Already booked package…Do I need a Travel Agent?

[my523]

Hope this is the right topic for this post. If not, feel free to move.

This is essentially my first Disney trip (only other one, I was a child). I have my own family of 6, plus 2 grandparents I am planning for.
I had spoken with a TA, but when we decided our dates and resort, I saw availability was starting to be very slim. I emailed the TA to let them know. Since a TA took over 24hrs to get back with me and rooms were starting to show less availability, I went ahead and called Disney myself. After a 2.5 hour phone call (!!!), realizing the 2 rooms we want were flying off the shelves, I went ahead and booked our resort and tickets myself.

I guess I’m not sure if it’s worth the hassle of having to go through someone else at this point, since I’ve done some of the leg-work myself. I feel a little clueless as how to plan our days at each park, what days to go where, etc, and I don’t know if we will do many ADR’s. I have friends who have gone, and I’ve watched some YouTube to try to understand the new Genie+ system. Even having a TA hel with that sounds a little arbitrary, since, if we use Genie+ everything’s in flex as you go. It sounds like I have to be the one to make those day-of picks and selections, anyway….unless I’m wrong!
The planning will be mostly for just my family of 6 as grandparents are just along for the ride.

I’m glad I did it myself since dates are almost now all booked up, BUT, I am wondering if I still need a TA? If there a lot other than planning park days they can do for me at this point?

 

[CynBeth]

We have never used a TA. We usually visit every few years around holiday time where it will be busy so park days to us really do not matter much. We made our ADRs reservations and in the old days the FP+ ahead of time and was crowded but manageable. We used Genie+ and ILL and got to do most of what we wanted this past trip. We usually try to fly in on the Friday before Thanksgiving and spend that day at MK and attend the holiday party/holiday after hours that night. My DH’s birthday is around that time and always make sure one of our Epcot days is then as it is his favorite park. We also know we need to be at Epcot either Black Friday or the next day to be able to see the holiday storytellers and Candlelight Processional so from there we figure out what days to do another day at MK and 2 days at AK and HS and a day off property at SW. Sometimes if we have more days will spend time at other area attractions. Not sure when you are going but have to make park reservations and I would try to figure out your schedule and make them soon. I have family members with food allergies so pretty much eat all meals at TS. It used to be you could make them at 180 days before the trip but now it is 60 days. You can purchase Genie+ ahead of time for all of the days not sure if you got tickets that include it and if not can purchase it ahead of time for all of the days we called to do this or can purchase it every day of the trip beginning at midnight. Then on your trip at 7 am every day can book one Genie+ and can do 2 of the extra fee. After you finish your first Genie+ or 2 hours later can book your next or something like that it keeps changing. I would definitely download the app so you can play around ahead of time so can be ready and feel comfortable. I would also recommend purchasing magic bands you will find it under your account and can do check in whenever the option becomes available.

 

[Eastern]

You do not need a TA.

For resort info, start reading your resort's forum here.

For ADR planning, see the Restaurant boards.

For park planning, see Theme Parks Attractions and Strategies.

Lots of good tips to be found by reviewing these topics.

 

[sponica]

I'm too much of a control freak to use a travel agent, but that's just me. And since you made the reservation yourself, you could still transfer it to a TA within a certain window....but I would pick a more responsive one if you wanted to go that route.

Accept that first time visitors make mistakes. My first trip my mom and I didn't even know fast pass existed. But we still had fun.

Everyone has their own philosophies about how to battle plan, but you have to pick a way to visit that works for you.

I like the crew over at touringplans personally, their blogs are pretty fun to read.

The thing to keep in mind is that WDW is HUGE. I've been a half dozen times or so, and there are things I still haven't done. Don't try to do ALL the things, it's not possible.

 

[_19disnA]

Unless the TA offers some sort of Disney discount NOT available to the general public, I don't really see them as adding any value. You can no longer discuss your reservation with Disney once it is being handled by a 3rd party. Unless the TA is VERY current on all things Disney, they might provide you with information that is out of date.

If planning to use Genie and those paid options, you can only do that the day of your visit, so your TA would likely not have any involvement in that. If your first time going to Disney, you really won't have any idea what you want to do, which parks/rides/shows you will find most interesting or where you would like to eat. You really need to experience for yourself to find out what all your family prefers. Working with a TA won't change that. Most everyone has internet access and you can just as easily look up prices/availability at Disney resorts as well as anyone else.

 

[KittyKitty]

I think Disney has a time limit on switching reservations to a T.A. I want to say 30 days, but not sure.
Only reason I don't use them is because I change my mind a lot on the reservation. And a control freak.

That said, I am using a T.A. this next trip.Traveling with friends who are using her. I know her and trust her.

 

[my523]

I'm too much of a control freak to use a travel agent, but that's just me. And since you made the reservation yourself, you could still transfer it to a TA within a certain window....but I would pick a more responsive one if you wanted to go that route.

Accept that first time visitors make mistakes. My first trip my mom and I didn't even know fast pass existed. But we still had fun.

Everyone has their own philosophies about how to battle plan, but you have to pick a way to visit that works for you.

I like the crew over at touringplans personally, their blogs are pretty fun to read.

The thing to keep in mind is that WDW is HUGE. I've been a half dozen times or so, and there are things I still haven't done. Don't try to do ALL the things, it's not possible.

I have thought about reaching out to another one, but still feel like, “is it even worth it?”

Have you used the touring plans itineraries? Are they worth the subscription?

I think I am going to have a hard time with not wanting to do ALL the things, which is where I feel a little lost on how to pick and choose.

