Anyone book through CAA lately?

[dopeyluvsgrumpy]

Just wondering if anyone has booked their disney trip with CAA? I did a few years back and it was a nightmare, but the kids loved the free Storytime you get for booking with CAA. I know now they have the Storytime and preferred firework seating at MK and was wondering if these perks are worth it? We're going in December and looking to book soon. Also does anyone know if I can still us a PIN through a travel agent?

 

[Sue M]

No, last time I got a quote from CAA it was higher then the WDW web site When I asked about how they got that price, she said she was looking at Sun Fun Holidays or something. Bad. And she was supposed to be their WDW expert! If you book thru Sun Fun, you can't get any WDW discounts that come out.
And most CAA TAs aren't watching for WDW discounts, even if you tell them you want them to book directly with WDW. You still have to do all the work watching for discounts, then phoning them to ask them to apply it. Someone had posted they couldn't get in touch with their CAA TA when discounts came out, she was away for a week.

If I went with a TA, it would be a Disney Authorized Vacay Planner. I have booked with one of these a few times, and they are great. They know when WDW discounts come out, and will apply it to your res automatically, and never leave you in the lurch if they are away, they'll give your file to a fellow TA in their agency, and inform you as well, and give you a contact name & number.

 

[minnie mum]

You couldn't pay me to book again with CAA. They messed up our reservations twice and were a bear to work with. And as the PP noted, they were definitely NOT very knowledgeable about WDW at all!!!
I can't see how a parking pass (we never used ours-preferred using the Disney buses) and a reserved spot for Wishes could be worth the hassle of dealing with these people and not having control of your own vacation package.

 

[Whereisalyssa]

We booked through CAA for our upcoming trip in august and they have been absolutely no help at all. luckily we found out ourselves about the free dining for canadians otherwise we wouldn't have gotten that because we had to tell our TA about it, and even after we told her we had a hard time getting her to change it for us (we have a theory that she's just extremely lazy and can't be bothered). She also failed to let us know that we had to book reservations at the 180 day mark which is okay in our case because we knew but if we hadn't have been to disney before we wouldn't have known! we also had to CALL DISNEY to reserve a preferred spot for wishes which she should have been able to do on her own but for some reason she said everything came up booked (when we called disney and told them the situation they were able to find us a spot in the exact night we wanted). She's been a total nightmare and is very rude and just does the bare minimum for you, but we did save a few hundred dollars.

 

[Susan2771]

Sorry to read that all your experiences have been less than positive and the services lacking from a travel professional. Maybe you caught them during the busy season and they were caught up in a number of bookings?

 

[Disney Addicted]

I'm always reading enough bad stories about CAA and AAA that I will NEVER book through them!

For Disney, the best is like Sue said, a Disney Authorized Vacation Planner. There's a few that only deal with Disney vacations and nothing else.

 

[Piglet2007]

Does anyone have a recommendation for a Disney Authorized Vacation Planner in the Toronto/GTA area?

 

[Disney Addicted]

The closest one that I know of is Fairytale Dreams & Destinations. They are very good. If a promotion comes out that will lower your price, they will tell you. I first came across them on another DISers' recommendation and have not been disappointed.

 

[mugglebe]

I booked through Dreams Unlimited for my trip in November and it's been a breeze! They do everything for me which is great because I'm a shift worker. They will also apply any future discounts to your reservation which is a bonus! The price of the trip will be in US dollars but that isn't a problem since our dollar is basically at par. My TA Ally will also be making my ADRs for me on Wednesday which is helpful because I'll be working.

 

[Piglet2007]

For the US dollar transactions, does your Credit Card charge a fee on top of the exchange rate? I think mine charges an extra 2.5% over whatever the going exchange rate is.

Thanks for the recommendations, Disney Addicted and mugglebe!

 

[dopeyluvsgrumpy]

Wow, I thought my bad experience was just a one time thing. Thanks everyone for the info looks like I'll book for myself so I get exactly what I want.

 

[Evelyne]

Hi, we booked with CAA 3 years in a row, everything was just fine. I asked the TA to book a specific room and it worked 2 times on 3. The price was the same as if I did with Disney. We drive to the World, so we love the Diamond Parking. Someone in our familly even had the TA to book the restaurant, personnaly I always do it myself, but their ADR were just fine.


1990 to 1992, off site with DB+ friends/ 1994 off site with DB+ family/
1995 off site DB, DS (2) and DD on the way/ 1998 off site DB, DS DD/
1999 off site DB, DS, DD, + family/2000 to 2003 DB, DS, DD All star Sports
2004 to 2008 Pop Century with DB (after 28 years I can say DH), DS, DD and family
2008 to 2009 Pop Century DH, DS, DD/2010 and 2011 Pop DH, DD and her friend
September 2012 DH and me alone for the 1st time. Can’t wait to check inn at the POP!!!



http://www.**************/id/1348729281.jpg

 

[minnie56]

For the US dollar transactions, does your Credit Card charge a fee on top of the exchange rate? I think mine charges an extra 2.5% over whatever the going exchange rate is.

Thanks for the recommendations, Disney Addicted and mugglebe!

Yes, they do
Way around that..get a USD Visa or Mastercard.

 

[Tinkershelly]

I'm sorry you all have had bad experiences with CAA travel but I've always had great luck with CAA travel in Halifax.

 

[CDNCA]

We book most of our trips through CAA. We have a great agent who is very knowledgeable in Winnipeg. We take advantage of all Disney discounts available and free dining etc... She gets us our ressies and we get the CAA perks. Your experience with any agency will rely on your relationship with and the quality of the agent.

 

[Reese]

If it wasn't for storytime I wouldn't do it, but my kids love storytime. The first time was awful, I had to keep nagging the women to do what I asked. The second time was a grand gathering so I had to count on her to book our special experiences. After several head banging experiances with this women (she would eventually do as I asked after insisting that she knew and they don't offer that or you can't book that-phoning begrudgingly and finding out I was right) I requested anyone but her when I phoned to book. Since than I have had a wonderful TA through CAA. She actually has said my knowlegde in booking disney far surpasses hers, so when I ask her to book one room with this code and two rooms with this code she doesn't bat an eyelash and just does it. She also phones right away unlike the other one that would say I'll call you back at the end of the week and let you know.

 

[Gigi22]

The CAA TA we have used just booked us Disney packages from a book they had. So, I now book our own Disney hotels. They seem to be OK to deal with DCL reservations that I make onboard. CAA 'gifts' aren't very good, particularly when you see some of the gifts that other agencies offer.

 

[Sue M]

That was what the CAA TA did with us too, looked at a book for price quote. Good thing I had checked the WDW web site before, so I knew their price was way out of line. This TA was advertized in the BCAA Westworld Mag as being a WDW specialis!!! Not.
I know some CAA/AAA agents can be good. And even watch for discounts for you, but I think this is the exception sadly.

I have used internet Travel Agencies - Ears to You is good.