disney travel agents

[girlsmom]

how do disney travel agents get paid --do they get a kickback from WDW? or do people who use them pay a fee...how does that work? has anyone used a disney travel agent? was it worth it? what do they do exactly?

 

[MCoryB]

how do disney travel agents get paid --do they get a kickback from WDW? or do people who use them pay a fee...how does that work? has anyone used a disney travel agent? was it worth it? what do they do exactly?

Just like most other travel agents, they earn a commission (in this case, from Disney) on what they sell, so most agents don't charge a penny extra to their customers for using them. Unfortunately, travel agents don't get paid a dime for all their hard work until after you travel, which may be months down the road.

 

[minnie mum]

As the pp stated, TAs are paid a commission and very few would charge an extra fee. They will make your resort reservations for you. A good one will have in depth knowledge of WDW and can advise newcomers of the pros and cons of each of the resorts and make recommendations. They can advise you of available discounts. They can (if you wish) arrange a package that includes park tickets and DDP, make your ADRs, make flight arrangements, set you up for DME or a rental car and arrange travel insurance. In short, they do all the work so you don't have to.

It all sounds great, and it is IF you have a Disney specialist who knows what they are doing. Unfortunately, sometimes you get a TA who really doesn't know Disney well (we had this happen once) and you end up having to correct a lot of errors.

 

[chartle]

A few other issues:

They, as far as I can tell, don't have access to any better discounts that you could find on your own.

You lose all control of your reservation, so any changes up to maybe 3 or 4 days before your trip can only be handled by them. If you have a flaky TA it could be very stressful making sure everything is setup right.

Since they no longer get much if any commission on air fare, you have to handle that part of your trip.

 

[chartle]

It all sounds great, and it is IF you have a Disney specialist who knows what they are doing. Unfortunately, sometimes you get a TA who really doesn't know Disney well (we had this happen once) and you end up having to correct a lot of errors.

Some TA's have also told their clients completely false info that can cost them money, such as the oldy but a goody "You can use two days off a multi day ticket to park hop"

 

[minnie mum]

Some TA's have also told their clients completely false info that can cost them money, such as the oldy but a goody "You can use two days off a multi day ticket to park hop"

This is only too true, unfortunately. I've had to undo misinformation given to friends and family more than a few times. I'm not sure which is worse: wrong information given by a CM or a TA. Either way, I'm really glad that I do my own Disney planning. If a mistake is made I've only myself to blame.

 

[chartle]

Favorite TA story that I read in one of the Weirdest/Funniest things seen at WDW threads.

Couple walks into the Fort Wilderness Outpost with luggage and asks the check in CM "Where's the hotel?".

Bewildered CM asks them if they have any camping equipment. They say no and tell the CM that their TA got them a great on-site room rate of $45 per night.

CM has to tell the couple that their TA booked them a campsite. In the end the CM got them in somewhere of course not at $45 a night.

 

[sarahlovesmickey]

Either way, I'm really glad that I do my own Disney planning. If a mistake is made I've only myself to blame.

me too! For me, part of the whole experience is planning it--it's so much fun for me and the family!!

 

[kaligal]

A regular TA who tells you they can handle Disney stuff isn't the same as a TA who specializes in Disney. If you're going to Disney, get one of the online TAs who just do Disney. Every question you have, they've heard it before and have already anticipated that. They won't be the ones giving misinformation.

They also watch for discounts and will apply them to your reservation as necessary. People often say they got a call telling them they got a discount they didn't even know about.

The DIS has Dreams Unlimited. I've used them. Worked out fine. There are others, too.

If you are new to Disney or just don't want to do the work involved with sorting through everything to find the best deal, use a TA.

 

[disneychic2]

I booked through AAA a couple of times, but both times something major was messed up. I also had to inform them that free dining had become available. However, there are some wonderful TAs who are Disney specialists who make life a lot easier for those who are overwhelmed by the prospect of booking their own trip.

I so enjoy the planning and booking (and changing)! That's part of the fun for me. Helps keep the excitement going. But if you are tight on time and need help, it's out there. Just ask a ton of questions to make sure they know their stuff. Or go with Dreams Unlimited or Small World Vacations.

 

[WsPrincess]

We used a travel agent for our first ever family trip. Jeff has earned it from work so we had to go through the company TA who was NOT a Disney TA. WOW, I think I did more work on that planning then I am doing for our upcoming trip I booked myself. We did have to go through them for airfare and since they no longer get airline commissions we had to pay a fee for them to book our tickets. Even though it was not our money I was annoyed that I could have booked it online cheaper! I will never do a TA for Disney again. Now Hawaii for 2014, I think I have to go with one for that since I am clueless and they doesn't see to have a Hawaii Disboard