Travel Agent vs Through Disney

Hi, I did a search and didn't see a thread about this really, but if I am wrong I am sorry. I am trying to decide what to do, book through an agent or do it myself through Disney.

Does the travel agents have a special notification of when deals are happening? I was told an agent can book fast passes, dining reservations, etc. Last year I did all my fast passes online and was happy with what I had. I then called Disney about another issue and the agent was great and went in and found my different fast passes and got us in to meet all the Princesses. So I am wondering do the Travel agents have the same kind of access?

Anyone have any experience booking with an agent.

I personally would just rather do it all myself. I used a travel agent once. While they did rebook me automatically for free dining when it was released, waiting all day to hear from them about it was agonizing - I would have rather just sat on the phone myself and known the outcome right away. And while they also booked dining reservations for me, they messed those up in a couple of cases so again, I would have rather just done it myself and gotten it right.

I think it just depends on what sort of person you are. If you are a control freak (like me), you will probably be happier doing it all yourself. If you don't like dealing with all the little details, then a travel agent might be a great thing for you.

The main problem with using a travel agent is that once they book you, you can't deal directly with Disney for any reservation changes yourself - your travel agent has to do it. Disney won't talk to you.

I would never book through a travel agent. If you book through a travel agent, the agent owns the reservation, not you. I want control to make any changes to the reservation myself or to deal with Disney on my own reservation. Also, as far as ADRs and FP+, I don't trust a travel agent to be up before dawn to get my ADRs set, or to be up late at night, to be sure I get all the FP+ I want. I want control of everything. I have a friend who recently used a Travel Agent- it was her first trip to WDW and she was totally overwhelmed by FP+ and did not want to deal with it on her own. She told the TA what she knew she absolutely wanted for FP+ and ADRs, and then took the TAs recommendations for some other FP+ and ADRs. Her number one priority was a meet and greet with Anna and Elsa as her 2 year old son is absolutely obsessed with Elsa. She did not get it- the TA told her that she got her a FP+ to the Frozen Singalong at DHS instead which should be good enough as her son would see Anna and Elsa there. It would have driven me nuts, not knowing if I could have had that A&E FP+ I wanted had I just done it myself the minute the booking window opened. She also went nuts as the TA did not even give her the family Itinerary until just over a week before her trip. She kept calling and the TA just said- don't worry- everything is booked and I will get you the full schedule soon- I just haven't had time to do your spreadsheet yet. (Makes me wonder if that was accurate- or if it was just the TAs way to ensure she did not have to deal with people calling constantly to try to get her to change ADRs and FP+) My friend said that while the TA did do a good job for them other than not getting them A&E, she would not use a TA again, because now that she feels like she understands WDW a little better, she wants more control over FP+ times, specific ADR times, and being sure she is in control of trying to get the FP+ and ADRs she wants. She said she is not sorry she used the TA for that first trip as they knew it would not be their only trip and she was treating this trip more about figuring out what they like and want for the next trip. I could be wrong, but to the best of my knowledge, agents don't get any special deals that you can not get yourself. They might find out about the deals earlier than anyone else and be ready the minute they start, but if you keep up with doing your research on the internet you will find some pretty credible "rumors" that will give you the same information in time to call when the deal starts. In fact, I had another friend who was booked and then a deal came out for her dates- I asked if the TA had gotten the deal applied to her reservation, and she called to check and the TA said she had not, but that she would look into it. Ultimately, my friend wound up saving $500- but had I not told her about the deal, I don't think her TA would have taken the time to call and try to get her the discount.

TA's don't have a special portal for booking ADRs or FP+. Sometimes, they get inside information about upcoming offers like free dining or SPD. But even then, they don't get any kind of advantage when it comes to booking those deals, other than to use a TA portal instead of dealing with the Disney website which is available to the general public.

Most people on the disboards prefer to make their own arrangements for Disney because of the reasons mentioned by PPs. If you want a hassle-free vacation and prefer to have someone else handle all of the dining and FP+ arrangements, then a TA that specializes in Disney is for you. If you want to be able to control your reservation from the start and (like me) you don't trust a TA who has multiple clients to acquire those got-to-have reservations, then you're better off doing it yourself.

Thanks for the info. I am like most of you all I do like being in control and if they do not have any special magical powers then I would rather do it all myself. And yes I agree I would rather sit on the phone and know the outcome.

Thanks!!

