Quick Question for Travel Agents...

[Princess Sara's Mom]

Hubby & I were talking about it & now I'm curious--if I go through a travel agency, do you offer discounts that are not available to the general public [ie: discounts off of rooms, free dining before dates announced to general public, etc.]

What are advantages/perks for going through a travel agent?

TIA!

 

[TiggerInLBV]

Discounts and availability at the Disney Owned and Operated Resorts would be the same whether you book through a Travel Agent or on your own. If you book through a Travel Agent it is sure to be a stress free vacation as they will take care of everything for you and you won't need to worry about much. If you book on your own then you will need to do everything. I believe the DIS is affiliated with a Travel Agency on their home page and I have heard wonderful things about them. If you are a AAA Member and want to book a package complete with dining and tickets you're only able to get those exclusive savings and/or benefits by booking through AAA. However, If you are booking a discount that is available to the general public or a Pin Offer then the rate is no different whether it is booked through AAA, a Travel Agent or on your own. Whatever you decide have a Magical trip!

 

[Feralpeg]

While discounts are no different through a travel agent, the agents do have constant communication with WDW. If any new discounts become available, they know about it and will apply those discounts for their clients. As an individual, you will not receive these communications. You will have to be on top of things yourself to find out if any new discounts have become available so you can apply them.

If anything should go wrong during your stay concerning your accommodations or tickets purchased through the travel agent, they will step in and resolve the issue while you go about your vacation. Better to have them spend time on the phone resolving the issues than you standing in a line using up your vacation time.

The way I look at it. It costs nothing to use a travel agent. It takes some of the stress out of the vacation and it gives someone a paycheck. I'm all for it.

 

[J&J]

Found that when I booked through a travel agent if I wanted any changes it was harder. If I had a problem they could not solve it.
So now only book our own just check mousesavers for discounts and did some checking on line. problems much easier to solve.

 

[Mariep26]

Found that when I booked through a travel agent if I wanted any changes it was harder. If I had a problem they could not solve it.
So now only book our own just check mousesavers for discounts and did some checking on line. problems much easier to solve.

I think this is the case for finding the right travel agent for you. My experience has been very different ( very happy with my TA) but I spent a decent amount of time trying to find an agent that matched what I needed (I.e. I really only want the agent to book me into a better deal if it becomes available without me having to do the research. Otherwise I want to do everything myself).

 

[Dreaming~of~Disney]

I think this is the case for finding the right travel agent for you. My experience has been very different ( very happy with my TA) but I spent a decent amount of time trying to find an agent that matched what I needed (I.e. I really only want the agent to book me into a better deal if it becomes available without me having to do the research. Otherwise I want to do everything myself).

I totally agree with this. Sounds like your TA wasn't on top of things and doing their job.

 

[Sue M]

Booking with a TA- I would only use one that specializes in Disney booking, they will have on their site- Authorized Disney Vacation Planner. These are the ones who as other posters pointed out- get the communications from Disney and will automatically apply any new discount that comes out (if it's better for you) to your booking.

Other generic TAs will not, ( like AAA) and you'd still have to do all the work watching for discounts, etc. So no point using them.

 

[canopynut66]

Hubby & I were talking about it & now I'm curious--if I go through a travel agency, do you offer discounts that are not available to the general public [ie: discounts off of rooms, free dining before dates announced to general public, etc.]

What are advantages/perks for going through a travel agent?

TIA!

any discounts and free dining is what WDW has already. Travel agents just do all the leg work for you free. they have no more info any faster than you or I will have available to us so that it is fair to us all

 

[photographymom517]

As other posters have already said, a Travel Agent specializing in Disney will book your trip & when discounts become available, they will then apply that to your trip & save you money. Personally I can tell you that the agency I work for does however much or however little the client wants. The only thing that HAS to be done through the agent is payment...we have to make all payments for the client. However, everything else can be done by you OR the agent. Usually I make ADR's for clients, but there are some who would rather do it themselves. I stay in constant contact with my clients while they're on their trips & if they need me to make an ADR for them while they're gone, I try my best to get exactly what they want even if it's the day OF the dining reservation. It doesn't always happen (due to availability) but by me trying to get it for them, they can enjoy their day at the parks while I work on getting them a dinner ressie!

