Travel agent or internet

[momof3disneyboys]

Hi, I was wondering what all of you do when booking a trip, do you use a travel agent or book direct through disney via internet or phone?

 

[MinnieNurse]

I have always booked direct through Disney by internet. Never had any issues.

 

[dogodisney]

First two trips booked online with Disney and our upcoming trip booked with them over the phone because I wanted to use a discount.

 

[cancer_survivor_06]

I have used a TA but the last few times I booked over the phone w/ disney. I don't think I will use a ta unless I am getting a better rate through AAA. The first time I booked through a TA they used funjet.com which made it so much harder for me to make changes to my reservations even though disney had what I wanted available I couldn't change it.

 

[disneygal2007]

As a travel agent shhhh I say book it yourself. To me it's more fun. I tell people all the time to people. Use a TA for much Harder things. Disney is so much fun to plan yourself.

 

[Mandychelle79]

Im using a TA this time, but only because shes a "friend" of mine. Besides I didnt want to be the one making the ADR's and waiting on hold or the one who worryed about discounts if codes came out and this is something her agency does for their clients. As far as planning, im doing all of it and just relaying it to her. Because of my work schedule I cannot do things early in the morning and because of my school schedule im not available every evening.

 

[kristinw3girls]

I've always used AAA. They always got me the best discounts. This last time we booked in August 2007 for a December 2008 trip. (I know it was early, but I was excited to have it official). We got a good price and we were happy. I later received a pin code discount. AAA honored the discounted price PLUS the AAA discount. They don't normally do this (I was told) but I was never supposed to get the pin since I already had a trip booked. Thank goodness for a misspelled last name! We save an extra $800.

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

Check into all 3! You may get a better deal by checking around. I was planning to book online but ended up calling Disney direct and saved a few bucks.

Remember: a travel agent will cost you more, but you have to weigh if you have the time to do the homework or if it's cost-effective have someone do the legwork for you.

 

[Alesia]

I used a TA from Dreams Unlimited.

I have still planned every detail of the trip myself.

The best part is that she called and made all of my ADRs for me. If you want to know what an awesome perk that is, take a look at the dining board right now.

 

[mrstxcop]

we used a TA thru Small World Vacations --- they do not book flight ressies, only hotel/tickets...

if i need anything i just email her and she gets back to me pretty quickly --- she booked all my ADR's for me and got the times we wanted --- she has also repriced our vacation using codes for rates that may have come up or using other offers that have come up since we booked --- just to make sure we are getting the best deal --- so far nothing has compared to the 4/3 deal --- but it's nice to know she is still checking for the cheapest price ---

 

[stacy6552]

Call Disney directly by phone. Booking on the disney website is actually going through an unrelated travel company. Disney will be able to help you so much more than any travel company and their cancellation policies and transferring reservations are so much easier.

 

[swilcher]

This being our first trip, we used a TA.

 

[katybugsmom]

We have used a TA from Cruisingco.com for our last two trips. Our TA made all of our ADR's-all I had to do was fill out a list of where and when we wanted to eat and she did the rest. I agree that planning is 3/4 of the fun of the whole trip, but I really liked the idea of someone else making all those reservations. I was left with all the fun stuff to plan. Price was the same as going through Disney, without the hassle. Hope this helps!

 

[dislvr74]

I love, love, love my TA. I don't pay anything extra and she always gets us the best deals. I just like knowing that someone else is watching for new deals-last trip I got an email a few weeks before our departure letting me know she had found some discount and saved us $200.

Seriously though, the absolute best part is that I don't have to make my own ADRs.

 

[minnieandtink]

I highly recommend the magic for less. I planned it all but used Linda and she helped tremendously! Prices are the same as online or through disney but you get the added knowledge for no travel agent charge. She was wonderful! I have sent several people her way and have nothing but great experiences! You will not be disappointed!

 

[cglaura]

I call disney myself and use a aaa discount, so far there has always been a room available. I'm sure that is not always the case (I go off season).

I always get a room only, with a 20% aaa discount, then get my parkhoppers thru mousesavers/undercovertourist. If I see there is a code floating around I call and see if it will save anything over the aaa, but I haven't been lucky yet wizard: for that 40% email to come my way).

We get our flights on Spirit's website. I'm on their email, so have been lucky with $88 round trip, those are kind of tricky, you have to hit it just right on the right day and not dilly dally.

I just like to do the stuff, all the calls, the online research, that is part of the fun for our vacation. We don't do alot of ts meals, so making adr calls isn't really an issue. We're not too particular, if I call for an adr and it isn't available I just see what else there is.

 

[2disneyboys]

this trip, I've actually tried all three. First I booked thru Disney Website. Then I wanted to add days, but didnt want to split stay between resorts, so on the phone I cancelled orig trip and rebooked a new trip for different resort, days, etc. Then a friend of mine is a AAA Travel agent. I sent her a copy of my confirmation email which lists all my details to see if she could do better (or about the same, I wanted her to get credit for the trip) and she resonded that her price was $15.00 less then my disney trip, so we cancelled again and she booked it (not that I was worried about saving $15.00 but more that I wanted her to get the credit for the trip.

a side note.. You don't ALWAYS pay more to use a TA. Most of them get a fee from the destination.. sort of like insurance.. you don't pay more to have an agent. The company just makes less on your policy as they pay the agent a comission. So if your unfamilar with the trip, don't have the time, or just feel overwhelmed, let a TA handle the major details so you can just focus on the fun details.