Should I book my trip online, by phone or with a travel agent?

mandiemoon

mandiemoon

New Member
I'm trying to decide if I should book online, by phone or with a travel agent. I am from Canada, so with booking online, I'd have to plan my flight on its own, as I'd want to leave from a Canadian airport. I do have some resort requests as well, so I don't know if I can post those when booking online, or if it's better to mention those while booking by phone. Also, there aren't any WDW specialists in my area. Would a regular travel agency be helpful? Would they find better deals and save me any money? I've signed up with WDW for notice of upcoming discounts and promotions and check on this site often. If I find a deal, and have booked on my own, I should be able to upgrade with the new promotion, right? I have no idea, to be honest. I've never booked a trip in my life! :) Any ideas?
 
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Shere_Khan

Shere_Khan

Well-Known Member
Most people here would refer you to use Kingdom Konsultants.
http://www.kingdomkonsultants.com/

They specialize in Disney vacations and will help you book your trip with no extra charges. I myself have not used them but I hear wonderful things about them daily.

For my upcoming trip, I have used Mouse Ears Vacations, which I feel is similar. They also have done a spectacular job and have helped save me money. Either one of these would be a great help to you. I would rather have someone who knows the ins and outs take care of everything, rather then try to figure it all out on my own. But I do not have a lot of experience in booking. I know there are people who feel more comfortable doing it themselves and that is fine to.
I am pretty sure either of these agencies would be happy to answer any questions you have before you actually decide what to do.
 
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ClemsonTigger

ClemsonTigger

Naturally Grumpy
I would second contacting KingdomKonsultants. No cost to you and they can take care of all booking. Great friends of this site, can probably get you the best pricing, and you have real people to talk to....not a cold website.
 
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daliseurat

daliseurat

Member
mandiemoon said:
I'm trying to decide if I should book online, by phone or with a travel agent. I am from Canada, so with booking online, I'd have to plan my flight on its own, as I'd want to leave from a Canadian airport. I do have some resort requests as well, so I don't know if I can post those when booking online, or if it's better to mention those while booking by phone. Also, there aren't any WDW specialists in my area. Would a regular travel agency be helpful? Would they find better deals and save me any money? I've signed up with WDW for notice of upcoming discounts and promotions and check on this site often. If I find a deal, and have booked on my own, I should be able to upgrade with the new promotion, right? I have no idea, to be honest. I've never booked a trip in my life! :) Any ideas?
Click to expand...

If you've never booked a trip before, you should definitely use one of the mentioned agencies. They can be VERY helpful in making sure you get everything book just right, including any insurance issues you may have. Nothing ruins a trip faster than poor planning. You can get lots and lots of advice here, but when it comes to the nuts and bolts of booking your trip it can get confusing. If you don't want to use an agent, use the phone so you have a live person to help you with all your questions. Booking online is great for anyone who's really familiar with things. But a live person can also help you find good deals and really explain any extras you might want, like preferred rooms, dining plans, the various types of tickets that are available. They'll help, as will the agents! Good luck and enjoy!
 
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mickey&me

mickey&me

Active Member
If you book on your own, I'd suggest by phone rather than on the web. That way you can ask for any specials.

One thing about travel agencies--you can't talk to Disney directly about your reservation until you check in if you book with an agent, because you don't "own" the reservation until you check in. That was the down-side I found when we booked with an agent in our area and then ended up moving 1000 miles before our trip.
 
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Mikester71

Mikester71

Well-Known Member
Even though we are not members, we used CAA to book our last 2 WDW trips. We got all the bonus goodies that AAA members get when booking a WDW trip and it is just down the street form us if we had any questions or wanted to put some money down on the trip. It was convenient because my brother and mother-in-law could put some money down on their part too (they came with us).:wave:
 
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JDM

JDM

New Member
Travel Agent, definitely.

I used AAA and everything was perfect and problem-free!! But other agencies specialize in that, too.

If you book on your own, then you have no possible recourse if someone screws something up. Plus, these people do this for a living!!

Use the internet, etc. for research, but book with a professional.
 
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Buried20KLeague

Buried20KLeague

Well-Known Member
The real upside to Kingdom Konsultants is this is what they specialize in, and they're your eyes for any new discounts, etc (which is not something just any old travel agent will do)... If you do it yourself, you've gotta watch for any new discounts, and then mess with trying to get those applied and re-booking and everything else. If you go with KK, they monitor things, and if something comes up that will save you money (after you've already booked your trip), they'll call you and tell you about it, and take care of re-booking the whole thing using the new discounts.

Plus... If you have any problem on your trip, your one phone call is to your KK rep. (wannabebelle, in my case)... Then THEY take care of fixing the problem. You don't have to spend the time and energy and stress on it.