Everyone who works with me also provides their clients with an itinerary -- it can be as detailed as the client wants. Everyone tours the parks differently. There are those who want very detailed info & others who just want a general idea of which park to visit which day. We provide a lot of others services as well, that's just a brief overview!

Also, in response to what someone else said, TA's can book AAA discounts but the rooms are usually limited so we have to do it asap. The advantage of booking with an agent specializing in Disney opposed to directly through AAA is that when you book with AAA, they will book your trip & maybe give you some maps. Disney agents will provide you much more than that!!!

If you have other questions, you can feel free to PM me. I'm not sure what all I'm allowed to say on the boards

 

[Tinkerbella001]

Just because an agent is an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner does not mean they are a Disney expert. They graduated from the College of Knowledge, but that alone doesn't compete with real life knowledge. The Disney expert at a very well known travel agency in my town has never been to Disney and couldn't answer any questions. Ask them lots of questions and if they dont seem to already know most of it move on! A true Disney nut will treat your vacation as their own and make any changes you want in a timely fashion.

Booking through an agent that is passionate about Disney can enhance your experience. It doesn't cost you any extra, and you are supporting small business

 

[danceintherain]

I've used a TA in the past and I've booked on my own, and I prefer booking on my own. That said, I wouldn't hesitate to use a TA again in the future if it fit more closely with what I needed.
For example, I live in South Korea right now, which presents time difference issues for making calls to Disney. We're supposed to be getting new orders soon. If those land us back on the mainland US, I'll definitely be using a TA to book our next trip. Part of this is due to how transient we're going to be in the next few months. It will be more difficult for me to monitor the discounts on my own, so having someone else do that will help me get the best deal possible. It will also put extra eyes on any potentially high demand restaurant ADR openings, which are expected at the end of this year. The trip will likely be scheduled for either December or January, so I'm already behind the game on ADRs as it is.

 

[GovieMom]

While discounts are no different through a travel agent, the agents do have constant communication with WDW. If any new discounts become available, they know about it and will apply those discounts for their clients.

Absolutely! For example, one morning before an upcoming trip I logged online to find an e-mail from my TA informing me that Disney had just released a general public discount, which she had just applied to our reservation. Awesome! On our last trip, she e-mailed me one evening to let me know she found a Free Dining PIN in our name, and wanted to check with me before applying it to our reservation. Gotta love those Disney TA's!!!!

 

[stitchlovestink]

While discounts are no different through a travel agent, the agents do have constant communication with WDW. If any new discounts become available, they know about it and will apply those discounts for their clients. As an individual, you will not receive these communications. You will have to be on top of things yourself to find out if any new discounts have become available so you can apply them.

If anything should go wrong during your stay concerning your accommodations or tickets purchased through the travel agent, they will step in and resolve the issue while you go about your vacation. Better to have them spend time on the phone resolving the issues than you standing in a line using up your vacation time.

The way I look at it. It costs nothing to use a travel agent. It takes some of the stress out of the vacation and it gives someone a paycheck. I'm all for it.

But That agent loses nothing if your vacation is a bust or is ruined because they do a crappy job! And Frankly, I don't want to have to call my agent to resolve a problem because technically they 'OWN' the reservation so they HAVE to straighten out the problem for you in many situations...you can't do it yourself. And frankly I think that stinks. It's not worth it! Call me a control freak, but nobody cares as much about my vacation as me and whether my trip goes smoothly or not. So when I can, I will do my own reservations. Now if it was something I knew nothing about, then I would look into a reputable travel agent, but there's too much info on the web about WDW and it's just too easy to do it yourself. Cut out the middle man and there's less chance for a screw up IHMO...

Found that when I booked through a travel agent if I wanted any changes it was harder. If I had a problem they could not solve it.
So now only book our own just check mousesavers for discounts and did some checking on line. problems much easier to solve.

Exactly!!

 

[Dreaming~of~Disney]

Call me a control freak, but nobody cares as much about my vacation as me and whether my trip goes smoothly or not.


