Making sure I'm getting the best for my money booking...

[Son of Gadsden]

I've only booked one vacation by myself as far as Disney. We've typically gone with my parents and bought our tickets and stuff, and our honeymoon was booked by someone else.

When I booked our last vacation for a week at AoA, i went though the same travel agent my family has always used, however when I checked her price with the one direct from Disney when I bought, it was the same price. I literally saved nothing by booking through a travel agent, which is not what I expected.

Is there a certain service that will get you discounts that I'm missing or anything? I see people on here saying they never pay full price and all that good stuff. I do scan mousesavers pretty often and see they offer discounts, which leads me to my next question. I booked our last vacation about 4 months ahead of time, only to find a couple months before our vacation that they were then offering discounts for that month. We typically book for offseasons (that one in particular was 4/20-4/28), and this one is Nov 30- December 7. When do you recommend booking? We liked AoA last time, and are gunning for that again (Mermaid rooms), but if discounts are offered for other resorts, we are very interested in checking those out as well. I don't want to book too early and miss making the most of our money, but I don't want to book too late and risk not getting a vacation either.

 

[dansdad]

I don't want to book too early and miss making the most of our money, but I don't want to book too late and risk not getting a vacation either.

If a discount comes out after you book, you can call and have them apply the discount to your trip. You don't have to lose out on anything.

We always pick the time we want to go, the resort we want to stay, etc and book if it's a price we are comfortable with. If a discount comes out, awesome! We apply the discount and either upgrade some part of our trip or book a fireworks cruise, or have $$$ to put down for our next trip. I used to worry, hope and pray for discounts to come out before booking. The family would then be crushed if a discount didn't come out and we couldn't go. I much prefer booking what I can afford first, then applying any discounts once they are released.

 

[Aliceacc]

Prices for next year have just come out. Don't look to see any discounts right away.

The value in using a travel agent is that when the discounts do come out, they're on the lookout-- it's another set of eyes tying to save you money. (That's in addition to the TA's expertise, and help in things like calling in ADRs)

As you can see, I've just booked for next summer. We used a Disney Certified travel agent, and right now we're paying rack rate. I'm very much hoping to see that original quote come down in the coming months. It it doesn't, it doesn't. But if it's out there, at least one of us will find it. At that point, our travel agent will apply the discount. So it's not really possible to book "too early."

 

[minnie mum]

When I booked our last vacation for a week at AoA, i went though the same travel agent my family has always used, however when I checked her price with the one direct from Disney when I bought, it was the same price. I literally saved nothing by booking through a travel agent, which is not what I expected.

A TA can't get you any better discount than the average person who knows to regularly check the Disney site (or the Dis) for special offers. Occasionally a TA can throw in a couple of small freebies (AAA offers special parking and Wishes viewing areas)

I booked our last vacation about 4 months ahead of time, only to find a couple months before our vacation that they were then offering discounts for that month. We typically book for offseasons (that one in particular was 4/20-4/28), and this one is Nov 30- December 7. When do you recommend booking?

We always book our resort as soon as we have firm dates. That way we know that we are assured the resort (and room category) that we want. If you wait until later, you risk having a lack of availability.

We liked AoA last time, and are gunning for that again (Mermaid rooms), but if discounts are offered for other resorts, we are very interested in checking those out as well. I don't want to book too early and miss making the most of our money, but I don't want to book too late and risk not getting a vacation either

.

Note that LM rooms are rarely included in any discount offer. Because of the high demand for them, Disney doesn't need to discount them in order to fill them. Booking early doesn't have to tie up your money. A vacation package only requires a $200 deposit, with the balance due 45 days before check in. A room only reservation only requires an amount equal to one night's stay with the balance due at check in. So that is really no reason not to book early. Then if an offer comes out later that you want to use, you can call Disney and make the necessary changes. (subject to availability, of course).

 

[Son of Gadsden]

Thanks a lot for the information, folks. I feel a lot better about going ahead and booking now.

 

[Dizneefamily+4]

We haven't used a TA since our 1st Disney trip (our honeymoon in 1997.) Once we had kids and started to look at family trips, my dh started booking them himself and we've never looked back. We monitor for discounts and also receive pin codes in the mail. Some of those pins have booking dates that don't work for us, but a lot of times we get lucky - and they're usually better than or prior to the public discounts.

We often mention how much of a waste booking through our TA was. Granted, that's hindsight which is always 20/20, and I guess for a 1st timer who isn't Disney savvy, a TA might be good idea, but we really felt that ours didn't do anything for us that we couldn't have done ourselves and she really didn't even do a good job of explaining how Disney "works' to 2 people who hadn't been since they were kids in the 70s!

