Travel Agent or piece it together yourself?

[xxxlovinitxxx]

Wondering if anyone has done both and can tell me if travel agents can save you just as much as booking everything yourself with discounts?

 

[hollypoast]

Wondering if anyone has done both and can tell me if travel agents can save you just as much as booking everything yourself with discounts?

I think you can. I think it has more to do with whether you want to do it yourself or not. A travel agent offers a service and many people love them. I've done both but find that planning, researching and figuring it all out is 1/2 the fun for me so I do it myself.

If you don't have time or simply don't want to do it working with a travel agent is great.

 

[tinkerone]

I will tell you that the one and only time I booked wdw with an agent it didn't go very well.
we had booked a cruise and decided to stay a week extra at wdw to top off our vacation so we booked it all with the ta. some of my family decided to come along for the wdw part, they would meet us there so I just wnet ahead and booked this myself not using the agent. couple months after it was all booked free dinning came out, we were all soooo excited. I got on the phone with Disney and was able to change my families reservations to include the free dinning but mine had to be done by the ta. I flipped off an email to her and got a stock email back which stated to all her clients that she would do her best to try and get the free dinning for those who qualified but she was very busy so it would take a while, she hoped we could all get it but she could not guarantee.
last time I used an agent for wdw. I don't mind losing control of my cruise for a obc but the agent could offer nothing in the way of incentives for the wdw stay so it really was no advantage to me and with the waiting to see 'if she could get the free dinning for us was painful.
now that's just my experience, its probably not common but never never again.

 

[Marionnette]

Wondering if anyone has done both and can tell me if travel agents can save you just as much as booking everything yourself with discounts?

It really depends on where I'm going, but for Disney vacations I do it all myself. The last time that I let a TA book domestic travel for me (not a Disney trip), they had me flying from PHL (a rather large, international airport) to IAD on a 2-prop puddle jumper before connecting to my final destination on a real jet. It was a horrible way to begin and end a trip.

Like others have mentioned, I don't like giving up control of my reservation. If I want to be able to add a day or two, move my dates around or change the discount code attached to the reservation, I don't want to have to rely on a TA to do it at her convenience. I want it done ASAP.

 

[Shmily1]

I have done both and know a lot of people that prefer a TA. I do love planning a trip, but love the advantages of using a TA also. A TA doesn't take away from your planning. They just watch for discounts and apply them while you are doing something different (which could mean hours on the phone on hold), make sure you get your dining reservations if at all possible, take care of issues you have on your trip like a leaky refrigerator, not the right view, or help find a missing stuffed animal, and make sure you have the most up to date information available. Some provide extra perks also.

To those that had a problem while using a TA, I am so sorry you had that experience. Not all TAs are created equal. Maybe you can give a different TA a shot next time and I hope it goes better for you. A trip should be all about fun and you shouldn't have to deal with issues like that.

 

[hollypoast]

I will tell you that the one and only time I booked wdw with an agent it didn't go very well.
we had booked a cruise and decided to stay a week extra at wdw to top off our vacation so we booked it all with the ta. some of my family decided to come along for the wdw part, they would meet us there so I just wnet ahead and booked this myself not using the agent. couple months after it was all booked free dinning came out, we were all soooo excited. I got on the phone with Disney and was able to change my families reservations to include the free dinning but mine had to be done by the ta. I flipped off an email to her and got a stock email back which stated to all her clients that she would do her best to try and get the free dinning for those who qualified but she was very busy so it would take a while, she hoped we could all get it but she could not guarantee.
last time I used an agent for wdw. I don't mind losing control of my cruise for a obc but the agent could offer nothing in the way of incentives for the wdw stay so it really was no advantage to me and with the waiting to see 'if she could get the free dinning for us was painful.
now that's just my experience, its probably not common but never never again.

She would TRY... holy cow, if it were my I would be furious! That's horrible.

 

[MomToOne]

You don't say whether you mean a WDW vacation or something else.

