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?

 

[sxeensweet]

Loved using ours MEI/or Kingdom Konsultants before buying DVC. We still made all our dining reservations ourselves as its up to you how much you want them to take care of for you. We usually just used them to book the room, dining plan etc, and apply/look out for any discounts that came out. You really can't go wrong using a reputable Disney specializing travel agent. They are free and very knowledgeable, and also easy to work with. I would not use just any travel agent that does not specialize in Disney travel though as some of those may know less about going to Disney than you. lol. AAA is not great to use I have heard etc. If you decide to I highly reccomend Kingdom Komaultants or MEI travel.

 

[DarthVader]

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?

I'm not knocking any travel agents, I think they can really simplify the process and find the best ways to save money, yet with that said I prefer doing it myself.

One issue that I have is if you run into issues with your reservation, you need to deal with the TA, and not disney directly. A few years ago we had booked a trip through TA and made sure we included the dining plan. Yet when we arrived, no dinning plan was on our reservation (even though I called to verify the reservation the TA prior to departure). I tried calling Disney, not knowing any better, and they told me to call my travel agent which I did. The problem took all day to resolve and I had to re-check in to finally fix the issue. It destroyed the first day of our vacation and while we had not much in terms of plans scheduled, it did mess things up.

From that point on I now control our destiny and when I log into disneyworld.com, I see what we have for resort, dining plans and reservations.

Another upside is I like to have full control over our plans, its fun for me to lay out the itinerary and make the reservations, weird I know but its something I look forward too

 

[G00fyDad]

I prefer to have complete control over our trip. I do not like the idea of having to go through someone else to make changes. That being said, since I have never booked a cruise before I will have someone book our first cruise (if I can ever get my wife to agree to one).

If you go with a TA then use Kingdom Konsultants. Do NOT use AAA. They do not get in the office until 9 or 10 in the mornings and they will not come in early when specials and discounts are released. They come in at the normal time and lazily get to it when they get to it. By then the offer is sometimes gone.

 

[SAV]

I have always just booked things myself, but we don't really do a complicated trip to WDW. We don't do the Dining Plan or really eat at table service, so there are no ADR's to get or manage. If we decide on a TS meal, I just go into the app or website and book the meal. For us it's pick the resort, book the package and go. We typically go during June and the discounts are few, so I will usually use the PIN code I get in the mail and that is the best deal.

If you have done your homework and know what you are booking and are willing to get up at the proper time to book your ADR's, then you don't need an agent. If you are unfamiliar, then the KK agents will be so very helpful to you.

 

[aw14]

We used to book by ourselves through disney. It was not terrible, but it certainly had its moments. I now use a disney travel agent for our last 3 trips, and it is night and day. She is wonderful. I now have others using her as well....and she makes life so much easier.

As an example, we as a family book right away and eventually change our mind about something. (typically resort, room view, etc..) she is always a phone call or email away, and takes care of everything.

 

[Jahona]

I've always booked my trips myself and haven't used a TA before. This year is a joint trip with my sister and her family and they decided to use a TA and booked for both of us. While the TA has been pleasant I find not being in control of some aspects to be fairly unnerving.

 

[UnhealthilyObsessed]

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!

 

[G00fyDad]

I've always booked my trips myself and haven't used a TA before. This year is a joint trip with my sister and her family and they decided to use a TA and booked for both of us. While the TA has been pleasant I find not being in control of some aspects to be fairly unnerving.

That is a whole new level of being removed from control that I don't know if I can handle. LOL

 

[Jahona]

That is a whole new level of being removed from control that I don't know if I can handle. LOL

Lets just say that the TA kind of forgot part of our reservation and we never received any of the standard Disney trip info. I had to call up and ask were it was at. They had the wrong address for us as well as other things. Also a bit unnerving that our MDE tags haven't arrived yet either. That could be Disney not sending them to the TA till late.

 

[Courtney6682]

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!

Agreed....our AAA agent Jermaine was AMAZINGGG both times we used her...super knowlegable and really on top of things! I've had nothing but good experiences with AAA

 

[Master Yoda]

I use to book all of my trips myself, but switched over to using @Kingdom Konsultant a number of years ago.

Best decision I have ever made.

Back when I did things on my own I would spend time on the phone or online booking the trip. I would then have to get up at 6:00 AM to make dining reservations 180 days out. All the while I would have to continuously search various sites for new promotions. If one came out I would then have to spend even more time on hold trying to get that discount applied. After all that I still had to keep searching for new promotions that were better then what I booked. If one came out, I have to go back through the entire re-booking process again. While all of this was going on I never stopped wondering if I missed a promotion and left money on the table.

