uninformed AAA travel agent

[Disneykidz]

So I happened to stop into our local AAA office to pick up a tour book for a different trip and casually asked if they'd heard any recent rumors about when free dining at WDW would be announced.

Her response was, "Oh, we won't find out about that until summer." It was all I could do not to laugh.

I mentioned that the current rumor I'd heard was that we might hear something tha second week in April. She didn't really believe me.

I know I'll never use that particular TA for a Disney trip!

 

[safetymom]

Not to defend the agent but Disney doesn't tell agents until the day they release discounts usually. Unless they read the internet they may not know about the free dining rumor.

 

[captchris]

I went into a local Travel Agent and mentioned the no tips policy included with the 2008 DDP, and they said, "oh no, tips will always be included." This was about a week before the 2008 rates with the no tips came out.

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

Not to defend the agent but Disney doesn't tell agents until the day they release discounts usually. Unless they read the internet they may not know about the free dining rumor.

I have to agree with this because DH has his agents license and on the Disney Travel Agent site they do not mention anything about the free dining yet. It is almost unheard of to get a heads up in advance. I know more about travel to Disney than DH does just by reading all the Disney boards on the internet. Unless they are an agent or agency that only books Disney, chances are they don't have the time to keep up with all the stuff flying around the web.

 

[EnnEss]

Was at AAA last week and they tried to sell me the old ddp with tips and the appetizer. I didn't correct them. AAA aren't disney specialists despite their relationship with Disney it seems. I think they're missing a huge potential market because the bonuses go beyond simply the room discount, but most of them don't even know how the room discount works, limited supply etc.

One day AAA will realize this and take advantage of it. Because of that card you get for booking with them no other company could compete if they were well informed, its not the TAs fault im sure, bad information distribution on AAA's side I think.

 

[DisnyMama]

I used a regular TA or non-Disney specialized TA for our 1st WDW trip back in 2001. Huge mistake as he new nothing about WDW. I learned my lesson. The 2nd trip I did it on my own through Disney Travel. Better but still.....EHH! After that I started using Dreams Unlimmited and have used them ever since. They take care of everything and never a worry.

Now if they could only pack for me!!!

 

[LSchrow]

Now if they could only pack for me!!!

have you ever asked them?

you never know...

 

[Aliceacc]

Our first AAA agent was a very nice man, but knew waaay less than I did, even very early into my research. When I spoke to him about the possibility of the Contemporary for our family of 5, he tried to talk me into 2 rooms, since the room occupancy was 4. (So he had no idea of the basics of the Contemporary. And even knowing that we had mentioned somewhat limited finances, he didn't think to mention POR or the family suites.)

Our new agent isn't a Disney Pro, but is amenable to whatever I suggest, and was able to apply our PIN code. At this point, I know what I need to, so I'm not as dependant on his advice.

 

[eliza61]

Considering that you can call Disney directly and get all kinds of misinformation I wouldn't even expect my TA to be on top of the latest changes.
Disney is so absolutely bizarre in the ways they release information you often just have to have a lot of different sources.

 

[disnut8]

Are any of these travel agents dedicated solely to nothing but Disney World trips? Or do they do booking for other vacations as well? I go out to two Disney boards every morning and it takes me about three hours just to read through the posts that interest me on touring, resorts and dining. That's not every single post and only two boards. Would you think that even a dedicated Disney travel agent would have more than three hours to visit these boards? And that's just posts that interest me. When would they actually do the planning for their clients? Or meet with people?

I'm inclined to give these travel agents a break on Disney World. My mother-in-law uses a travel agent for everything but when it comes to Disney World, she hands everything over to me because she knows I know more.

Disney World travel is a travel agent's job. It's our hobby.

 

[Aliceacc]

Are any of these travel agents dedicated solely to nothing but Disney World trips? Or do they do booking for other vacations as well? I go out to two Disney boards every morning and it takes me about three hours just to read through the posts that interest me on touring, resorts and dining. That's not every single post and only two boards. Would you think that even a dedicated Disney travel agent would have more than three hours to visit these boards? And that's just posts that interest me. When would they actually do the planning for their clients? Or meet with people?

I'm inclined to give these travel agents a break on Disney World. My mother-in-law uses a travel agent for everything but when it comes to Disney World, she hands everything over to me because she knows I know more.

Disney World travel is a travel agent's job. It's our hobby.

Excellent point.

I would have no problem with a TA saying he would get back to me with info or recommendations, so that he could research and find the answer to my question. (That's my current agent's MO. He's fairly new, so he looks stuff up and gets back to me.)

But I'm not comfortable with an agent giving the WRONG info instead of taking the time to look up the correct info. On speculation, sure (like whether or not next year's meal plan will be like this year's. There's no way the TAs could have predicted the changes that were made to the meal plan.) But not the wrong info.

 

[Tine731]

Not to defend the agent but Disney doesn't tell agents until the day they release discounts usually. Unless they read the internet they may not know about the free dining rumor.

This is not always the case. I am a TA specializing in Disney and I find out before hand. This way I can set my alarm clock to get up in the wee hours of the morning (with plenty of coffee) to apply the code to my clients packages.

 

[RMulieri]

While I don't agree with Ta's giving out false or inaccurate info .I think that there are also many good AAA ta out there. Seriously, alot of AAA book destinations other than Disney ( Europe, South America, Cruises etc) Not every agent is going to be a walking encyclopedia of Disney knowledge.Just like not every Ta is going to be an expert on the Austrailian Outback.Bottom line is ...consumers need to be more aware of what exactly they are paying for, and where they are vacationing .Most of us wouldn't dream of making a purchase on a big ticket item without research.Why should a vacation be different.If TA's knowledge level about disney is really important ,and I think it is. ask the TA up front about their personal experience booking Disney trips.I went thru 3 agents before I found mine and it has really made all the difference.

 

[themcgoos]

We have been very happy with our AAA TA. I am not sure if she is the only Disney TA in her office or if she is even a designated "Disney Specialist," but I will say that she has been to WDW over 40 times herself with her family and knew the answers to all of my questions when I asked them, and her answers were correct too...

 

[Southerndisney]

My sister has a AAA travel agent that is great. The AAA travel agents in my town have given my wrong information and I will not use them, but I have used tlhe one in my sister's town.

 

[jdes88]

So I happened to stop into our local AAA office to pick up a tour book for a different trip and casually asked if they'd heard any recent rumors about when free dining at WDW would be announced.

Her response was, "Oh, we won't find out about that until summer." It was all I could do not to laugh.

I mentioned that the current rumor I'd heard was that we might hear something tha second week in April. She didn't really believe me.

I know I'll never use that particular TA for a Disney trip!

I'll defend the AAA agent since I am one! I do know that there is rumors of the free dining being released to CC holders on 4/7 and to the public 4/10---but in our area, Disney World is everything to us here in upstate NY and we are truly experts in our offices. If you spoke to a receptionist just grabbing stuff and going---they don't know abt the specials. I make Disney my priority and some people don't. We have to be knowledgable about the whole world, so sometimes it's overwheleming. But most AAA offices have a Disney Expert---go talk to that person!! We try to help out as much as possible---and you reap the benefit of saving a chunk of money on your trip!