the offers are the same as those distributed in the US. Sometimes the Canadian offer will have a different discount code, but otherwise it will be identical to the US offer. If we learn of any specials for Canadians only, they are listed below. Small World Vacations can book most Canadian packages as long as you are traveling at least 45 days from the date of booking.
Online Travel Agencies
Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) such as Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, etc. typically cannot book Disney Vacation Packages, which means they can’t book any of Disney’s special package discounts like Stay, Play, and Dine or Free Dining, and they can’t book packages with the Disney Dining Plans at all. They can be a good way to book a room-only discount, if they are offering some kind of discount code or coupon of their own that stacks on top of Disney’s own discounts. If not, they will typically have the same room rates as Disney.
All of the OTAs have what they call “packages,” but they’re just bundles they’ve put together of travel components they handle, like flights, hotels, rental car, tickets, etc. They generally are not discounted very much (or at all) over and above buying the individual components, and most often you’ll find better discounts on rental cars, airfare and Disney World tickets through other sources.
Generally speaking if you want an official Disney vacation package, and especially if you want to book one of the Disney Dining Plans, you’re best off booking with a Disney specialist full-service travel agency. You’ll get better service and a personal agent, for the same price as Disney charges.
Membership Discounts
If you belong to a membership organization like USAA or AARP, it may be worthwhile to check if they offer Walt Disney World vacation packages, and if so, whether they offer any discounts. However, don’t expect much service, and be aware that you may not get the best price in the long run. In our experience, the big membership organizations mostly employ “generalist” travel agents who often know little or nothing about Disney vacations and are frequently clueless about promotional packages and discount codes. You will usually have to do your own monitoring to make sure any better package offers that come out are applied to your booking. They almost never do this for you, unlike a Disney specialist agency.
Trip Insurance
It is especially important to buy trip insurance for a vacation package, because you have to pay the entire cost in advance and you won’t get a refund if you have to cancel right before your scheduled departure. With hundreds or even thousands of dollars at stake, it’s worth it to protect the investment.
It’s super-important to buy insurance if you will be visiting Walt Disney World on a package vacation during hurricane season (roughly June-November, with the peak period in August and September). Don’t underestimate the potential of hurricanes and tropical storms to create major problems even in an inland location like Orlando. Walt Disney World was directly affected by two hurricanes in 2004 (Frances and Jeanne), one in 2005 (Wilma), and most recently by Irma in 2017. Two hotels located on Disney property (but not operated by Disney) were virtually destroyed by the 2004 storms; one didn’t reopen until 2010!
While Disney’s own resorts weathered the hurricanes very well, guests were stuck in their rooms for up to 72 hours and many had major travel problems because airports were closed. Disney did waive “no-show” fees for a few dates, but those whose trips began before the specified dates (but whose travel plans overlapped with the hurricane) or just afterward were out of luck. Many people had similar problems with their airfares. The airlines allowed highly restrictive changes for certain dates without extra fees, but many of those who had to reschedule could not work within the airlines’ narrow rules and just had to suck up the extra cost.
Perhaps the most important coverage included in a trip insurance policy is trip cancellation and interruption insurance, which can protect your investment if you have to cancel your vacation at the last minute (or come home early) due to illness or injury. Depending on the policy, you may be covered if you cancel for other reasons, such as jury duty, terrorism at your destination, or even unemployment.
Emergency medical coverage and medical evacuation insurance are very important if you become ill or injured during the trip. Otherwise you’re on your own as far as booking very expensive last-minute airfare to get home. And if you’re too ill to travel by commercial jet, you may have to pay for treatment in Florida (which your personal insurance may or may not cover) or for evacuation on a medically-equipped jet, which is incredibly expensive. Check your existing medical insurance to see what, exactly is covered while traveling. You may be surprised at how much isn’t covered when you’re away from home.
Delayed baggage insurance will help you pay for replacement clothing if the airline sends your suitcase to Timbuktu and you need something to wear in the meantime. Supplemental baggage insurance will pay a predetermined amount if an airline loses your luggage completely. (Some higher-end credit cards provide extra baggage insurance, so check with your card issuer before paying extra for this coverage.)
Disney sells trip insurance, but for most trips, it’s more expensive than other plans, and usually more restrictive. Additionally, it only covers the cost of your Disney trip (including airfare), so if you do anything else on your trip, such as visit another theme park, buy tickets to an offsite event, etc., those aren’t covered. With a third-party policy, you can cover all potential costs of the entire trip, from any providers, with one policy. You can almost always get better insurance than Disney provides, and at better rates, by buying it elsewhere.
The one situation where Disney’s insurance is a good deal is for very expensive trips. Disney’s insurance is charged at a flat rate per adult (children are included as long as all adults buy the insurance), but third-party plans have a variable charge based on the total cost of your trip and the ages of the adults. The break-even point for a family with two 30-year old adults is roughly $8,000-$12,000 of total trip costs, depending on exactly which plan you choose and what coverages you want. So if you’re 60 years old, flying in from New Zealand and staying at the Grand Floridian in a concierge room for 10 nights, Disney’s travel insurance is an incredible steal. For most people, though, third-party insurance is a better deal.
Be aware that in most cases, trip insurance will provide slightly less coverage (usually by adding exclusions on pre-existing medical conditions) unless you buy it within about 14-21 days of paying your deposit on the vacation package. So be sure to purchase it right away, once you’ve committed to the trip.
Where to Buy Trip Insurance
- A great place to comparison-shop for trip insurance is SquareMouth, where you can see side-by-side policy information and rates for major, reputable insurance companies. We have used SquareMouth ourselves to buy trip insurance and were especially impressed with their straightforward comparison system and robust filters to help you find the specific insurance features you need. We were also impressed with their “Zero Complaint Guarantee,” where they will go to bat with the insurance company on your behalf if you have a problem. Compare policies on SquareMouth.