TA or no?

[vicky33006]

This is my first thread here....hi!

Anyway, I had a very bad experience with a TA this past week. She really didn't know anything at all about Disney, and that should have been my red flag from the beginning. She told me I better make sure to make all my ADRs 90 days ahead of time She also told me that you aren't allowed to drive around inside of Disney. She explained that even though my step-sister is driving in from GA, that she would have to park her car and use only Disney transportation. Anyway, she was supposed to me email me my confirmation and everything after booking the other day, but never did. After my sister and I both called her numerous times she finally sent an email. The email had the wrong information in it, including our confirmation number.

So, we fired her today. I couldn't trust her. I called Disney and spoke with a wonderful CM who has me convinced I don't need a TA, but do I? Can I do it on my own? I definitely will not book my flight with Disney, so if I do it on my own is it going to be complicated? I had always thought the purpose of a TA was to take the hassle out of everything, but this one did exactly the opposite...

 

[danceintherain]

I used a TA for a Disney trip once, and it was perfectly fine, but she didn't get me anything I couldn't have gotten for myself if I had been willing to put the time into it. Even for that trip, I booked my own airfare.

Booking yourself really isn't a big deal, especially since pretty much everything can be done online now.

Kayak.com is great for comparing airfare. Once you find what you want, it takes you directly to the airline website, so you don't have to deal with a middleman (unless you choose something through Expedia etc). As long as you're pretty sure about everything when you book, you shouldn't have too many problems.

 

[WsPrincess]

No reason to use a TA, you can totally do it yourself! I used a TA once and she did nothing for me except put someone between and Disney. I booked my last one myself and I was much happier.

 

[k3mommy]

No reason to use a TA, you can totally do it yourself! I used a TA once and she did nothing for me except put someone between and Disney. I booked my last one myself and I was much happier.

I feel the same way. My TA is super sweet and I'm glad someone is earning commission. However, it is annoying to call Disney and be told to call your travel agent when all you want to do is make a payment.

 

[POOHsie]

If you know things like ADRs at 180 days, driving is OK around WDW, you may be able to handle reservations yourself. You can get complete resort rack rates on Mousesavers.com, to find best season pricing. AllEars.net and wdwinfo.com have menus with pricing. You can get Disney ticket prices from many sources. Here on DisBoards, the Ticket Sticky at the top of the Theme Parks forum will teach you all about Disney tickets. There is a Dining Plan forum with costs for the various plans, with high season price differentials and upgrade costs. The DisBoards also has a Discount Code Forum, to watch and learn about room discount offers, free dining offers, etc. The resorts forum shows hundreds of pictures of Disney resorts and great resort info. And you can post your questions here and get good answers. I do my own reservations, and I am confident you could.

 

[mickeynut1]

I agree with the pp's that a TA is not a necessity. Disney makes it easy to get pricing and book on your own. I usually price things out online but call when I'm ready to book. Neither way is better than the other, I just like calling and talking Disney with the CM while I'm booking my trip. Plus, these boards are a great place to get questions answered and keep a look out for discounts. Good luck, but I'm sure once you get started, you will realize just how easy it is .

 

[craftychick]

I really don't see the need to use a TA with Disney. They make it so simple for you to do everything yourself. Personally, I like to know that everything has been taken care of, and that can only happen if I am in charge (I'm a Leo, what do you expect?! LOL)

Even when I travel for work and flights are booked through our TA, I am always double checking the confirmation to make sure I couldn't get better seats, my frequent flyer number has been added, etc.

 

[k3chantal]

This is my first thread here....hi!

Anyway, I had a very bad experience with a TA this past week. She really didn't know anything at all about Disney, and that should have been my red flag from the beginning. She told me I better make sure to make all my ADRs 90 days ahead of time She also told me that you aren't allowed to drive around inside of Disney. She explained that even though my step-sister is driving in from GA, that she would have to park her car and use only Disney transportation. Anyway, she was supposed to me email me my confirmation and everything after booking the other day, but never did. After my sister and I both called her numerous times she finally sent an email. The email had the wrong information in it, including our confirmation number.

So, we fired her today. I couldn't trust her. I called Disney and spoke with a wonderful CM who has me convinced I don't need a TA, but do I? Can I do it on my own? I definitely will not book my flight with Disney, so if I do it on my own is it going to be complicated? I had always thought the purpose of a TA was to take the hassle out of everything, but this one did exactly the opposite...

Personally, this website is better than any TA and in some cases, better than the Disney websites. I have learned more from everyone here about Disney than anywhere else. The fact that you have already landed here tells me you will do just fine without a TA. You just need some confidence in yourself. Go for it!

 

[vicky33006]

Thanks so much everyone! I feel pretty confident that I can do this on my own. I've been lurking on these boards for quite some time, so I feel like I know what's going on pretty well. I decided to go ahead and book the trip...so it's done! I've included the dining plan (regular) and PH passes....I'm excited! I'm nervous to do it on my own, but with you guys, I think I've got it!

