Do you use a travel agent for you Disney trips?

[DogwoodDisney]

We used a travel agent for our last trip and I wasn't impressed. I'm thinking that for our next trip I do it myself. I guess my main concern is being able to get any new discounts that may pop up after I book.

 

[Accident]

A general travel agent isn't usually great but a disney specific agency is usually wonderful. This forum is run by one (Dreams unlimited travel) if you want to give it another shot or at least talk to them.

I personally do it myself but i've done more than a couple trips and used to watching the website, blogs and other things. A dedicated disney travel agent, it's their job to be informed.

 

[jeepnjudy]

No...I plan the trip myself so I maintain control of my ADRs and FP+.

 

[Miffy]

Never. I do it all myself. The planning is part of the fun!

I do keep a close watch on discounts, etc. It's not that hard to do. If you go to mousesavers.com, you can see a chart listing historical release dates for discounts. Not that these dates mean that's what'll happen in the future, but it does give one a good idea of when to start looking for particular timeframes. For example, for the past several years, discounts for stays in the beginning of the year (Jan-Mar or so) have usually come out sometime between the last week of September and the first week of October.

I've found that subscribing to things like "January discount" threads doesn't always work out, because usually by the time the discount comes out, everyone's on another thread!

Last year I discovered, while reading this very board, that booking through Orbitz can be an even better deal than booking directly through WDW. So my last two trips have been booked through Orbitz. You can stack the Orbitz discount code on top of the WDW discount (assuming there's availability at the resort you want). It does require watching for not just the WDW discount but also the Orbitz discount, but it was well worth doing.

If you enjoy the planning part of the trip at all, it's really not all that hard to plan a WDW vacation by yourself. Especially with the help of these forums, mousesavers.com, and allears.net.

Have fun on your next trip!

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Heck, no.

 

[SweetMissy]

No, we have found they give the same quote as what's online so IMO, it's not worth it to have a TA.

 

[Baklava]

I started with one for this trip (my first) and changed course when I discovered that my research on the Dis caused me to know more than the so-called "expert." She almost steered me badly wrong and I would rather not take my chances.

 

[smiths02]

No...I plan the trip myself so I maintain control of my ADRs and FP+.

I use a TA and still maintain control of ADRs and FP+

I personally know my TA and know that she is a Disney expert. The reasons I use her:
1) She had more updated knowledge for our last trip (I hadn't been in a few years)
2) It's nice to have someone else call Disney. I don't mind making ADRs and FP+, but some things you have to call for (like when discounts get released, etc.).
3) It's nice to have someone else check for a hard-to-get ADR. She got BOG lunch when those ADRs had just come out. Maybe she can help me with Skipper's Canteen
4) It's fun to have someone else to bounce ideas off
5) It's nice to have someone who is obligated to help you. I asked a question yesterday on the boards, and I got no replies. She researched the info for me (Family Culinary Adventure is discontinued)
6) Supporting small business is important AND it cost me nothing.

 

[smiths02]

I was going to add, all that being said, if I did not specifically know my Disney TA, I would be doing it myself...or possibly using Dreams Unlimited to support them

 

[msmama]

I don't bother with a TA. Especially if you're going to be around here a lot, I think a TA can actually be worse because you start questioning them (like a previous poster said).

I watch for discounts and know roughly when they will be coming out but I also generally book with a price I'm comfortable with (in case discounts don't come out). I don't feel the need to book far in advance either and can wait for discounts.

If I do book and end up changing to a discount though I don't mind calling Disney. I HATE talking on the phone, Suoer hate it, but Disney is the one place I don't mind calling if I have to.

 

[ReluctantDisaholic]

We used to since a friend was a TA (we would book through her but still do the planning ourselves), then we stopped since there were a few errors made and we really didn't need one, it was just to try and give her commission. Now we found one that can get us a better deal than anywhere I've seen, so we book through her (I still plan all our days, book ADRs and FPs, but there's no way I'd get the Magical Deal pricing by myself).

 

[momof2halls]

We used to since a friend was a TA (we would book through her but still do the planning ourselves), then we stopped since there were a few errors made and we really didn't need one, it was just to try and give her commission. Now we found one that can get us a better deal than anywhere I've seen, so we book through her (I still plan all our days, book ADRs and FPs, but there's no way I'd get the Magical Deal pricing by myself).

Our last trip i booked and planned everything straight through Disney without a TA. For Our upcoming trip, i had originally booked online via Disney. However, I registered to receive "magical" emails and we received an email a few months ago that covered our dates that i couldnt pass up. We are now booked at the Contemporary with a "magical" deal through TA. I was able to keep management of our adrs and fp+.

 

[jevs]

No. I plan and book all our trips and book direct as much as I can.

