Trying it without a travel agent

[Puccaw]

Just wondering if there is anything that I should be very cautious with?
We are planning on April 22-May6 2009 @ POP flying direct from Nova Scotia.
I want to stay on the DDP and buy my park tickets (hopper and water parks option) in advance. Is there much to doing this and will I save myself any money by booking it myself? The last two times that we went we used a travel agent and people told me that I paid too much so now I am thinking about trying this all on my own. I want to call and book POP fairly soon but am a little nervous about doing so, I am not a seasoned traveller. Any advice woould be greatly appreciated!

 

[skipperkim]

Just wondering if there is anything that I should be very cautious with?
We are planning on April 22-May6 2009 @ POP flying direct from Nova Scotia.
I want to stay on the DDP and buy my park tickets (hopper and water parks option) in advance. Is there much to doing this and will I save myself any money by booking it myself? The last two times that we went we used a travel agent and people told me that I paid too much so now I am thinking about trying this all on my own. I want to call and book POP fairly soon but am a little nervous about doing so, I am not a seasoned traveller. Any advice woould be greatly appreciated!

I'd call when package prices are to be released in Aug for 2009. If you are doing the DDP you will not be able to purchase tickets in advance since you are on a package. (You could in theory purchase a one day pass for the DDP, then buy tickets to use the rest of the trip elsewhere, but that's more work than I'm normally interested in doing.) You can call and book Pop now, you'll pay 1 nights deposit for it. When the package prices come out, call and change it over to a package. The balance on the package will be 45 days before arrival. Actually I perfer doing this myself. That way I have all the info myself and not have to rely on someone else. One more suggestion, be sure to make your ADR's at 180 days out - Oct 24th.

 

[bigbabyblues]

We've never used a TA either, I prefer to make my own reservations. Watch this board and mousesavers for discounts if there are any, and you can call and ask them to apply the code for you.

 

[Puccaw]

Right!! I forgot about the DDP being a package! I think that is what I will do then, book POP for those dates and then switch to the package in August. When will the park hours for April and May come out? I want to make sure that I book better reservations then last time. I booked my restaurants before I checked park hours and then had to scramble to try and take advatage of EMH.....I'm such a rookie. Thanks for the date for my ADR's as well. I already marked it on my calendar!

 

[skipperkim]

It used to be 6 months prior, but lately WDW hasn't posted Nov & Dec hrs to rapidly. But then I'm fairly certain that had to do with Christmas, so I wouldn't use that as a deciding factor. You might also want to subscribe to the newsletter at mousesavers and allearsnet. They are so much help in planning. That said, I wouldn't have known about the CP dates being released had I not checked in here.

 

[DizOz]

Last December we went to WDW and I compared TA price to what I could get myself. For a 14 day stay we saved over AUD$1000 which today is about USD$950. This ia after they tried to recommend 3 hotels that did NOT match the criteria I gave them.

The only thing I used them for was booking my internal flights in the US.

 

[skipperkim]

I used a TA for my first trip and am using one for this trip only because I'm using AAA for the discount and we're on DDP. Otherwise I'd have done it myself. When I do it myself, if something goes wrong I know how to blame. I'm such a control freak, I know. With my AAA TA we communicate over the phone or via emails during her working hours. I have made her aware that if a better code comes out next month than what we currently have we'd like to apply it to an upgrade to AKL. I'd so rather stay there than CSR, but that's another thread.

 

[luvdisney24]

If you use an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner such as Small World Vacations or Dreams Unlimited, your package price should be exactly the same as the price you will get from Disney. The difference between booking yourself and booking with one of these agencies is that they will watch for discounts to be released and try to get them for you. You don't need to be watching for the discounts as they will do that for you.

There's a rumor floating around over on the rumor board that Disney might be temporarily going back to the 90 day booking window for ADRs. So if you are going in April, you won't be able to make your ADRs until January. This is supposed to go into effect on October 15.

The agents that work for the two agencies I mentioned will also help book those ADRs for you so you won't need to make that long distance call.

Good luck with your decision!!

 

[skipperkim]

If you use an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner such as Small World Vacations or Dreams Unlimited, your package price should be exactly the same as the price you will get from Disney. The difference between booking yourself and booking with one of these agencies is that they will watch for discounts to be released and try to get them for you. You don't need to be watching for the discounts as they will do that for you.

There's a rumor floating around over on the rumor board that Disney might be temporarily going back to the 90 day booking window for ADRs. So if you are going in April, you won't be able to make your ADRs until January. This is supposed to go into effect on October 15.

The agents that work for the two agencies I mentioned will also help book those ADRs for you so you won't need to make that long distance call.

