Travel Agent?

[hes122]

That sounds perfect. I just didn't know if they were like seeking your preferences and approval on like a weekly basis or not. Thank you!

I think some of that really depends on whether or not you know where you want to stay and eat. For that 2nd trip we were open to options about where to stay, so we had her give us quotes for multiple resorts. She gave us the quotes and offered her experiences at some of them.

 

[WDWTRAVELLER]

we have used Dreams Unlimited travel before. now we just book ourselves we find it much less of a hassle for us to to modify it on our own. Disney has made reservations so easy now to make on your own.


To each their own on how they plan their trips.

 

[kylenne]

How often would you say you communicate with your TA? They're not going to add added stress right? LOL

Perfect example, today is the 499 day mark at which you can start booking room only reservations for the 50th anniversary timeframe (Oct. 1, 2021) and I’d been wanting to go for that weekend. Booking that far out means you have to call Disney, you can’t book online. So instead of sitting on hold for however long on a work day when my time is very limited (I’m teaching a new hire class), I shot my TA an email during lunch asking if she could look up availability at the Contemporary for the weekend of the 50th anniversary. By the time I got out of work at 5 she got back to me saying she had called them, found me a club level room for my dates, and put a courtesy hold on it. I emailed her back and it was booked by the time I got home from work.

I most likely won’t contact her again until it’s time to start paying on my trips. I like to do my own ADRs and FPs. Possibly I might ask her to book an experience or two on our 180 day if I’m too busy to call myself, but aside from contacting her with payments and forwarding my airline confirmations for Magical Express, it’s minimal contact.

Then again I’m not the type to constantly want to change my reservation. I always have a strong idea of the dates and resort I want. Someone more indecisive might want to micromanage a bit more. Like I said, a good agent takes the client’s lead, and I’m very low maintenance.

 

[Dani314]

Perfect example, today is the 499 day mark at which you can start booking room only reservations for the 50th anniversary timeframe (Oct. 1, 2021) and I’d been wanting to go for that weekend. Booking that far out means you have to call Disney, you can’t book online. So instead of sitting on hold for however long on a work day when my time is very limited (I’m teaching a new hire class), I shot my TA an email during lunch asking if she could look up availability at the Contemporary for the weekend of the 50th anniversary. By the time I got out of work at 5 she got back to me saying she had called them, found me a club level room for my dates, and put a courtesy hold on it. I emailed her back and it was booked by the time I got home from work.

I most likely won’t contact her again until it’s time to start paying on my trips. I like to do my own ADRs and FPs. Possibly I might ask her to book an experience or two on our 180 day if I’m too busy to call myself, but aside from contacting her with payments and forwarding my airline confirmations for Magical Express, it’s minimal contact.

Then again I’m not the type to constantly want to change my reservation. I always have a strong idea of the dates and resort I want. Someone more indecisive might want to micromanage a bit more. Like I said, a good agent takes the client’s lead, and I’m very low maintenance.

That’s amazing!! Thank you!

 

[Diana or Di]

Yeah I'll just sort of add on to everyone's feedback. My DTP knows that I'm a Disney nut and that I basically only use her because I recognize that it's an easy way to support small business. She tracks all my stuff and notifies me about discounts, etc, but outside of that I prefer to plan my own Dining and Fastpasses and it's fun for me. Like another poster said, she will babysit a dining res that I wasn't able to get at the time I'd prefer, since I work and have three kids etc etc etc. I'm paying the same price whether I book through Disney myself or if I go through her, but she earns a commission Disney pays if I go through her. Certainly the team at Dreams are amazing, and you probably already have someone in your area that is a DTP too. I'd suggest just doing due diligence and making sure that whomever you choose actually knows their stuff if you think you'll need the support. The one caveat that I learned is that I can't call Disney and make a payment. It has to go through your DTP's company. That isn't a big deal to me, I just didn't know when I tried to call Disney to make my final payment a few trips ago.

 

[Wild4Walt]

We have done both ( used a TA and booked ourselves ). Our TA experience was phenomenal and I would use the same TA again in the future.

Make a list of questions to ask your TA about their services. ( What's important to you and your party ). This will help expectations on both your end and the TA's. As an example, if you plan for your TA to book your dining - make sure they will do that. Most will be not all and you want to make sure you know before you assume. On the front, also ask the TA what their business hours are. While most agents will often work outside the normal hours when needed it will set an expectation for you on how long turn around time on your questions will take. Oh, and another good questions is if they have a backup for when they are out of the office. ( someone you could contact in their absence. )

I found doing this gave me some piece of mind using a TA for the 1st time and it helped me manage my expectations.

 

[SorcererChubby]

I have been going to Disney World since the day it opened. I have been using the same travel pageant for the past 15+ years..She doesn't make money off me when I book trips. Disney pays her a commission so she doesn't have to pass it along to me. On several occasions new offers has come out that I did not know about and she did and took advantage of that and sved me lots of money .I always did my own reservations before but will let her take care of everything for me. From Fast Passes to dining reservations. I can't say enough about how good she is .

 

[Atilley]

I use Dreams Because I don’t have to worry about watching for deals or being on the phone my TA does all that for me. I can and have handled my own Disney World trips but I prefer to let the TA deal with that while I focus on the dining and fast passes. As a side note my Dreams agent has also booked DCL, Disneyland, and Royal Caribbean for us also. I definitely recommend a TA if your new to Disney. They have a lot of information to help you.