I didn't know some TAs would prevent you from doing this stuff. Is there such a thing? My TA just books the trip and the tickets. The rest, I'm fully empowered to do myself thru my MDE account or have him do if I so desire. It's quite nice actually. I can offload anything I don't want to do, but can do anything I want to. Best of both worlds?

I would rather do everything myself as well. I did used a travel agent for our trip last August though. Disney wanted to charge me $442 per night at the Poly while the travel agent was selling rooms for $189.

I don't know if I have an answer...I was looking for some info myself. We've been to disney approx. 6 times now, and are looking to book again with the spring special. I've been getting quotes from online travel agencies etc. So far, MEI-travel has given me the best price. Anyone know if they are reputable enough??? I used Small World Vacations last year and Sherri was wonderful. Got a quote from her for this year and she can't beat MEI....could anyone share what they know? It would be greatly appreciated

fuzzylogicllc said:

I didn't know some TAs would prevent you from doing this stuff. Is there such a thing? My TA just books the trip and the tickets. The rest, I'm fully empowered to do myself thru my MDE account or have him do if I so desire. It's quite nice actually. I can offload anything I don't want to do, but can do anything I want to. Best of both worlds?

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If you use a TA, you can still book your ADRs and fast passes yourself if you want, it's just that that is something that some travel agents will do for you if want. It's often cited as a "benefit" of using a travel agent. I don't consider it much of a benefit. The one time I took advantage of it was because I didn't want to have to get on the phone in the wee hours of the morning my time (west coast) to get a couple of harder to secure ADRs the day they opened up for my travel dates. But as I said, the TA ended up getting them wrong in a couple of cases, so in the long run it would have been better to do it myself.

The big reason most people don't use a TA is because you do lose the ability to make changes to the reservation directly with Disney yourself. So if you want to do something like get a new discount that was just released, then you can't just ring up Disney and take care of it - you have to call the TA, who then has to call Disney. And I've seen stories over the years of TAs that won't return calls, or who are out on vacation for weeks when people want to make changes like these. Of course, more responsible TAs wouldn't do that, but it does come up from time to time.

MillauFr said:

I would rather do everything myself as well. I did used a travel agent for our trip last August though. Disney wanted to charge me $442 per night at the Poly while the travel agent was selling rooms for $189.

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There are a few travel agents that will buy up blocks of rooms at a discount. In that case, you must book through that agent to get the deal. But most TAs have access only to the same deals you can get online yourself with Disney.

I think the only TA's you can trust for Disney res. are the ones that SPECIALIZE in Disney..... like MEI,Mousefan travel,etc. Anything else and you are in for a load of hassle..... I do my own trips, but if you want a TA I would use only one of those..... they know Disney in and out and will keep on top of any deals.

As a Disney authorized vacation planner/TA, I can attest that every trip I plan for clients, Disney or otherwise, is dictated by what the client wants. If they want to book their own ADR's they can. If they'd like me to do it for them, I do. The advantages of a trustworthy and authorized TA are endless. Cancelled flights, issues with trip, unexpected needs, etc. all can be taken care of by your agent if the need arises. No agent should ever charge you a fee for their services and a good Disney agent will not only monitor any and all promotions, but apply it towards your trip the instant it is made public. Hope this helps someone with their planning!

We always use a TA .....she has ways of getting us cheaper rates and she knows all the little tricks to save us money and make us so much happier. It is a local agent and she knows if we are happy we will gladly send her more people. Over past few years we have taken many vacations and sent many people her way.


Not to mention it is less stress leading up to the trip and I can keep being excited and not so overwhelmed. I find it so much more enjoyable when I leave the stress of booking and working to take a vacation to a travel agent. It was hard at first leaving it in someone's hands (I am a closet control freak) but after the first few times I have came to rely on her.

Edit: I seen some people saying they did not have control over the vacation to make changes...I have never had that issue once I had my confirmation number I can go in and make any changes or set up room deliveries next...I did Everything right on the Disney website...and for our cruises once I got my confirmation number I once more went to the dcl site and made any changes and even added shore excursions.....

