Disney Planner Help
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Anonymous
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Hi, I booked an upcoming trip for next September for my family of 3. I found the planner through a friend. She offered advice about where to stay and I booked the trip through her. She sent me the confirmation and says that if I want further help with dining reservations and itinerary suggestions it will cost $300. Is that typical? Everyone talks about the planners doing everything for free and getting compensated through Disney.
I checked and it was the same price as if I went online and did it myself. I’m confused. Did she get anything from Disney making that reservation for me? Any advice? |
Anonymous
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A planner is different than a TA. Most Travel Agents do not charge you a thing. They are paid via Disney.
You do not need a planner. The only planning they will do is your dining, which you can do 60 days before you checkin. You can easily do it through Disney's website or the app. Do NOT waste $300 on that. |
Anonymous
| Is it too late to get a Disney travel agent? Or it too late since I already booked the trip through someone? I have never been to Disney so feel lost. |
Anonymous
| Huh. I have a disney planner and she is at no cost to me. I Thought they were all called disney planners so I am a bit confused too OP! |
Anonymous
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Some call themselves Planners, some call themselves Travel Agents, but both do the same things. Most do not charge, some do. It's up to you if you want to pay, but you don't "need" to pay. Paying does not equate to better service.
You also do not NEED one at all. First you book your resort and tickets (plus memory maker if you want one). Then make your park reservations. After that once you get to 60 days out you make your table (sit down) dining reservations. 7am on your park day you can make Individual Lightning Lane purchases and Genie+ selections (if you purchase Genie+). Then head to the park and enjoy your day. It's not nearly as daunting as it seems. The app is great as well, you can do basically all of it there. |
Anonymous
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There are travel agents that are truly free - Disney pays them after your trip based on how much you spend on what you book through the travel agent. There are also agencies that charge for these services but I don’t understand why. I’ve never heard of a bait and switch one like you describe op - some stuff free then a charge. We used a travel agent in 2019 who did all the booking, providing advice, and it was free.
Honestly now that fast passes for rides can’t be booked ahead of time you can book dining on your own (although look out for when you are eligible to do it right away if you want a popular / specific place) and be done with it. There are lots of free guides on how to book rides using the newish genie plus system. Good luck and have fun! |
Anonymous
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Disney travel agents who are free to you and paid by Disney typically do not do extensive planning for your beyond booking hotel, tickets and park reservations. If you want more than that it’s very time consuming (I know because I plan my own) and would not be covered by the small amount they get from Disney.
So yes, this is normal. Never understood the point of the free Disney travel agents. I can book a hotel - that’s not the hard part. |
Anonymous
My Disney-paid agent got us dining reservations I couldn’t get at the 60 day mark. She had some sort of alert system and booked them for us. |
Anonymous
| It is normal now. They used to do it for "free" when they received a commission off of everything they booked, but a couple of years ago that changed and so for smaller stuff like just dining reservations many now charge a flat fee so they get some compensation for all of the effort they put in to it. |
Anonymous
I posted above about the agent who booked dining for no extra charge—that was summer 2022. |
Anonymous
| I paid someone but I had never been and I got an itinerary with the kind of detail I thought was reserved for ground invasions, and I didn't do a thing to plan except get the DAS pass for my son since that requires the kid to be online with you. I also had a completely different hotel in mind and she pushed back based on our past travel and I am so glad she did. |
Anonymous
| The real work is booking your own lightning lanes on Genie+ and that has to be done the day of in real time now, and I’ve not heard of any agent doing that for someone for free. |
Anonymous
The "alert system" is available to free for everyone. Its not something special travel agents have. |
Anonymous
So she booked your Genie+ attractions for you? Or you didn't use Genie+? Because that is the time-consuming part. The rest is easy. |
Anonymous
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You are paying for their time, their experience, their time and money traveling to Disney to find out the latest information you cannot find online. You are also paying them to be there if something goes wrong. Some give detailed daily itineraries to maximize your time. Some do it for feee, but as a business owner they are leaving money on the table giving away their knowledge for free.
Make no mistake knowledge is not the same as information. |