Who to book trip with?

[kjh73]

We are thinking of booking a Disney trip...most likely to Disneyland...has anyone booked online with Westjet Vacations or Alaska Air Vacations...or is it best to use a travel agent...such as CAA....just wondering how to get the best deal...or is it better to book everything by itself.... We have been to both Disneyland and Disney World...but one time my dad took us and then the other time I actually was lucky enough to win a trip...so this is the first time that I have had to make any of the arrangments myself..so I'm really not sure where to begin! Thanks!!

 

[Sillyminny40]

Well, we can just share our experience.

• First trip: onsite booked with TA
• Second: offsite booked with TA
• Third: used airmiles booked ourselves and hotel offsite with cousin who works at Marriott
• Fourth: with TA vacation home (very cheap) used airmiles again
• Fifth: with TA 4/3 deal in Feb 2009

You just have to research what works best for you. Nice thing about a TA is you have support if there is a problem. CAA should be very useful too (they are TAs too)!
Or you should have support!
Good luck, you will find a lot of answers to help you here.

 

[drag n' fly]

It really depends on your comfort level and knowledge of the area. We have always booked DIY to DL. That way we can fine tune all the details ourself.

Alaska often advertises kids fly free promo. The downside is you cannot pick your flight times and they usually suck.

Flight Centre also has some good packages. You may also want to check with Dreams Unlimited as they sometimes offer incentives.

The best deals to DL are right after Christmas and right after summer holidays.

If you go to the DL board you will find tons of information on
how to book a DIY vacation to DL if you choose to go that route

 

[ixmnrs]

Look at CAA on Tuesday as they're having this virtual travel show thing
http://www.caasco.com/travel/book-online/virtual-shows.jsp

I also think Jan or Feb is Disney month too plus the AAA vacation benefits. Too bad they took out the special fastpass for Disneyland that they had a few years ago.

 

[Jax]

Westjet Vacations had an amazing deal last year where every adult flew free with a chld. I have used them for a couple of vacations and I have enjoyed both trips. They aren't always the cheapest but I love Westjet so we don't have any troubles booking through them.

I would recommend contacting Dreams Unlimited and getting a no obligation quote from them. I always used to make my own travel arrangements for Disney World, however recently I have gotten quotes from Dreams Unlimited for much cheaper than I could find myself.

Good luck and happy planning!

 

[kjh73]

Thanks everyone for the helpful info!!!

 

[lisalonglash]

We are thinking of booking a Disney trip...most likely to Disneyland...has anyone booked online with Westjet Vacations or Alaska Air Vacations...or is it best to use a travel agent...such as CAA....just wondering how to get the best deal...or is it better to book everything by itself.... We have been to both Disneyland and Disney World...but one time my dad took us and then the other time I actually was lucky enough to win a trip...so this is the first time that I have had to make any of the arrangments myself..so I'm really not sure where to begin! Thanks!!

Our experience has been to use a Disney-specialist TA and we were lucky enough to be referred by friends to an amazing Disney TA in Canada!!! Just look up Fairytale Dreams & Destinations - Christine was so incredibly helpful and really kept a sharp eye on the latest deals (and scored us an incredible discount last year!). She absolutely knows Disney, so you'll be in very good hands I've referred tons of people to Fairytale Dreams and have many friends who've been referred to her by other people too - yes, she is THAT good!

Have a wonderful vacation!!!

 

[canadaman]

Last summer my family went to disneyworld. I was our first ever trip other then 1 night away here or there. We booked it all by ourselves, and found it to be quite easy but time comsuming. I really is a lot of fun to do everything yourself. I just spent a lot of time on this site and others like it, and took my time. Everything was perfect. We kept thinking that we would over look something, but we didn't. Things went well.
So if you are confident in doing it that way i would recommend it.

 

[a*lil*bit*goofy]

how were they able to do it cheaper?

also do they charge a fee for booking per person travelling?

and do they charge with any changes that you are wanting to make?

(and the same above questions to the OP...if you are going ot book with an agent, make sure you get the answers to these questions. :O) )

Westjet Vacations had an amazing deal last year where every adult flew free with a chld. I have used them for a couple of vacations and I have enjoyed both trips. They aren't always the cheapest but I love Westjet so we don't have any troubles booking through them.

I would recommend contacting Dreams Unlimited and getting a no obligation quote from them. I always used to make my own travel arrangements for Disney World, however recently I have gotten quotes from Dreams Unlimited for much cheaper than I could find myself.

Good luck and happy planning!

