Whats the difference between booking thru Disney or Travel Agent

[rabalais8179]

Hello All,

I was just wondering what the difference was. I have seen a couple of sites where you can book your disney vacation thru them and it looks like they offer the same exact thing as if you just went straight thru Disney Travel Company. Are they any advantages to going thru a travel agency or one of these other sites that can book your travel? Are they any cheaper? I would think that it would be the same price, but if they are, why is there even an option if they are the same.

Thanks

[AVP]

If you are not a regular WDW visitor and you're booking a package that includes air, hotel and maybe a car or the dining plan, I'd personally recommend using a Disney specialist travel agent:

• They know the Resort better than you, and can make suggestions about things that you wouldn't even know to ask.
• They can help you figure out how to juggle your vacation dates to take advantage of special discounts. For example, an agent can tell you if moving your arrival date by just one day may qualify you for the free dining plan offer. You can do this research yourself, but a Disney-specialist agent just knows.
• Most Disney-specialist agencies offer a service where they'll watch for specials released after you book your vacation, and will rebook you to take advantage of any new promotions. Again, you can do this yourself, but why spend the time when your agent can do it for you?
• Some agents will assist you with making Advance Dining Reservations (ADRs), which not only saves you time, but if you're on the West coast like I am, means you don't have to wake up extra early to do it.

If you're a more-frequent visitor, a professional traveler, a DVC member or just don't want the extra layer between you and Disney, then you can certainly book your own. As much as I love my travel agent friends, I don't use them for my WDW travel because my arrangements are usually pretty cut-and-dried. That said, when friends and family are looking to book their first trip to Walt Disney World, I ALWAYS suggest they use a Disney-specialist agent.

And actually, that's an important consideration. Use an agent who is Disney trained - don't just pick a random agent. If you're having to educate your agent about WDW, it's not worth the hassle.

AVP

[Drince88]

It's mostly about service, not price.

If you use a TA, all changes have to go through them. That's to protect both you and the TA.

First, only use a TA who's a Disney specialist. A TA who knows less about Disney then you do is a hinderence to your vacation planning experience, because everything has to go through them.

I like to use a TA for trips because they have their fingers on the pulse of discounts - and can jump on getting a discount applied for me as soon as they come out. You can also have them make your ADRs for you, or more importantly if you're not super informed about the options, can make recommendations based on what YOUR family may be interested in.

Aside from the discount information - the biggest help is the advice they can give you. When you go directly with Disney, they can and will answer your questions - but if you don't KNOW to ask a question, they rarely will volunteer info.

[scoobydooby]

It's mostly about service, not price.


First, only use a TA who's a Disney specialist.

I think these are the most important issues.

I booked through a TA in the UK for our second trip (habit for booking any holiday); it was soon clear I had forgotten more about WDW than they had yet remembered and they were just a hinderance to me. Next trip I booked myself andsaved money, time and stress.

However, if we had genuine Disney TA specialists here I'd go with them probably because they would save me time and be on the ball for me. I'd be paying, in short, for a genuine service.

[mom22gls]

I have booked packages through AAA, which gets you a discount of about 15% or so. As far as being Disney specialists, I did not feel that they were very well versed in Disney, but the discounts are pretty consistent. I booked a Disney cruise through a Disney specialty travel agency, and they got me a better discount than the same cruise (same sailing date, same cabin category) through AAA. I would definitely contact a Disney specialty travel agency for a cruise; the TA told me they had a limited number of cabins with the deeper discount they could book.

[GusMan]

We have booked different ways over the years. And to be honest, like it was said before, it was not necessarily about price, but service. In many cases, we got same prices for WDW and DCL trips from both Disney directly as well as well-known TA's. In some cases, when we went through a TA, it was because of how clear they broke down our vacation costs or their level of communication.

Even with that said, TA's provide personal, one on one service. While at the same time, I have to say that Disney has made some real big improvements in their customer service as well. While you wont always get the same person each time, they have improved how they interact with you, your trip plans, as well as your dining, tour, and other plans.

If you need air or car arrangements as well, do note that not all TA's will take care of this for you, but usually state so right up front. At the same time, I have heard that Disney can sometimes get some real great airfares at times that might be worth while to ask about.

Being DVC members, we also check DVC member services for cash ressie discounts as well as sometimes they have some in their inventory that are not available elsewhere.

As you can see, the old adage of shopping around and counting all costs, including fees and taxes before making a decision, really applies. Ive not had any issues going through Disney directly, while at the same time, going through a TA has been good as well.