Travel Agent or Not?

[nkereina]

I had messaged her on Facebook and told her I had sent her some emails twice. She then said she saw them and would get back to me (two weeks ago). She finally contacted me after I wrote to the agency and she responded by saying she found my emails in her junk mail. Hmmm? It's not like she hasn't gotten emails from me in the past so it shouldn't have gone to spam. I understand there has been a lot going on but you don't put someone on the back burner and then forget about your clients. Any kind of a response within the last two almost three weeks would have been nice.

Eh, maybe I'm more forgiving, but given the current circumstances, I'd probably cut her some slack knowing how chaotic and unprecedented things are right now with the agencies. Especially Dreams, who handles all things Disney - World, Land, Cruise, Adventures. That's a lot of clients to tend to who frankly have more pressing matters than ADRs at this time. I don't disagree that she should tell you she will circle back to you at a later date, but it would bother me more if she didn't get back to me if I had an urgent change or payment deadline that was approaching. She's only one person with only 24 hours in a day, so she has to prioritize right now.

I would agree with just doing the ADRs yourself. And if you really want to, there is a form the agent can complete to transfer the booking back to Disney or to another agency.

 

[aml1676]

I love my TA. I knew going in that she would be as involved as I wanted her to be - for me, the value is in having someone else watch for discounts so I don't have to. I did my own ADRs and FP planning and scheduling for my original trip (we're supposed to be there now...). The majority of our contact was at the beginning when she was quoting the trip, and then just reminders that my booking windows were coming up. I think if you want your TA to do more than that, you probably need to make sure they know that's what you're expecting.

FWIW, my TA navigated everything related to canceling the March trip and rescheduling for October... she had it canceled on the Friday they announced the closure, and everything was refunded within 5 days. My new trip was booked within a week, once I decided which quote to go with. Having that "middle man" that someone referred to above didn't delay anything or cause me any issues. I guess ymmv.

 

[mrd7896]

It stinks that the overall impression of TA's may have been clouded because of your experience OP. But it's nice to see that you overall gave one a chance because i was similar to you and thought i'd give one a go.
The TA i use is a Disney Earmarked and when i first reached out to her she had PDF documents that explained magic bands, ADR's, FP's, an itemized PDF of each park, etc. I thought she was a godsend. i probably could've figured that all out myself but it was just right there for me to see.

she stated that their turnaround time is 24 hours, but i'm not sure there was ever a time that it was even close to that..even on weekends. I'm really pesky and do most of my research on weekends.

She sent me how she usually does her own itineraries and offered to do a day by day for me. which i politely declined but did reference her personal itinerary a few times.
the reason i went to a TA was for those promotions that come out after i book, i don't want to wait on the line for 4 hours when she can....sorry.

a few months ago i reached back out for a different trip and i got passed off to another agent when i wanted to book another trip that wasn't disney. She said that her expertise is with cruises and disney and when i wanted to go to Ireland i was passed off to someone that lived in ireland. i didn't think that was usually how TA's work?

 

[nkereina]

a few months ago i reached back out for a different trip and i got passed off to another agent when i wanted to book another trip that wasn't disney. She said that her expertise is with cruises and disney and when i wanted to go to Ireland i was passed off to someone that lived in ireland. i didn't think that was usually how TA's work?

Depends on the travel agency, but you wouldn't want to book with just any agent. You want an agent that knows international travel and the tour companies that offer the best options for it. I used to work for AAA and there were TAs that were designated for Disney, ones for cruises, ones for domestic travel, and ones for international travel. The international travel agents were usually the most experienced. While some of the international agents would book domestic travel for their best clients, many of them would pass them off to one of the domestic agents both because it was the courteous/ethical thing to do in our office, but also because the commission wasn't worth the international agents' time. Also, depending on the areas the agents' booked, their training was tailored to that. Some of the international agents wouldn't know the first thing about Disney, and the Disney agents wouldn't know where to start with a trip to Ireland.

I know a lot of the Disney specific agents will have independent contractors working for them that are trained and specialized to book all things Disney only. The owners of the "parent agency" are true travel agents with IATA numbers, and often will book the "other" travel that comes through from time to time because they are more experienced and equipped for that.

 

[tguz]

We used a TA (that had appeared on a few DIS Youtube Videos) for our trip in 2018 and she was great. She explained a few things that I wasn't sure of and she asked if I wanted her to book any ADR's. I told her that since we were on the QS dining plan that we wouldn't need any ADR's and she said what about Be Our Guest for lunch!! At the time. I didn't know it was a QS at lunch. So we ended eating there for 2 lunches and it is one of our favorite places to eat because of the atmosphere. We would (maybe) have missed that had she not brought it up. I hope she is still with the company when we book our honeymoon trip!

 

[MudQueen22]

A close friend has a relative that is a Disney TA. I contacted her twice about a Fort Wilderness campsite reservation with tickets. Both times, she responded that she would get back with me and didn't.
When my SIL was planning her family vacation, she wanted to go with a travel agent. I gave her the name and contact information of someone I knew who had been a Disney TA for about a year. SIL would have to contact her multiple times to get answers to questions (if she got answers at all), and was sometimes given false information. SIL, like me, ended up learning tons more from DisBoards and various Disney facebook groups than she ever did from her TA. When she figured up her savings using a TA, it was $50.

