Pros/Cons of using a travel agent.

[BJSforVols]

Okay, with the help this and other forums, I'm about ready to book my family's first Disney vacation. On most every site, I have seen where people suggest a "Disney Travel Agency" over booking straight through Disney.

I've almost been sold on going through a Disney agency. With that said, what are the pros and cons of going through someone like Dreams Unlimited or Magical Journeys versus booking straight through Disney.

I've seen several pros posted such as: the Disney agency being Disney experts, The agency will notify you when/if there are better options which you should consider.

I haven't really seen many cons posted, but I'm sure there are some. If you enjoy planning the vacation yourself, is it a con to go through an agency? Is there a risk going through an agency? Is the reservations in my name or the agency's name if I go through an agency?

Any other pros/cons I should consider when deciding to either book straight through Disney or an agency?

 

[nkereina]

The reservation is in your name. There is no risk, IMO. The biggest con, for me, is that if I need to make a change or ask a question, you must contact your agent. You cannot phone Disney directly to make the change or ask the question as your reservation is "owned" by the agency. So you are at the mercy of your agent's schedule and a lot of times, they are not around on weekends.

Also, not every agency will track and notify you of new promotions. You should still be responsible for this yourself, and the day the promotion is released, I would phone or email your agent so he or she can call and apply the promotion. Some agents are on top of it, but I'd rather be on top of it too just to ensure I get what I want.

 

[minnie mum]

If you are going with a travel agent, just make sure that they really are Disney Specialists like Dreams Unlimited. The boards are strewn with threads about trips that were adversely affected by TAs who gave incorrect advice, neglected to make changes, overlooked new discount offers, etc.

And yes, the travel agency owns the reservation (although it is in your name) until you check into the resort. So you must go through them for any changes or additions to the reservation. Although I think you can make your own ADRs if you wish.

I'm enough of a control freak that I prefer to do my own bookings, but I know others who prefer to let someone else do the work for them. It's totally up to you. Just do your due diligence about which travel agency you select.

 

[partypa]

I use and recomend Dreamsunlimited
I call the shots, they do the work. They deal directly with Disney for me and I have the same person/agent to email with day or night with any questions or concerns. They will continue to keep an eye out for new discounts for me and notify me if they think it would be a better deal, I enjoy that, it's the little things that make me smile

 

[rafiki14]

How much additional cost is it to use an agent?

 

[zetachi]

How much additional cost is it to use an agent?

none

 

[BJSforVols]

What about risks associated with using an agent? Any cons other than not being able to call Disney and confirm and/or modify your booking?

 

[Sarahboo]

We've booked with Disney and used a travel agent.

Cons of using an agent:

1. You have to ask them questions about your reservations. I can still log into the Disney website and see everything, but if I want to make changes or adjustments, I have to go through my travel agent. You also pay through your agent instead of Disney, but that's not really a Con, I just wanted to point that difference out.

2. It takes longer to get travel documents. Your information is mailed from Disney to your TA and then from the TA to you. We leave in 15 days, and we still haven't received our information, but my TA told me that it arrived at their office and was sent to us, so I'm expecting it tomorrow or Tuesday.

Benefits:

1. Your travel agent is able to handle things for you and in my case my agent alerts us if there are different codes available.

2. They will make dining reservations for you, though I chose to make my own because I frequently adjust and fiddle with them leading into the trip. I wanted to be able to do that at home not during business hours and play around. Some people prefer the agent to make the reservations.

3. We got the same exact price as the Disney website, didn't need to pay the TA anything (Disney pays them a commission on my package but it doesn't cost me any more), but in addition to getting the same discount, we also get a nice gift card from the TA for booking through them. I think the American Express gift card is a great bonus for the unnoticeable hassle of having to change reservations through my agent. The only thing we changed was an upgrade to our dining package and it was easy as can be.

 

[Sarahboo]

What about risks associated with using an agent? Any cons other than not being able to call Disney and confirm and/or modify your booking?

I'm not aware of any risks that are unique to using a TA. You can even purchase Disney travel insurance through your TA if you want that insurance.

 

[MHTeacher]

I'm enough of a control freak that I prefer to do my own bookings,.

ME TOO! That is why I will continue to take care of my own bookings!

 

[BDL]

I booked thru AAA for my DEC 2010 trip and didn't have a single hiccup. They were even accomdating when I had to bump my vacation back 1 day. Plus we got perks like vouchers and a photopass card that included a free cd.

 

[pjacobi]

With that said, what are the pros and cons of going through someone like Dreams Unlimited

My quote for a package at moderate resort from Dreams Unlimited was about $100.00 less than the Disney website.

Thank you very much Dreams Unlimited!


-Paul

 

[JuneCleaver]

There are many reputable Disney agencies out there: Small World, Magic for Less, Magical Journeys, and Dreams Unlimited to name a few of the most well thought!

I use of the above agencies and have for the last 9 or so years. My agent has always been very prompt, very knowledgable, and I swear sleeps at her desk! Even with a time zone difference between WDW and her office, she is always on the phones working on my reservation when Disney dropped a discount.

The biggest key to using an agent is if you can hand over control. If you are extremely type A or distrustful, then you should not use a travel agent. You will be miserable and so will the agent!

