I personally hate the fact that planning a WDW vacation is like planning a trip to the moon.
For the first timer - I may suggest going with a travel agent. There are some AWESOME ones and some really bad ones. If you are a control freak and want to know everything and want to have flexibility - I do however suggest doing it on your own as you may get frustrated with going through someone.
As others have pointed out there are all sorts of travel cards etc. I did write about how I saved ~$5,000 on a recent trip - Saved $5000 on recent trip
I personally like the flexibility of a la carte. It is almost always cheaper and you have flexibility to change / cancel up to the very end. Not knowing what you are paying for AofA - I may suggest staying OFF SITE (I know - outside the bubble - YIKES). However you may be able to get a house or a larger suite etc. It all depends on what you find important. Also - you MAY want to consider swan / dolphin for the price. I know I have a not so great review - but lots of people like it.
It is crazy that WDW requires a lot more planning than other places. Remember this though - TIME is MONEY when on vacation. WDW is expensive - but also plan things so that it is CONVENIENT for you.