Now I send a couple emails to my Kingdom Konsultant agent Marie (@wannabeBelle) and I am basically done. I usually see an email a few months later letting me know that a promotion came out and have already been re-booked. If I run into an issue I can email or call her directly. She does my dining as well or better than I ever did and I never have to worry about missing a promotion.

All of this service cost me absolutely nothing.

I will never go back to booking myself, ever.

 

[Master Yoda]

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!

Agreed....our AAA agent Jermaine was AMAZINGGG both times we used her...super knowlegable and really on top of things! I've had nothing but good experiences with AAA

My experience with AAA agents have been hit or miss. The first one I used was simply awesome when it came to Disney. The second one...well...she was pretty sure Disney was somewhere in Florida (I wish I was kidding).

 

[Minnesota disney fan]

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?

Laura. I don't think certified Disney TA's are supposed to make your adr's for you. Ours said that she is not supposed to do that at all, but she will help with any problems you may have. So, if this is true with all certified Disney TA's, then you will still have to make your own ADR's and also make your own fast pass selections. The TA doesn't do this, at least ours didn't.
She can help you with all things Disney and is an expert on Disney. We only use a certified Disney travel agent, and we have done so for years. There is no cost to you at all. Disney pays them by commission. Our TA is an expert and has helped us save money several times and always goes out of her way to find us exactly what we want, when we want. She also gets the best air fares for us and locks them in! She is current on all things Disney, which really helps. We wouldn't book any other way, but just be sure you have a certified Disney TA.

 

[wannabeBelle]

A travel agent can absolutely make your ADR's for you with no problem. I do it for any of my clients that feel more comfortable with me doing that. I provide them with the reservation details including the reservation number to link up to the My Disney Experience site so they do show on their plans for the trip. As others have said a TA will be as involved or not as you need/want. Marie

 

[G00fyDad]

A travel agent can absolutely make your ADR's for you with no problem. I do it for any of my clients that feel more comfortable with me doing that. I provide them with the reservation details including the reservation number to link up to the My Disney Experience site so they do show on their plans for the trip. As others have said a TA will be as involved or not as you need/want. Marie

Is it easier for you to get Be Our Guest reservations than someone who is not a travel agent?

 

[wannabeBelle]

Do you mean do we have access to any other sources for this reservation, the answer is no. Can we keep checking for you as we are on with reservations more frequently than most people, yes. Marie

 

[G00fyDad]

Do you mean do we have access to any other sources for this reservation, the answer is no. Can we keep checking for you as we are on with reservations more frequently than most people, yes. Marie

Yeah. I am seriously considering using a TA next time (even though I do not like not having control), but if I book through you it would take a lot of the worry off of me about getting the specials and discounts if they become available. As for the ADR's, I would just like to know if you have better luck getting the ADR's for BoG over someone like me calling at 7am EST on the 180 day mark. I know you still need to wait until that 180 day mark yourself, but would you have a better chance or is it about even? Also, once you make the ADR's can I go back and make changes myself, or do I need to have you do it? The ADR's are sometimes changing with us before the trip comes up.

 

[wannabeBelle]

At the 180 day mark, our chances of getting it are about even. As far as the ADR's itself, once I make them, they are in your name and can be changed, modified, cancelled etc. as you need to. The hotel/ package reservation is the only one that you must contact the TA to make any changes, or payments on. I feel you, G00fyDad, I was the same way before I started booking with Pam. Once I did though, I was like "why the heck was I going through all of that for, when Pam can do it for me!!!" Many of our clients are here on WDWMagic and I daresay are VERY knowledgeable regarding DisneyWorld. They choose to use us as it is an easier process and we take a lot of the worry and stress out of planning your trip. Definitely worth a consideration, for sure. Marie

 

[sxeensweet]

I've always booked my trips myself and haven't used a TA before. This year is a joint trip with my sister and her family and they decided to use a TA and booked for both of us. While the TA has been pleasant I find not being in control of some aspects to be fairly unnerving.

I am a big control freak but once I tried one before DVC it was nice not having to worry about booking the new discount when it came out right away etc. They handled that for me and was me less worry. I did everything else myself including dining reservations, booking tours, and any other extras we wanted. They were always a quick phone call or email away at most hours of the day and night if I had any questions.