 

[BuzzLiteyear]

Like everyone has stated, there is no need to use a TA. Some people do, but there is a ton of information out there (much of it right here on DISBoards). I enjoy the planning just as much as the trip itself (well, maybe not as much). Welcome to the DIS and have a great time planning your trip.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[Avenger117]

I have never used a travel agent but I decided I'm going to use one for my honeymoon. I like to do things myself, but over the next year, I'll be graduating, getting married, looking for jobs, etc. It'll be good to have someone handle ADRs and things like that. I still got to have fun doing the preplanning too!

 

[Keegansmommy]

We used a TA for our honeymoon and first Disney trip. It was soooo useless. We went in with the exact airline/flight times we wanted. We wanted Cirque tickets and she wouldn't book them for us. *We* found a discount code and called her to ask if we could apply it. I was very frustrated. I laugh now that I was so terrified to plan a trip to Disney myself. I think I could plan it in my sleep now.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[pumpkinpatchquilter]

Ditto the poster up there who said this site is better than a travel agent!

We are taking our first trip in Sept...so far the travel agent has been more of a headache im some ways than a help. Don't get me wrong, our travel agent is a VERY nice lady who is known locally for her escorted trips. I'm glad we hired her for our FIRST trip...because now I know how things work, but next time I'll probably do it myself. She literally booked our flight, in her home office, on her home computer, and called in our hotel booking in front of us. LOL* I am glad we went with this lady, even though in many respects she doesn't know Disney THAT well - she pushed us into a character breakfast that had NONE of the characters she said it did. I found this out - here! On the Disboards! LOL* She was kind of irritated when I had her add one character meal and drop the one she pushed on us, but whatever, that's what we paid her for! The other plus to that - I wasn't the one who had to get up at six am 180 days out to book a character meal I wanted to do. However, when she didn't get one of the ones I wanted, I was kinda like, "man I just wish I had done it myself, then I'da known that I did EVERYTHING I could to try and get it..." The thing is though, with our TA, she's been to Disney many times, but she doesn't have children. This is HUGE when you're traveling. So I think that played into why she didn't get where we were coming from on a few things. Although she DID give us some great tips...like paying for your resort stay with Disney gift cards from Giant Eagle. We were able to earn enough points for a free tank of gas! So - if you get a decent agent it's catch 22...I would suggest go ahead with a reasonably priced agent for the first trip...get a feel for it then next time book your own. Get recommendations and GET QUOTES - you can also look for "Disney Certified" agents. But more than ANYTHING double check everything on DISboards! LOL* It's a pain but you will be SO happy when you get what you want rather than what your TA thinks you want.

 

[kddisney502]

do it yourself, no TA! You're already a DIS member and all the information you'll ever need is right here

 

[karly05]

If you're trying to book ROOM-ONLY with a AAA room discount, can you do that online with Disney, or do you have to call? I thought I'd heard in the past that you had to call if you were trying to book with a AAA discount.

 

[goofy4prez]

I used a TA for my first WDW trip and I have to admit she was an enormous help for us. She was a authorized Disney planner, has been to WDW many, many times, knew the restaurants, ADR's, secrets to the parks, itinerary plans and etc. I did nothing but give my Visa number and let her do all the work and then learn from her. Since then I have done all my trips on my own. So in short, I would recommend a good Disney TA for someones first trip, learn from them, and then on do it yourself.

 

[goofy4tink]

Ok...I used a TA (in my town) for my first WDW trip back in '99. Huge mistake. I seemed to know more about WDW than she did..and I didn't know all that much back then!!! I wanted to book CRT for my dd's 6th birthday breakfast. At that time you had to book at 60 days out. We were going in late Oct....and booked with this TA in mid-summer. Well, I got a phone call from her, mid-Sept, telling me that she hadn't been able to get CRT for me!! Wow....really??? 30 days out??? Hard to believe...NOT!!!
With that in mind, I booked all my own trips after that. It's incredibly easy to do and I do like having control. Now, there was a period where I was working and wasn't able to be online to check on new discounts. So, I used Dreams Unlimited. I had a wonderful TA...really wish I still used her, but now that we own DVC, we really don't need anything done for us.

I would really recommend doing it all yourself. A TA that doesn't have complete understanding of WDW/DL is going to be worse than no TA at all!!!!

 

[minnierocks]

If you're trying to book ROOM-ONLY with a AAA room discount, can you do that online with Disney, or do you have to call? I thought I'd heard in the past that you had to call if you were trying to book with a AAA discount.

You have to call.

 

[buzznina]

I do my own BUT I am always keeping up on any discounts or specials WDW may be offering. If you are not the type to constantly look for WDW discounts than I would suggest a good disney TA, like smallworld or dreamsunlimitedtravel. They are on top of any WDW discount codes and will automatically apply it to your ressie or contact you with a question. But yes, a lot of local TA's do not have the disney knowledge.

 

[OKW Lover]

You can't judge all TA's based on an experience with one. As others have indicated you certainly can book your vacation without using a TA. Many of us do that all the time. You'll also find many of us that regularly use a TA they have found to be reliable. It all depends on your level of comfort in attending to the details.