To use a TA or book myself?

[Laura Kelly]

We're planning our first trip for April 2016 and I'm so torn between booking it myself or using an agent. I'm having a hard time relinquishing control and trusting her to book my ADRs or making sure a discount is applied.
Thoughts? Opinions?

 

[Kingdom Konsultant]

Planning is part of the fun. Is a TA going to obsessively go over your itinerary for you? NO. Who's going to check at midnight to see if that ADR is available because you just read some food blog? YOU.

Actually the answer is yes when it comes to my agents. They obsess and they keep trying if nothing is there. And I can say in all honesty that I have been online with my agents at midnight working on clients reservations. It's just how we do things. We treat our clients as we would treat our own reservations. I've been doing this for a very long time. I'm extremely and my agents know that there is a specific way that we do things and that it is expected of them. Customer service is our #1 priority when it comes to our clients.

Planning IS a lot of fun and many of my clients like to make their own dining,etc which is perfectly fine. But please remember that there is nothing the Kingdom Konsultant agents love more than helping their clients plan and save money.

Pam

 

[Kingdom Konsultant]

I think we should clarify that yes we do have a tremendous amount of clientele on WDWMagic. Some want us to make their room/package reservations and then they can make their own dining which it perfectly fine. Some want to make their own air reservations which is also perfectly fine. However we do have a lot of clients that want help making dining reservations since they either don't have the time or are simply not sure of where to eat. We have our clients send us a list of their dining and we will make the dining by calling it in or we do have clients that want us to make it through their My Disney Experience. We also have clients that may not understand the My Disney Experience site and we will walk them through everything from ordering their magic bands to making dining and fast pass reservations. It's what we do. We are there to help in any way that we can to make the trip as stress free as possible. If you want to do all of the planning but you want us to watch for the discounts and apply it to your reservations, again that is fine. We do not tell our clients that they must have us make those ADR's. We are there to offer help to those clients that need/want it. We book everything from ADR's to behind the scenes tours, golf tee times and spa treatments. It's what we do as part of our customer service and we do not charge fees to do it which is another misconception. My agents are not even allowed to book until they reach a certain level. My agents love what they do and it shows.

Pam

 

[G00fyDad]

I think we should clarify that yes we do have a tremendous amount of clientele on WDWMagic. Some want us to make their room/package reservations and then they can make their own dining which it perfectly fine. Some want to make their own air reservations which is also perfectly fine. However we do have a lot of clients that want help making dining reservations since they either don't have the time or are simply not sure of where to eat. We have our clients send us a list of their dining and we will make the dining by calling it in or we do have clients that want us to make it through their My Disney Experience. We also have clients that may not understand the My Disney Experience site and we will walk them through everything from ordering their magic bands to making dining and fast pass reservations. It's what we do. We are there to help in any way that we can to make the trip as stress free as possible. If you want to do all of the planning but you want us to watch for the discounts and apply it to your reservations, again that is fine. We do not tell our clients that they must have us make those ADR's. We are there to offer help to those clients that need/want it. We book everything from ADR's to behind the scenes tours, golf tee times and spa treatments. It's what we do as part of our customer service and we do not charge fees to do it which is another misconception. My agents are not even allowed to book until they reach a certain level. My agents love what they do and it shows.

Pam

And that's how a successful business is run.

 

[Kingdom Konsultant]

And that's how a successful business is run.

Thank you!

Pam

 

[sxeensweet]

Never used a TA. I like the planning, staying up late at the 180 window/60 day FP+ window, making ADRs and changing them, all of this contributes to the fun and anticipation for me!

I sound like a broken record but anyway lol.....I still did all of that myself eventhough I used an Agent to solely do the booking. It is a myth that many people think you cannot do anything yourself or think the travel agents charge you etc. I did all our FP+, dining reservations, and any other tours or events I wanted booked myself. I love the planning and did not feel like I as a control freak gave much up by using them.

 

[sxeensweet]

Planning is part of the fun. Is a TA going to obsessively go over your itinerary for you? NO. Who's going to check at midnight to see if that ADR is available because you just read some food blog? YOU.

You can still do all that yourself. Don't have to wait on your travel agent, and yes the good ones do obsessively check for you!

 

[LdyApxr]

We've never used a TA but we are in CA and have only ever been to DL and never used the dining plan or ADR(with the exception of an ADR for Carthay Circle in 2013) but since this is our first WDW trip, we are using Kingdom Konsultants. I like to be in control but on this one, I can let someone else take the reins for a time.

 

[hollymc3]

In defense of AAA, my AAA Magic Creator BENT OVER BACKWARDS for us. I am sure this isn't always the case, but Kelly was an absolute rockstar, up at the crack of dawn and on the phone to make sure that we had the best possible vacation. Then, when an unexpected career opportunity caused us to have to move the trip by a week last-minute, she tirelessly worked to make sure we had the exact same unforgettable experience...a week later.

All that said, if you love being in charge of planning, go solo! Use a TA for a Disney Cruise instead. I hear you get sweet onboard credits you wouldn't get if you booked by yourself!

I have used AAA and booked on my own. For this trip I told the agent exactly what I wanted. She booked but I get a $50 gift card. That is the current promotion. I will book all of my own ADR's as that is the fun part! I guess the key is to see what incentives the agents have. $50 gift card will cover the tip at at least one dinner

 

[hollymc3]

I sound like a broken record but anyway lol.....I still did all of that myself eventhough I used an Agent to solely do the booking. It is a myth that many people think you cannot do anything yourself or think the travel agents charge you etc. I did all our FP+, dining reservations, and any other tours or events I wanted booked myself. I love the planning and did not feel like I as a control freak gave much up by using them.

Yes. Once you put your confirmation number into the experience app it is no different

 

[jengrey]

Although I'm pretty OCD when it comes to all things Disney, I've booked my next two trips with a TA. They're pretty easygoing with the itinerary (they basically didn't give me one, I just asked for park hours) which is fine by me! I've made my ADR's and am planning it all out. I like using the travel agent because they can apply any discounts that I'm eligible for if they come out. I don't have to be on the phone, on hold!