travel agent vs. self planning

[karrit2000]

I take care of everything myself. I had several bad experiences with TA's because they didn't do the follow-ups that they should have since that is their job. I went against my better judgement and used a TA to book a cruise last year and needless to say I never received some of the info & paperwork that I should have. So I'm done with TA's for good. I definitely would never allow one to handle my ADR's, As others have said, you need to be able to have alternate times & choices if they don't have exactly what you want available.

 

[Tiggerlover48]

I am a travel agent and I think you should book with a travel agent. I am also a certified Disney specialist and of course a disney addict!!! I offer my clients all of my knowledge and help with hotel, restaurant and other suggestions. Plus when the documents arrive I meet with my clients and go over everything and answer any and all questions they might have. This way they understand better what they are doing - especially if they have never been before.

 

[Tiggerlover48]

I also forgot to add that if a special promotion comes up and my clients are not booked with it - I call them and tell them about it and see if I can get them a better deal. I lose money (my commission) doing this, but it make them happy and that's what it's all about - providing good customer service. I also offer other dates to save people money. That's what a good TA should be doing for you.

 

[LuvTigger]

I am a really big fan of Dreams Unlimited. I am also a control freak, and prior to finding out about DU, I booked everything myself. But, booking myself came at a price, particularly because of the time difference. I had access to an 800 #, but not everyone does, so one advantage of a TA is the phone bill. Another advantage of using a TA is your time. When I booked things myself, I would have to get up (or stay up) if I wanted to call right when CRO opened. I also don't care for talking to people on the phone, and I sometimes got frustrated with some of the people who were less knowledgeable than I was about things at Disney. With DU, I still do all the planning, but they do all the legwork, and it costs me nothing extra. Plus, they look for discounts for you. They have been great about making decisions like what happens if I wanted a 5:00 ADR and it's not available? Then they book 4:50, or whatever's closest.

It is a personal decision, and DU is probably the only TA I would trust with my Disney stuff. But there are benefits to TAs, particularly where time is concerned. And they definitely don't have to take the planning fun away from you, unless you are not good at planning and need more guidance, which DU is great at as well.

 

[Ashes8380]

I like to make the plans myself and get my Disney TA to implent them.

That's how we're doing it this trip!

On smaller trips, I've done the planning, but this is a pretty big one. Myself, three younger cousins (5 y/o twins adn 7 y/o), mom, 2 aunts, and a family friend. We're doing a lot of stuff together but not everything - but I'm the only one who has the know how, organization, or patience to book everything. However, I've also been swamped with finishing grad school and starting a new job..... so we called a TA! It's worked out great so far, but I'll be able to tell you more in October

 

[jennwndrlnd]

We use a TA and plan things ourselves. The advantage as many have pointed out of using a TA is that when specials come around they can take advantage of them. My TA was able to get us in on free dining last year even though it had already expired. She was allowed to do so because she specializes in Disney vacations and has a rep that comes into see her monthly, when she told him we had booked our trip two days before free dining ended but didn't have the code put in for some reason he decided to let us use it even though it was over. She was also able to get us booked at a better price.

She books the ADRs that she can and I do the rest. I give her a specific list of places we want that are harder to get and she seems to always come through with them. As plans change we cancel and rebook on our own. I also like that she is always ready with airline rule changes and points them out (you never know what you might miss), and has coupons for things like free airport parking.

 

[carmie3377]

I prefer booking on my own and always have until our Jan. trip. I used a AAA agent because I booked using a AAA package. However, I didn't like not being able to pick up the phone and make the changes directly with Disney. Plus, I don't mind calling Disney a thousand times to make changes, but I felt guilty constantly calling the AAA agent every time I changed my mind about something. I now own DVC so I will be required to book those trips on my own. Even if I book a package, I'll just call Disney direct.

 

[zefyr]

After many years of self-planning I used a AAA travel agent last year. For me it was mistake. I paid a preferred rate prices for a standard room. When I made a room request to the travel agent, she was unable to put them through. This wasn't because the room wasn't available but because the agent wasn't familiar with the ins & outs of Pop Century and didn't convey the info correctly. Unfortunately because I was using a travel agent I couldn't call Disney directly to have this fixed. So for me it's self-planning all the way.

For your situation, I'd definitely do your own ADRs. That way you can get the days/times you want and if Disney doesn't have the exact time you want, you can decide on an alternative right then and there. Also, if you're thinking of doing any tours, I'd make the reservation yourself for the same reason as the ADR.