Let travel agent make ADRs or do it yourself?

[summermac]

Do they have a special phone # that they can access to get through easier?

Also I want certain restaurants and would be willing to eat at odd times for the most part (except a couple of places). Maybe I'd be better off doing it myself?

Hmm...what do you think?

 

[cruisegirl29]

Hi,

I'm a TA. There is not a special # for us to use. We use the same everyone else does!

It's totally up to your preference if you want to call or not. The TA doesn't make any additional money on the dining reservations. This would be something to help make your stay more enjoyable by booking your dining for you.

I know for my clients I give them the option. Some love it when I make their reservations because then they don't have to hassle with it!

Happy Planning!
Sue

 

[morgy827]

I would definitely make my own ADR's that way if they offer you two different times you can pick which option you want, etc. It may be a bit of hassle but for all the planning we put into our dining I think it is well worth it.

 

[PatsMom]

The only regret I have about joining DVC is that I can no longer use a travel agent to make my ADRs. I absolutely loved not having to hang on the phone. And I had great luck with the travel agent getting the approximate times I wanted. And always got the restaurants I wanted. Including Cinderella's Castle breakfast which I never had the patience to be on the phone at 7 for.

 

[simonkodousek]

If I was booking with a travel agent/agency specializing in Disney I would let them do it, however, if they do not specialize in Disney, make them yourself.

 

[ROEDISNEY]

I would definately make them myself. No offense to TA's that's just the way I'am.

 

[summermac]

The agent only does Disney. It's the place recommended by Mousesavers - Small World Vacations. She's been AWESOME so far!

My family MUST have Le Cellier and we will take any res we can get. I guess I could just tell her that. LOL

 

[KatMark]

My TA does everything for me--including my ADR's. And I have been known to change them numerous times per trip and she never gets upset and does the changing for me. She will let me know if she could not get something for a specific time and will get as close as possible. She then leaves it to me if I want to keep it or change it and she'll keep checking for my original time.

 

[RMulieri]

I do them myself.Most days my TA doesn't even get into the office till 900am.Not good for getting disney dining at 0700 for Le Cellier or CRT.So I do them myself, I like being able to make the split second decisions to move things around if need be, instead of my TA calling dining then calling me than calling dining.

 

[Missin'Disney]

Many Disney-specializing TA's are home-based and will gladly make that 7:00 a.m phone call to get you the ADR you need.

 

[lirija]

I use Josephine from Small World Vacations and she has always gotten me the ADRs I need within the hour I requested. She even got me a very early CRT breakfast, well after the 180-day window started, and she was doing it in the middle of the day. I know they don't use a special number, but I am convinced she has a store of pixie dust somewhere.

Save yourself the hassle, unless you are a total control freak, in which case you probably wouldn't use a TA to begin with.

 

[jblrn2b]

My past trips I have used Dreams Unlimited and they have done all my ADRs and have done a good job.

Now that we are DVC members, I am using Member Services and its just as easy.

Both ways I have gotten what I wanted but I love the planning part so I am pretty on top of it. You can use TAs to give you advice as well but since you are on the DISBoards, you have access to a lot of information.

 

[pezaddict231]

We were on the DDP last time and it was not fun being on the phone with Disney Dining for 45 minutes. But I'm not sure I could give up the control either. I did change a few things around based on what was available so in the end it was probably easier for me to do it myself.

 

[scrappinmom]

I used to be the "I make them myself" kind of gal....booked every trip myself, even if a TA made the ressie, I still did the ADR.

I've used Donna, from Our Laughing Place Travel for I think 3 trips now...this trip I decided to try & let her make t hem for me....Not only did she get EVERY single one I wanted, she got my EXACT time within 15 minutes. That means I have 4 breakfasts at (2 at MK, 1 at Epcot, & 1 at AK) before the parks open....those were always the hardest to get. I've added/dropped people probably 5 times (we're traveling at the same time as dd's high school band, and 2 other families we know will be joining us for some)...so I have ressies for 10 down to ressies for 2 - and everything in between....

 

[Disney Khi]

Last year I booked myself and called and did my own ADR's. It was sort of a pain trying to find a convenient time to call and then not knowing how long I would be on hold and then actually waiting on hold. This year I booked with Dreams Unlimited and my TA booked for me. I got everything I wanted around the times I wanted. I just e-mailed to her my list of restaurants with dates and times and she took care of it for me. For me, this was a big perk of booking with a TA! I definitely would use a TA if I wanted one of those really hard to get restaurants that require me to be up on the phone at 7:00 AM, because I am not an early-riser. Also, this is from a poster on another thread from today: "As a travel agent, I spend a great deal of time waiting on hold with Disney. There was a 36 minute hold for dining today and a 69 minute hold for Disney Cruise LIne. In an effort to save money, Disney has cut the number of of telephone operators." I really have other things to do with my time than to stay on hold with Disney!

 

[CookingMama]

My TA is booking my ADRs for our next trip.

 

[Happy99]

The agent only does Disney. It's the place recommended by Mousesavers - Small World Vacations. She's been AWESOME so far!

My family MUST have Le Cellier and we will take any res we can get. I guess I could just tell her that. LOL

I would definitely let your TA know your preferences and that Le Cellier is the most important. The more information they have the easier it is to get you what you want

My TA told me that they don't call into the regular dining line but have a special phone number where they call for room reservations and can make the dining reservations from there too. I often found that calling the dining line is always a pain because you never know if you end up with a long wait time. I just let my TA handle it. I give her all the info, with approximate times and go from there. Changes to the original requests I make myself because I don't like to bother her. She would make them gladly but I bother her enough

Then again I am not a control freak and my thinking is, I am on vacation I don't want to stress about not being able to get a restaurant. Vacations are to relax and have fun not being upset that you didn't get into the place you wanted there are many more to choose from

If you are a control freak then you may want to do it yourself

 

[Happy99]

I would definately make them myself. No offense to TA's that's just the way I'am.

I don't think the Ta's really care if you prefer to do them yourself. Most offer it as a service, they don't get any commission or get paid for making dining reservations.