 

[my523]

Unless the TA offers some sort of Disney discount NOT available to the general public, I don't really see them as adding any value. You can no longer discuss your reservation with Disney once it is being handled by a 3rd party. Unless the TA is VERY current on all things Disney, they might provide you with information that is out of date.

If planning to use Genie and those paid options, you can only do that the day of your visit, so your TA would likely not have any involvement in that. If your first time going to Disney, you really won't have any idea what you want to do, which parks/rides/shows you will find most interesting or where you would like to eat. You really need to experience for yourself to find out what all your family prefers. Working with a TA won't change that. Most everyone has internet access and you can just as easily look up prices/availability at Disney resorts as well as anyone else.

The TA seems current as I see they have traveled recently to the parks.

I guess I’m wondering if I need a TA to help with deciding that part of what is interesting, what rides/dining/shows are worth it? I think it will just take more research on my end to look that up and decide.

 

[FSU Girl]

The TA seems current as I see they have traveled recently to the parks.

I guess I’m wondering if I need a TA to help with deciding that part of what is interesting, what rides/dining/shows are worth it? I think it will just take more research on my end to look that up and decide.

These boards can help you with all your planning. I never have used a TA. People here are super knowledgeable on all things Disney. So any questions just make a post or you can ask here and people will chime in

 

[my523]

These boards can help you with all your planning. I never have used a TA. People here are super knowledgeable on all things Disney. So any questions just make a post or you can ask here and people will chime in

Yes! I have had so many questions already and have appreciated so much knowledge and interaction!

ETA: That also means I may have 1000 posts and questions over the next few months.

 

[CynBeth]

We are here to help talking about Disney is one of my favorite things. One thing I would advise if you have not done it already is get one of those books such as by Birnbaum, etc that go into detail about the rides and attractions and restaurants. It will help you determine what appeals to you. You will see on the boards pretty much for every restaurant there are always people who love a particular one and others that feel the opposite.

 

[FSU Girl]

Yes! I have had so many questions already and have appreciated so much knowledge and interaction!

ETA: That also means I may have 1000 posts and questions over the next few months.

Well I love helping people plan Disney trips so would be happy to answer any of your questions

 

[pixiegoose]

We usually use a ta (didn’t for our last trip because we were renting dvc from an acquaintance) and she just books the reservation for us (and whatever add-ons we decide on) while we (well, let’s be honest, *I*) do the adrs and whatnot. I know there are lots of ta‘s who book all the things but I can’t handle not having control over those things. We keep using our ta because she keeps up on new promos and will automatically get us switched if new ones come out that match our trip (so she’s sitting on the phone for hours with Disney, not me) and also sends us all the new official updates from Disney. She’s also there if we have questions on anything.

 

[sponica]

I have thought about reaching out to another one, but still feel like, “is it even worth it?”

Have you used the touring plans itineraries? Are they worth the subscription?

I think I am going to have a hard time with not wanting to do ALL the things, which is where I feel a little lost on how to pick and choose.

I really just use them for the room requests. I can't remember what the annual fee is these days, but i'm pretty sure I spend more a week at my local cafe.

 

[Mle8308]

Travel Agents generally make their commissions on the room portion of a reservation, and since you have already booked, there isn't much they can do for you. I am not sure about transferring your reservation to one, that might work. You could use one to book your flights, but honestly if you did not use a TA for the rooms portion of your stay, they are most likely not going to use their time booking restaurant reservations for you because they do not get paid for it. Touring Plans is definitely worth looking into (it's about $18 for a year) as well as this board. There are some extremely knowledgeable people here, probably more so than a lot of travel agents! Enjoy your trip!

 

[my523]

Travel Agents generally make their commissions on the room portion of a reservation, and since you have already booked, there isn't much they can do for you. I am not sure about transferring your reservation to one, that might work. You could use one to book your flights, but honestly if you did not use a TA for the rooms portion of your stay, they are most likely not going to use their time booking restaurant reservations for you because they do not get paid for it. Touring Plans is definitely worth looking into (it's about $18 for a year) as well as this board. There are some extremely knowledgeable people here, probably more so than a lot of travel agents! Enjoy your trip!

Yes, I figured if I did use a TA, I would have to transfer my reservation. But then I think, “I did all that work being on the phone for over 2.5hrs!” Unless they can do a lot after that, why should they get the $…like, is there that much after that to even do on their part?
We will be using points for flights.

 

[my523]

We keep using our ta because she keeps up on new promos and will automatically get us switched if new ones come out that match our trip (so she’s sitting on the phone for hours with Disney, not me) and also sends us all the new official updates from Disney. She’s also there if we have questions on anything.

Is this just that the TAs get notified quickly of promos? Are there even that many promos happening right now as there used to be?
I do like the idea of having someone to be the one to help with questions.

 

[pixiegoose]

Is this just that the TAs get notified quickly of promos? Are there even that many promos happening right now as there used to be?
I do like the idea of having someone to be the one to help with questions.

I do think TAs get some sort of advance notice on new promos but I’m not totally sure. And there haven’t been many promos that have come out recently but there have been a few (and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that one comes out for our December trip- we are finally going deluxe and a discount would be reeeeally nice).

 

[gottalovepluto]

Is this just that the TAs get notified quickly of promos? Are there even that many promos happening right now as there used to be?
I do like the idea of having someone to be the one to help with questions.

No but it’s possible select ones might have a friend in a high place or something that drops a hint everyone should be at work at 4am tomorrow or something Usually the blogs post it right as the average TAs get the notice. The upside is if a TA booked you who is willing to rebook you if a price change happens you don’t have to haunt the blogs early every morning and then spend hours on the phone rebooking. (Or trying to book online then cancel your old res.)