What is the main difference in booking with a TA and just through Disney? - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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What is the main difference in booking with a TA and just through Disney?
Well my 10 years late honeymoon in March has been moved to September 2011. It will be DS 10 bday and I will be graduating. I have looked and planned on the Disney website and on here. I noticed a lot of you go through a travel agent. I was wondering which you prefer and why and what are the differences between the two options?
The difference is that the TA is in touch with Disney and is able to maximize any available discounts. A good TA will take care of as many or as few details as you want them to from resort reservations to ADR's to any special experiences you might want to have. There is NO cost to you to use a TA. I'm a former TA and I use a TA for my trips. I'll PM you a name!!
Ken
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I was thinking about something similar last night. We are already discussing and semi planning out 2011 trip, despite not leaving for our 2010 yet. Currently, we are using my dad's AAA agent. While he is very pleasent and as pretty much followed through with all request, I felt he hasn't really helped like I get the impression he should. I had to constantly nudge him to get our free dining and he came back multiple times say it couldn't be done. Finally it was taken care of. I have got the impressions from others that a good TA should be helping you to find the best deal and run through the multiple options. Instead he basically did what I would have done on my own with no input or help. Not to sound down on the guy, but how do I find a TA that will help me find the best deals and options and look out for me, or is it better to just do it myself in this case?
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Ryan
Me, Kaylyne, Cassie holding Ayden, & Grandma Laura
Disneyland March 2009
A TA will be an advocate for you - watching for offers, getting them applied quickly, making any ADRs, tour reservations for you - watching out for your best interest! Most of us have no fees as we are paid by our suppliers (in this case, Disney). Some of us sell exclusively Disney vacations, which means 100% of our focus is knowing Disney destinations. We are available 24/7, many of us up at 6AM 7 days a week in order to make ADRs immediately and to get the latest offers for our clients.
I will use a TA everytime I am ready to book a trip . The only thing I have to do is e-mail everything we want and the TA takes it from there. The TA makes sure I get all the discounts that Disney has to offer . That is the best way to go as far as I am concerned.
I have done it both ways and when I use a TA, it's only been a TA who knows their Disney stuff (met her here on Passporter). I would never book a Disney trip with someone who wasn't a Disney specialist. But even when I do use a TA...I still do everything myself- ADR's, other ressies, etc... For my own peace of mind, I need to have the control over my trip.
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Stephanie- Mom to Jaden and Emerson, Wife to Keith, Novelist
I'm an independent agent with Fairytale Journeys, specializing in Disney vacations!
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If you go with a TA, for WDW trips you need to go with a TA that specializes in Disney. There are many, a few of them on this board. The big difference in TA's is that the Disney specialist understands Disney booking, the promos, and can advise you which one is going to save you the most. If another promo comes out, they know about it right away, and as Judi says, their on the phone with WDW as soon as the lines open up, getting you the best discount, automatically applying it to your res.
While there are some very good AAA TA's the majority don't understand Disney booking, and you end up doing all the work anyway, finding out what discounts are coming out, then telling them what to do. And sometimes thay can't get you that discount because AAA sometimes books thru other suppliers, like Fun Sun Vacations, etc.
Esp. for a first trip, I highly recommend using a Disney specialized TA.
At first, I couldn’t understand why anyone would need “help” booking a Disney trip. And then the discounts started coming, fast and furious, and I couldn’t keep up. Disney math was taking up too much of my brain space …
So just yesterday, I turned my reservation over to Judi (aka lukeandbrookesmom), and she has already blown me away! Without me even asking, she figured out how to do something I’d tried to do on at least two separate occasions AND she saved us money. Our trip will be about a million times better because of the things she’s done in literally about 24 hours.
You should at least try booking with a TA once to see how it works. But, for sure, make sure you book with a Disney specialist. I've read lots of horror stories about folks who try to book through TAs who don't know Disney.
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. The only thing I have to do is e-mail everything we want 
and the TA takes it from there. The TA makes sure I get all the discounts that Disney has to offer 
. That is the best way to go as far as I am concerned.
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