DIY planners vs TA's..where's it headed?

[scotty s]

As I wrote in a previous thread, I am nearing the ability to retire (could be as early as April 2012). I could stay longer and probably will...UNLESS. Unless the right gig comes along that is. I've always wondered what it would be like to work At DW and actually be a part of the magic? But I have a feeling that the IDEA of it is quit different than the REALITY of it. We love our DW vacations and I fear that by working there it would lose its Magic for me.
SO, that has me thinking about becoming a Disney Vacation Planner. I seriously think I would enjoy helping people plan their Disney vacations. I know that planning our vacations is a big part of the fun for me.
With this in mind I wonder what the future of TA's are with the internet becoming so popular. Until last week (used a TA to book Oct FD trip) I hadn't used a TA since about 2003. I found that it was very convenient for me to let the TA spend the hours on the phone changing our reservations so we could get the free DP.
How many still use a TA and what is your opinion of the future of TA's???

 

[amandals2007]

we use a TA, my dad haha we used to use one until we figured we could do it ourselves, then we liked planning so much we joined on the largest disney travel companies and he started being a TA himself. We find that we mainly get people who dont know about Disney. Or we get our friends who plan it all themselves and just let us book it all with Disney so we can get the commission on it. Either way when you book a vacation someone gets that commission so they would rather it go to a friend than someone else. we normally make enough money to cover our family vacation and he just started his company not long ago.

 

[julie4423]

I don't know anything about TA's, and I've never used one. I just wanted to comment that my husband's dream is to retire and go to Disney. No Wal-Mart greeter position for him! lol So, you aren't the only one who serisouly considered the idea. All our non-disney fan friends think he's crazy.

 

[drstrange79]

I thought I was the only one with that dream........

 

[VeroBeach]

There have been recent articles over the last year that the use of Travel Agents is on the rise because many are finding too much info on the internet and don't have the time to make sense of it all or to do it themselves.

 

[Shmily1]

Personally, I'm hoping the TA business is picking up! That would be because I just became one It is pretty fun though!

 

[kerplop]

I'll go the other route and say that with the internet making planning yourself easier, it might make that a more common occurrence. In the past you went to a TA to make sure you had the right discounts and to take care of everything for you. But with minimal work I managed to plan our trip entirely and the only time I called a professional was to book our tickets/room. I'm a hands on person though with some control issues and for me letting someone else do all the work is impossible.

 

[ars0525]

How does one become a TA, specifically a Disney one?

Is it like becoming a realtor? Takes classes & get your license? Or do you get a job with an exisiting agency & work your way up the ladder? Does it matter where you live?

 

[snowymouse]

My DH and I both would love to retire and work at Disney as well!

Speaking for the plan it yourself vs TA:
- we planned everything ourselves for our first and second visits and the first one was kind of a mess.
- for our third visit, we had a TA (my girlfriend) book everything except our dinning ressies and it was a nice change. I think I will get her to book everything next time and save myself the trouble.

I say go for the job - I bet you would love it!

 

[blakrose9999]

i'd say go for it... i never really used a ta until my honeymoon and it was so nice because she was able to cancel and rebook for us when better deals came out including airfare, which was super helpful because that is stuff i'm just not to sure how to do nor wish to spend the time doing

 

[cesariofamily]

Have you considered working for Disney? I know a couple that works spring training at the world sports complex and they only work two months and get all the perks of being a cm. Where I teach they offer an associates degree in Travel and Tourism but very few students can find jobs as TA and most of the ones that do work with corporate travel.

 

[OnlyDisney]

How does one become a TA, specifically a Disney one?

Is it like becoming a realtor? Takes classes & get your license? Or do you get a job with an exisiting agency & work your way up the ladder? Does it matter where you live?

I'd be interested in this answer also...

 

[humboldthny]

We've used a TA for all but one of our trips (I did our reservations when we stayed off-site and didn't have the dining plan)...The first trip we used a TA who over-represented herself, but found a GREAT agent that we've used for the rest of our trips. Love her! She does all our dining ADRs and 'babysits' our room reservations in case a discount comes up (so far on this trip she's saved us $90 on our room, and gotten my parents free dining and $45 off their room). She even has a gift waiting for us in our room each trip - a beach towel, a 'Happy Birthday' Minnie for dd, the passports for Epcot and AK....
We've recommended her to numerous friends and have no plans to plan our own trips unless we're staying off site.

She works for a larger organization that does only Disney bookings - not sure how she gets paid, but we don't pay her a fee at all. She does get to go on quite a few 'research' trips.

 

[mountdew1]

I think there is still a market for TAs. People that know they can do better than rack, but don't want to have to chase down all the codes and spend hours on the phone.

However, I think that breaking into the Disney only TA market is tough to do if you are trying to make it a full time job. I do believe that Disney has some minimums as far as business sales goes to be considered an exclusive Disney TA. You will need to find a way to get your name/company out there. Most home markets (your local area) won't necessarily do enough Disney only travel to pay the bills. And most of the major forums already have deals in place with an existing TA company. But as a part time/retirement gig, you could probably do ok. You still need to get your name out in some function.

And my understanding based on a quick Google search is that you can only become a certified Disney expert if you take their online test, which they only offer to registered travel agencies. So you either need to hook up with an existing Disney agency, or start off as a regular TA, and specialize in Disney and then start your own.

 

[scotty s]

Thanks for the replies and the PM's. Fortunately I have a a nice pension that will allow us to live comfortably after I retire so making "a living" with the TA idea isn't my goal. If I enjoy it and it keeps me from getting bored and I can work as much or as little as I want then I will be happy. My goal money wise would be to earn enough to maybe pay for our yearly Disney trips or tuck it away in our vacation fund. I'll have to look into this a little bit more!!