That being said, if you have already been working with an agent or in the process of looking for an agent remember: they work on commission and if they put in hours of work on your behalf and then you choose not to use them or cancel a reservation, they are not paid for their services as Disney only pays TAs if the guest actually travels.

Using a TA for information and then booking on your own is sorta like sitting on the floor at Barnes and Noble and reading the entire magazine and then putting it back on the rack and leaving! You used it for information and then didn't pay for it!

 

[BJSforVols]

If you are extremely type A or distrustful, then you should not use a travel agent. You will be miserable and so will the agent!

That being said, if you have already been working with an agent or in the process of looking for an agent remember: they work on commission and if they put in hours of work on your behalf and then you choose not to use them or cancel a reservation, they are not paid for their services as Disney only pays TAs if the guest actually travels.
!

This is the main reason I posted this thread. I spoke with a TA today (I had exchanged a few emails and then had a phone conversation for about an hour today.) I expected to make a booking at the end of our conversation, but the TA is the one who made me hold up and think a little longer. I am a type A, and I let her know that at the beginning of the conversation. She stated I might want to consider booking myself if I am an extreme type A. We continued to talk for a good hour. At the end of the conversation I felt as if I owed it to her to book through her, and I told her that. She said there was no reason to feel that way and they have worked with people for weeks who end up not booking.

Anyway, I still think I want to book through her because I think the pros outweigh the cons. I suspect it will make the next 9 months go by with less concern if I book through a TA. It sort of seemed as if she was trying to talk me out of it, so I wanted to see if there were cons to using a TA in which I hadn't realized.

 

[JuneCleaver]

She stated I might want to consider booking myself if I am an extreme type A. We continued to talk for a good hour. At the end of the conversation I felt as if I owed it to her to book through her, and I told her that. She said there was no reason to feel that way and they have worked with people for weeks who end up not booking.

Anyway, I still think I want to book through her because I think the pros outweigh the cons. I suspect it will make the next 9 months go by with less concern if I book through a TA. It sort of seemed as if she was trying to talk me out of it, so I wanted to see if there were cons to using a TA in which I hadn't realized.

It sounds as if you have asked her to commit a fair amount of time to your trip already. Not many TAs will spend over an hour on the phone with a client who is just thinking about booking with them. I suspect from your post she was just giving you a graceful out if you decided you could not hand over control.

 

[LockShockBarrel]

I like the control of booking everything myself. That way I have every piece of information (confirmation/reservation numbers, phone numbers, etc) I also know how much information is out there about Disney and how easy it is to access it. I would only book through a TA if there was an amazing discount that I couldn't match myself. I would agree that if you do choose to book through one, you need to find an agency thats a specialist with Disney and keeps up to date with everything.

A friend of mine booked through AAA for her first trip which was in November. She booked in October scared1 and was told "Oh you have PLENTY of time! No one books too much further out than a month or so!". She was also given tons of incorrect information. She was told ALL character meals were 2 credits on the DP, incorrect park hours, and was told a park hopper ticket got her into everything (including the water parks, DisneyQuest, the mini golf courses and Downtown Disney). It took me a long time to get through the information he gave her and correct it. She showed me his business card and he billed himself as a specialist which is scary. She had the official DP brochure which she got from him, so he obviously had access to the facts but still told her the wrong things.

 

[Mamu]

I have used Dreams Unlimited since finding this web site. I've never had any problems with them or disappointed in their service. I use the same agent for each trip. I will e-mail her with all my request.

I book a room only reservation, about a year ahead of time, pay so much a month and by the time we ready to travel everything is paid.

We usually stay 7-10 days, so we purchase AP's, we've been very fortunate that in 12 years we've always gotten a discount of some kind. Sometimes a GP discount, sometimes an AP discount. We usually do 2 trips a year, once staying on property with our children and grandchildren, and then an adult trip with friends. The adult trip we stay off site at a time share.

 

[Caseystigger]

I booked thru AAA for my DEC 2010 trip and didn't have a single hiccup. They were even accomdating when I had to bump my vacation back 1 day. Plus we got perks like vouchers and a photopass card that included a free cd.

We had a wonderful experience with AAA last year too. Decided to go with them this year too because there are a couple of extras that they offer that you can't get without getting the premium package through Disney.

 

[jerlove]

Or you can have the best of both worlds.

I booked my trip thru Disney directly and then found I could get some perks for booking at my local TA. I just transfered the reservation over to them just before the 45 day mark and benefited from the perks my TA was offering me but was still able to control everything in the front end.

Now the only way this will come back to bite me is if I want to make a change now 9 days out. Not likley.

 

[MikeRx]

We've had a great experience (so far) with Small World Vacations (Tanya). I too am a control freak regarding vacations and most anything else in life..., but have had nothing but positive responses from Tanya.

I booked my own ADRs, but she did ask if i needed help with them and has been very helpful with suggestions on room and level at the Poly. She has also been on the lookout for "better deals", but nothing beats our 30% off pin so far.

We will utilize them for a Disney Cruise in 2013 as they have a shipboard credit program if you book through them (as all agents do)...

The service is totally free and very helpful. We will finalize our insurance as the date nears. Have no fear if you utilize a true Disney specialist as mentioned on the boards or from reliable unofficial Disney sites

Mike