Bibs through Travel Agents - CHANGES

[MommaoffherRocker]

This might not be popular to say but if this is the case they should be stricter on the early AP/DVC registration so people aren't registering friends etc. I really don't want to have to pay for tickets I don't need when the races sell out so fast.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

I understand a large reason for booking with a travel agent is the guarantee of a bib, but does it actually save money? Both Feb and Nov usually fall under discount periods for Disney. Are event weekends excluded from regular promotions?

We checked a few times and found that we could do better on our own, booking with regular or AP discounts.

Most people that I know who have purchased a bib from a travel agent did so because their race of choice was sold out and the travel agents were the only other option (other than charities).

 

[Ariel484]

Most people that I know who have purchased a bib from a travel agent did so because their race of choice was sold out and the travel agents were the only other option (other than charities).

*raises hand* I sort of fall into that category. I'm registered for PDC but got injured at the beginning of this year...and while I'm recovering and am running again, I don't want to push myself into doing the half. I DO think I can do the 10K though, so I bought a 10K-only bib from a TA last week and am planning on using that and deferring my PDC bib to next year (assuming they still do deferrals this year...). Only caveat was that I had to also buy a 1-day, 1-park ticket along with the bib, which would have been a deal breaker for me since I have a Premier AP this year. But this was before the changes, and I'm able to give the ticket to my mom. So assuming the deferral works out, this was a nice option for me this year (and after I bought that bib I saw another TA selling bibs only - no tickets or hotels required). So I'm wondering if the hotel/ticket requirements are there just for the pre-sale bibs, and if we won't still be seeing tTas selling bib-only entries closer to the races in the future.

 

[MommaoffherRocker]

I saw the same thing with Acclaim for every race this year, they start out requiring the hotel stay and then right before the race they have bibs without any strings. When I talked with the owner it sounded like Disney doesn't like it when TAs can't sell all their bibs and it might affect how many bibs they get in the future. I used them for Princess this year before they even opened registration because I didn't want to deal with the mad rush and I paid more for my hotel then I could have gotten with my AP but I thought it was worth it for piece of mind, however if it would have required tickets too I would not have done it.

 

[Ariel484]

I saw the same thing with Acclaim for every race this year, they start out requiring the hotel stay and then right before the race they have bibs without any strings. When I talked with the owner it sounded like Disney doesn't like it when TAs can't sell all their bibs and it might affect how many bibs they get in the future. I used them for Princess this year before they even opened registration because I didn't want to deal with the mad rush and I paid more for my hotel then I could have gotten with my AP but I thought it was worth it for piece of mind, however if it would have required tickets too I would not have done it.

I've heard the same thing about the pressure to sell the bibs...I was mighty close to buying a Dark Side 10K bib with no strings a couple of weeks back...

 

[bevcgg]

Btw here were the prices

Pop Century
$110 + tax = 123.75
(Value Resort)
walk to Art of Animation
Great Food Courts
2 Queen Beds
.

I know I paid close to $170 (ugh!) with taxes at night at POP for PHM. Through a TA- with a bib.
It seems I heard others were paying less (for POP that weekend) when they booked directly.
I don't think they had the price of the hotels available at time you purchased the bib- although I could have chosen a moderate for even more.
Not sure I will use a TA again for those reasons. When I booked for DDD- the TA's did not have specials price breaks to offer- expect a guarantee of a bib. So I registered myself and picked my own hotel.

One advantage to a TA is you can transfer your bib/package (they resell it) within a few weeks of the race- unlike RD