Book thru travel agent? How do you book?

[allykat73]

I everyone. I booked our trip last year thru a travel agent but I am wondering what the advantage is over booking directly on the WDW website? Since I can book everything on the WDW site including flights the cost seemed less than going thru a TA. Am I missing some hidden costs? Just wondering how other Canadians book their vacation packages.

Thanks

 

[taylor3297]

I everyone. I booked our trip last year thru a travel agent but I am wondering what the advantage is over booking directly on the WDW website? Since I can book everything on the WDW site including flights the cost seemed less than going thru a TA. Am I missing some hidden costs? Just wondering how other Canadians book their vacation packages.

Thanks

The TA I use will give you the same price that the Disney website will give you. Though many of her clients are from the US, she also has many repeat clients from Canada and the UK.

She also gives her clients gifts when she sends their documents.

She does not charge any fees.

 

[gaporee]

If the costs seem less that is because the costs online are shown in U.S dollars. We booked through Sears Travel. When I converted CDN dollars to U.S, the price was almost exactly what the website was showing for the same category.

We booked through Sears Travel because we preferred their payment options.

I everyone. I booked our trip last year thru a travel agent but I am wondering what the advantage is over booking directly on the WDW website? Since I can book everything on the WDW site including flights the cost seemed less than going thru a TA. Am I missing some hidden costs? Just wondering how other Canadians book their vacation packages.

Thanks

 

[allykat73]

If the costs seem less that is because the costs online are shown in U.S dollars. We booked through Sears Travel. When I converted CDN dollars to U.S, the price was almost exactly what the website was showing for the same category.

We booked through Sears Travel because we preferred their payment options.

Thanks. What kind of payment options does Sears travel offer?

 

[Skjhjb]

I booked through CAA. I had to purchase their A La Carte membership to book the trip ($25 I think?) but it was worth it!

There were a few "perks" offered, but so far, none have panned out - they have a preferred seating section for the MK fireworks, but it was full when I called....no biggie there. The big one I'm waiting to see is they offer a free 20 page photo book through PhotoPass online. I bought the photopass + because I suck at pictures... so here's hoping the free book pans out!

It was really easy to do - $200 deposit, the rest due 45 days before the trip.

 

[gaporee]

I know for sure that Sears offers 12, and 18,monthly ,equal payments, or don't pay for a year. There are other deferral payment options also, not sure of exact details as I didn't inquire about them.

When we booked our Disney World vacation last year we did 12 equal payments and it worked out well for us.

Thanks. What kind of payment options does Sears travel offer?

 

[dontthrowsand]

I personally hate TAs because I like to book and document everything but I can imagine it would be easier to get a TA to do so for you. Having to call Disney and make changes sucks!

 

[Stitch'sCousin]

We book through the same TA we used for our first trip. Even though I could do it all myself now, it is nice to know that we have somebody there to back us up if something happens.

 

[KittyKat1978]

I book the hotel, tickets & meal plan (always free when I go) through WDW travel on the phone (or online).

I do this because if I want to change something, I can call them directly. If you book through a TA you have to go through them. WDW travel will not talk to you about your package if a TA has booked it.

I have booked my flights through them once (from Seattle) and the second time, thought the 3hr drive, price of parking a possibly a night at a hotel wasnt worth it so I booked my own flights from Vancouver.

I see they now offer flights from Vancouver. But this next trip I am flying to Disneyland from WDW so I booked my own flights.

If I would book my flights through them, I would check expedia to see the if there is a price difference.

 

[minnie mum]

There is no financial advantage between using a TA and doing it all yourself, providing you know what you are doing. Using a TA who knows what they're doing when it comes to WDW vacations (and not all of them do) would be of great help to WDW newbies or to families who just don't have the time or inclination to do it themselves.

I only used a TA (CAA) once, and it was an absolute nightmare of mistakes and omissions on her part, having difficulty contacting her or getting return calls,etc. It was much more stressful and time consuming than doing it myself. So now that is precisely what I do.

