Using a "free" travel agent or no?

[Minuet888]

With so many things that I am not familiar with (lightning lane, dining packages for fireworks, etc)
I've been thinking about just booking with a travel agent.
There are a lot of "Free" ones and particular popular one in tik tok by the name of Alyssa Geeter that I've been thinking about going with.
Has anyone gone with a travel agent versus just booking it by yourself?
Wondering about your thoughts on this.
Thanks!

 

[NYCgrrl]

Travel agents are “free” to the client who contacts them; the hotel/ resort pays them via a percentage of services booked.

Should you opt to use a TA make sure they specialize in the place you want to vacation at and are professionally qualified. Don’t know the Tik Tok person you mentioned but if they meet the basics and they mesh well with your ideas, go for it.

Have fun!

 

[plutolovr]

With so many things that I am not familiar with (lightning lane, dining packages for fireworks, etc)
I've been thinking about just booking with a travel agent.
There are a lot of "Free" ones and particular popular one in tik tok by the name of Alyssa Geeter that I've been thinking about going with.
Has anyone gone with a travel agent versus just booking it by yourself?
Wondering about your thoughts on this.
Thanks!

Since you are a member of these boards, you should try and use Dreams Unlimited Travel since they sponsor these boards. Their services are free to the client.

 

[Schneewittchen37]

I always use a Dreams Unlimited travel agent, Allison Raver. She's been great for rebooking things to get me the best prices when new promotions come out etc. I have been using her help for about 6 years, at least.

 

[WLWildlife]

As someone who likes to be in charge of my experience, I prefer not to use a travel agent. If you use an agent, they are the only one who can make changes to your reservation if you decide to add, eliminate, or alter something. I also don't purchase a lot of the up charges that Disney has available. Whether to use an agent or not is definitely a personal preference. Have a great trip, whatever you decide.

 

[OKW Lover]

As someone who likes to be in charge of my experience, I prefer not to use a travel agent. If you use an agent, they are the only one who can make changes to your reservation if you decide to add, eliminate, or alter something.

The way I look at it is that I'm still totally in charge of my reservation when I use Dreams Unlimited Travel. If I want to change something I just contact the TA and let them deal with Disney rather than taking up my time.

 

[WLWildlife]

The way I look at it is that I'm still totally in charge of my reservation when I use Dreams Unlimited Travel. If I want to change something I just contact the TA and let them deal with Disney rather than taking up my time.

That's great for you, but not the way I like to do things. I don't mind spending my time planning my vacation. It's great that there is more than one way for things to be done to suit people's needs.

 

[lanejudy]

With so many things that I am not familiar with (lightning lane, dining packages for fireworks, etc)
I've been thinking about just booking with a travel agent.

A knowledgeable travel agent can help answer any questions you have, and maybe help booking some of those extras. Technically WDW doesn't allow them to access your MDE account so you need to provide them with your password. Some will do it, some will simply guide you to do it. If they help with it, be aware a TA may not be online to do those activity bookings immediately when reservations open and thus may not have access to the "best" times available.

However you do have a multi-part vacation planned and a good TA can help you to bring those parts together. While you can do it yourself, it may ease your mind to let someone else pull it all together for you.

If you do use a TA, I recommend finding one that is not only knowledgeable about your chosen destinations, but also recommended as understanding travel with a disabled adult (I believe you've mentioned your son has a disability).

 

[dreamer17555]

I recommend finding one who will do what you want. Dreams is great but they do not book dining or lightning lanes for you. You will need to find an agent who will be up that morning early to book for you right as things open and someone you trust to have your MDE password if you are wanting them to book dining and lightning lanes.

Take some time to vet the agents you are considering and ask questions before booking with them. Make sure they are knowledgeable and willing to do what you are looking for in an agent.

 

[SG131]

If you use someone that is a certified agent, it is free, no need to use the quotes. They get their commission from Disney for the booking. Make sure you use an agent that works specifically with Disney, not sure tiktok would be the first place I'd go for that. You run the risk of getting someone that is more of an influencer than an agent. With a quick search, she does not have that many followers on her facebook business page. There are some top selling agents that have cultivated networks of support. Another thing to watch out for with some of the smaller agents is I have seen a few that charge a cancellation or change fee. The agencies I have used do not. But I do think if you find a good agent it can be very helpful to someone who is unfamiliar with Disney. The first time I went back after many years I used an agent to help me understand all the changes.

 

[kylenne]

Experienced folks don't "need" them per se, but they still come in handy and can be very helpful. I've used one for years despite being a hardcore A type planner, at first solely for her agency's "magical" deals (iykyk) but since those went away with covid we have still continued to work with her regardless just because she's always been super on the ball and I find it really helpful to have another set of eyes on the reservation. Whenever discounts release by the time I log on here, she's already applied them to our reservation. More than once my alarm has gone off at 6:30a for an office day and I look at my phone and I see an email from her sent at like 5am that a discount dropped and she applied it. I've never felt disempowered or like I had a lack of control over anything. Quite the opposite. But we've also been working with her since 2017 so she's very familiar with our preferences. On our last trip there was no availability for resort view at GF which is what we had booked so she swapped us to TPV and saved us $800. While I was asleep lol. She even sends cookies from a local Orlando bakery to the front desk of my resort on my birthday trips.

