Package through an agent or book it myself?

[123LuckyMom]

If I can save about $200 booking the Contemporary myself through a site like travelocity and ordering tickets through undercover tourist, is there any reason to book a package through a travel agent? I keep asking the agent if she can match my rates, but she keeps pushing the package and saying it's easier to book that way and easier to do the magic bands and such. Is it $200 easier, or can she just not match my price but wants the commission (for which I blame her not at all)? Would you do it yourself or book through the agent? She's priced out a few hotels for me. Do I have a moral obligation to book through her if I can get a less expensive rate on my own?

[pharmjenn]

I would easily book it myself. The only thing I use an agent for is cruising, as most agencies pass along part of their commission back to you. Land vacations I find just as easy to book myself.
But... I have not been to WDW since they started Magic bands, and don't know how booking hotel separately from tickets would affect your ability to book fast pass rides?

[WatchingThemGrow]

My hesitation would be that once we had a huge problem with Expedia. (are they similar to travelocity?) We booked and paid for a room near WDW, on Amelia Island, for a return drive. When I called the hotel to verify they had a pack n play, as we were heading there during a high travel time, I learned they did not actually have a room booked for me at all. We had to verify, while driving 3 DC across FL (not good service in some areas) that our AMEX had been charged 3 months prior, pull up emails with our confirmation number, and argue with them for the 3 hour drive, that they would, in fact, be finding us a place to let our 3 babies sleep inside a hotel in that area. When they finally sent us to Amelia Island Plantation to check in at 8pm, the resort presented us with a rate 3x what we had paid, and expected prior payment. We had to then call expedia BACK, talk with another agent, and appeal to them the entire story to not be charged again. We don't book through 3rd party sites for rooms any more. Maybe a travel agent would be different??

For WDW vacations, we call Disney directly, and use our AAA card for a cheaper rate or we book online on our own. A travel agent may have special perks, but I wouldn't do it through travelocity. Getting magic bands set up ahead of time (is it 60 days out?? i can't remember) is so nice. We have gotten 10 day no exp. tickets through undercover tourist, but I know they require some shipping time to consider. If you call Disney directly, they'll wish you a magical day. I think that's worth the $200

[123LuckyMom]

Well, I booked the room through Orbitz, because they were having a special deal where they discounted an additional $150 off of the 25% Disney discount, and I'm ordering tickets through undercover tourist, which will save us an additional $64 dollars. I did some internet research that assures me I can link the hotel and tickets to my Disney account and get the magic bands just as if I bought them through Disney. I hope that's true! If I end up with any problems, I'll post here to warn others. We're going to use that couple of hundred bucks we saved towards something special at Disney. I didn't book our airfare yet, even though I found a perfect flight. I tried to find an airfare predictor to see if the price was likely to go down, but I couldn't find one, just general advice to book a little less than three months out, and we're a little more than four at the moment.

[rkold]

You can link the tickets. I do my trips all the time a la carte and I go a lot. You just either need the actual physical tickets before 60 days out or a Will Call #. You set up a My Disney Experience account on the WDW website. Add in the rest of your travel party, enter your confirmation # for the hotel/set up your hotel reservation, and then enter your ticket #s. Call Disney Tech Support if you have an issue. Undercover Tourist is a legit ticket reseller so the tickets are real. You just might need support for entering your hotel confirmation code. I usually book direct through Disney. Disney should send you the magic bands for free. You then get to decide if you want to pay $170 for Memory Maker their photo package.

Unless Disney is giving you a free dinning plan, you really don't want to pay for it. It's a lot of money, I want to say $60 per adult per day, and unless you do all dinner buffets every single night, getting your money's worth can be hard. It also encourages you to eat a lot of dessert. >>;

It is more work, but not $200 more work. I like doing it myself because then I know it was done correctly.