Is there any cons to not booking through the WDW site?

[LovePug]

I was thinking of booking through another site and saving some money with a discount code ON TOP OF the one I currently have. Makes me nervous like the "too good to be true" saying.

 

[Lothlórien]

For me, the biggest thing is not having control of my reservation. If you book through a Travel Agent of any kind, you lose every ability to call Disney directly and ask about your reservation. You can ask as many general questions as you would like, but you do not own your reservation.

 

[LovePug]

For me, the biggest thing is not having control of my reservation. If you book through a Travel Agent of any kind, you lose every ability to call Disney directly and ask about your reservation. You can ask as many general questions as you would like, but you do not own your reservation.

Yes. This is something that I was thinking about, also. Makes me nervous for some reason.

 

[agavegirl1]

I have not used other sites because I prefer to book packages. I don't use a travel agent because I feel I know enough to plan my trip and make modifications better than they can for my trip. When a special offer comes up after my booking, I have been able to apply discounts by calling to modify and have had no problems thus far doing so (free dining, room discount). I have found some savings by packaging my trip and don't know if the cost savings would be justified by lack of flexibility. Everyone vacations differently. You alone can decide between convenience, flexibility, cost, etc.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

I can afford to spend the extra I would save on "discount" sites by using Disney's system. I am lazy and like it all linked myself at the same time without someone else doing the work.

Having someone else plan my vacation takes all the fun out of planning in my opinion. Others prefer having someone do that work. I respect that.

 

[siskaren]

You can't typically stack discounts.

 

[disneykelly]

There is nothing wrong with booking through a travel agent. (ok I am biased, I am one!)
If your agent has their stuff together and is ready and able to act on your behalf, they can take care of anything you need for you.
As for savings on where you book and in what combinations, I have done several tests and have found that booking all in one packages lead to unneeded extra costs every single time.
I would price air, hotel and tickets together and then separately, through airline websites, big travel sites and Disney web and it always shows an average of 80-100 dollars extra to lump everything in together.
The only con I can come up with for not booking the hotel itself through Disney is that I do have to contact the provider to make changes, which I have done, but it has never led to anything difficult.
Btw yes you technically can double up on discounts. Example, Orbitz booking the hotel with the special that Disney is offering, combined with orbucks, tends to save me a ton.

 

[Paigesmom2013]

I have twice now booked onsite rooms and it's worked out great. The first time was travelocity with a 15% off promo code and the second was with orbitz and another 15% off promo code.

I think with orbitz I had to make a call to explain that kids were free in the room. Then I think I had to make a call to set up Magical Express. But hey, I can spend 10 minutes on the phone to save a couple hundred dollars!

 

[LovePug]

You can't typically stack discounts.

Maybe so, but it is another 20% off of the Awaken Summer discount, so....

I am lazy and like it all linked myself at the same time

LOL. This is my issue. I currently have a package all wrapped up with the summer discount, my Magic Bands picked out, just waiting for the FP window to open. I'm in the dead zone of WAITING before I can do anything else with my planning and it has me looking around. I should just leave well enough alone, but I also love a deal.

 

[Epcot242]

We booked through Undercover Tourist this year, got our tickets at Park Savers, and did our flights through Expedia and Delta. Once we had all of our confirmation numbers, I synced it all to MDE and...knock on wood...no problems. I called Disney with requests about the room and to adjust our Magical Express reservations with no issues. So far, our experience has been a good one. In the past, we've done the official WDW site or called Disney directly, we've also done AAA. I can't really remember having an issue with any of these methods in terms of flexibility on our part.

 

[MsThumper]

We book room only and drive since we are only 1 1/2 hrs away. We have already taken 1 trip to WDW this year and have 3 more booked. Two trips were booked through Orbitz, one through Disney website and one through a TA. Our first trip of the year was booked through Orbitz which gave me 15% off more than Disney was offering, and we even got a free room upgrade when we checked-in.

I understand what the OP means about something sounding too good to be true, but once I receive my confirmation number and link the reservation in MDE, I am confident that everything is okay. I have full control of booking my dining reservations, my FP's and customizing my magic bands.

Disney is cutting back on the discounts that they offer, and even though we qualify for AP and Florida Resident discounts, I still have to go with where ever I can get the best deals. This year they have the entire month of November blocked out of their bounce back offer, and that is our favorite time to go. We found a TA that had a deal that sounded too good to be true, so after careful research, I went ahead and booked with them. I have my Disney confirmation number linked in MDE so we are good to go.

