A A A

[Terk-1]

I booked my upcoming trip through AAA for the first time. The only problem I am running in to is getting hold of my AAA travel agent. Either she is not in or says she will call me back and does not. I have e-mailed her my flight info (I booked that myself, along with my ADR's) for Magical Express, but have not received a response that she received this info.

Then I read on another board that someone called one AAA office and got a quote, then called another office and got a quote for the same trip for $300 less. Do the costs of these trips vary by AAA office? I thought the prices were the same no matter which AAA office you contact?

I'm starting to get a little nervous.

 

[jess20k]

That is too bad that you are having problems. First off, if you have called and spoke to your TA, and also left messages and she is not returning your calls, I would call and ask to speak to that office's manager, and explain your situation to them. Any good travel agent should be returning your calls, even if they are busy, or out of the office they should be returning your calls in a timely manner.

As for AAA rates, I was always under the impression that the package rates should be the same, but I am not 100% sure. Regardless for any AAA, a $300.00 difference from office branch to office branch seems fishy to me.

 

[mtrak17]

I usually book my vacations myself, but this time around I decided to go with AAA. While my agent is nice enough, and does respond to my e-mails very promptly, she has made two mistakes in the past week, which I have had to catch myself. First, she stated that my Disney package price, including the AAA discount, was $.... Later that evening, I ran through the package myself on the Disney website and the quote she had given me did NOT include the AAA rate. I had to e-mail her (she apologized), so she herself didn't catch it ($150 in savings!). Secondly, when I added an additional person to our package, she sent me out the reservation confirmation and had forgotten to include the new addition's name (although the price reflected the additional person). Again, she did not catch this herself.

If I were you, I would really stay on top of your reservations and other travel arrangements with AAA and I would double check all of the quotes you're getting (and really check your confirmations). I've read a lot of people on these boards having great AAA agents, but I have the impression from my agent that she's not entirely interested in booking my little Disney package!

(Also, I just found out that AAA charges an additional $25 cancellation fee on top of anything Disney charges. Again, my agent didn't tell me this - I had to call the office to find out )

Good luck - just do what you have to to get what you want done!

 

[snow_white22]

I booked with CAA and I also was emailing her to find out if my deposit went through and if she booked the magical express. She didn't respond for a few weeks and then all of a sudden yesterday she emails me and says that all the info is at her office from Disney and I can pick it up! So if you booked with her- like gave a deposit maybe shes just waiting on Disney. Thats my experience anyways, but it would have been nice to have kept in touch or let you know what was going on.

 

[T-i-double-g-err]

From the numerous threads that keep popping up, I'm getting a pretty solid impression that most AAA TAs are pretty hit or miss handling Disney trips. I've seen one or two recommendations for specific AAA TAs that are also Disney specialists (search is your friend ). My personal experience is pretty much in line with this impression.

I'm a big fan of AAA, and we subscribe every year. It's a wonderful thing to have when you have a flat and find that you are missing your jack. I'm also very happy with getting the AAA discount directly through CRO, at least until a better public code, private pin, AP rate or Disney Visa special comes along...

 

[disneysnowflake]

In my local area the AAA agent in charge of Disney reservations is rude and nasty. You know, you aren't supposed to get a quote from Disney first to compare against her quote. You also have to pay a per person fee to book the reservation for you even though she makes commission. She was just rude and nasty.

I had a heck of a time getting various AAA agents to speak to me for a quote. I would call and get voice mail only to never get a reply. I'd email and never get a reply. One agent told me I had to go through my local office. Another told me I had to wait until January 2007 to book anything for 2007. You'd think if they were getting a commission for booking my trip they'd want to help me.

All in all I emailed a AAA agent who responded the following morning with a quote. She was nice. The price was great. I booked with her.

I wish there was a better way to book with a AAA discount. I wish I had a nice local AAA agent.

If I worked at AAA booking Disney trips I'd be happy, not rude and miserable.

 

[OUR 1ST DISNEY TRIP]

new to vacationing period. Booked out trip through AAA and although my agent wasnt nasty and was right on all the prices he wasnt to happy to make any changes to my resie. he was slow on doing this and when they told him no he didnt press the issue just settled for a no and thats it. really didnt try hard to try anything else. Any way i wondered do you have to (suppose to) tip travel ageants?