If WDW is the case, then I prefer to do it myself. I used a TA widely touted on one of the other Disney boards once, buying into the idea that they would watch for the best discount for me and I wouldn't have to get up at the crack of dawn to book free dining and dining reservations. While they did get the free dining added for me that way, working with them otherwise was a pain. I got the impression that because I was staying at a Value resort (=lower commission for them), helping me with things like making changes on the dining reservations wasn't worth their time - I had to email multiple times to get one change made. And even then they screwed it up and got it wrong, causing a problem when we got to the restaurant. It wasn't like I was a high-maintenance client, I just asked for one change after the initial bookings but I definitely got the impression I wasn't a customer they cared about. So since then, I just do it all myself.

But if you are talking about a vacation other than a WDW one, then that can depend. You can often get a better deal with a TA for a cruise, in the form of an on-board credit (they are generally not allowed to charge a lower actual price than the cruise lines but they can give on-board credit to their customers which can be used for tips, excursions, etc).

 

[MomToOne]

She would TRY... holy cow, if it were my I would be furious! That's horrible.

I suspect she said that because Free Dining rooms can run out pretty quickly for some room types at some resorts for certain timeframes, and it was a mass emailing to all of her clients. She may very well have not been able to get it for one or two clients because of that, and she was just covering her behind.

But that is also exactly why I like doing it myself - putting up with vague, catch all statements like that irritates me. I want information on my specific situation. And I want to be at the front of the line, not behind a bunch of other clients - and I will put up with some pain (like waking up long before dawn my time) to be there. But I also admit I am a slight control freak.

 

[Stephaniesue]

I have booked every vacation myself, without much help from DH either. He just kind of shows up and enjoys it, while I fiddle around with my spread sheets of reservation numbers.

This is the first time we are flying, and I have a friend who is a TA. She helped me book the flights with no fee. That was the most confusing for me, because we needed to make sure we were all seated together.

We will be in Disney 4 days and the beach for 5. I like to have control of where we rent in each place, and where we eat.

I am hoping to add free dining in October to our already booked trip, more spending money!

 

[rkmemkc]

First of all...

to DISBOARDS!!!

I am a huge planner. Planning a WDW trip is 1/2 of the fun for me. I keep checking and rebooking our rooms/cars and always searching for the best ticket prices! I don't know what I would do if all I had to do was pick up my tickets and go...sounds a little boring to me.
So, take time to scour this site there is so much information for you if you choose to do it yourself and also recommendations if you choose a TA.
Good luck and have a great trip!!

 

[xxxlovinitxxx]

Yes. I meant WDW. I guess I just want to make sure I get the most for my money. This is going to be a very expensive trip. I will probably only get to do this once and I want to do as much as possible.

I am a planner. We're not going till May of next year and I'm already planning. But as a first timer, I really want to make sure I get the best deals/discounts so the extra money can be used for other extras we want to do (Cirque de Soleil) etc.

Thank you all for your responses.

 

[eyor44]

If you are new to WDW a good TA can be of real value to you. They can answer all your questions and do the leg work and time on the phone for you. Also provide valuable information you might not even realize you need to know.
If you book with a TA, you will be paying the same price as you would booking yourself, they watch for discounts for you and often know about them before the general public does.

Just remember, you should NEVER have to pay a TA for booking a Disney trip. If they are charging a fee, find a different one. I know of one agency that everyone gets the same help regardless of the level of resort booked or how many days the client is staying. They welcome any and all clients, regardless and that is how all TAs should be.

 

[MomToOne]

The vast majority of TAs can only get you the same price you can get yourself, except for AAA agents who get you 10% off rack rate if I remember right (although I haven't tracked that recently), should you be going during at time with no discounts. The problem with AAA agents are that they sometimes don't have a clue about Disney and you have to educate THEM about various things.

