travel agent?

[ryanrileysmom]

Hi everyone I know it has been said a million times but this board is awesome. I have been reading it everyday and now we have a trip in the works and I have a question. Should I use a travel agent to book a WDW vacation or just do it myself? What are the advantages or disadvantages of a travel agent vs myself? Does a travel agent get better deals? Thanks for your help, Oh I am trying to plan a grand gathering if that makes a difference.

 

[kilee]

Personally I have never used a TA. I think that if you have the time you can find just as good deals yourself. However, if you don't have the time to really do your research then I'd probably go the TA route. Have you been to Disney before. I really think that makes a difference. A TA won't give you all the planning info that really can make your trip that much better. I guess that's where the DIS comes in.

 

[Tiggerlover91]

Hi everyone I know it has been said a million times but this board is awesome. I have been reading it everyday and now we have a trip in the works and I have a question. Should I use a travel agent to book a WDW vacation or just do it myself? What are the advantages or disadvantages of a travel agent vs myself? Does a travel agent get better deals? Thanks for your help, Oh I am trying to plan a grand gathering if that makes a difference.

I would go with DREAMS UNLIMITED
They run this site and many of their agents are right here on the DIS. They helped me do my last Disney trip and will be helping me with the one I'm taking in 2006. They will make all you PS(s) for you and will watch out for any codes or deals that may apply to a ressie you have. Saves you on long distance and time. You can still be involved as your TA will only book what you want and will do his or her best to get you EXACTLY what you need. Cathy Miller is my agent and I recommend her highly!

 

[crow11ad]

I say go with a TA. As the previous post said, they will look for all discount codes. We are using one and they will even book our ps for us. Also, are you staying on site? If so I would reccomend getting a rental car. I know you can use the Disney Transportation, but the good thing is after a long day at the parks, do you really want to wait in line to get on a bus that may or may not be full enough to take you. You can leave when you want and go where you want and it is so easy to drive around. There is nothing like driving around at night to go DTD and driving past Epcot and seeing Illuminations going on. Plus you get free parking....

 

[MrsJ Henry]

If you go with a TA Please take suggestions from people on here on who to go with. It has been my experience ( with friends not myself) that the TA's a in our area know NOTHING about Disney. I have had friends get wrong info etc. If the TA is not a Disney expert it will not be worth it.
There are many people on these boards who have had great experiences with specific TA's..... use them before your local ones. ( This includes AAA in my experience)

 

[LukenDC]

I strongly suggest using a travel agent. A travel agent works for YOU and takes on the hassle of making your travel arrangements. Travel agents also stay on top of new developments in the industry and can make recommendations to enhance your vacation.

I do all of my own planning and research (I love travel planning!) and my travel agent makes my arrangements. She saves me time and money by making the calls to WDW and handling any glitches that arise. I almost feel pampered by my travel agent; it's like having access to a concierge!

Make sure that you select a travel agent who specializes in Disney. I can recommend Magical Vacations from personal experience. I have also heard many good things about Dreams Unlimited. Both agencies will make all arrangements for you, including Priority Seatings.

 

[ksjayhawkfan]

I dont think I will ever NOT use a TA. We are using The Magic for Less and our agent is awesome. She stuck with me this past week when DH and I were really stressing about our payoff. She did everything in her power to help us get it worked out, and it did She also made all of our PS and changed them all when we changed our plans, she changed our tickets and our resort with no trouble and she was fast lol.

 

[dani12]

We used a TA b/c he could get us a better deal than we could get on our own. Just make sure you know what you want b/4 you agree to anything!

 

[dbenlee]

We have used Small World Vacations (http://www.wdwvacations.com/) the last 2 years and have been very pleased. Our TA with them has done everything she could to get us discounts and has helped with everything. The only thing they don't book is air travel which was no troulbe with us. She has given us a lot of info and scheduled and rescheduled our PS's. Like has been mentioned before, know what you want before booking, but talk to the TA for their suggestions. At SWV they specialize in Disney Vacations.

 

[ryanrileysmom]

thanks everyone! I am going to go through a travel agent Although I love planning I think they could probably get me better discounts. Thanks for the suggestions on agencies.

 

[maci]

We used Dream Unlimited as well, and some friends I referred to them.

Both of us, ended up getting a credit b/c Dreams, always checks for discounts for you. It saves you LOTS of work!
Plus they will call and try to get you CRT!

There is still plenty for you to plan, where to eat, which parks what days, etc.

Have a great trip!

 

[bigbabyblues]

I prefer to do it all myself. I don't mind making the calls, it's better than the calls I have to make at work all the time (hospital insurance billing office), I actually enjoy it! This way too, I know if I get there and something isn't right, I did it, not a TA.