Disney Package vs. Al A Carte? About This Page:

[CinderMomma]

We are booking our annual family reunion trip for the year...this time at Christmas 2008 !!!! Woo Hoo!!!

We've always booked thru Disney Travel with packages at the Disneyland Hotel. This time we're all more budget oriented & trying to book our own arrangements. The idea: be our own travel agents & stay for 5 nights. OR.... let Disney sweat the small stuff & go for a shorter visit? I'm leaning towards booking my own at a Good Neighbor Property within walking distance for 5 nights.

My main question is what about early admit tickets? Is it possible to still buy these combined with a 5 day Park Hopper, without booking a package thru Disney? Also, can AP So. CA residents purchase early admit tickets?

[HeatherD]

I can't answer about the AP early admit, but we stay at the Best Western Park Place (closer than DLH, walking-wise) and can still get in for early entry. The trick is to look into the tickets. I think DH usually gets those online prior to our trip (they frequently do "buy 3 days, get 5" or that sort of thing).

It's not limited to "on-site" guests only because it's such a smaller area (only 3 hotels worth of guests would be able to enter?). I'll see if I can chew DH's ear for what he normally does.

[Tink and co.]

The early entry is available two ways, either by staying at an onsite hotel or purchasing a multi-day ticket (I think 3days or more.). The tickets can be purchased ahead of time online (you can discounts through places like Costco, AAA, etc.) or at the gate, and it will say right on them "early entry." AFAIK the only way AP holders can use early entry is to stay at one of the Disney hotels. You don't "pay extra" for early entry, it's an included benefit of the multi-day tickets or Disney brand hotel.
It's definately less expensive to go the Good Neighbor route. Check package prices against booking each item individually or on your own. We usually save a nice chunk of change by booking a package, and we like the perks (like Toontown Morning Madness, free character meals and gift cards, and luggage tags, etc.)