There are a select few TAs that also sometimes buy up blocks of room at a discount from Disney (in exchange they take on the risk of having unsold rooms), and then you can book through them at a cheaper rate through them. I'm not sure who exactly these are - I think the large onlines sometime do this (Travelocity, etc) but it is hit or miss. I also remember seeing info about one more traditional TA who did this, but since they only did it with the moderate and deluxe resorts and I'm a value type of gal I didn't keep the information anywhere. And I'm not sure if they are still doing it.

And then there is also the possibly of renting DVC (Disney Vacation Club) points from a member, which could be cheaper depending on the size of your travel party, etc. TAs won't even mention that to you.

Since you say you are a "planner", I suggest just hanging out reading on these boards for a few months - while it might seem overwhelming at first, you will notice the same sorts of topics come up over and over and at the end of those months you will probably know more than any TA except the most experienced Disney specialist TAs. News of discounts also hits these boards either as soon as they are released, or even before they are offered. People on these boards also tend to know the types of discounts Disney is likely to offer at any time of year, so they can give you insight there. For example, the room-only discount that was just released for the Disney Visa holders for the summer months (will be available to everyone next week) was pretty predictable, I figured that type of discount would be released at some point. And there is SO much more information here that can help you plan your trip other than just discount information!!

While this website is my fave, there are also other Disney planning websites that are worth a read before hanging out here, most notably MouseSavers and AllEars.

 

[hollypoast]

Yes. I meant WDW. I guess I just want to make sure I get the most for my money. This is going to be a very expensive trip. I will probably only get to do this once and I want to do as much as possible.

I am a planner. We're not going till May of next year and I'm already planning. But as a first timer, I really want to make sure I get the best deals/discounts so the extra money can be used for other extras we want to do (Cirque de Soleil) etc.

Thank you all for your responses.

If this is your first trip I would suggest buying a Passporter guide book. They are great for first timers-- just the right amount of info without being overwhelming. And then go from there... good luck!

 

[Lisa71]

We use Tracy at small world vacations..she saved us 500 this trip for our family of 4. We booked our own air...love the service and not having to stalk and search pin codes. She is wonderful.

 

[SwedsTbone]

I booked the room only through a travel agent. Travelled Oct 2013, bought tickets urgently before the price hike, so I only used her for the room. We received multiple discounts on the room saving us around $150 to $200 total. I don't have the time to monitor that stuff and it was free money when she'd email me with the deal she already had reserved.

She also offered us free dining if we were willing to change resorts (POR was not free). We didn't take it for other reasons, but it was cool she offered it even though it didn't apply to our reservation.

Some have talked about ADRs being a pain, honestly I never used our TA for ADRs. I did that myself via the website or calling Disney directly. They would not let me make a room request (she did that for me), but I was able to get dining reservations directly through Disney which I found convenient. Because there were so many options of times, days, different places with similar themes, I was glad I could do that on my own.

Anyone have a different experience with the ADRs? Was I able to make the ADRs on my own because I bought tickets separately?

 

[pamjb]

You still book your own ADR's, even if your room is booked thru a TA..

 

[SwedsTbone]

You still book your own ADR's, even if your room is booked thru a TA..

Fantastic! That is definitely preferred. Thanks for the info!

 

[Shmily1]

It depends. Many TAs will offer to book your ADRs but you can always do it yourself. It's all about what you are comfortable with.

 

[luvmylatte]

I have used AAA, booked on my own through Disney and this year I am using another well known TA.

I knew more than my AAA TA and really could have gone without her help. She waited on the phone to book longer than I would have at one point. When I went through WDW it was pretty quick and easy, but I could see a problem when big events come out and there is a large inflex on the phone lines...that could slow you down for quite a while.

The TA I am using now is awesome. He is well versed, helpful and when I sent him a msg at 9 pm ( thinking he would get it in the morning) he sent me back a msg late in the evening. He is VERY customer oriented. I still booked my dining because I like to see my options, but Mike is terrific.

Bottom line....if this is your first or second time or perhaps you need to organize a large group go with a TA. If you've done this before....you can do it fine. If you would like my TA's name and info I can PM it to you.