From a travel agent point of view I really disagree. I truely care about each and every one of my clients vacations as much as my own. If their vacation is not good they will not return to me. My clients are my livleyhood and I take excellent care of them!

 

[chrisw127]

If you find the right TA for you, it's easier on many different levels and while many guests think they know everything about Disney World and Disneyland, the truth is that a TA who is in the parks a lot is going to have a lot more information and probably some inside knowledge that you might not have.

Some travel agents will give you Disney gift cards if you book with them. To be honest, if you're booking a cruise and you're not going with a travel agent, you're losing a lot of money because many of them will give you substantial onboard credits. Even guests who don't use TAs for WDW/DL will often use them for cruises since they want the OBCs.

 

[Tinkerbella001]

But That agent loses nothing if your vacation is a bust or is ruined because they do a crappy job! And Frankly, I don't want to have to call my agent to resolve a problem because technically they 'OWN' the reservation so they HAVE to straighten out the problem for you in many situations...you can't do it yourself. And frankly I think that stinks. It's not worth it! Call me a control freak, but nobody cares as much about my vacation as me and whether my trip goes smoothly or not. So when I can, I will do my own reservations. Now if it was something I knew nothing about, then I would look into a reputable travel agent, but there's too much info on the web about WDW and it's just too easy to do it yourself. Cut out the middle man and there's less chance for a screw up IHMO...

I disagree. While there are probably TA out there who don't really care, there are just as many who do. And yes, I do lose if your vacation is a bust because not only will you not utilize my services again, you won't tell your friends and family about me either. Thats the biggest source of marketing I have, and my reputation means everything! Now there are some things a TA has no control over (like the weather, an extremely long wait for a park bus, or a rude cast member), but if I were to make a mistake I would own up to it and do everything in my power to fix it.

I feel like most of us Disney addicts that became Authorized through Disney would feel the same way! Planning trips is not "just a paycheck" or "just a job", it is a passion. And if we're on these boards, thats exactly how we feel

 

[Marthasor]

There are some agencies that put together agency discounts that are steeper than Disney's or offered at times Disney doesn't offer discounts. I think they buy blocks of rooms or go through group sales or something to get the discounts. I know Magical Vacations Travel does agency exclusive discounts and I think Pixie Vacations does them as well. I have used Magical Vacations for a number of years and their agency exclusive rates are always better than Disney's.

 

[budafam]

I just recently became an agent and trying to establish myself is not an easy task by any means. I'm offering many perks to anyone who books with me. Depending on the package, I offer window decorations, a set of matching shirts and more... I love to give advice. It doesn't mean that you have to take anything I say but if it will save you hours standing in line, you might really be thankful in the end. I've had a bad experience with a travel agent (many years ago) so I know what that's like and I would never do that to my clients.

 

[KatieKat]

I couldn't do a TA. It would make me uncomfortable if I was not able to make my own changes at the drop of a hat.

Regarding doing research for discounts. I follow WDW, the DIS, and a bunch of other Disney websites on my facebook. I also check the DIS almost daily. There is no way I could not miss it if a discount was announced, because usually everyone makes a facebook post about it or I see it on the DIS!

 

[Malibelle]

People always ask me what is the benefit of using me as an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner vs booking themselves. I tell them they get my vacation planning services and expertise of which you will not get when booking directly. They also get a direct person to ask any questions leading up to and after their trip by email and phone. There is no waiting for the phone prompt and not ever being able to talk to the same person twice and you can't email a cast member. Email is huge for many of my clients. The biggest perk is a hassle free vacation. Usually there are always little surprises too!
Many people don't realize they can get all this with a good agent. You are paying the same price either way so why wouldn't use an agent? Even if you are an obsessive planner use an agent. You can still do the majority of planning other than making changes to your reservation and the agent gets paid by Disney. It's a win win situation for both parties. I have clients who want every aspect of their trip planned by me and some who just want me to book it and they do the rest but know I am there for any questions they may have. If you already booked your trip yourself and then think you should have gone through an agent, the good news is you can have Disney transfer your reservation to the agent so they get credit and you can have a more magical vacation.