You could research and find if there is a TA who would charge by the hour of work, but why not just read here? You're here already asking questions. Just ask different ones.
Your username is killing me since you say you don't want to plan.
People here have laid out the spaces you might want. Read deeper in the threads about each dvc on the monorail and see if any of them work for you.
By the way, are you not planning to go to Animal Kingdom at all???
LOL Well, I suppose planning is all relative. But I am aware that I still need to put a lot of work into the other planning, i.e. what and when we want to eat, which nights we dine together or separately, which days at which parks, which rides to get FPs. That's a lot. And I am the planner for everyone. I have the responsibility of hustling these people into some order of a plan. I would like to have a travel agent on top of executing that, for example, sorting through the restaurants to know which have a large table open on these dates, and hopefully which have a table open on closer dates when we suddenly have to change plans because someone flaked.
Also, I travel out of the country a lot, often with spotty wifi, so can not depend on being available online at the exact time reservations open up to get things booked. I want someone who can handle that. That's a freaking JOB.
Animal Kingdom is not ruled out, but if we do it, it will be one day, and with local family members. Which is more of the anomaly of the trip.
Given your scenario, I would reach out to a reputable DVC broker and get the ball rolling on a 3-bedroom rental and also reach out to an EarMarked agency and ask them to get you a quote for villas and suites. You won't be able to get any of these numbers until 2017 though. See what they can get for you and then pounce on the one that appeals most. If you end up renting the villa, then ask the agency TA if they would be willing to do the FP's and ADR's for a fee. Some will be willing to do this, but it will most likely be a few hundred dollars.
Yes, I am open to this. My question is if anyone knows, and can highly recommend, agencies that do offer something like this, as opposed to just commission based work.
That's really far out. Kids change a lot within a few years. My kids used to be light sleepers but they now sleep like the dead especially when they are as tired out as they would be after a day at WDW. I'm not sure why you only think monorail resorts are an option. You can't use car seats on a bus anyways because how would you anchor it? What do you plan to do on DME? It's a bus. Expanding your selection of possible resorts will really help.
The kids are not the only reason for the monorail requirement. My choice was for the 4 seasons. I was outvoted - strongly - by adults who prefer to stay on property. I didn't really lay out every single minutia of our our lives in my initial post, lol, but yes, we do have our reasons, and we are very set on monorail. And we don't want to plan around the hope that the kids are different sleepers, because honestly, they are great sleepers. The kind of sleepers that other parents envy. They just require a quiet, dark room. We are not making plans based on hoping their sleeping patterns undergo an immense change, because we really do everything possible to prevent that. They are very scheduled, very structured kids, and that works for everyone.
All TAs get their pay from the hotels..not the client. When you use a Disney qualified TA, they get paid by Disney, after making all your reservations. Very few TAs get paid by us, the traveler.
I'm not sure what you mean by 'unbiased' recommendations. TAs want you to be happy with your trip. Word of mouth is the biggest form of advertising a TA can get..if you got a TA who gave you bad info, you wouldn't waste any time telling the world about it. That TA wouldn't get much more business.
By unbiased, I mean that TAs earn their commission through hotel bookings, so obviously will point me there. I don't expect them to point me towards renting points, even though that may be the better option for circumstances. Thus, I am looking for someone who is open to looking at BOTH options and giving me unbiased advice. Someone who straddles the line of both broker and travel agent. Even if their payment structure is then fee-based.
One thing I might suggest, that you may not be open to, is the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin. I don't know how familiar you are with all of the resorts. The Swan and Dolphin are in the Epcot resort area, are not owned and operated by Disney, but are in a prime location, walking distance to two parks. You would still get Disney transportation and extra magic hours, but wouldn't have access to the dining plan or magical express. They offer discounts to teachers, nurses, and military, and WILL guarantee connecting rooms and rooms right near each other.
So about a year or so ago my sister stayed at the Swan and Dolphin as it was selected by her in-laws and she had little say in the matter. They guaranteed connecting rooms. She did not get connecting rooms. It was a disaster. Which has led to a vow to never trust another Disney connecting room reservation again.
How about the King Kamehamha suite at the Polynesian in the Tonga Longhouse?
You can add on 3 additional bedrooms to this suite.
This would be lovely. And I have read that many of the resort suites offer connecting rooms to increase the number of bedrooms, and that would be the absolutely IDEAL circumstance. Just keep adding on the bedrooms. We could have the whole party together.
However, it still seems to rely upon the connecting room which is NOT guaranteed. So thus, just like any regular connecting rooms, not a viable option. If, however, people here have further knowledge about how connecting rooms to suites are more guaranteed than their standard room counterparts, I'd definitely be all ears!
I would also look into Wilderness Lodge. It's not connected to the monorail, but it is close, and it's only a ferry ride (no bus needed) to get to the Magic Kingdom.
A ferry is definitely more appealing than a bus, but my party has been pretty firm. Monorail. Again, the 3 bedrooms exist in the monorail resorts. And I am open to either of the 3 resorts, and I am somewhat flexible on dates. I think the prices being quoted here are actually much more reasonable than I was expecting. I do think it can be done. I was just hoping to hire someone to determine the BEST possible way to do it, and to handle it all.
Just a side note for point renting. We rented for our trip last fall and we had to go with a private rental because none of the rental brokers had enough points to secure a 1 week rental at any of the monorail resorts.
Well now, that is a new potential problem no one has mentioned before!
