bsmartin2000
Active Member
I have always booked my own trips. Can someone tell me the pros and cons of using a travel agent? What does it cost to use one?
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Travel agent or not?
- Thread starter bsmartin2000
- Start date
21stamps
Well-Known Member
Hi, hopefully someone sees this question.. Didn't know where to post it.
Should I book my "extras" thru a travel agent? Things like dessert parties, theme park tickets, MVMCP tickets, pirate tutorial, etc?
If she receives a commission then I will ask her to do these things. If not then I can easily do them myself and won't bother her.
@Master Yoda @Kingdom Konsultant @anyonewhoknowstheanswer
Should I book my "extras" thru a travel agent? Things like dessert parties, theme park tickets, MVMCP tickets, pirate tutorial, etc?
If she receives a commission then I will ask her to do these things. If not then I can easily do them myself and won't bother her.
@Master Yoda @Kingdom Konsultant @anyonewhoknowstheanswer
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21stamps
Well-Known Member
Thanks. I feel bad because we have changed my entire reservation in the past month...after booking back in March. I now have a 1 night room only, 5 night package, and 3 night room only. If I can somehow help to get her a little extra commission, after I took some away due to my changes, I would like to. I know that I've been a major pain to deal with lol.
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I can only speak for my agents, but everything that you listed is something that we happily do for our clients. Your agent should be willing to help you. We do allow our clients to do it if they want to, but they know that service is there for them.
Pam
Pam
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JillC LI
Well-Known Member
I second (third? fourth?) that! Kingdom Konsultants makes it so much easier to book the trip, and they are on top of any discounts that are released at the moment they are released. Marie saved me over $400 on my upcoming trip recently. I heard about the promotion a few hours after it was announced, but by then, many rooms were gone; Marie's promptness saved me some serious moolah. And another nice thing about KK is that for people like me that have trouble relinquishing control, they are fine with me booking my ADRs myself so I can make backup decisions on the fly. It's a win-win.
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ninjaprincesst
Well-Known Member
I don't like travel agents because you lose all control over your trip. Everything you want done you have to call your travel agent and play the hurry up and wait game. For example, when free dining came out I was able to make the instant decision to switch from AKL to WL in order to secure free dining for our whole trip, a travel agent would have had to call me as about the change and call back in and by that time all the AKL availability would have been gone. I like being in control of my own trip and being able to tweek my ADR's and fastpasses as I wish. In both cases I have been able to improve over what we originally had, but if I had a travel agent by the time I called them and they got in to make the changes those better times or experiences that popped up would be gone.
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It depends on the agent. I give mine a list of "what ifs" for changes and upgrades that she can make without contacting me. She has also called me while on the phone with Disney if something does not quite line up with the what ifs.
She will also contact me in advance if there are rumblings about a promotion dropping in the next two days to get a feel for what I want to do.
I have been using KK for upwards of a decade now and have never missed out on a promotion.
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G00fyDad
Well-Known Member
As Master Yoda said, give your agent a list of alternatives that are acceptable to you (in order of desire). That way the agent can go for #1, then move to #2 and so on if they are not available. I will say that it does matter who you get as an agent. Kingdom Konsultants are apparently amazing to work with but others... not so much. Although others have had stellar or at least okay service through AAA we had a nightmare experience with our local AAA rep that was supposed to be a master Disney travel genius. She was an idiot, and a lazy one too. Just pick the right one and be open about your wants and needs.
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That seems to be a common theme. We too found AAA to be a really a mixed bag as Disney is just one of the many things they sell and not their main focus.
The first AAA I dealt with could have probably hand drawn the floor plan for every resort on property complete with room numbers and furniture configuration.
The second and last was pretty sure WDW was near Orlando.
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ninjaprincesst
Well-Known Member
I'm sure for some it's okay. I just want to have control over my own trip, and I realize these travel agents are busy, your not their only client, so they can't just jump every time you call. I'm one of those people who will check the times on Adr and fastpasses several times a day to see if the time or experience I really wanted pops up, there is no way I would even expect a busy travel agent to do that. If anyone wants a good agent though, As You Wish Vacations is excellent.
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Wendy Pleakley
Well-Known Member
There's no reason you couldn't use a travel agent and still do your own dining and Fastpass reservations.
A travel agent should handle your dining if you want them to, but with online reservations being so simple I imagine most people will opt to do that themselves.
Back in the day when dining was all booked via phone, I was happy to have someone else make those reservations. Now, it's easier to do it myself.
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ninjaprincesst
Well-Known Member
I think it all depends on each person and their preferences. It's so easy now and I have done it so many times I don't need one, but they are certainly a big help to those that are new to the process. I can also sse how having a TA to do your fastpasses could benefit those of us in the central time zone. The new 7am time puts it at 6am for us which is right in the middle of your morning drive to work.