Good luck with your decision!!

Oh, that's right. I forgot all about that. They will eventually be back to 180 days after they get the new system up and running.

 

[Puccaw]

Oh, that's right. I forgot all about that. They will eventually be back to 180 days after they get the new system up and running.

Thanks for all the great advice. Is this just rumour or is it indeed fact already? That means Jan 22 2009, I can assume that the park hours will be out by then. I think that I should be able to handle it with all the great tips that one can get here. I think that we will do 10 day park hopper with water option and take a day to chill at the pool and perhaps another day to just decompress. I found the last time I overscheduled us and while we had a ton of fun we were all pretty tired every single day.

 

[Hmbldr]

Agree with PP, luvdisney24, TAs can find you same rates as Disney, but should never cost you more. ...I used a Disney Speciaist TA and she found me just what I wanted - when others couldn't (including Dreams Unlimited) Then she found me discounts (ticket package) and then I added DDP. I sent her a list of my desired ADRs and she went to work on those. In the end, I got all the ADRs I wanted, when I wanted and I didn't have to spend anytime with Disney CRO and no long distant calls. Thsi was all done within 2 months of very busy April season. She was great, fast, efficient, very responsive and accessible by email, office and cel phone. Easy. She is here on Dis.



BTW, where in NS are you? Family is from CB and I am heading there in August.

 

[jenseib]

For our last two trips I called several travel agents/Disney and AAA. The travle agents al lgave me the EXACT same price as Disney (with out any "deals" that might be going on, which were none for when we went) It is basically impossible to get a cheaper rate for Disney, except through a few limited places or deals. We booked both times with AAA as they were a bit cheaper. We did the whole package with DDP too. With AAA we got a few extra perks too. So I am convenced that AAA is usually our best deal for the time we go (march). Now flights are more expensive going through a travel agent as they take a fee per person, so we book ours usually throguh the ariline ourselves. I also found that I can look on places like Expedia and find the times and dates we wnt, and then go to the airline website and still book it cheaper than those sites offer.

 

[TraceyDisney2008]

I have family who had luck with west-jet vacations when you calculated the airfare they were better off booking with them and having there flight included, they are flying out of halifax, one week at POP in September with free dining and park hopper plus water park passes for 3500, booking flight only was 1700.This was for 3 adults and on child. It doesnt hurt to make the call or type in your dates.

 

[DisTeach1]

Honestly, I haven't used a travel agent for any trip, anywhere, since 1998. With the internet and message boards, I've found them to be totally unneccessary.

 

[InstImpres]

As OP's have said an agent should NEVER cost you more than going direct. With Disney you should find the pricing identical. Agents can offer you planning help, making of ADRs, special arrangements (birthday cakes, etc.), price/code watching for promotions and sometimes extra goodies (lanyards with trading pins, rain ponchos, planning books and more).

It is certainly doable on your own but why not have someone on your side and take the stress (and time) of calling out of the equation for you.

Enjoy your trip whatever you decide.

 

[TagsMissy]

I don't know what sort of freedom your TA has but my TA not only matched the best price I could get on my own but she beat it for me.

I am in Canada as well... if you want her contact send me a private message.

 

[LuvTigger]

I am a big fan of Dreams Unlimited. I used to always book myself, but I found that working with DU offers the best of both worlds. I'm in control of the decisions, but DU helps with the leg work. And it never costs more than it would if you booked direct through Disney. Given the time difference for me, having DU make the calls for me is a huge time and money saver.

 

[Puccaw]

See, the TA we used is a friend of my mom's and I thought that we had a very reasonable price but others said that it was a bit steep, some on here that I assume know more than I do and others off of the DIS boards who may have no clue what they are talking about. I prefer to have a fall guy, but if it will save me any serious amount of money then I would give it a try myself. We have found direct flights with AirTransat out of Halifax ( that is where we live) on April 22 for a total of $2100.00 for all 4 of us which I think is pretty reasonable and I think that I should book those now. Last year we flew direct on the 10'th stayed 10 nights at POP with park hopper/waterpark tickets for 7 days (then addded a day) with DDP for $6500.00.

 

[Dianewes]

I never use a TA either ... you will get the same price directly from Disney, so why not just call directly? Enjoy your trip !!

 

[it's kelly]

Puccaw, I called a TA to price a vacation to Disney in September and then I found out Jetblue also books vacations so I gave them a call. Jetblue's price was about $1,000.00 less then the TA wanted to charge so I booked thru them. I have a friend who booked her last Disney trip thru Jetblue after I told her and she saved as well and also said she had no problems with the trip. Try giving them a call they can book the whole thing - tickets and all.