 

[mtrak17]

Gosh, I hope you aren't supposed to tip a travel agent who's doing the bare minimum and nothing more than you could do yourself (and you could do it better?)

By the way, I forgot to add one additional item to my post (above). I was very undecided about whether or not to add the dining plan (and my TA knew this). I decided to add it last week (after the 2007 packages had come out - I'm going in January 2007) and my TA never notified me of all the restaurants that had been taken off of the list for 2007, or at least have not signed on as yet (a significant number)! In my opinion, that's something a "Disney specialist" TA should know and tell their client. THEN she proceeds to mail me a copy of the 2006 Dining Plan brochure and informs me that Disney has not released their 2007 DDP brochures yet...(I had printed the 2007 dining brochure off of the Disney website two days earlier...)

Just venting... I feel like I know much more than my "Disney specialist" TA and will likely NOT ever use a travel agent again (at least from AAA)!

 

[CarolA]

From the threads on here WHY would you tip??

(To be honest if AAA had any sense and read these thread some heads should roll. Based on what I have read on the DIS I don't ever plan to use AAA to book ANYTHING for me. about half the time the savings seem to be eaten up by the poster spening HOURS dealing with the errors the TA made. )

 

[maxtomsmom]

Yikes! I never knew booking through AAA was so inconsistent. It seems pretty straight forward to me. I was thinking of doing it if there wasn't an AP discount for Dec.

 

[SueEllen]

By the way, I forgot to add one additional item to my post (above). I was very undecided about whether or not to add the dining plan (and my TA knew this). I decided to add it last week (after the 2007 packages had come out - I'm going in January 2007) and my TA never notified me of all the restaurants that had been taken off of the list for 2007, or at least have not signed on as yet (a significant number)! In my opinion, that's something a "Disney specialist" TA should know and tell their client. THEN she proceeds to mail me a copy of the 2006 Dining Plan brochure and informs me that Disney has not released their 2007 DDP brochures yet...(I had printed the 2007 dining brochure off of the Disney website two days earlier...)

Just venting... I feel like I know much more than my "Disney specialist" TA and will likely NOT ever use a travel agent again (at least from AAA)!

I just wanted to jump in and add something here (in defense of travel agents everywhere.) Disney did not advise anyone of the 2007 dining plan list (pdf brochure) and the changes for 2007--not TAs, not even their own Cast Members who book dining every day for them.
Only those guests/TAs who regularly check the Disney site and package information who happened to notice that this was there would even know about the new pdf brochure (okay, and those that read the DIS since it was also posted here ) But seriously here, don't hold the dining plan issue of not knowing the changes against your TA--I'm sure that is something she had not yet heard since it is so recent and 2007 packages were just released.

Now that being said, just to add another thing here, I would expect that dining plan list to change between now and January and I personally expect for many of the restaurants that are not listed right now to be added back to the list. This is just my personal observation based on past experience as a TA and as a CM...most of the restaurants that are not listed right now are what is considered an "operating participant" which is not owned or operated by Disney directly but by outside companies. I would venture a guess that the terms/conditions and contracts with these operating participants are still being negotiated and that we will likely see most of them back on the dining plan brochure.
In 2005 there were a number of changes to the dining plan (additions/removals) for the first couple of months of the year. Keep an eye out for changes to that still to come (again, just my personal opinions on this...)

Sorry to hear that many of you are having troubles with your TAs. My best suggestion is this--find a TA that you mesh with well. Not all agents/clients will be a perfect fit for each other, but do look for someone that specializes and is knowledgeable in Disney (and not just someone that has the title of Disney Specialist--there is a difference.)
Good luck to you!

Sue Ellen

 

[mtrak17]

I agree with you about not holding the DDP information against my TA. I just had a few more serious mistakes happen, and my overall experience hasn't been stellar.

Having said that, I guess that I was surprised that I had more info on the 2007 DDP than my TA. It seems like a Disney TA would be a wonderful job for a Disney-lover (having to keep up with all the latest information; spending time reading these boards and knowing it's part of your job), apart from the usual aggravations of any job. I guess like any job, however, you need a break from it when you're off duty!

As I said, I probably won't be using AAA again, or else I'll use a recommended travel agent!

