Booking direct or through an agent

[serene56]

What is the main reason why you book with Disney direct.

I am ready to book and there is no significant savings by using an agent.

 

[TDC Nala]

A travel agent might have the time to deal with locating room or package discounts, etc., that you don't have.

The downside is that once the travel agent makes the room reservation, that reservation is owned by the agent. You cannot call Disney and make changes to your reservation. Any changes you want to make will need to be done through the travel agent.

 

[softballmom3]

I book direct because I have complete control over my vacation and can make the changes I want (if needed) without going through an additional party. I haven't seen any significant price differences either.

 

[Luvamouse]

I use Small World Vacations primarily to make sure I do not miss a discount. I do not need flight or ADR help. Each year I have been blessed with a PIN that I sent to the TA giving me a big discount. Earlier this year, I was busy and missed a room only code that she applied for me! Nice... Then I got another PIN which was worth a lot more than the 2 day discount, so I sent it to her. If you want to do it yourself, and will stay on top of discounts on the message boards, there is probably no benefit to using a TA. I just feel comfy doing it. Can't explain that since I'm pretty independent!

 

[serene56]

We used small world last time.

I do understand that room requests are just that-- but to have all our party spread all over the resort just was not what I wanted to deal with when we first arrived.

(stayed in Pop- and requested 60's (at least together) theyhad us in 50, 60 and two in 70-s in different areas of the resort)

I booked all 4 rooms together-- at the same time-- using the same agent, etc.


Does that stuff happen when you book direct?

 

[TDC Nala]

We used small world last time.

I do understand that room requests are just that-- but to have all our party spread all over the resort just was not what I wanted to deal with when we first arrived.

(stayed in Pop- and requested 60's (at least together) theyhad us in 50, 60 and two in 70-s in different areas of the resort)

I booked all 4 rooms together-- at the same time-- using the same agent, etc.


Does that stuff happen when you book direct?

Yes. Booking directly through Disney will not give you an advantage on having your room location requests met.

As long as the agent put the room request in for you, it is not their fault the request wasn't met. Now, if you have an idea that the agent didn't put in your request, you may want to take charge of that yourself - but it still won't guarantee you get your room requests.

 

[mickeynut1]

I book directly through Disney as I like to have control of my reservation. I like being able to make any date or resort changes (if necessary) without having to go through someone else to do it.

 

[no capes darling]

I book direct because I have complete control over my vacation and can make the changes I want (if needed) without going through an additional party. I haven't seen any significant price differences either.

Same here. I was talking with a travel agent last year (unrelated to planning) and she said the only difference between going through an agent and going direct is the agent gets a commission, where by booking directly, Disney gets to keep it. That said, I'm sorry the agent won't be getting the commission on my trip, but I want to have access to making changes when I want to, not at their availability.

 

[pepe of ohio]

I book direct because I have complete control over my vacation and can make the changes I want (if needed) without going through an additional party. I haven't seen any significant price differences either.

We've booked 45 trips with Disney direct, CRO.....we rather own our reservation in case we want to change something or cancel or to check on things.....it's easy to watch for discounts thru a couple of web sites that will email you the specials....dealing with an agent (TA) thru emails is a hassle, same with AAA....we're AAA members but only use the AAA discount thru CRO, when offered......

 

[clanmcculloch]

I'm pretty savy at figuring out the best deals for my family and I know the ins and outs of booking a WDW trip. In fact most people I know come to me with questions. I book all my own ADRs and I do all my own planning of park days/itineraries. I always book using an agent and here's why.

• I like supporting small businesses, especially when it doesn't cost me anything extra.
• I dislike sitting on hold for CRO; my TA can deal with that.
• I dislike the prompts I have to go through when calling CRO; my TA can deal with that.
• I dislike having to educate CRO CMs on how things are supposed to work; my TA can deal with that.
• If there are any problems at all during my vacation, I can just call my TA and have him/her take care of the problem while I'm with my kids in a park rather than wasting precious vacation time at Guest Relations or a Concierge desk.

Could I do the same thing myself? Sure I could. I like having somebody else do it for me. It doesn't cost me a penny and it sure does save me a lot of headaches. I should note that any TA that I've used more than once is extremely responsive to any of my requests so I don't feel as though I'm at anybody's mercy, rather I feel taken care of.

 

[Nancy F]

I never saw the need to go thru a travel agent. Disney makes it very easy to book and you have complete control. JMHO.
Nancy

 

[EastonCat]

I'm pretty savy at figuring out the best deals for my family and I know the ins and outs of booking a WDW trip. In fact most people I know come to me with questions. I book all my own ADRs and I do all my own planning of park days/itineraries. I always book using an agent and here's why.

• I like supporting small businesses, especially when it doesn't cost me anything extra.
• I dislike sitting on hold for CRO; my TA can deal with that.
• I dislike the prompts I have to go through when calling CRO; my TA can deal with that.
• I dislike having to educate CRO CMs on how things are supposed to work; my TA can deal with that.
• If there are any problems at all during my vacation, I can just call my TA and have him/her take care of the problem while I'm with my kids in a park rather than wasting precious vacation time at Guest Relations or a Concierge desk.

Could I do the same thing myself? Sure I could. I like having somebody else do it for me. It doesn't cost me a penny and it sure does save me a lot of headaches. I should note that any TA that I've used more than once is extremely responsive to any of my requests so I don't feel as though I'm at anybody's mercy, rather I feel taken care of.

I'd like to echo this sentiment. We booked our first few trips on our own, became experts in All Things Disney and now use an agent. There are times where Disney's systems aren't totally cooperating, call volumes are high, information doesn't flow immediately to the general public, etc. that make the service I get from my travel agent a great addition to my planning and traveling enjoyment. We have developed a great personal relationship with the agency we use and I can't imagine booking any other way from now on. While we may not have "control" of our reservation, we are still free to make ADRs and other plans on our own if we wish do do so (particularly when we're already on site - it's just way easier and we've got nothing else to focus on than our vacation at that point). Additionally - if something goes wrong on your trip, an experienced travel agent is your best line of offense/defense against the rest of the world for problem solving.

I've pointed five families in the direction of our agent over the past year -- they were all skeptics until they realized how much easier it is to plan and book with some great service from a professional.

 

[chrisw127]

When you book through a TA, she or he gets that 10%. When you book through Disney, you are very likely booking with someone who is working on the same commission but who has less incentive to make you happy (i.e., give you discounts, point out errors in your thinking--yes, that happens even to experts) because when it comes right down to it, the second you hang up the phone, that CM has another anonymous person on the phone who will book if you don't.

Most travel agencies throw in a little bit of "swag" with your booking, whether it's a gift card, lanyards, etc. But it's true that even the best TA can't get you any discounts other than the published ones unless they've negotiated some deals for a block of bookings (kind of like Tikiman does for the Poly in November) through group reservations, etc.

 

[partypa]

I use Dreamsunlimited, alot. I can call the shots, they do all the work. I enjoy having the same Agent to email with, day or night, whenever a question or concern pops into my head. They deal Directly with Disney for me. Will continue to check for New discounts and notify me when there is something new. I do not enjoy waiting on hold when call I Disney, do not enjoy having someone new every time I call.

 

[krb2g]

We usually book for ourselves (stopped using the TA we used to use after she misinformed my parents about passport/birth certificate requirements for travel and they almost weren't able to take a Caribbean trip they had booked), but this trip we're using a (different!) TA because we're traveling in a larger group. She was able to apply a discount code we heard about for a better discount with no difficulty whatsoever and she handled all the airline reservations.