Would It be easier To Book Accommodation Through A Travel Agent

[Porsche4]

Been reading that booking hotels is really difficult on the website as availability goes so quickly. Here are my concerns:

• I am not particularly quick on a computer so I would not be able to navigate as quickly as most
• I am concerned that even if I do get what I want once I get to the checkout area my card will be rejected and I will lose my booking (this has happened to me numerous times before when trying to book overseas flights etc on line)
• I am a very anxious person and all this having to deal with a foreign website not particularly designed with English speaking travellers in mind, is very stressful

My concerns about using a travel agent is, can I be assured they will book right on the opening mark or will they just book whatever they can get. Is it possible that the travel agents use a different booking portal and so have a lot better access and availability open to them.

This is a once in a lifetime trip for me and my adult daughter and I am keen to stay at the Ambassador Hotel.

Any thoughts, suggestions or experiences from people having booked with a travel agent would be really helpful. Thanks!!!

 

[Kwami]

The few Disney travel agents that I've spoken to all said that they don't handle bookings for Tokyo Disney because TDR isn't actually owned by Disney. Maybe you can find one, though.

 

[zanzibar138]

The few Disney travel agents that I've spoken to all said that they don't handle bookings for Tokyo Disney because TDR isn't actually owned by Disney. Maybe you can find one, though.

I was just going to comment to say I haven't heard of any travel agents that would be able to help you with this, but would definitely be interested to hear if anyone knows of one. I'm sure many on this board (including myself eventually) would appreciate the extra help navigating the TDR booking system!

 

[dunkindonut]

I used a travel agent and they were able to book hotels on the resort line, but not Disney hotels. Honestly I feel like the Disney hotels aren't even that worth it. The ones on the line themselves though are very close to the parks, but the others are kinda far. If you stay on the resort line, it would be a better option imo, and generally the hotel chains like sheraton/hilton have better English support. The resort hotels are not owned by Disney, so there is not perfect English customer service.

 

[Kwami]

I used a travel agent and they were able to book hotels on the resort line, but not Disney hotels. Honestly I feel like the Disney hotels aren't even that worth it. The ones on the line themselves though are very close to the parks, but the others are kinda far. If you stay on the resort line, it would be a better option imo, and generally the hotel chains like sheraton/hilton have better English support. The resort hotels are not owned by Disney, so there is not perfect English customer service.

That's hard to believe. Even the cheapest hotels far outside Tokyo usually has at least one representative that speaks fluent English, or just about. I can't imagine that a large, well-known hotel in Tokyo* doesn't have multiple staff that speak English very well.

Also, some of the Disney-branded hotels are on the monorail line, including Tokyo Disneyland Hotel and MiraCosta. The Ambassador Hotel is right next to Ikspiari, which itself is right next to Maihama station.

* Close enough.

 

[gelatoni fan]

That's hard to believe. Even the cheapest hotels far outside Tokyo usually has at least one representative that speaks fluent English, or just about. I can't imagine that a large, well-known hotel in Tokyo* doesn't have multiple staff that speak English very well.

Also, some of the Disney-branded hotels are on the monorail line, including Tokyo Disneyland Hotel and MiraCosta. The Ambassador Hotel is right next to Ikspiari, which itself is right next to Maihama station.

* Close enough.

I'm sure the Disney hotels have some staff who speak decent enough English but many of their staff members don't. So if you just approached a random staff member, at a Disney hotel, you're kinda rolling the dice on whether they can communicate well in English. At the Sheraton and Hilton, pretty much all the staff you'd typically interact with are good enough at English to handle basic things.

I was actually surprised that some cast members at Guest Relations in the park couldn't actually speak English despite having a job where they'd likely encounter foreign tourists. Now, I mostly ask for things in Japanese within the Disney parks and resorts but use English at check in desks of Western hotel chains to avoid confusion when I show them my American passport.

 

[dunkindonut]

Yeah, TDR's English support I think is a bit overstated. I can speak Japanese, but if I couldn't then there are times that I feel there is a language barrier.