Can I switch my reservation from a travel agent to a regular Disney vacation?

[allisonjones]

I, personally, will never use a travel agent again. She STILL has not sent a receipt or email about the final payment. She has not contacted me in any way. I have tried calling her line and the office's direct line and both go straight to voicemail. I called Disney and they agreed with what was posted here--I have to have an email from the travel agency for them to switch it to my name or to tell me absolutely anything about it. They weren't even supposed to tell me if it had been paid or not, but he did let it slip that it was only partially paid (meaning this last payment has not been made; so she did lie about that earlier). I am so frustrated. If anyone is wondering, Destinations in Florida is the name of the agency and I highly recommend you go elsewhere. This is just a nightmare. The Disney rep said that this situation is very unusual and was quite apologetic, but there is absolutely nothing Disney can do. It's not even considered my reservation by them. It's the travel agency's.

I was disappointed to read your experience with our agency. I am one of the owners of Destinations in Florida. This service is unacceptable. We strive to offer exceptional service to our guests. Please email me at allison @ *********************.com with some more details about your guest experience, your reservation number, and I will certainly take care of the rest of your vacation. I would like to show you the service our guests expect from our agency!

Allison

 

[savannie]

Allison, I just emailed you. Thanks!

 

[Missytara]

I was disappointed to read your experience with our agency. I am one of the owners of Destinations in Florida. This service is unacceptable. We strive to offer exceptional service to our guests. Please email me at allison @ *********************.com with some more details about your guest experience, your reservation number, and I will certainly take care of the rest of your vacation. I would like to show you the service our guests expect from our agency!

Allison

Allison, that is a wonderful thing you did.....I will recommend your company to anyone who wants to book a vacation with Disney.

 

[Shmily1]

First off, OP: I'm so sorry you had to go through such a crummy experience. That behavior was really uncalled for.

Look, not everyone wants or needs a TA. Some people know SO much about WDW that they don't need a TA - and that's fantastic! I'm not one of those people, and I really appreciate having someone on my vacation team who I know has my best interests at heart.

I've used the same TA for my past two trips. She has been excellent and everything one could want from a TA. She's communicative (never have waited more than 1/2 hour for a return email/call from her), helpful, proactive for me & my family, and always conscious of our budget and needs. She's always applied discounts for us (I've gotten emails stating "hey...I was up this morning at 4am and found this for you - it saved you another $XX"), and processed payments on the phone with us immediately to verify that it was done correctly. She even helps us plan and schedule all the "extras" we want to do. She provides us with perks, printed plans and all kinds of other goodies before we leave. She also ensures that all our documents from WDW are correct and makes any changes that we need beforehand. She takes the hassle out of the planning.

@davedmaine - I'm sure you didn't mean anything negative by your comment quoted above, but let me assure you that there are a lot of valid reasons why people like me use travel agents, even in the internet age.

I work about 50+ hours a week, and due to my career and other obligations, I can't be on the phone at 7am hoping to get that elusive ADR, promotion or hard ticket. If I have to change my plans in any way, my TA takes care of the legwork for me. She finds the best deals for me & my family. I might know digital forensics, but I certainly don't know all the ins & outs of WDW to know where to find the best options. I don't get any of the early warnings/notifications, or updated calendars, or any of the other benefits that certified Disney TA's get. I'm not always able to keep up to date on promotions and discounts. She has been trained by Disney and goes several times a year - she shares her experience and knowledge with her clients, and makes commonsense suggestions and alternatives. My TA ensures that me & my family have the best time possible within our budget and time frame. That's why I - and I'm a computer geek by trade - choose to use a TA.

I will never go to WDW without my TA and her expertise. Not everyone will agree with me - and that's totally ok! How you plan your trips and who you plan them with is a personal choice. Just because some of us like our TAs doesn't mean we're lazy or dumb or poor planners. Believe me, I'm pretty OCD when it comes to planning! Judi just makes sure I don't end up in the nutfarm because of it! LOL

Just my 2 cents!

Great answer!

 

[savannie]

To anyone who reads this thread later, I would like to give an update of the situation.

Allison emailed me back very quickly. She is really going out of her way to help us out. I would definitely recommend her as a travel agent and I am feeling so much less stressed and more excited for our trip. She has taken a bad situation and turned it around.

Thanks again, Allison. And thanks to everyone here who helped me feel better when I was so stressed out.

 

[Sandi]

To anyone who reads this thread later, I would like to give an update of the situation.

Allison emailed me back very quickly. She is really going out of her way to help us out. I would definitely recommend her as a travel agent and I am feeling so much less stressed and more excited for our trip. She has taken a bad situation and turned it around.

Thanks again, Allison. And thanks to everyone here who helped me feel better when I was so stressed out.

I'm glad you got the help you needed and deserved. My suggestion is to edit your first post and note that an update is contained in Post #25. I always appreciate when posters do that. I see that you're relatively new with few posts, so I thought I'd make the friendly suggestion.

 

[kelleigh1]

I feel your frustration. I almost never use a TA, but with my Disney trips, I actually do use a AAA TA and she is absolutely fantastic. Someone here at the DIS told me about her years ago and even though I live several states away from her office, she handles everything quickly and she really knows her stuff.

My MIL's former friend is a TA and we used her once, for our destination wedding. She messed that up and then didn't even have the decency to call me. She called MIL instead and my MIL had to call me. I swore I'd never use her again and after some other issues with her, I have never spoken to her again. MIL is also no longer friends with her either, but for another reason.

I really thought after that experience that I wouldn't want to use another TA, but in order to get AAA with a package, I have to and I am so glad that my current TA was referred to me.


EDIT: Just read your update! Glad to hear. That is good service.

 

[savannie]

I'm glad you got the help you needed and deserved. My suggestion is to edit your first post and note that an update is contained in Post #25. I always appreciate when posters do that. I see that you're relatively new with few posts, so I thought I'd make the friendly suggestion.

Done! Thanks for the suggestion!