Book it myself or what?

[LoverDisney]

I have booked our next trip to Disney with a TA but I am thinking about canceling with her and either doing it myself or using another TA. This trip unlike our first is not too involved. The only reason I did it was that I didn't want to search for discounts, let the TA have the commission, and any other perks that may come. In addition, my current TA is not responsive. She takes days to respond to emails and texts. I feel like I have to stalk her in order to get a response. I have only paid the deposit so far. Any suggestions from others who have been in my situation? Thanks in advance!

 

[Fam travel planner]

I would cancel. If you can't get her to respond to you now, how are you going to be sure she makes your ADR's and any other reservations you want that are time critical (at the 180 day mark, at 60 days out, etc). Also I wouldn't feel like she was going to be checking for discounts for me.

 

[arihillfarm]

If she takes several days to get back with you and it happens consistently without a good explanation, I would cancel and find another TA. I feel bad if it takes me more than a couple of hours to get back to a client. I can't imagine having someone on hold for several days and being okay with that.

I know that it may be easier to just book it yourself, but consider that the price you'll pay through a TA vs. directly with Disney will be the same for the same options and by going with a TA, some of the money that you spend will go directly to support their small business and their family instead of 100% going to Disney. That was what I used to do (book with a Disney specialist TA, even though I knew just as much as they did) before I became one myself. I figured why not help spread the wealth and pixie dust. I'm sure there are plenty of people on here who can recommend a good Disney specialist TA if you decide to look for another.

 

[LJSquishy]

I have never seen the benefit or value of a travel agent. Of course, I like to plan my own vacations. Travel agents do not have access to any special discounts that you cannot obtain yourself.

Travel agents "own" your reservation so you have to go through them to make any changes which is a huge problem for me. If I change my mind about the number of days I want to vacation, or change an ADR, I don't want to wait around and have to rely on someone else to do it for me. I don't have that much faith in people for a reason -- something always gets done late or goes wrong -- always.

Just tell your travel agent the truth about why you're canceling your reservation with her: She is not prompt enough in responding. It will give her some honest feedback so hopefully in the future she can do a better job for others.