I haven’t been to WDW since 2018, but have visited at least 11 times and had annual passes for a couple of years (I live in the Midwest). So much has changed, I used to be a Disney pro but have no idea what I’m doing anymore. (E.g., I can’t make dining reservations more than 90 days out??? I don’t understand what’s replaced fastpasses?)
I’m busy without a lot of time to take a crash course in Disney, and decided to work with a travel agent I used back when I first started going, asked a bunch of questions, and got, well, zero answers. I’ve got a courtesy hold on a hotel reservation and park tickets, but I’m wondering if I should look for a different TA or if I’m being difficult. Am I being unreasonable?
Here’s the Deal. Depending on if you are OK with booking your own trip and feel comfortable doing it, I would ask myself if I even need a TA. Your problem seems to be Changes at WDW itself. There are now 60 day ADR’s rather than the old 90. On good change on this is once booked you can now cancel it up to two hour before reservation with no penalty fee. No I could go through a lot of the changes but it is much easier just to buy the new Unofficial Guide Book. It will give you a heads up on many changes such as Jenie + instead of fastpasses. TA’s no longer do the things they used to do for you unless you have a long relationship with them. I am not going to piss anyone off by saying they are not necessary because for many people they are. That said I dropped mine because I am totally capable of booking my own trip on line and it gives me a lot more control than having to go through a TA. That’s me and it may not be you.
I would probably reiterate that you had questions before firing them altogether.
It’s possible - as I’ve done this - that they put the courtesy hold on the reservation immediately so as not to lose it and plans to follow up with the rest of it later. It’s nice if that is clarified, but if they were just being quick in between other tasks it might have been overlooked.
Which a good TA will be on top of and notifying guests. It’s one of the many really good reasons to use a TA.
That’s a blanket statement that I guarantee does not hold up across all TAs. Some services are very basic, and some are very much concierge-level.
And any GOOD TA will gauge the guest’s need level and meet them there. If they need a lot they’ll do it, and if they don’t need much of anything, that’s okay too.
I guess I get this from a TA out here that asked me if I still expected a TA to perform the many services they used to do a number of years ago. My answer was yes and his was you cannot expect that these days. So let me make my statement clear. I think a TA is great if you need one. I have had several. I have been around a while and know the difference of todays service versus the past. In some cases I still use them if and when they can get a better deal than me on the WDW site. So here is one of the differences from some others. I have a AP and book room only. I don’t have to worry about Packages but I do search for promotions. Many people need the guidance of a TA and I think they should use one. I am NOT anti-TA.
One of the big advantages to a TA for me is they keep track of the deals. The recent deal that came out at DLR? She jumped on it and saved me almost $800.
I don’t mean to hijack this thread but I’ve been debating using a TA for the first time. Never used one before as I’m pretty savvy with travel planning but this year we are considering split stay with multiple promotions - part of it would be under Disney +, then fall offer, etc. We need multiple rooms, etc. I think just the amount of time it takes to make all those separate reservations would be worth it…so now here for dumb questions:
do you pay a TA or do they get commission from Disney?
can they make dining reservations for you? even if I just need them to get a few of the tougher ones then i can fill in
when doing a split stay would they be able to make dining reservations for both parts at once or still lose the advantage the same way i would by having to log in 2 separate mornings?
I guess I just don’t know how it works and am very tempted by the convenience of it even though I know 100% I could do it myself
ETA: I currently have rooms at BWI booked for the entire stay so my procrastination won’t totally screw us!
Disney pays the commission. Some agents do charge a consult fee because we don’t get paid until you travel. Unfortunately there are people out there who will use the free service to figure out what they want - and then book on their own. Which means that unless we charge a fee we work for free. Stinks, but crummy people are why we can’t have nice things. But Disney pays the actual commission on the trip itself.
Some TAs offer this service, some do not. It’s best to nail down exactly what you’re looking for up front so that everyone has clarity.
TAs follow the same rules as you - so split stay = two dining ressies dates.
I haven’t used a TA post covid but when needing multiple rooms pre-covid I booked thru a TA for several reasons. They get paid, I’ll probably get a better deal eventually - up to Disney, and they could keep our reservations in order.
I always made our own dining reservations but that was then. I’d call and chat with a Disney representative while they made the reservations. It was more fun and loved hearing, “have a magical day” at the end of our conversations.
Definitely, if I were on my first trip I wouldn’t worry about getting tougher dining reservations. Sometimes the best places are having an off day and all the places are Disney. Even after 40 years we’ve found new favorite places when old favs are unavailable. Everyone’s mileage varies.
Good job booking Boardwalk. So many interesting dining choices as well as close to 2 parks.
If you don’t use a TA, Disney keeps the commission for themselves. If you do use a TA, that money goes to someone.
FWIW I always use a TA even though I’ve gone a ton. Even though I’m a Disney expert at this point ;), my TA is very helpful with advice. And I’ve never needed to call Disney - she’s always done it for me, including hours long waits for moving/cancelling our trips during COVID and Starcruiser reservations. When anyone asks for Disney advice, the first thing I do is give them my TA’s number.
Thank you for mentioning this. It’s a detail I always try to point out - if you don’t use a TA you’re paying for something you’re not getting - you’re throwing money out the window!
I should’ve clarified in my original question - we’ve been several times over the last few years and have stayed at BWI a few times. I’m just being lazy I guess lol. It’s one of those things where I know exactly what to do - I just don’t feel like doing it! Our D+ account is in my husband’s name, MDE in mine, we need two rooms (bringing parents), I want to try split stay at AKL (would be first time) and BWI (or Beach Club). Plus the week we are going, arrival day isn’t under the D+ offer but it starts the next day and when I looked it doesn’t look like the fall offer where you would just wouldn’t get the discount for that day, it literally wouldn’t even let me choose it…so we technically need 3 reservations for one room! I basically just want to tell someone my woes and they magically fix everything and send me confirmation numbers lol…I’m pretty sure I would be a terrible customer! I appreciate everyone’s feedback though and now will let the OP get back to solving her issues instead of mine!
That’s this forum - all issues ok. Everyone learns more.
I’m glad to hear you’re experienced. I was also a veteran WDW goer. I switched to a TA for your same reason and wondered why it took me so long to wise up. I suspect if your TA doesn’t want you to have the best deals ever, find another. I’d venture to say most are in the business cuz they love helping.
Unfortunately my sister started exchanging into DVC, so no more TA. Those were great years and I loved Disney geeking with my TA.
