Can I Drop Travel Agency or Just Switch Agents?

[michashell]

We booked our trip with a highly regarded Disney specialty travel agency. We’ve been unhappy with our agent from day 1 – very slow to return calls and emails (several days or even weeks), when we’ve talked to her and she’s committed to getting us basic info (paperwork, price quotes on rental car) we’ve had to contact her several times, because she just plain forgot. Most recently, she dropped the ball on applying a promotional code to our reservation, and it’s now expired.

My question is what’s the best way to handle this? We are over 100 days from our travel date and NOT paid in full. Can we just transfer our reservation to Disney Travel and handle everything ourselves. Or do we need to ask to switch agents within the company? So far I see no value in continuing this relationship.

Thanks so much!

 

[danceintherain]

I would contact the agency directly and tell them of your problems first. Otherwise, you can fire your agent, but I imagine he/she will be slower to react in that situation than they would have been previously. Maybe someone else will know if you can do anything by contacting Disney directly, but other than booking an entirely new reservation, then telling your TA to cancel the old one, I'm not sure what they'll be able to do.

I'm sorry you're having such problems. When I booked with a TA, she was great about responding to my inquiries, even when I was annoying.

 

[canopynut66]

you can just cancel with her/him and book on your own or call and book thru WDW. you have no signed contract with anyone. it is easy to book on your own. and there are several new rpomos this week one is for free dining and is open to public 12th and is open today for visa rewards card holders. just will have to do your own ADR'S for dining but that simple as well

 

[michashell]

you can just cancel with her/him and book on your own or call and book thru WDW. you have no signed contract with anyone. it is easy to book on your own. and there are several new rpomos this week one is for free dining and is open to public 12th and is open today for visa rewards card holders. just will have to do your own ADR'S for dining but that simple as well

I actually did all my ADRs myself already. We are already using a pin code, so I wasn't sure if I would have to cancel and rebook - possibly not being able to book my original dates at the same discount. Or if I could just transfer the reservation.

 

[bumbershoot]

Just look up your trip, see the price of it, see if you can do better. If you can, book it and cancel with the TA. If not, contact them.


Rental car quotes...just do it yourself! Awesome threads on the Transportation forum about codes, and you can get all the codes from Mousesavers.com... NO need to go through a TA for this.

 

[Sue M]

Sorry you got a dud TA. I would contact the head of the agency asap and discuss this problem with him/her and ask to be transferred to another TA asap. Be sure you mention the fact that you missed a promo because of TA's lack of response. I think at the very least, the agency should make some recompensation for all the problems with a WDW gift card or something.

I have used a WDW Specialized TA before, and she's been wonderful. Very quick to respond, and was on the phone with WDW the moment discounts were released.

 

[jcondrad]

We had a similar situation last year, we ended up sticking with her but I took care of everything myself after that. There is a transfer reservation form that you can use to pick up a TA, like say you booked online yourself then decided you wanted a TA...so I imagine there is a way to transfer your ressie to yourself or another TA. Call Disney travel and they can help you with a definitive answer.

 

[Patrickprincess]

We had a similar situation last year, we ended up sticking with her but I took care of everything myself after that. There is a transfer reservation form that you can use to pick up a TA, like say you booked online yourself then decided you wanted a TA...so I imagine there is a way to transfer your ressie to yourself or another TA. Call Disney travel and they can help you with a definitive answer.

What bummer! I had a verry good TA. Everything was going great with my Disney cruise until January of this year. I called my TA due to a qustion that i had and then i was told that my TA's postion was termaited and that they were shutting down the office where i had booked. Thier nearst office was a 60 minute drive from where i live. I was given over to another TA who wasn't the most pleasnt person to work with. Also it sleemed like she wasn't there when called with a question,so i was given over to another TA who was a rude. Also they would never take a message for my TA and i was never told thier hours. Making a long story short i ened up turing the resveration back to DCL and I booked my resort stay on my own and got 20% off the resort. I would speak to the owner about this If all fails cancell the resvation and try and get my money back and the rebook with disney over the phone.

 

[jwmoss]

Mickey's Magic Vacations is a great travel company to switch to, if you choose to cancel with your current TA. You can find them on Facebook or online. I would definitely talk to the manager of the agency though. How disappointing to be stuck with someone who doesn't share your enthusiasm for your vacation!! Hope you get it worked out one way or the other and that your vacation is fabulous!

 

[Marthasor]

I actually did all my ADRs myself already. We are already using a pin code, so I wasn't sure if I would have to cancel and rebook - possibly not being able to book my original dates at the same discount. Or if I could just transfer the reservation.

You need to call the agency owner and discuss your issues with him/her. If you are using a pin code, there is a chance it expired and if you cancel your trip, you may lose your discount.

In the meantime, I would see if any of the new promotions will work for the dates and package you prefer and if they come in lower than the pin code. If so, book the trip yourself and cancel with the TA.

If the trip you have booked is the better deal, ask the TA owner to work with you or give you to another TA. If the owner will not work with you, tell them you want to transfer your reservation!

 

[Pink Mouse Ears]

Were you going to switch from your PIN discount to a public discount or something? You mentioned the TA not applying a promotional code, but you also said you had a PIN code. Just double checking that you know you can't use both at the same time (only one discount can be applied to a reservation.)