Drawbacks to using a Travel Agent?

[scarboroughmom]

Are there any drawbacks to using a travel agent? Are there any perks, or extras you won't get? Are special requests for the room handled the same? I am comfortable making my own ressies online, but would love to have Dreams unlimited handle the PS's, etc.

 

[tone.def]

I find more positive things using a TA as opposed to doing it myself. I don't want to search and compare pricing when someone else can do it for me and tell me what would benefit me better and recommend restaurants, nor do I want to always be searching for codes!!!

Book with a TA and you'll find more positives than negatives such as someone who actually has the correct answers to your questions.

 

[pjtjm]

Pros:

Ease of changes if you have any. I made the room reservation, and then transferred the reservation to a ta. When I changed my mind about the hotel, she was able to make that change. When the free dining package came out, I sent her the request to please get it for me, and she dealt with CRO (and I read here about how bad the phone waits, and busy signals were during that time!!)

Free service: You don't have to pay!! (Helped my decision!! )

PSs: My TA offered to do all but CRT. Since I really wanted that one, I did it myself, and it just seemed easy enough to do the others myself.


Cons:

Biggest con for me is that I am a control freak, and underestimated how much it would bother me to hand over control. When the dining offer came out, it took several days for her to confirm that it was taken care of. I really hated that feeling, and it was too late, only she could deal with Disney now.


HTH---- Enjoy your trip!

 

[TSWJan78]

I think the only con is having to go throught he TA for changes... I saved pleanty of money so I would book again in a heart beat I just feel guilty for making her change my reservation when I cannot make up my mind!!!

 

[tlynk]

I think the only con is having to go throught he TA for changes... I saved pleanty of money so I would book again in a heart beat I just feel guilty for making her change my reservation when I cannot make up my mind!!!

I have to agree with you about the feeling guilty part when making many changes !! Not only do I agree with you about the guilt, but also about a TA saving us money. My TA has saved me a great deal of money, and has given me some pretty good advice as well. .

 

[cpayne1997]

I have to agree with you about the feeling guilty part when making many changes !! Not only do I agree with you about the guilt, but also about a TA saving us money. My TA has saved me a great deal of money, and has given me some pretty good advice as well. .

Please don't feel like this as a TA I can tell you that this is our job and most of us LOVE what we do. To us we would rather have you call us a hundred times to change your plans then to not have a good vacation at all. Most of us really do LOVE planning vacations.

 

[PoohGal05]

We have used a TA when we book our trip. We tell her what we want and she does it for us. The only thing I did myself was call and make the PSs. I got the recommendations from this website (ya'll are simply the best) and the Birnbaum's books. The only thing our TA couldn't answer was the time that it would take to get from the resort where we were staying to each of the parks. My guess is because she had never been to Disney World. Birnbaums said one thing, as far as the times being longer, but in actuality, they were never as long as the book said. By the second day into our trip we had everything figured out as far as how to get around.

Angi and her Mom! Of the the World in 7 days!!

 

[poohbear2]

I'm sorry to say after having an e-mail tug of war with my TA over the Free Dining package, I would probably do it myself in the future.

 

[Anewman]

If you are going to use a TA, use one that is very DISNEY knowledgable.

My AAA Agent did not even know what Magical Express was and wanted me to pay $160 for Mears shuttle transfers. this was about 6 weeks after it had been RUNNING.

The only reason I did book through him is that I wanted the Discount and paid for Dining plan.

 

[U2FanHfx]

In my city, you are charged anywhere from $50-$75 as a 'professional' fee when booking with a TA. That's per person. That why I don't use a TA. I used to use them exclusively, but now the internet allows me to do most of it easily. I find myself telling them the price and what flights I want. For my upcoming trip, Delta was saying 320.00 return and my TA told me 370.00 with the fee

Regs,

CJM

 

[golfgal]

We used Small World Vacations and boy was that nice. When the room discount rates came out, I didn't spend hours on the phone getting the rate, my agent just sent me an email saying I got the rate. WHen my 90 PS time was there, I just sent her an email with what I wanted and she did the work. When we decided to eat at CRT for dinner about 2 weeks before we left, she called for the PS and got it for us. When we decided to add WHispering Canyon about 2 days before we left, she got that for us to. We got every PS we wanted, when we wanted them. It saved me HOURS.

I wouldn't use the travel agent down the street for a DIsney trip. I would use one, like the ones that sponsor this site, for their intimate knowledge of Disney. There are no fees for their services, no matter where you live.

 

[ksjayhawkfan]

We loved our TA. I was actually sad when we got home from our trip because I didnt get to email her anymore. I wouldnt hesitate to use her again. We had alot of changes and she stuck with us through them all, I did feel bad but she assured us that it was OK lol

 

[SkipperBubba]

DW and I have been dealing with the same AAA agent for all of our trips since we've been together. She's very well WDW versed (heck, her desk has a psuedo-Cinderella castle feel to it). She's always been willing to go the extra mile for us and she's very honest with us as well.

The first trip, she booked all the arrangements, including air and car. Second time around, she told us that Disney Travel had changed the airfare policies and we could probably do better on our own, which we did through Travelocity. This year, we originally booked concierge at WL, but after reading some of the problems, we decided to go with Premium Dining. As a result, pretty much everything changed on our reservation, with the exception of travel dates and air. Amy handled it very professionally, found us a room at AKL for a very comparable price (difference of about $40) and while she was at it, notated a few things on our rental car reservation as well.

In short, while DW and I are compulsive planners, we do the research and let the TA make the ADR's and the main reservations. Makes for a seamless trip.

Just MHO

 

[bigmac5]

I booked with CAA(AAA afiliate in Canada) My agent there booked everything for us. Yesterday she got PS for 5 restaurants in about 10 minutes. I have heard of some horror stories of people being on hold for up to an hour. It sure made it easy for me.

 

[PatsGirl]

I think I might be the world's worst?? control freak when it comes to vacations -- how will I ever know that the TA has done the best possible job, got the best possible flight, cheapest hotel room, etc., unless I do it myself

 

[PolyHereWeCome]

I think I might be the world's worst?? control freak when it comes to vacations -- how will I ever know that the TA has done the best possible job, got the best possible flight, cheapest hotel room, etc., unless I do it myself

Welcome to my world.
Love doing all the trip research and other stuff myself, and it would drive me nuts worrying if the TA got the best flights, codes, all my preferences, etc. But I also love doing our own taxes, so you know where my head's at.

 

[disneyfreak74]

This is my first trip using a TA. So far my experience has been GREAT!!!! She let me know about the FREE DINING!!! Asked where we would like to eat and then made the ADR!!! She is great!!!!