Pros/cons of using a travel agent

Walt Disney World
41

Here’s a pro…

I made the decision on Thursday to cancel my Disney birthday trip in July a) not knowing if it would be open and b) not sure what the status on those of us from NY/NJ/CT having to self-quarantine would be - but also not leave my TA high and dry. There was a Celebrity cruise out of NJ the same time frame to Bermuda that I’d played around with before, so I asked if she could put a hold on that and as soon as the money from Disney’s refund hit I’d pay it in full. Yes, the cruise could be cancelled, BUT I’ll get a future cruise credit (has been of 125% and I don’t see them changing it) which I can apply to a 2021 cruise I have booked AND she’ll still get commission from the cancelled one since I’m taking the future credit.

We kinda knew it was going to be a race against time, but I have typically gotten my Disney refund in a couple of days (maybe because I bank with Chase? IDK). I’d thought it would probably show on Monday. Well, yesterday came the CDC “100 days no sail” thing - and while it is still being determined if they meant from the original release - which puts it mid-May which is when most lines had gone to - or into July which would basically make mine potentially the first set out if they go then, I figured lines will be making any changes because of it probably Monday or maybe Tuesday (Disney extended theirs to mid-May, so they are clearly going with the original date timeline), so it would be definitely beat the clock.

Woke up this morning and the refunds had hit. I immediately emailed my TA with “Money is there, pay the cruise in full” in the subject, figuring she’d do it first thing Monday morning, but within about an hour, she emailed me and said “Done! We’re taking the dog for a drive so he doesn’t feel deprived as he’s gotten used to quarantine Saturday drives, and then I’ll email you the receipt.” So clearly she got the importance - for BOTH of us - of getting it done before they have a chance to make any changes.

That’s service!!

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42

I’m using a TA for the first time this year. It’s tough giving up some of the control about ADRs and such. However, it’s been so wonderful to just be able to ask for anything and it gets taken care of. It’s been real handy during this last month.

1 Like
43

I’m using a TA that I know from college. She isn’t exclusively Disney but still does all the training. I first book a Branson trip with her and she was amazing so I knew she would be an asset for our first family WDW trip in May. I’ve been to Disney a few times as an adult and had done all my own planning so this trip, my TA has worked very closely with me. I gave her lists of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choices for ADRs and we prioritized and booked my fast passes together so we would be able to get as many of the hard to get ones as possible. When the parks closed we picked new dates and she took care of moving our trip. I booked new ADRs and we’ll probably do fast passes the same way as before. She has been a huge help in all of this.

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44

@OBNurseNH, I know I’m a week late to the conversation, but do you have a website? I didn’t realize you were a travel agent and I may want to have you book our next trip - not until 2021 :pensive:

45

This is what we did with the trip we were planning to take in May. ( :cry: I’m still heartbroken about it, today was our 15 day mark) The TA booked our package and I did all of the fun planning with ADR’s and FP’s. When the discounts were announced, I emailed my TA and she replied that she had already gotten us the discount and sent the confirmation and new pricing a few hours later, it was awesome to not have to do that part myself.

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