If you are going to book a Disney vacation package yourself, then by all means do so. But I would be hesitant about letting them make my flight reservations for me. Do this yourself directly with the airline or check expedia, etc. first to find the best prices.

 

[shenaniganzz]

I booked our last two trips through a TA but I probably won't do it in the future. The only way to control your reservation is to do it yourself. Due to financial issues and the size of our party changing, we had to make several changes to our reservation and we always had to contact our TA. I felt guilty every time I had to change.

As the prices are the same, I think I'd have to have a pretty attractive incentive to book through a TA again.

 

[taylor3297]

I booked our last two trips through a TA but I probably won't do it in the future. The only way to control your reservation is to do it yourself. Due to financial issues and the size of our party changing, we had to make several changes to our reservation and we always had to contact our TA. I felt guilty every time I had to change.

As the prices are the same, I think I'd have to have a pretty attractive incentive to book through a TA again.

Don't ever feel guilty about making changes, that is part of the TA's job and they should be more than happy to do it.

I am an assistant for my Disney TA and she is always making changes for folks and does it with a smile. She wants her clients to be happy.

With the TA I use you can make payments anytime you want. You just let her know when and how much. The $200 deposit and paid in full at 45 day mark are Disney's requirements.

 

[disneygirl2012]

If I get an email with a code in it. Do I have to book online or can a travel agent book with the code

 

[lisalonglash]

We are very comfortable booking travel for ourselves, but for any Disney trip, I would NOT book it any other way than through our incredible Canadian Disney-specialist travel agent! They know as much as humanly possible about all things Disney (they only book Disney travel) and can do as much or as little as you like (booking your ADRs, trip advice, etc.). They will also automatically apply whatever available discount will save you the most money.

Honestly, using an expert TA is not just for those who are newbies and/or don't have the time to research their trip themselves. We are not newbies and are quite good and experienced with our travel research. However, our TA is a MUST for our Disney trips - we appreciate her knowledge, advice and genuine concern that our family has the best time possible!

Just my two cents

 

[lisalonglash]

If I get an email with a code in it. Do I have to book online or can a travel agent book with the code

A TA can do that for you, I believe

 

[sare]

I will always book Disney through my amazing TA. This vacation she was able to get us a huge discount that I couldn't get on my own and we are saving $400. We were able to stay for 7 days instead of 5 because of her awesomeness. This is my 22nd trip to Disney and I never would have been able to go that often without her booking it for me, I wont be lacking for anything and eating table service every day with park hopper options. I would check with a few TA and see if they know any tricks to getting a great deal.

 

[SaraMc]

We book through dreams unlimited travel ( the owners of this site) they book all our dining and events for us and if any discounts came out they called Disney and changed the price for me. There was no extra free for that! Made it so much easier for me

 

[ReluctantDisaholic]

We book the WDW part of the trip through our TA (room, tickets) - the first 2 trips she did our flights, last time we did and will most likely do it ourselves again this time. Our TA is a friend, otherwise we would book the whole trip ourselves.

We make our own ADRs and do all the rest of the planning ourselves (well, mostly me with a bit of help from the kids - dh just goes where we tell him).

 

[momtoamulan]

There are supposedly some perks (haven't left yet, so no idea!)...put a 200 dollar deposit, the rest is 60 days (I think) before you leave?

I gave her a list of places I wanted to eat and rough times...she did all right. I did have to make some changes....

I had two questions still, but she is out of the office right now...which is okay, as we don't leave until the end of Sept...

She booked our flights for us...tried to find the cheapest deal (we held off for a couple of months to see if flights would drop..they did a little).

We are using our CC for insurance...

 

[Spoonful_Of_Sugar]

We have booked with a TA and online with WDW, I like this method better.
I have found that a TA is not always up to date with promos and if you want to change something you have to go threw them.