The only time I have ever really utilized her as far as booking extras etc was last August when my mom died suddenly a month before our Sept land and sea trip. She took care of literally everything, even things I would normally book on my own (airport transportation, etc) and I was really grateful for that because my mind was like swiss cheese at the time. I look at a good TA as being like an executive assistant. You don't necessarily need one if you know what you're doing, but they are still very helpful.

 

[fla4fun]

The only time I have ever really utilized her as far as booking extras etc was last August when my mom died suddenly a month before our Sept land and sea trip. She took care of literally everything, even things I would normally book on my own (airport transportation, etc) and I was really grateful for that because my mind was like swiss cheese at the time. I look at a good TA as being like an executive assistant. You don't necessarily need one if you know what you're doing, but they are still very helpful.

I used one under similar circumstances, when my mom was going through cancer treatments and it was simply too difficult for me to keep track of the details myself. Under normal circumstances I book on my own, since I don’t need help with flights (I drive) and I can usually book dining myself, but that trip I needed the help.

There isn’t a right or wrong answer OP. If you feel more comfortable having someone assist you in planning your trip, a Disney focused TA can be a big help. If you prefer to handle the booking yourself, or if you get frustrated if you don’t get an immediate response (for example, if a discount on rooms comes out and you can’t get a hold of your agent to confirm they are working on it because they are actually working on it) then doing it yourself is fine too.

 

[Robber Baron]

I feel I know more than most TA's about all things Disney World.

If I want to make changes I want to do them immediately without waiting on a TA to get back to me.

The only time I have used TA's if they have some type of Exclusive Deal going on.

 

[hes122]

I have a planner personality, but I also like to give my friend who's a Disney TA my business so I give her the basics of what I want and then she does all the work for me. I usually travel with people who don't live in my house so it just makes it easier for her to collect payments from them.

 

[piasalady]

I used to book our Disney vacations but decided to try a TA because we were thinking of doing a cruise which I have never booked. We tried our TA for disney because I figured I would be able to tell how useful it would be since I have always done it myself. The experience has been great and I will always use one now. She was able to add a discount to our last vacation when Disney dropped deals and made all of our Dining reservations. It was so nice to not have to spend hours on the phone or on the computer trying to add discounts and make changes. I highly recommend finding a Travel Agency that specializes in Disney. It is a huge time saver.

 

[Dug720]

Whenever discounts release by the time I log on here, she's already applied them to our reservation.

Same. Mine will email (or FB message) me and say 1 of 3 things:
1 - I've changed you to the new discount. Here's your new information.
2 - You already have a better deal than the new discount.
3 - Your particular room type (or resort since she knows I have a few I like) isn't available, but this type or this resort is available if you want to change to that.

 

[We’reAllMadHere]

A warning - I’ve seen a lot of “travel agents” on Instagram or tik tok who are giving poor advice. I would only use an authorized Disney travel agent.

I like to plan our vacations and do the research for our small family but I would consider a travel agency for an extended family or friends trip. Seems like that could take some of the hassle out of it.

ETA: I think good travel agent can be a great resource for someone who is booking a once-in-a-lifetime trip or a newbie who just doesn’t have time or care to learn about all the Disney nuances. Some people love planning. Some people get stressed out by it, especially if they don’t care about going back to Disney again soon and have no need to retain the info.

 

[dreamer17555]

A warning - I’ve seen a lot of “travel agents” on Instagram or tik tok who are giving poor advice. I would only use an authorized Disney travel agent.

I like to plan our vacations and do the research for our small family but I would consider a travel agency for an extended family or friends trip. Seems like that could take some of the hassle out of it.

ETA: I think good travel agent can be a great resource for someone who is booking a once-in-a-lifetime trip or a newbie who just doesn’t have time or care to learn about all the Disney nuances. Some people love planning. Some people get stressed out by it, especially if they don’t care about going back to Disney again soon and have no need to retain the info.

Just so you are aware- Only Disney AUTHORIZED travel agents can book Disney and earn a commission but being one does not mean you are a expert. Some of Disney's own training is woefully out of date. You really need an agent IMO who actually goes to the parks often and sails regularly on DCL so that they know the changes first hand.

It is not hard to be added to an agency, take the Disney training and be an authorized agent- please do not assume that title means they know what they are doing.

 

[We’reAllMadHere]

Just so you are aware- Only Disney AUTHORIZED travel agents can book Disney and earn a commission but being one does not mean you are a expert. Some of Disney's own training is woefully out of date. You really need an agent IMO who actually goes to the parks often and sails regularly on DCL so that they know the changes first hand.

It is not hard to be added to an agency, take the Disney training and be an authorized agent- please do not assume that title means they know what they are doing.

That’s good to know! Maybe I should rephrase to say the only agents I would use are ones who sponsor boards like this or are active on social media and provide valuable input.

 

[dreamer17555]

That’s good to know! Maybe I should rephrase to say the only agents I would use are ones who sponsor boards like this or are active on social media and provide valuable input.

I think it depends on what a client wants- Dreams is awesome but they are not booking dining and lightning lanes.

Those who are big on social media also may or may not offer the service- the bigger they are they tend to have less time to focus on what each client needs. Content creation takes some serious time.

I think the better thing is the vet the person or get recommendations from friends and families and always before booking make sure they do things like book dining at 6 am 60 days out or for DCL are up at midnight 30 days out to book Royal gathering for you