Help-need DW travel agent recommendations

Hello Disney lovers!

We're planning our first ever trip to Disney World next summer (woo hoo!) and I've heard that it's a good idea to use a travel agent. I would love to have some recommendations. So far I have Small World on my short list so if you've used this agency I'd love your feedback.

FYI-we're a family of 4 and will be traveling with friends (family of 3) in June 2019. We plan to visit DW and possibly Universal Studios or Kennedy Space Center. We would like to stay on the Disney property and plan to be in Orlando for at least 7-10 days.

TIA!

You don’t need a travel agent. It’s not that hard. :) The DisBoards forums can hook you up and you have plenty of time. Just know that you make dining reservations 180 days out at Disney. Otherwise, everything else happens at 30-60 days out with regards to Disney planning.
A split stay between Universal and Disney is ideal. Kennedy Space Center is awesome!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Small World and Dreams Unlimited are the 2 that I have heard the best things about.
If you are staying on property, it doesn't hurt to use them. They will rebook you if a discount code comes out and will help with reservations and stuff. They also give "bonuses" sometimes - like my friend's mother used Small World and they upgraded her to concierge level.

I've used our AAA travel agent in the past, but that was just to get the special perks that come along with booking through them. (Back when they had the Princess story time, getting those perks was the bomb!) Now that a lot of the perks are gone, I agree with PP who said you don't really need a travel agent. You can get the same deals they can.

I’ve never used a travel agent for Disney BUT I have been the point person for a couple large group trips. Planning Disney for multi-family groups is brutal. If all the pressure will rest on you to decide which parks which days, which restaurants and when, which Fast Passes I would consider a travel agent so that you don’t look like the bad guy having to nag people for opinions and then trying to make calls between differing opinions and then explaining when you weren’t able to get a key FP.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We used Pirate and Pixie Dust Destinations https://pirateandpixiedustdestinations.com/ to plan our Disney Cruises and last Disney World trip. Before that I planned out trips. You certainly can do it but really there is not a down side to using a travel agent. Their services are free and they know a lot more than I did. I highly recommend Casey who owns this particular agency. (Disclaimer, my only connection to her is she planned our trips. :)

Thank you everyone!

We went a few years ago with another family. We originally started with a travel agent (a friend’s mom who was local to me), but she only really booked our hotel and made a request for us to have rooms near each other ( we stayed at Caribbean Beach). She started booking restaurants but then I found it was just easier for us to do that. On the day our fast passes became available my friend and I were on the phone together at midnight booking our must haves. She would search for one ride and I’d search for another and we tried to fit it altogether with the dining reservations (we had the free meal plan as it was the current promo). Then we continued to switch things around to make the schedule better, even making changes while we were in the park each day (the app was very helpful!). It was quite an experience planning it but I have no regrets with how our trip worked out.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have booked all our Disney trips myself, but we recently went on a Disney Cruise/DW trip with my inlaws and my MIL used a travel agent. I really preferred doing it myself. If you do choose to go with a travel agent, make sure it is one that is very familiar with Disney!! The one my MIL used was not specifically a disney agent (she was through AAA) and she didn't take care of all the Disney details (she didn't link reservations to tickets which messed up our fast pass availability and then forgot about Magical Express). It was also challenging bc when I would call Disney to get info or add something to our reservation (like a crib request), the Disney people said much of the reservation was "locked" due to using a travel agent. It made the whole process more difficult!! I had to "fix" several of her mistakes at the resort desk when we got there. :(

A friend of mine is a special Disney travel agent, her brother has worked for Disney for 25 years in production and her mom worked the Emporium for 20 years, she knows Disney! PM if you want her info. It doesn't hurt to see what they can do for you (I have no idea what is involved our family has zero interest in Disney), but my friend loves her travel agent business.