How do you book your trip?

[nettii]

We have always booked our trip thru a TA and within 6mo of going.
Well we will not be returning until Dec of 08, So here is my question
should I book our rooms seperate from our ticket package? Or do it all togther as soon as it becomes available? When can I get the best rates on tickets?

 

[jtoast]

I Usually start by seeing what i can do by myself and then calling a travel agent to see if they can do better. If they can, I let them book it. If they can't I book it myself.

Remember though that if you book everything separately yourself (as I usually do) you will miss out on a few of the "Perks."

For example, we are leaving for DL on tuesday of next week. I booked everything separatly myself and saved over $900 vs going through a package/travel agent...but I just have plain old paper tickets instead of the souviner ones, none of the pins/lanyards, and only one early entry day. To me, these things were not worth $900. If they are important to you, it may be better to book a package.

 

[nettii]

As I said before we have always used the TA and saved a good amount. I usualy book our air fare seperate, I can get that cheaper it seems, BUT Ive NEVER got great perks from our TA We get crapy tickets no pins no lanyards It might be time to shop for a new TA!

 

[jtoast]

here's an example http://www.getawaytoday.com/Destinations.aspx?dest_id=2 offers the Lanyards and pins. The travel agent recommended by Mouse Savers (cant remember which one it was) offered that, toontown early entry (I think it was toontown), the souviner tickets and another few little perks but I can't remember what they were.

EDIT:
Oh, and as for tickets, the cheapest place I found was www.workingadvantage.com(if your employer is a member.) My 3 day parkhoppers were $8/adult ticket cheaper than they were with my AAA discount.

 

[WINTER]

I always book myself. Last year I booked our airfare and went through *********************.com for my Pop Century/Tickets package. You get extra goodies along with it!

 

[Jenn Lynn]

I book myself except for this trip. My sister used AAA to get the small discount.

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

I guess we are very lucky. DH has his TA license, although he no longer sells vacations to others, we only use his license for our own personal travel discounts. Before that though, I never used a TA-with rare exception, I found that I could almost always beat their package prices if I tried. I went to a travel agent a few times and their prices were always much higher...I figured if they really wanted my business, either they thought I was a fool and that I would pay a really inflated price or they were not bright enough to research things out and get me the best price. Either way, that kind of cured me from using them.

I think with Disney specifically, it is very easy to come up with a package on your own, although there are agents that will do right by you and get you the lowest price possible (from what I hear). It may be worth it to get a quote from an agent that specializes in Disney vacations only. You can always do your own research and see what you can come up with in comparison.

 

[goinback]

I booked our 2005 vacation with WDW and was able to get a really great deal on a room only. I had purchased our tickets little by little online. But this was before they introduced the DDP, or Magical express. Our 2007 was also thru WDW.This time I had a package with DDP & free park hopper. I have never actually seen a better deal thru a TA. I also like the flexibility you have to change things when you book thru WDW.