[KittieKChick]

Just wondering what your experiences are with using a travel agent vs. booking it yourself.

Would a trip be cheaper through a travel agent or the same (assuming no discounts pop up)? Thanks.

[Dopey]

Since we are all experienced Disney travelers, I don't think it's cheaper with a travel agent. After all, we have all these wonderful informational websites that we cruise through daily. Book a trip online, watch for discounts, get them applied to your trip if there are any and that's it

[Prezcatz]

We used Mousketrips for our latest trip and had great luck. Keith was great to work with. There was a special rate that came out after our initial booking that we read about on MB, and as soon as we e-mailed them about it, they were all over it. They even went back and corrected an error Disney had made calculating the cost. The special rate saved us about $200.

It was very nice knowing we had someone looking out for us. All the changes we had (two or three), all it took was one e-mail and it was taken care of.

Prezcatz Paul

[nanu57v]

I've always been able to get the trips cheaper myself, except once through AAA. They had a special package, and for some reason it was cheaper through them than if I used the code directly through WDW.

[cinderbella]

I usually book things myself but I did use Mousketrips for our free dining trip (that got canceled) in 2007. I just felt it was easier to book beforehand and then have Scott work on getting us the codes.

[jensimonoff]

I have used a AAA travel agent the last two times that I have visited WDW, and I don't think that I would do anything else. The first time we went to her, she notified us that if we traveled a week later, we could do free dining, she also got us a waterside room at CBR for the same cost as a non waterside room. I also LOVE that I can give the travel agent the places that I want to book my reservations for meals and she takes care of it all. She also took care of my other bookings like magical express. And was able to answer any questions that I came up with over the time of planning my trip, and she kept me sane when I booked my last trip for a party of 10. And for the party of 10 trip, only one of us had to be a AAA member to use the services (even though most of us were members). I totally recommend the travel agent route. I am sure that it is not for everyone, but it really worked for me.

[sue299]

I used a local TA last time and it actually got confusing. When I found the code for a discount, had to call her, she had to call to change my arrangements, etc. Then I added a day, she had to do it, not me. It was the same price as I could have done myself, so I just booked myself this time. that makes it easier to make changes.

[Dopey]

Originally Posted by sue299

I used a local TA last time and it actually got confusing. When I found the code for a discount, had to call her, she had to call to change my arrangements, etc. Then I added a day, she had to do it, not me. It was the same price as I could have done myself, so I just booked myself this time. that makes it easier to make changes.

I agree. If you book through an agent, you can't make changes yourself. And it really is fun to mess around with your own stuff online

[Andrea]

I like Mouseketrips, because when there's a discount, they know about it and apply it and I don't have to keep up with the prices.

[boilerjeff]

Originally Posted by jensimonoff

I have used a AAA travel agent the last two times that I have visited WDW, and I don't think that I would do anything else. The first time we went to her, she notified us that if we traveled a week later, we could do free dining, she also got us a waterside room at CBR for the same cost as a non waterside room. I also LOVE that I can give the travel agent the places that I want to book my reservations for meals and she takes care of it all. She also took care of my other bookings like magical express. And was able to answer any questions that I came up with over the time of planning my trip, and she kept me sane when I booked my last trip for a party of 10. And for the party of 10 trip, only one of us had to be a AAA member to use the services (even though most of us were members). I totally recommend the travel agent route. I am sure that it is not for everyone, but it really worked for me.

I agree. We had great luck with AAA when we visited in June/July. Next time I may try to price it myself and compare the two prices.

[Monique]

I think it really just depends on you. I've booked trips both ways; however, being the "like to be on top of everything" person that I am I much rather take care of things myself.

[Jennatrz]

Originally Posted by KittieKChick

Just wondering what your experiences are with using a travel agent vs. booking it yourself.

Would a trip be cheaper through a travel agent or the same (assuming no discounts pop up)? Thanks.

The only travel agents that I would consider using would be AAA. Most
travel agents don't specialize in Disney. You are better off usually talking to a really knowledgeable CM. We usually book it ourselves.

[CaraMia]

I use to book everything myself. Then I decided to give Magical Journeys a try. It made things alot easier. They modify the reservation and get the better rate usually before you even know the new discount came out. Terrisue has managed to get us a room at a resort that the disney rep on the phone said was unavailable. There have been times when we used disney dollars to pay for the room and she was able to apply our reward dollars to the balance to make sure it was done correctly. We had heard stories about the castmembers at check-in not always being familiar with how to do that. She also has made dining reservations for us as well.

Another plus was that Terrisue made all the phone calls. Now that disney travel company has disconnected their 1-888 phone numbers...it would cost me to continuously keep checking for availability at the restaurants we wanted.

Anytime I have emailed a question to Terrisue she has gotten back to me within a few hours. I recommend Magical Journeys ....

[Willbegone]

Mousketrips is wonderful! We used on 2 of our trips. They are Disney specialist and are great to work with.

[timsha]

We have booked our own trips and have gone through AAA once, as well as Mouseketrips twice. If I have the time, I will do it myself. It is also nice to just say book it, and let the TA do the work for me. If we book again through a TA, it will be through Mouseketrips..... Keith and Scott are just the best.