Travel Agent or not?

NWDMD

NWDMD

Active Member
What are the benefits of booking through a travel agency versus just booking through the website/airlines/your own dining etc?

Our family is just my wife and I so we don't have any little ones. We've been many times before and we are planning on staying at POP Dec 19-26 this year. Would it be worth it to us to book through a travel agency? Does booking through a travel agency cost more than booking yourself? We're not AAA members or annual pass holders so I don't think we qualify for any discounts. We're military but SOG is usually more expensive for us than POP.

When do most people book their trips? Months out or a year out or what?

Thanks!
NWDMD
 
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NWDMD

NWDMD

Active Member
Original Poster
Thanks for the heads up on SOG. I hadn't worked out the price per day for POP and had just assumed it was the 89 dollar price (or whatever their bottom rate is). The SOG works out to be cheaper for my catagory (2).

For those that have stayed at SOG what is going to be different versus if I stayed at POP? I take it there is no magic express. What about park tickets, do I get the flimsy paper kind or do I get it on my room key?

Any other differences that I may not be anticipating? How are the buses?

Thanks!
NWDMD
 
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D

DISMOM

New Member
One thing to think about...if you are going to use Disney Visa Reward Dollars for booking your room or vacation package, you can not do that if you use a travel agent. You need to book with Disney direct and tell them your Rewards Card number or code.
 
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mousefan1972

mousefan1972

Well-Known Member
NWDMD said:
Thanks for the heads up on SOG. I hadn't worked out the price per day for POP and had just assumed it was the 89 dollar price (or whatever their bottom rate is). The SOG works out to be cheaper for my catagory (2).

For those that have stayed at SOG what is going to be different versus if I stayed at POP? I take it there is no magic express. What about park tickets, do I get the flimsy paper kind or do I get it on my room key?

Any other differences that I may not be anticipating? How are the buses?

Thanks!
NWDMD
Click to expand...

Sent you a private message. :wave:
 
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Iakona

Iakona

Member
I would say go with Kingdom Konsultants. I am the consummate planner. I ma a Project manager in real life and would be the type that would have my trip planned and outlined in Microsoft Project. However, when it comes to booking my meals, character dinners, special events and the knowledge of a travel agent that specializes in Disney I can't compete. KK has saved me a ton of money by watching the prices and adjusting my package before I even knew the savings were there. I still get to used my "planning skills" and when it comes to what reservations I want, but I don't have to be up at 6 am to make the calls.
Pam and KK also provide some great tips. Best of all, Disney pays them a commission not me.
Jason
 
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MIDisneyFamily

MIDisneyFamily

Member
We have never used a travel agent. Were just booking a room and buying tickets to WDW, how hard is that really? We drive, so we don't need airfare. We can book a room in minutes on our own. if there is ever a package deal that fits our needs and need a travel agent to do that, then we probably would. Were going again in August, and so far so good.
 
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ClemsonTigger

ClemsonTigger

Naturally Grumpy
MIDisneyFamily said:
We have never used a travel agent. Were just booking a room and buying tickets to WDW, how hard is that really? We drive, so we don't need airfare. We can book a room in minutes on our own. if there is ever a package deal that fits our needs and need a travel agent to do that, then we probably would. Were going again in August, and so far so good.
Click to expand...

True, but how often to you check on the various deals that are offered? Are you familiar with these?
http://www.mousesavers.com/packages.html#apspring
Problem is that there are multiple offerings annually, not necessarily at regular intervals and not well publicized. To have a trusted agent keep track of that is valuable (at least to me)

Also if you do ADR's, shows etc. it is a heck of a lot easier to pass your requests off to one person rather than calling 3 or 4 different Disney numbers, being on hold etc.

Can you do it yourself?, sure. My take is that it is easier using a trusted agent and doesn't cost you anything.
 
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MIDisneyFamily

MIDisneyFamily

Member
I have no doubt some people are more comfortable using a Travel Agent. Theres a servive out there for everyone for different things. Some people call a plumber, some people have landscape comapnies, As a Realtor, some people find it better to go it alone. Theres a huge role for travel agents, I just have no problem searching around on my own and booking things myself. I have called a few travel agents, told them the price I booked for, and the days, and if a better deal comes along, I would go ahead and use them if it saves me money. Its a free service to let tham search for you, i Just enjoy the search for deal on my own. You should see the On-line searching and dealing I did to get my last new car. Its all about saving money....and it really doesnt take alot of time to find wdw deals, most sites are just repeats of other sites. There are not that many deals at one time out there for WDW that are that secretive, that only a travel agent knows about them.
 
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D

DisneyJoe

Well-Known Member
MIDisneyFamily said:
I have called a few travel agents, told them the price I booked for, and the days, and if a better deal comes along, I would go ahead and use them if it saves me money.
Click to expand...

If you are only calling a travel agent to save a few dollars, then you don't understand the full value of what a professional travel agent brings to the table, especially one that is dedicated to their profession and specializes in a certain niche.

Many of my travel agent friends wouldn't take your call if you said "here's what I found on the internet, if you can beat it, you have my business" - as that isn't the type of business that they want. Studies show that that type of client is the least loyal to the agent - and is more loyal to the bottom dollar.

But as you said, some people like to do it themselves, others use a professional.

Just don't waste the professional's time playing "beat my price".
 
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