My last trip to dw I went in and set up a character breakfast at last minute with no problems....must depend on agent...not sure but nothing was unobtainable to me once that number was given to me.

rockin disney fan said:

I don't know if I have an answer...I was looking for some info myself. We've been to disney approx. 6 times now, and are looking to book again with the spring special. I've been getting quotes from online travel agencies etc. So far, MEI-travel has given me the best price. Anyone know if they are reputable enough??? I used Small World Vacations last year and Sherri was wonderful. Got a quote from her for this year and she can't beat MEI....could anyone share what they know? It would be greatly appreciated

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I've used MEI (MouseFan Travel) four times since 2008 and will continue to use them in the future. They are very knowledgeable when it comes to Disney vacations and very reputable. Coleen, our agent proactively re-booked our room-only reservations multiples times when a better rate came out. The first two trips I had her book our ADR's (it was before the online system was up), but now I just have her book the rooms and Magical Express and I handle ADR's, FP+, airfare myself. A couple of times we were able to take advantage of one of their group specials which gave us a great room rate (20% off rack rate at POFQ) plus some extras that we could only get through them. They are a sponsor of the WDW Today podcast and also a big sponsor of the WDW Today's Reunion event in December. For example, in December 2013 we booked their Reunion deal and it included a client appreciation party at DHS one evening after the park closed. We started with a ride on Toy Story, then headed over to the Backlot Express (I think) where we had cookies/punch and a meet & greet/photo op with Mickey dressed up in holiday attire. Then we were given a goodie box and headed over to the Osbourne lights where we had the place to ourselves for a wonderful, leisurely time. At the end of the evening they had busses waiting to take us back to our resorts. In December 2008, we booked their MouseFest deal and it included an Illuminations Dessert Party. All their deals don't include these special events, but it seems like the room rates are very competitive.

I just booked yesterday with a TA. In the past, I have always booked directly on the WDW site. Thrilled with the rate the TA got for me - saved me over $2k compared with the rate on Disney site! Immediately after booking, the TA emailed me my res number. I was able to link it to my MDE account. I can book all my dining res, FP, magic bands, etc directly on the WDW site!

We always go to Disney in Sept for the Free Dining. The TA was able to book a 7 day reservation at Poly for less than what I would have paid for a moderate resort. Although we can't book the dining plan, this was a great deal!!! Worked out to over 50% off rack rates for Poly. Always wanted to stay there!!

runnerchick said:

I just booked yesterday with a TA. In the past, I have always booked directly on the WDW site. Thrilled with the rate the TA got for me - saved me over $2k compared with the rate on Disney site! Immediately after booking, the TA emailed me my res number. I was able to link it to my MDE account. I can book all my dining res, FP, magic bands, etc directly on the WDW site!

We always go to Disney in Sept for the Free Dining. The TA was able to book a 7 day reservation at Poly for less than what I would have paid for a moderate resort. Although we can't book the dining plan, this was a great deal!!! Worked out to over 50% off rack rates for Poly. Always wanted to stay there!!

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Who did you use? I don't know if it is ok to post?

Hi - Can't post the name of the TA, but if you google Labor Day Agency Special and Disney World, you should be able to find the agency. Good luck!

kcarp36 said:

Does the travel agents have a special notification of when deals are happening? I was told an agent can book fast passes, dining reservations, etc. Last year I did all my fast passes online and was happy with what I had. I then called Disney about another issue and the agent was great and went in and found my different fast passes and got us in to meet all the Princesses. So I am wondering do the Travel agents have the same kind of access?

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TAs can receive advanced notice of discounts coming out, but they are only able to call and book at the same time as the general public. So while you might know a day or two ahead of time, you don't really gain an advantage other than that.

Agents have the same access as you to FP+ and ADR bookings. Just a lucky coincidence that she managed to snag the FPs you wanted, and you likely could have gotten the same with some persistence. Any TA who books FP+ and ADRs for you are doing so as a courtesy, because they do not make commission on these bookings. Many TAs will NOT do these for you or will impose a service fee if they do.

The benefit of using an agent is some advanced notice of when discounts are approaching, and they will do a lot of the leg work for you (some more than others). Some larger agencies will run their own exclusive agency promos, but not every agent will do this.

As someone mentioned above, travel agents can block out group space at a cheaper rate sometimes. I used to work in the group booking department for Royal Caribbean way back in the day, and the TA would call in and just take a set of rooms with no names on them. They had a certain amount of time to sell those rooms or else they'd go back to RCI (Royal Caribbean International, not the time share company). Groups often got perks and special pricing--I'm sure it's the same way with hotel rooms.

To get certain benefits like OBC, you have to go thru a TA. The OBC have gotten so small it's not even worth it to deal with them every time you want to change or add to your reservation.