 

[DisneyKeepsUsYoung]

We have stacked the orbitz 15% off coupon on top of Disneys discounted rates before and had no issues linking it to MDE after booking. Once linked in MDE we could book Magical Express, FP+, ADR, and online check in request just as if booking through Disney. Only odd part the I found was it changed my address in MDE to Orbitz corporate address initially (I guess since THEY technically booked it) when I linked it. So I had to change that back so my Magic bands came to me. Mouse Savers says do NOT put your kids on when you book through Orbitz as they will charge you extra adult fees for them. It says to add them after booking due to the web site booking glitch.

 

[CJMickeyMouse]

I book myself. I have an AP so discounts are there, right where I can see them. I have a split stay scheduled and, since I booked, I have changed resorts for each end of the split. If I would have had to do all of that through a TA I would have been pulling my hair out. If you are one that will book and leave things alone (and have a TA you can trust to apply any discounts that become available) then it will be fine. My last trip with a friend was a disaster because my friend booked through a TA that was NOT good about communication and I was finding discounts, calling my friend, and she was calling the TA telling her what to do. It was a mess.

 

[Day-Day]

I am currently booked through a travel agency (TA). This is the first and second (I have two trips booked) time that I've used a TA. I've always booked directly with WDW with the majority being room-only. I've used general public discounts, passholder discounts and bounceback for room-only and have used some packaged specials as well like buy-4-nights-get-3-free (I think that's what it was).

My current bookings are room-only. My rates are better than anything I've been able to find elsewhere. The process has been very easy and smooth. I have control of all my planning using MDE. I can get a full refund if I cancel more than 5 days prior to my scheduled arrival. I have not found a con yet.

 

[Parker Clan]

The last five years we've booked thru Disney but this year found an incredible deal for our Honeymoon. We drive down so don't have to worry about airlines, transportation etc. The only thing the travel agent handled for us was the payment. We booked our ADR'S on our own and I called Disney directly when the crappy website didn't work for me. We still have complete control over our reservation!

 

[richkaryn]

You can't typically stack discounts.

You can on Orbitz for room only.

 

[snowwhite84]

I typically just go with wherever I get the best rate. Sometimes that is through Disney, sometimes that is through a site like Orbitz. From what I can tell, there is no drawback to booking with an outside site. For example, a week ago we decided last minute to travel down in three weeks. There weren't any great rates left through the Disney site, but Orbitz had some good rates. On top of that, they have a 15% off code right now. I got a substantially better deal on the same room I was considering booking through Disney.

Once I made the reservation I called Disney, asked them to look up my reservation, and asked them for my 12 digit, Disney-specific code. I then linked the Orbitz room to My Disney Experience, and it shows up just like if I had booked through Disney. I was able to do online check in, link it to my tickets and FP+. I encourage anyone interested to give it a try, it really could not be easier!

 

[tinkerbella16]

We have had 23 trips to WDW and I never once booked any of them through Disney's site. I always used a TA and never had any problems and always felt I had control over everything. I book my own dining and rarely ever make any big changes. When a discount comes out, the TA's I've had experience with go above and beyond and are up at the moment these discounts go live, to get them for their clients. So I would have to say no, there are no cons in my opinion. This year we got a "it seems top good to be true" feeling with a great discount we got for our trip. All has been great since booking and what we are paying versus if we booked through disney and waited for one of their discounts, is a huge difference in savings. I always have to go with the best rate for us and this year, this was it for us.

 

[Yarbogash]

I typically just go with wherever I get the best rate. Sometimes that is through Disney, sometimes that is through a site like Orbitz. From what I can tell, there is no drawback to booking with an outside site. For example, a week ago we decided last minute to travel down in three weeks. There weren't any great rates left through the Disney site, but Orbitz had some good rates. On top of that, they have a 15% off code right now. I got a substantially better deal on the same room I was considering booking through Disney.

Once I made the reservation I called Disney, asked them to look up my reservation, and asked them for my 12 digit, Disney-specific code. I then linked the Orbitz room to My Disney Experience, and it shows up just like if I had booked through Disney. I was able to do online check in, link it to my tickets and FP+. I encourage anyone interested to give it a try, it really could not be easier!

Well said. IMHO a room only res should never be booked direct. You will always find it cheaper through a third party travel site.