 

[Aliceacc]

Also, take a look here http://www.mousesavers.com/historical-information-on-walt-disney-world-resort-discounts/
to see when discounts have been released in the past. It's sometimes possible to score a discount by moving your vacation a few days.

 

[Son of Gadsden]

We haven't used a TA since our 1st Disney trip (our honeymoon in 1997.) Once we had kids and started to look at family trips, my dh started booking them himself and we've never looked back. We monitor for discounts and also receive pin codes in the mail. Some of those pins have booking dates that don't work for us, but a lot of times we get lucky - and they're usually better than or prior to the public discounts.

We often mention how much of a waste booking through our TA was. Granted, that's hindsight which is always 20/20, and I guess for a 1st timer who isn't Disney savvy, a TA might be good idea, but we really felt that ours didn't do anything for us that we couldn't have done ourselves and she really didn't even do a good job of explaining how Disney "works' to 2 people who hadn't been since they were kids in the 70s!

That's the same way I feel! I actually enjoy doing all the planning myself, looking up the discounts and doing research to see what I can do to save a dollar here or there, and from the research I did, I'm 99% sure I could have saved more had I not used my TA.

 

[Aliceacc]

Honestly, I love doing all that too.

But having another person, whose whole job is looking for those discounts, provides some insurance.

I have a full time job. This IS her full time job.

If I come across something that will save me money, I can email it to her. But I have a good agent-- I've found so far that she's already applied it and there's a email waiting for me saying so.

 

[mickeynut1]

If a discount comes out after you book, you can call and have them apply the discount to your trip. You don't have to lose out on anything.

We always pick the time we want to go, the resort we want to stay, etc and book if it's a price we are comfortable with. If a discount comes out, awesome! We apply the discount and either upgrade some part of our trip or book a fireworks cruise, or have $$$ to put down for our next trip. I used to worry, hope and pray for discounts to come out before booking. The family would then be crushed if a discount didn't come out and we couldn't go. I much prefer booking what I can afford first, then applying any discounts once they are released.

I agree . Book what you want/can afford, and then if a discount comes out for your dates and your resort/room type is available, it's easy to have it applied.

The value in using a travel agent is that when the discounts do come out, they're on the lookout-- it's another set of eyes tying to save you money. (That's in addition to the TA's expertise, and help in things like calling in ADRs)

This is a plus, but you do need to be careful when choosing a TA as they are not all the same. A lot of TAs are well versed in Disney and do keep up on discounts and have them applied as soon as they come out, but there are also TAs that do not watch for discounts and sometimes know less than their client(s) .

That's the same way I feel! I actually enjoy doing all the planning myself, looking up the discounts and doing research to see what I can do to save a dollar here or there, and from the research I did, I'm 99% sure I could have saved more had I not used my TA.

Enjoying the research is half the battle, IMO . It does take time and some people use a TA because they either don't have the time to research or don't have the patience to research.

 

[Aliceacc]

I
This is a plus, but you do need to be careful when choosing a TA as they are not all the same. A lot of TAs are well versed in Disney and do keep up on discounts and have them applied as soon as they come out, but there are also TAs that do not watch for discounts and sometimes know less than their client(s) .

OK, true confession time. Here's how I found my travel agent:

I knew I wanted someone Disney Certified. So one day I sent a LONG letter to 15 different travel agents. Most of them were Disney Certified, some not. I asked every question I could think of-- everything from ADRs to PINs to I forget what else.

I got back 12 responses the next day. Of those 12, three were clearly superior. I chose the best of those 3 and haven't looked back. Last week she booked our trip for next summer, and I'm fully confident that I'll be glad, once again, that I'm working with her.

As I said, I like doing my research

 

[mickeynut1]

OK, true confession time. Here's how I found my travel agent:

I knew I wanted someone Disney Certified. So one day I sent a LONG letter to 15 different travel agents. Most of them were Disney Certified, some not. I asked every question I could think of-- everything from ADRs to PINs to I forget what else.

I got back 12 responses the next day. Of those 12, three were clearly superior. I chose the best of those 3 and haven't looked back. Last week she booked our trip for next summer, and I'm fully confident that I'll be glad, once again, that I'm working with her.

As I said, I like doing my research

I wasn't knocking your TA nor was I insinuating you had a bad one, I was just posting that anyone considering a TA needs to be careful when choosing one .

 

[Aliceacc]

Oh, I realize that; my skin is a lot thicker than that!! But you do have a good point-- not all travel agents are created equal!!

For what it's worth, here's the response I got from the agent I chose. Anyone wanting her name can certainly PM me for the info.

