Travel Agent vs Do It Yourself?

[Lisa LSR]

Hi everyone,
In the past, I've used a travel agent friend of mine (specializes in Disney vacations). I've noticed her rates are the same as the rates I get through the WDW website.

I have seen that some ppl have been able to negotiate better prices on the phone with a CM.

I am trying to decide if I should just go it alone this time? I've always enjoyed the use of a TA because they deal with dining reservations, etc.

Any advice or suggestions?

 

[Ismo]

We used a travel agent the last 2 times. I am normally all about planning vacations myself, but for Disney, it's nice to have someone else do it for you.

What I love is that we booked in February and when the new summer promotion came out our TA emailed me straight away telling me we could either save $150 or upgrade for no extra cost. I didn't have to figure it out for myself or research the cost.

Also, we are going with my brother and his family. They also booked via our TA. We want to have dinner together every night. So we just send the TA our restaurant requests, dates, and times and she booked them all for us. We actually booked after my brother, but my brother was able to make dinner reservations that included us even though we didn't have a resort reservation yet.

Another thing I love is that the TA sends us this great little package before our trip. On top of the usual Disney stuff you get, she included the Imagineering Park books and special pins for my brother's kid. She also gave DH and I a pin as it was our first visit together.

I really enjoy using a TA because I don't have to worry about anything. The TA will take care of everything for me and I can just worry about what we're doing in the parks.

But I think it really comes down to personal preference. If you want more control over the resort, park tickets, and restaurant booking then you should book through Disney yourself.

 

[GovieMom]

If you want more control over the resort, park tickets, and restaurant booking then you should book through Disney yourself.

This is a total misconception, as you can do all those things yourself, except book the resort (which the TA has to do). But you can tell her which resort you want, as well as put in your requests. Many people think a TA has to plan their trip for them, and I'm sure many are asked to. All I have our TA do is book our reservation, and add whichever deal or promotion is offered at the time it comes out. If we want a package that includes tickets or a dining plan, I have her add those as well. But I make all our dining ADRs and get our FP+s online; she has nothing to do with that.

 

[mickeynut1]

This is a total misconception, as you can do all those things yourself, except book the resort (which the TA has to do).

The misconception is true to a point. You can make your own ADRs etc., but the restrictions come into play if you want to make changes, have questions, etc. as any and all changes must be made through the TA. Since the TA "owns" the reservation until you check in, Disney will not talk to you about the reservation. This (to me) is the "control" part that cannot be avoided when using a TA. I prefer to book everything myself for this very reason. As the pp said, it's a personal preference whether to book yourself or with a TA as some control is given up when going through a TA.

 

[Lisa LSR]

My TA doesn't send cute stuff like that! We get an itinerary with our res info on it, a couple of luggage tags, and that's about it.

I know we can't give out TA information, but if anyone wants to PM me, I'd love to hear who you use.

If a TA makes my reservations, will it still show up in the system if I have a PIN attached to my name, etc?

 

[Lisa LSR]

Goviemom, so I'm curious why you use a TA? Do they get a better deal for you than you can get on your own?

 

[XtraEdGe]

We originally we're set to go with a TA (one that's been banned here) but their group rate did not fall on the dates we wanted. They had excellent price on a deluxe resort. But we decided to do it ourselves. We did Orbitz and almost got a similar deal on the resort (Disney's summer deal 30% off plus Orbitz 20% off code). And we like to have control on the other aspects (tickets, flights, dining) of our vacations.

 

[Ismo]

This is a total misconception, as you can do all those things yourself, except book the resort (which the TA has to do). But you can tell her which resort you want, as well as put in your requests. Many people think a TA has to plan their trip for them, and I'm sure many are asked to. All I have our TA do is book our reservation, and add whichever deal or promotion is offered at the time it comes out. If we want a package that includes tickets or a dining plan, I have her add those as well. But I make all our dining ADRs and get our FP+s online; she has nothing to do with that.

Sorry if I didn't explain myself thoroughly enough. I didn't mean that YOU COULDN'T do those things, just that when you use a TA you don't HAVE to if you'd rather someone else do it for you.

For me personally, I love that I don't have to make my own ADRs. We give the TA a time frame and she figures it out.

All other holidays my DH and I take I usually plan everything myself even including spreadsheets! For Disney, I try to leave the big things to the TA.

But again, that's not saying you can mix and match the 2 options. Have the TA book the make reservation for you and then you can go onto MDE and do the rest yourself.

 

[Ismo]

My TA doesn't send cute stuff like that! We get an itinerary with our res info on it, a couple of luggage tags, and that's about it.

I know we can't give out TA information, but if anyone wants to PM me, I'd love to hear who you use.

If a TA makes my reservations, will it still show up in the system if I have a PIN attached to my name, etc?

We are able to see all of our reservations in the MDE site and app. And I can link to other family reservations as well. We will be making our own FP+ selections via MDE.

But as mentioned above, any changes that need to be made to the reservation need to be done by the TA. Some people might not want to lose that control over their reservation and others may prefer to have someone else take care of any changes.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

I have done both many times and have no problem either way. Sometimes TAs have pricing that you simply cannot match elsewhere. Last year my family stayed at the Beach Club for 2 weeks and paid $191/night. That is more than 50% off. It certainly made sense to book that trip through a TA.

 

[GovieMom]

Goviemom, so I'm curious why you use a TA? Do they get a better deal for you than you can get on your own?

The main reason I use one is to make sure I can take advantage of whatever promotion is being offered, the minute it becomes available, without having to spend time on the phone. I use a Disney-authorized TA, and she always knows about the promotions before they're released to the general public. She adds the promo to my reservation as soon as it becomes available, whether it's at midnight or 6 a.m. I have no problem letting her make whatever changes, if there are any, to my reservation, especially since she always e-mails me promptly (usually within minutes) whenever I contact her. I trust her completely, and am glad she gets a commission from Disney for being such a great help to me. A win-win for us both!