 

[sanke]

Hi,
I had trouble w/my first AAA agent, pretty much the same as you're having. I finally talked called the main 800 travel #, and explained my problems. I got an agent that got right on my trip and got me all the info I needed. AND, was very apologetic about the first guy.
I don't know about different prices, I just dealt w/the one office.
Good luck!
Sanke

 

[kaytieeldr]

In my opinion, that's something a "Disney specialist" TA should know and tell their client .

I was told by one AAA office Manager that they don't have a "Disney specialist", that all their Agents know everything Well, the Agent they handed me off to didn't know what a DisneyLand Good Neighbor hotel is. The next AAA office I went to, the Agent was so Disney-informed I've been referring people to her.

From the threads on here WHY would you tip??

I gotta agree. I've never heard of tipping a Travel Agent. Bringing her/him a small gift from your trip is one thing, but it's not a 'tipped' profession.

 

[eblack0409]

I hate it that you have had problems...my AAA is the best!!! She is on top of everything....we booked our trip through her, and when Disney came out with free dining, she called and let me know...saved us a ton of money....

She's in West Virginia...her name is Adreena, she is a Disney Specialist 304-523-6423 ext 226

I recommend her to anyone!

 

[MarksMom2006]

In my local area the AAA agent in charge of Disney reservations is rude and nasty. You know, you aren't supposed to get a quote from Disney first to compare against her quote. You also have to pay a per person fee to book the reservation for you even though she makes commission. She was just rude and nasty.

I had a heck of a time getting various AAA agents to speak to me for a quote. I would call and get voice mail only to never get a reply. I'd email and never get a reply. One agent told me I had to go through my local office. Another told me I had to wait until January 2007 to book anything for 2007. You'd think if they were getting a commission for booking my trip they'd want to help me.

All in all I emailed a AAA agent who responded the following morning with a quote. She was nice. The price was great. I booked with her.

I wish there was a better way to book with a AAA discount. I wish I had a nice local AAA agent.

If I worked at AAA booking Disney trips I'd be happy, not rude and miserable.

Not all AAA TA's actuallyl make the commission. We just get a bonus but it is no where near what the commission amount is. Not that that is any reason to do less on a client's package. Personally, I love booking Disney and TRY to stay on top of everything going on. I did see the list of restaurants that are being taken off of the dining list, but I have not yet seen a dining list for next year yet. We have a different WDW site so it has probably just not been updated yet. As SueEllen said, TAs are trial and error. You do NOT need to stick with one even if you have booked with them. You can find another agent in that same office or even (In AAA's place) in your local area to do the ressie for you. You shouldn't have to stress out this much for you vacation!

 

[DrmWvr1299]

The good news from this thread is (if you can look at it this way) that the people who read these boards are Disney savvy . Thank goodness that we are able to plan and talk to others on here about our upcoming vacations. We had thought about going with a AAA package and I realized that I knew more about Disney than she did. She was intimidated when I talked to her. Maybe that is why some agents are a little rude .

 

[keishashadow]

while I realize that all TA's aren't disney specialist, you'd think AAA agents would either be more savy or refer customers to a central booking site.

My local branch AAA didn't know whether she could accept a transfer from DIS as to a room previously booked via AAA rate by myself to a pkg. She actually told me she had never booked a MYW pkg w/dining (she's been there over 5 years)...and she's the only agent @ the branch.

said she knows nothing about diamond parking pass or story exerience, both mentioned in my AAA monthly newspaper I receive...anyone know anything about them as to what pkg you need to buy to obtain the perc?

 

[Terk-1]

Can you recommend a Massachusetts AAA agent to call? Also, if I go with another AAA office, will they be able to pull up my current reservation or is that exclusive to the AAA office I booked it through?

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

I'm dealing with the same problems here in Texas.

While my TA is very, very sweet and good about getting back to me, I've had to pretty much tell her how everything works.

For example, she was telling me that the Disney Dining Plan wasn't worth it, because you only got a certain amount in vouchers and usually ended up paying OOP for the bulk of your food. Um, that's not the DDP. I just did the DDP in March and I could have fed a small army on the food we got.

When I started explaining it to her, I felt bad, because I'm sure it embarrassed her that I knew more about the packages than she did. This makes me very nervous, because if any other codes come out, I doubt she'll know what to do with them.

Now, I'm considering switching my trip to March and I dread calling her.