And, it's all free.

Even in a case like mine, where I've been to WDW over and over and over, it's not that I NEED them to book for me because I don't know what I'm doing... I could make my own rezzies in my sleep at this point. It's that it's free to me, and gives me peace of mind that if any discounts or problems arise, it's handled. Add that in with the fact that it supports those that support this site with no money out of my pocket... Why would you not????

Until I sign the DVC paperwork that just arrived at my house. Then Marie's kinda outta luck. :lookaroun :lol:
 
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shoppingnut

shoppingnut

Active Member
I would definitely use KK, I use them all the time and I used to book all my trips myself way back when, but I find this easier and stress free. I also don't need to be on the look out for discounts, they do that for me.
 
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Sam02

Sam02

New Member
Not to sound stupid or anything, but if Kingdom Konsultant's is free how do they earn money? I had assumed that if you used a travel agency there would be some additional fee for their service. Is this true of Kingdom Konsultants or do they earn their money in another fashion?
 
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OneLuckyMom

OneLuckyMom

New Member
Last two years, I've booked myself.

Here's the rundown of last years experience:
1. Booked online originally. Easy 'nuf, or so it seems.....
2. Had to call Disney to book dining ADRs at the 180 day mark. Sat on hold 10 minutes before talking to someone.
3. Had to get up at 4am and call Disney the day free dining came out to get that applied (I live in CA). Split reservation into two at that time because I was arriving one day before free dining. Sat on hold 45 minutes before talking to anyone.
3. Had to call Disney to adjust my one night room only reservation when another discount came out. Sat 10 minutes on hold before talking to anyone.
4. Had to call Disney to order Pirates and Princess tickets, when they decided to have one while we were there. Only 3 minutes on hold this time!
5. Had to call Disney to adjust our ADRs to account for the Pirates and Princess party. Sat on hold 15 minutes.
6. Had to call Disney when the airline changed my flight numbers and I had to have our magical express stuff updated. Sat on hold 5 minutes to talk to someone.

And of course, each of these phone calls cost me $$ since Disney doesn't do 800 numbers. (Yes, I am one of the last who still have a by-the-minute long distance plan - I just don't make many long distance calls so those plans don't make sense most of the year for me!)

:hammer:

Fast forward to this year - I'm going through Kingdom Konsultants and letting them do all that work this time!!!
 
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rob45

rob45

Well-Known Member
Trust me on this. Book everything your self. Your flights, rooms, where to eat, rental car (if needed). You will save mucho denero. The different travel plans will sound great, but booking everything your self is the key.
 
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OneLuckyMom

OneLuckyMom

New Member
Sam02 said:
Not to sound stupid or anything, but if Kingdom Konsultant's is free how do they earn money? I had assumed that if you used a travel agency there would be some additional fee for their service. Is this true of Kingdom Konsultants or do they earn their money in another fashion?
Click to expand...

The Kingdom Konsultants folks will correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Disney pays them a percentage of each reservation they book (or it could be a flat fee, don't know what Disney does these days). Disney just eats that cost as a cost of doing business - the philosophy is that they have to hire fewer reservationists because of travel agents, so they pass that $$ onto them. The cost you pay is the same either way.

In other scenarios, agents make money by buying slots in bulk at a discount from someone like Disney, then selling them at regular price to the public. Again, Disney gives them a discount because it saves them money on the reservations staff side of things (as well as having some other risk management benefits).
 
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OneLuckyMom

OneLuckyMom

New Member
rob45 said:
Trust me on this. Book everything your self. Your flights, rooms, where to eat, rental car (if needed). You will save mucho denero. The different travel plans will sound great, but booking everything your self is the key.
Click to expand...

And trust me on this - I got the EXACT SAME PRICE for a package from Kingdom Konsultants that Disney would give me directly. I knew the Disney price long before I called KK. If there's a price differences one route vs. another it's because there are different options on the quotes (dining on one but not the other, etc.)

The only TA where you can get a better deal I believe is AAA. And I have AAA, and still chose to book through KK because of the nightmares I've heard about with AAA bookings. And I want KK on the look out for me for discounts that I am pretty sure are coming that will trump any AAA discounts!
 
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wannabeBelle

wannabeBelle

Well-Known Member
Hi Sam, Our fees are paid by the destinations we book you to go to. Some agencies do charge additional fees beyond that or charge for specific services that may not be covered. In addition some agences have different cancellation charge and change fees to modify a trip. The only item that our agency charges for is for Itinerary planning IF you dont have a trip booked with us. If you have booked a trip, the itinerary planning service for that trip is part of your vacation package. Hope this information is what you were looking for!!!
Thanks everyone for the kind words!!! You are the best!!!!!!!! Belle
 
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