 

[Haileys_mom]

Our experience has been to use a Disney-specialist TA and we were lucky enough to be referred by friends to an amazing Disney TA in Canada!!! Just look up Fairytale Dreams & Destinations - Christine was so incredibly helpful and really kept a sharp eye on the latest deals (and scored us an incredible discount last year!). She absolutely knows Disney, so you'll be in very good hands I've referred tons of people to Fairytale Dreams and have many friends who've been referred to her by other people too - yes, she is THAT good!

Have a wonderful vacation!!!

We used Christine too! We live in Alberta and she's in Ontario but it didn't make a difference at all.
The service she provides is amazing and she is always right on top of things. She saved us a pile of money and gave me the best advice out of anyone when we were planning our first Disney trip.
We booked our second trip through her as well and if we are lucky enough to ever go again we'll use her again.
I cannot say enough good things about our experience using a 'Disney Specialist'.
It is worth contacting her for a no-obligation quote at least. If there is a deal out there to be had, she'll know about it!
Good Luck

 

[lisalonglash]

I would recommend contacting Dreams Unlimited and getting a no obligation quote from them. I always used to make my own travel arrangements for Disney World, however recently I have gotten quotes from Dreams Unlimited for much cheaper than I could find myself.

This sounds odd to me, as a Disney TA can't get a different price than you pricing it yourself on the Disney website. They could certainly apply any discounts offered by Disney though - perhaps that's what you meant?

 

[lisalonglash]

how were they able to do it cheaper?

also do they charge a fee for booking per person travelling?

and do they charge with any changes that you are wanting to make?

(and the same above questions to the OP...if you are going ot book with an agent, make sure you get the answers to these questions. :O) )

a*lil*bit*goofy:
I think the poster meant that the TA was able to apply a Disney discount kwim?
Fairytale Dreams does not charge anything at all for booking/helping plan/making ADRs, etc. - so I'm sure DU is the same.

 

[Jax]

Sorry for any confusion.

When I was pricing out my 4/3 deal trip I priced it through Disney's website, I wasn't able to get the 4/3 pricing to come up, however when I contacted Dreams Unlimited and they were able to price the trip out with the 4/3 deal which ended up saving me a good chunk of money.

As far as I am aware you do not pay any fees to the travel agent, they earn their commission from the hotels and such.

 

[Diamondintheruff]

Here's another vote for Christine at Fairytale destinations. She really knows Disney. I booked through CAA once and ended up with a TA who hardly knew anything. I had to tell her that Disney had "Free Dining".

 

[kjh73]

Our experience has been to use a Disney-specialist TA and we were lucky enough to be referred by friends to an amazing Disney TA in Canada!!! Just look up Fairytale Dreams & Destinations - Christine was so incredibly helpful and really kept a sharp eye on the latest deals (and scored us an incredible discount last year!). She absolutely knows Disney, so you'll be in very good hands I've referred tons of people to Fairytale Dreams and have many friends who've been referred to her by other people too - yes, she is THAT good!

Have a wonderful vacation!!!

Thanks...it seems like there is lots of votes for Christine at Fairytale Dreams & Destinations....I am going to look her up!!

 

[Diamondintheruff]

Thanks...it seems like there is lots of votes for Christine at Fairytale Dreams & Destinations....I am going to look her up!!

You won't be sorry. Be sure and tell her we all sent you!

 

[Sillyminny40]

Westjet Vacations had an amazing deal last year where every adult flew free with a chld. I have used them for a couple of vacations and I have enjoyed both trips. They aren't always the cheapest but I love Westjet so we don't have any troubles booking through them.

I would recommend contacting Dreams Unlimited and getting a no obligation quote from them. I always used to make my own travel arrangements for Disney World, however recently I have gotten quotes from Dreams Unlimited for much cheaper than I could find myself.

Good luck and happy planning!

Yes, a Disney specialist is a good idea. Dreams Unlimited has a very good rep and a friend here used them. We live in a small town and I patronize them.

 

[kjh73]

Westjet Vacations had an amazing deal last year where every adult flew free with a chld. I have used them for a couple of vacations and I have enjoyed both trips. They aren't always the cheapest but I love Westjet so we don't have any troubles booking through them.

I would recommend contacting Dreams Unlimited and getting a no obligation quote from them. I always used to make my own travel arrangements for Disney World, however recently I have gotten quotes from Dreams Unlimited for much cheaper than I could find myself.

Good luck and happy planning!

Do you by chance know what month West Jet had this deal? Thanks

 

[Jax]

We went to Disneyland on the promotion at the beginning of April. If memory serves me right they started advertising the deal mid-end of February but we purchased our travel in the middle of March.

 

[fanoftinkerbell]

We're going in April and booked through Expedia.ca and got tickets return for 389/pp from Toronto.