Book myself or use a TA?

[cjmea]

Is there any advantage to using a travel agent over booking myself? And if so, any recommendations on one?

TIA!

 

[scottmel]

I personally could never give up ownership of my reservation. If you use a TA you can't call disney direct to change resort, date, view request - anything. ALLLLL has to go thru TA....I feel as though i am so up on disney stuff that I personally wouldn't need a TA b/c i know when a new discount hits for a price adjustment or anything else necessary.

 

[chrisw127]

Use a TA. Depending on the agency, they can give you little extras and a good one will keep up with discounts so that you don't have to. On my October trip, my TA ended up applying 4 discounts as they came out. I don't want to have to do that, personally. Plus if anything goes wrong on your trip, they can take care of it for you.

Ultimately though, the reason I use a TA is this: That little agency is getting 10% of the cost of that reservation from Disney. Disney is either going to keep it or they're going to pay them. I'd rather see the little guy get a bit of that money than see it go back to Disney. It's not that I don't love Disney, but I like spreading the wealth around.

Go with a reputable agency (the owners of this board have one that is well-regarded). It doesn't have to be a big one, but you probably have friends who've used TAs who they're happy with, so ask around. The only ones I don't recommend are AAA, because many of them have never even been to Disney.

 

[Ziggy]

I've used a TA in the past and she was fabulous, if a room discount came out she'd be there first thing in the morning applying it to my booking and saving me money. I'd just say be sure to go with a specialist, I think Mousesavers might have some listed that they recommend.

 

[junebugs]

Ultimately though, the reason I use a TA is this: That little agency is getting 10% of the cost of that reservation from Disney. Disney is either going to keep it or they're going to pay them. I'd rather see the little guy get a bit of that money than see it go back to Disney. It's not that I don't love Disney, but I like spreading the wealth around.

Totally agree - this was the reason I chose to call my TA to book our summer trip. I could have done it myself - but like stated above - why not help a TA earn some $.

 

[GovieMom]

My TA is excellent ... she booked my trip, and later notified me as soon as a general public discount was offered, which she immediately applied to our reservation. Not only that, she recently surprised me one evening with an e-mail stating we had gotten a Free Dining Pin, which she had already applied to our reservation since it was more beneficial to us than the room-only discount was. Gotta love those TA's!

 

[ptoohey]

I checked it both ways and it was just so much more expensive (Hundreds$$$) to book with the TA that I couldn't justify it. Only downside is that now if I have any issues during the trip I have to fix them myself. Then again I am such a control freak that I probably would anyway.

 

[ginnymack]

I checked it both ways and it was just so much more expensive (Hundreds$$$) to book with the TA that I couldn't justify it. Only downside is that now if I have any issues during the trip I have to fix them myself. Then again I am such a control freak that I probably would anyway.

My goodness!! You need a new TA!!! The Disney portion should be exactly the same, and you should find an agent that specializes in Disney. You can get "extras"/gifts, personalized service, an a lot of knowledge FOR NO EXTRA COST. Some TA's charge for airline reservations, as there are no commissions, but you can easily do that price yourself.

It is nice to have someone on your side...the TA works for YOU!

 

[ptoohey]

Well if you are able to recommend one in MN then I would be glad to check. In the past I have used AAA and the person I checked with was allegedly a AAA specialist but I wasn't impressed. Part of it for me is I am really good at searching out deals online and doing combinations of discounts and other coupon codes to get great deals.

 

[ncmom2four]

It definitely pays to use a TA. Like a previous poster stated they will search for discounts for you and should offer you goodies and planning tips. A good one will offer their services for free. Disney pays commission directly to TA's so they don't need to charge you..at least some don't! I'd be happy to give you a name of a good one - PM me!

 

[chrisw127]

I checked it both ways and it was just so much more expensive (Hundreds$$$) to book with the TA that I couldn't justify it. Only downside is that now if I have any issues during the trip I have to fix them myself. Then again I am such a control freak that I probably would anyway.

You know, I've never had that happen but I'm sure there are bad TAs out there just like anything else. I usually shop around a bit before I book. The last one I worked with gave me a $50 gift card to book with her instead of going through Disney directly.

 

[JenSop]

I checked it both ways and it was just so much more expensive (Hundreds$$$) to book with the TA that I couldn't justify it. Only downside is that now if I have any issues during the trip I have to fix them myself. Then again I am such a control freak that I probably would anyway.

It shouldn't cost more to book with a TA. The price should be exactly the same. Perhaps they weren't a Disney specialist and weren't up on the promos? That's the only way I could see it happening. Disney creates a level playing field and the prices should usually ALWAYS be the same.

If it was airfare, that fluctuates like crazy, as I'm sure you know, so maybe the TA looked for air on a really bad day and that factored in to a package? Besides, 95% of the time there is no commission on airfare, so it won't matter if you do the air yourself or with a TA, although the TA will have your back if something goes wrong.