Booking Via Travel Agent

[nicynot]

For ALL past trips, I have booked direct with Disney, and then with which ever airline i choose to fly with. This trip around, I just so happen to have gift cards with a travel vendor.. I know that most will say, just use the gift cards towards flights and still book direct with disney, but I might be using miles to fly, and will not need the agent for flights. Do you guys see any negatives with booking through a travel agent? Just like MOST of us here, we are all very picky and well organized when it comes to planning our trips , what with thread watching for the free dining release dates, and Park Hours calendar updates.
I think i would be fine with it (letting someone else book it).......
But I want control over my dining and selecting my groups magic bands, and our fast passes. They still give us our confirmations so we can do that, correct?


(this is not meant to "dis" any agents here!!!! )

 

[Capang]

A Disney TA will not cost you a penny. I'm kind of confused where the gift card comes in.

 

[Capang]

If you really want a TA, and it sounds like you don't necessarily need one having planned trips in the past, ask around locally or with people you know that have used a TA. Some are just fantastic and some are not so good.

 

[nicynot]

A Disney TA will not cost you a penny. I'm kind of confused where the gift card comes in.

I have gift cards to lets call it, "island travel" and cannot use the gift card anywheres but with them. They will be who i buy my disney vacation from.. if that clears it up?

 

[Shanti]

I wouldn't.

 

[nicynot]

I wouldn't.

My initial thought too

 

[Awnry]

As a detailed Disney planner like yourself, I found it very frustrating to book with a travel agent.

I have a friend who is a certified Disney TA, so I booked with him just to be nice because I knew he'd get a cut from Disney. But honestly, I would never do it again. While I was still able to book my own dining and FP+, I was VERY frustrated when I realized I could not pay off the trip myself. I called Disney to pay off the balance 40 days prior to my trip, and they literally would not accept payment from me--it had to come from the travel agent... which seems insane because it's MY vacation.

It was also frustrating when it came to Magical Express (if you happen to be using it). My yellow luggage stickers were mailed to the travel agency instead of directly to me, which seems crazy! They sent the Magic Bands and matching luggage tags to my house, but refuse to send the stickers to me? Even when I called Disney ME and requested that they send them to me instead, they flat-out refused and I had to get them from the agent.

Overall, it was a very frustrating process and I would not do it again. I should be able to have full control over MY vacation and I do not like the way Disney handles booking through a TA. If you don't have much experience with Disney travel and need the hand-holding, it's a great thing. But if you're a major planner like me, it's nothing short of a headache.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

The Disboard is run by a travel agency called Dreams Unlimited.

http://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/

 

[minnie mum]

I'm going to assume that this agency is not a Disney Specialist. If you are as much of a control freak as I am, putting your resort reservation in the hands of someone else is aggravating. So you have a couple of choices.
- use those gift cards for your flights. Save the Airmiles for tickets or something else entirely. Using Airmiles for flights is often not the best value anyway.
OR
- If this is a brick and mortar agency, use them, but be frank with them. Insist that they make the arrangements how YOU want them. Be very specific and detailed about your requirements, including room requests, right at the beginning. Get an agreement, in advance, that they will give you the resort confirmation number when the booking is made, so you can do your own MB, FP, and ADR bookings. Try to avoid letting them have access to your MDE account. If you're using gift cards, you'll probably just pay the whole amount up front so you won't have to worry about who to call to make payments..

Best of luck.

 

[nicynot]

I'm going to assume that this agency is not a Disney Specialist. If you are as much of a control freak as I am, putting your resort reservation in the hands of someone else is aggravating. So you have a couple of choices.
- use those gift cards for your flights. Save the Airmiles for tickets or something else entirely. Using Airmiles for flights is often not the best value anyway.
OR
- If this is a brick and mortar agency, use them, but be frank with them. Insist that they make the arrangements how YOU want them. Be very specific and detailed about your requirements, including room requests, right at the beginning. Get an agreement, in advance, that they will give you the resort confirmation number when the booking is made, so you can do your own MB, FP, and ADR bookings. Try to avoid letting them have access to your MDE account. If you're using gift cards, you'll probably just pay the whole amount up front so you won't have to worry about who to call to make payments..

Best of luck.

Thanks!
I have decided to use the agency for my flights, and to again, book disney on my own! I can't stomach the thought of not being in control