We both decided that we will just stay up to date ourselves and book our own trips. We would both rather retain as much control as possible anyway.

I've heard that some people have really positive experiences with their TA. If you get a really good recommendation from people that have actually used them, go for it. Personally, I would rather just read up and do things myself. I kind of enjoy it anyway.

 

[nkereina]

When she figured up her savings using a TA, it was $50.

FWIW, travel agents aren't typically used to obtain cost savings or discounts. The majority of the time they have access to the same offers we all do. The benefit of a travel agent is their knowledge and their time doing the legwork, so its unfortunate you encountered ones that were poor in their communication. Many travelers don't have time to peruse DisBoards or FB groups, or find that they are overwhelmed by the information. They rely on the TA to plan it out for them and tell them what they need to know.

 

[fancyfox823]

We've used Small World Vacations before (we booked a cruise through them and wanted to add a day at Disney on to the front end). It was nice to have that extra experience when cruising for the first time, but for regular park visits I tend to do it all myself. We've been there enough times we know what we want to do, and get as much set up ahead of time as we can, but we've also had really good luck playing things by ear and planning smart to fit in things we couldn't get reservations/fp for.

 

[Welsh_Dragon]

As a U.K. AP holder having a US travel agent makes life so much easier. WDW seems to be making it more and more difficult for us to access it’s US site from here and the U.K. booking site is very strict about cancellation and offers very little, if any, free flexibility. There is a charge for most changes and you cannot, for example, apply new discounts to existing bookings. I use Marion at Small World Vacations to make and tweek bookings for me, book Bouncebacks, apply new discounts etc. I email her and she telephones WDW, saving me the cost of an expensive overseas call. I make ADRs and FPs myself, as I enjoy doing it.

 

[WDWTRAVELLER]

I'm going to WDW in October and haven't been since 2008. I know a lot has changed since then and don't have a lot of time to do any details with the planning. I was considering using a Travel Agency but didn't know if it would be worth it. I booked with an agency and haven't heard from them since after trying to call and email but no response. I would like one that would do a daily itinerary and make reservations for me. I know there are some that work for Disney with no charge but don't know which one to use. Just how reliable are they? Any advice would be much appreciated.

talk to a agent at dreamsunlimitedtravel.com. they are very helpful and will help you. Its the same price if you book through them or online. and you get there experience for free

 

[MudQueen22]

FWIW, travel agents aren't typically used to obtain cost savings or discounts. The majority of the time they have access to the same offers we all do. The benefit of a travel agent is their knowledge and their time doing the legwork, so its unfortunate you encountered ones that were poor in their communication. Many travelers don't have time to peruse DisBoards or FB groups, or find that they are overwhelmed by the information. They rely on the TA to plan it out for them and tell them what they need to know.

I often see the ones in our area advertising that they can get exclusive discounts.
I was disappointed in my own experience and the one my SIL had. Also, my SIL was given bad advice at one point that could have cost her money.
I do understand that some people don't have the time or desire to peruse the DisBoards; I've assumed that a large number of DisBoards members like looking at the message boards since they are here.
I do think that anyone looking for a travel agent should go with one who has been recommended.

 

[nkereina]

I often see the ones in our area advertising that they can get exclusive discounts.
I was disappointed in my own experience and the one my SIL had. Also, my SIL was given bad advice at one point that could have cost her money.
I do understand that some people don't have the time or desire to peruse the DisBoards; I've assumed that a large number of DisBoards members like looking at the message boards since they are here.
I do think that anyone looking for a travel agent should go with one who has been recommended.

Agree to choose one who has been recommended - TAs rely on word of mouth. I'm sorry you guys had such a poor experience. For the future, there are many agencies that handle Disney products only. Look for verbiage like "Authorized Disney Vacation Planner" and "Earmarked". These are the ones who have completed the formal Disney training and should be well versed on their products. Agencies who do not specialize in Disney will not know the intricacies of planning and likely will not be willing to make ADRs and FPs.

The agencies who can offer exclusive discounts are typically larger or large volume agencies that get a room block at a group rate and then sell rooms from that block at a discounted rate. The rate they sell to you at is higher than what they paid at their group rate so that they make a profit, but its still lower than what you would pay booking on your own so it entices people. The discounts are typically date and resort specific because of these room blocks, so you'd have to go to the specific agency offering it. These are the only "discounts" agencies can offer. There are some agencies that will offer little perks like a Disney gift card or refillable mug when you book with them, as an incentive.

Even though I'm a planner and choose to handle my own ADRs and FP+'s, I will often book with Dreams Unlimited to get any perks they are offering, and also so my agent monitors for any new promotions Disney offers. I'm not always able to stay up to speed (in normal times) on what Disney is offering, so its been beneficial to have an agent monitor for that and apply it accordingly. Otherwise, I'd have to catch it myself and spend the time on the phone to make the changes.