1) Hi Alice

My name is *** and I am one of the agents at ***. I have been to Disneyworld well over 30 times and currently visit the parks 4-5 times a year. There are not many places I havent stayed or restaurants I havent eaten in!

I wanted to make sure I addressed all of your questions, please see below for my responses.

Good morning!

I'm starting to plan our 3rd trip to Disney World, tentatively for August 2012. I realize that prices won't be released until probably August and wouldn't want any sort of a quote before then. We're pretty sure that this trip we want to stay at the Beach Club; our last 2 trips have been to the Polynesian. We're a family of 5; my kids will be 14, 12 and 9 when we travel.--I LOVE the Beach Club, the pool is amazing and I love the easy walk to Epcot and boat to the studios.
In the past I've used a local AAA agent. They did a fine job, but I always felt like I knew more than my agent did. (When I got a 40% PIN, I had to explain to him what it meant.) So this time I'm thinking of using a Certified Disney Specialist. But I do have a few questions:

a. Can you get the AAA discount for us? I'm hoping to do better, but would want that as a minimum. I also want the DDP, so could that be done?--the AAA discount on packages can only be booked through AAA. We are able to book room only reservations with the AAA discount only. This is a Disney rule. I will say over the last 2 years there has never been a time where there hasnt been some sort of promotion from Disney that would be better than the AAA rate.
b. Can you call in the ADRs? I'm a teacher and I leave the house at 7; I'm pretty much inaccessible all day long. In the past I've had to ask my sister to call them in, but would love to have a travel agent do it for me instead.
--absolutely. This is an essential part of what we do. On the 180 day mark right at 7am I would be booking your dining.

c. Airfare always kills me. The past 2 trips we've taken Jetblue from JFK. (We're on Long Island. ) I know Southwest is sometimes cheaper, but the whole thing with not knowing your seats ahead of time frightens me. I don't care where we sit, but I don't want my 14 year old son sitting alone in case of a problem. Do you book airfare or do we? In the past I've booked around New Years and been happy with the deals we've gotten, but am open to suggestions.--Air would be booked by you. Southwest has a new service called early bird check in. For an extra $10 per person each direction they will check you in right at the 24 hour mark automatically. You will definitely get an A boarding pass and have no problem finding seats together for all of you. The other nice thing is that with Southwest if the fare goes down you can rebook at the lower price and they will give you a credit for a future flight. They do not charge a service fee plus allow 2 free bags per person!! I would also suggest signing up for the newsletters from each of the airlines. Sometimes they will send out specials or discount codes. I am not sure if airtran flies from your airport they can also have good deals.

d. In the event that we're fortunate enough to get a PIN or another 4/3 deal, you can apply it to the arrangements we've made, right? this is the most important service we offer. Once you book a package I will monitor for new offers and apply any that become available. This sometimes happens more than once if a better deal comes out! Also if you received a pin you would send it to me and I would have it applied to the reservation
e. You can get us trip insurance, right?--we offer trip insurance through Disney. It is 66.95 per adult and the children are free

f. Does it make sense to use a travel agent that is so far from our home; does it really matter?--we have clients all over the world. We find we are able to provide as good, if not better service, as your local agent. As a certified Disney specialist I am always available for questions and suggestions! Unlike a typical travel agent who is bound by office hours, I am available for the 7am dining reservations and the evening/weekend questions.

Is there anything else we should know as we consider using your agency?
--Our work is email/internet based. We do have an office with a toll free number if you are more comfortable making payments that way, But for the most part the quickest and easiest way to reach me is by email. We have Disney send your documents directly to your home and the entire process is very seamless!

I would be happy to answer any further questions you may have. Please feel free to email me directly. If you like I can add you to my contact list for when the 2012 packages are released.

 

[mickeynut1]

Oh, I realize that; my skin is a lot thicker than that!! But you do have a good point-- not all travel agents are created equal!!

For what it's worth, here's the response I got from the agent I chose. Anyone wanting her name can certainly PM me for the info.

Sounds like you found an amazing TA who really knows her stuff .

 

[Marthasor]

That's the same way I feel! I actually enjoy doing all the planning myself, looking up the discounts and doing research to see what I can do to save a dollar here or there, and from the research I did, I'm 99% sure I could have saved more had I not used my TA.

It sounds like your TA didn't do his/her job. A good Disney TA would have had their eye out for any discount available to you and would have either applied it to your existing reservation or given you some other money-saving options if the discount didn't apply to what you had booked.

Sounds like you know your way around WDW bookings now, so it doesn't sound like you need a TA anymore!

Some people like using TA's, some people don't - it's all a matter of choice!