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BigRedDad
Well-Known Member
It really depends on whether you want to manage any discounts that come out or if you want the TA do manage that. There are only a few TAs that automatically alter your reservation when a discount comes out. Most require you to watch for them, contact the TA, and then they see if they can get a discount.
My problem from the last 3 trips is I work through the TA, then look for DVC/RCI renters for resorts, and usually end up with a much better deal. I have canceled my last 3 trips this way. We got a 1BR BWV for $100 more than Pop Century, 1BR SSR for $200 less than Pop Century, and then AKL for $250 less than POR. You may have to be slightly flexible. When Disney can't get DVC owners to take the rooms, they dump them to RCI for pennies. RCI timeshare owners jump on them and sell them cheaply.
My problem from the last 3 trips is I work through the TA, then look for DVC/RCI renters for resorts, and usually end up with a much better deal. I have canceled my last 3 trips this way. We got a 1BR BWV for $100 more than Pop Century, 1BR SSR for $200 less than Pop Century, and then AKL for $250 less than POR. You may have to be slightly flexible. When Disney can't get DVC owners to take the rooms, they dump them to RCI for pennies. RCI timeshare owners jump on them and sell them cheaply.
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Minnesota disney fan
Well-Known Member
I only use a certified Disney travel agent. These specialized agents are specially trained in all things Disney, are amazingly knowledgable about all that is Disney, and can make your trip easy and pain-free. no, I am not a Disney TA, but I have been using an excellent certified Disney TA for years now, and she always finds the best deals, gets what we want in our rooms/resort, finds the discounts, and makes all the arrangements, even air fare. I love putting all the travel arrangements in her capable hands. But I must stress, she is a Certified Disney travel agent; there is a difference.
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I think you must mean that the agency is an authorized Disney Vacation planner since there really are no certified Disney travel agents. Kingdom Konsultant Travel is one of those agencies and has been for many years. We are online in the middle of the night taking care of switching our clients over before most of them are getting up in the morning. It's what we do.
We have many clients that book their trip with us but they would like to make their own dining or fastpasses which is totally fine. We offer them that service but they do know that they can do it also.
Pam
We have many clients that book their trip with us but they would like to make their own dining or fastpasses which is totally fine. We offer them that service but they do know that they can do it also.
Pam
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NonnaT
Well-Known Member
I want to echo what others have said...
Our TA is so on top of things, whatever alert system she uses, she is able to get those oh so elusive ADRs at BOG and CRT for dates and times I want, also got every single fp we wanted. I still have the ability to mess around with times, and I sometimes do, but she is so on top of things and is so helpful! Nothing is "out of my control"!
Same for room and dining discounts, etc.
I love that I don't have to set an alarm for either ADRs OR FPs! What a huge relief!
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ninjaprincesst
Well-Known Member
It's great that you have a travel agent like that,but that is the exception not the rule, and I have seen some excellent travel agents trying their hearts out unable to get their clients what they wanted. For example one of my very good friend is an excellent travel agent,but when free dining was released, 45 minutes after phone lines opened I had mine done and booked, he was still on hold and he was on hold for another three hours on the travel agent line before he got through, and there were 2 of his clients that by that time what they wanted wasno longer available. It really all depends on personal preference, but for me I would rather know I got exactly what I want when Iwant it even if it means losing some sleep.I have also seen toomany posts from people who got stuck with lazy, crappy travel agents, not good ones.
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jlsHouston
Well-Known Member
I recently let my sister in law book my Thanksgiving trip...she is a Disney nut that did the travel agent course and is part of the magical vacation thing. My brother had been after me to throw some of my reservations her way because I always book deluxe and my vacations can easily hit 5 figures especially when I am dragging kids and grandkids along.
So I gave her this Thanksgiving trip. In hindsight I should have handled it just like Master Yoda describes. Put an outline together of my dates and dining and FP stuff I wanted and let her deal with it. I think using a Disney travel Planner with experience and who puts the time into your vacation is a good way to go because I actually hate calling Disney about changes, I no longer enjoy stalking the website for my ADR's and FP+ is the biggest headache in my opinion.
However since all I did was text over my dates, travel party info and credit card number, the real planning ended up back on me and as usual I waited til late September to start thinking about what we wanted to do and where we were going to eat the week of Thanksgiving and guess what...I am doing the crap my travel planner could have and would have done had I put a better plan together in the first place.
So I gave her this Thanksgiving trip. In hindsight I should have handled it just like Master Yoda describes. Put an outline together of my dates and dining and FP stuff I wanted and let her deal with it. I think using a Disney travel Planner with experience and who puts the time into your vacation is a good way to go because I actually hate calling Disney about changes, I no longer enjoy stalking the website for my ADR's and FP+ is the biggest headache in my opinion.
However since all I did was text over my dates, travel party info and credit card number, the real planning ended up back on me and as usual I waited til late September to start thinking about what we wanted to do and where we were going to eat the week of Thanksgiving and guess what...I am doing the crap my travel planner could have and would have done had I put a better plan together in the first place.
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