If I was taking a complicated trip somewhere I would consider a TA. However the internet (disboards etc) have been a MASSIVE help to international peeps.

 

[22Tink]

Nope never used a TA to plan a Disney trip. We've done 2 WDW trips (one with free dining added after the initial booking was made) and 7 DLR trips and I've done them all myself. I love the planning!!

 

[jeepnjudy]

I use a TA and still maintain control of ADRs and FP+

I personally know my TA and know that she is a Disney expert. The reasons I use her:
1) She had more updated knowledge for our last trip (I hadn't been in a few years)
2) It's nice to have someone else call Disney. I don't mind making ADRs and FP+, but some things you have to call for (like when discounts get released, etc.).
3) It's nice to have someone else check for a hard-to-get ADR. She got BOG lunch when those ADRs had just come out. Maybe she can help me with Skipper's Canteen
4) It's fun to have someone else to bounce ideas off
5) It's nice to have someone who is obligated to help you. I asked a question yesterday on the boards, and I got no replies. She researched the info for me (Family Culinary Adventure is discontinued)
6) Supporting small business is important AND it cost me nothing.

Well you are one of the lucky ones as many in the past that have posted on this forum had numerous ADR and FP+ issues when using a TA.

 

[smiths02]

Well you are one of the lucky ones as many in the past that have posted on this forum had numerous ADR and FP+ issues when using a TA.

A TA only has control of your ADRs and FP+ if you give him/her access to your MDE. You do not have to do this.

I don't know that I'm one of the lucky few.
1) Negative experiences are more likely to be posted
2) People with problems are more likely to post to get help from DISboards
3) Given that the website is sponsored by Dreams Unlimited, I'm sure most of us with other TAs don't make big threads about how our TA was good

 

[Jadeey]

I used Dreams Unlimited for my last trip and it was great. She emailed me the day discounts came out with a bunch of options for how I could change my reservation to save money. She'd already done all the calculations on the options (room only discount or stay/play/dine) including how much to upgrade the dining to the regular plan since we were staying at Pop. All I had to do was say which option I wanted and she sorted it out for me with Disney. I imagine it was a long time on the phone for her since my holiday started before the discount so she had to change my current reservation into a split stay to take advantage of it. That alone saved me a lot of time.

She booked all of my ADR's for me, but at the times I asked for so that was great because I didn't have to worry about getting on the phone early to get the harder to get ones. She got every single one I asked for at the times I asked for. I still had control too though, I ended up deciding to drop one a few days before my trip and easily did that myself without having to go through her so I didn't feel like I lost any control there.

I booked all of my own FP+

Basically I had no complaints. It didn't cost me anything to use her and it was great to have someone else to do the legwork of actually dealing with Disney and calculating which discount was best etc. Plus it was awesome to have her to bounce ideas off.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

If they can get me a better rate then yes.

Last trip I used a TA that buts blocks of rooms at a convention rate and then you can book through them at this rate. I got the poly for 230 a night and BC for 202 a night.

I will most likely use them next time. They already have discounts going through the end of 2016. It's easier for me to book now and already have an awesome discount locked into the resort I want. It saves me time Not having to search for discounts.

It's nice to just send her a message to make a payment, add a request, etc. Im a full time working mom with kids in activities. I don't have time to wait on hold for hours when discounts are released, to make a payment or to add a balcony onto my reservation.

I kept control of all fp+ and ADRs. She never offered because I told her from the beginning I would do them all myself. She did give me the dates of when I could make them.

 

[DisneyOma]

We used one for our first two trips - an online one and it was fine. That was quite a few years ago. Now it's just as easy to do it myself, and we get fantastic rates as we go in value season. We've booked our own free dining package, AP rate, and a few other special rates on our own at different times over the years. We're not ones to fuss with our reservations though. If I was the fussy, wishy washy type, I'd use a TA to handle the complications.

 

[ban26ana]

I'm biased because I am a TA. I like to think that I provide my clients with a great personalized service, so the vacation starts before they even get there. If my client wants control of everything in their reservation, fine by me. But I get a lot of clients that don't want to have to think. I'll book all their FP+ and dining.

For all my clients, I provide a personalized touring plan. For those with small kids, I make invitations for all their reservations so the clients can surprise them each day. I give goody bags and sometimes offer my own promos on top of whatever Disney offers. (Usually gift cards.) And I automatically call to change their reservations if a new promo is released for their trip dates.

I let them know of refurbs and make suggestions for rides if they want. We here on the DIS are experts. I have clients who have no idea what a fastpass is. I need to explain that to them. I explain the dining plan. They don't know what park hoppers are. I do have a few clients who are Disney experts and just use me to get me commission and get themselves my goodies and/or promos.