Disney World- More questions

[purplepenguin7]

man why is Disney so overwhelming?  I've been so many times but always feel indecisive when it comes to planning.  Two main questions I have currently.

1) Are travel agents worth it if I like to be "in control" of our vacation?  I want to book my own restaurants when that time comes, park reservations, etc. Last time we went I was able to move us to the Contemporary literal hours before we left because the price dropped significantly.  Can I make those last minute changes with an agent?  For what it's worth, we just went last August.  I am very familar with the planning and details needed to book a WDW trip nowadays.  Can an agent offer anything significant in that case?

2) Where should we stay??  The hotel choices are overwhelming.  We want a moderate resort, I think, but we last stayed at the Contemporary so our expectations are high.  Being able to walk to MK was amazing.  I'd love to be in walking distance to a park (any is fine) but the Boardwalk Inn/Beach Club/Yatch club rates are high at the time we want to travel. In that case we'd probably just stay at the Contemporary again. The skyliner resorts are appealing is either Pop Century or AoA more highly reccomended?  What about Carribean Beach? We are two adults and 4 year old. We are planning to hit all four of the parks. We probably won't use the pools/resort facilities that much so location is our top priority. 

I also considered renting DVC points but I've heard that is very unflexible and that makes me nervous. 

[quesyrah]

I don’t like using a travel agent but a lot of people do. Make sure to read reviews because I have heard horror stories. I’ve seen some will guarantee the dining reservations you want, but they use the same system everyone uses to book- they can’t guarantee you’ll get everything you want. It’s very easy to do yourself.

We really like Caribbean Beach. The skyliner is amazing for getting to Epcot and Hollywood studios.

[devonpow]

We used a travel agent for the first time last year (we have been many, many times before and done everything on our own ) and I loved it. She got us a club level room at the Polynesian at a great rate we couldn’t have gotten on our own, threw in a photo pass at no cost to us, and arranged our transportation to and from the airport with a great and easy car service. I did the dining reservations, etc on our own. It was just so easy and no cost to do it. It was our first trip going with genie plus and park reservations etc - so it was nice to have someone right there able to answer my questions as well

[mrsslocombe]

1. You can definitely make your own dining reservations/park reservations. Agents WILL do it if you request them to, but totally fine to do it on your own. Even if the agent makes your dining reservations, you can easily change them yourself on MDE.

As far as changing your hotel reservation, I believe that would have to be done through the agent.

Agents have the exact same access that you do to reservations, prices, etc. Sometimes I book trips on my own, sometimes I use an agent because I just want the mental load off my plate.

2. I've stayed at Cb, Pop, and AoA (both Little Mermaid rooms and family suites). The Skyliner is great, I love it. I will never stay at a non-Skyliner value or Moderate resort again.

CB:
PROS: Rooms are a little bigger than Pop/AoA. I love all the colorful buildings, it's a very "pretty" resort
CONS: The resort is ENORMOUS. You can be really far from the dining hall/reception. The resort has multiple bus stops so if you at the end of the loop, the buses to MK/Epcot get really, really full and sometimes you can't get on them. Also coming back can take forever because you have to stop at all the stops.

Pop
PROS: I find Pop to be a little more chill and quieter, the theming is cute, and they fairly recently renovated.
CONS: The rooms will feel small, especially compared to Contemporary

AoA
PROS: The theming is really great, especially for little kids. I think this feels like the most "Disney" resort. The main pool and splash pad are one of the best, if not the best in Disney. The family suites are very spacious and it's nice having two bathrooms (though with only two adults and 1 small child probably don't need two bathrooms). You can book the specific themed suite, Finding Nemo is closest the main building AND Skyliner, so you are guaranteed to have less of a walk.
CONS: If you go with a family suite, your child will be sleeping in another room on either a sofa bed or Murphy bed. (which, that could be a pro or a con). The Little Mermaid rooms are very small. They are also far walk from everything. The food court is atrocious.

[purplepenguin7]

mrsslocombe, thanks for the detailed reviews! That's very helpful. And thanks everyone else so far!

[nsl]

Like you, I really like being in control of my trips (ergo why I like going to Disney so much--the planning is involved and designed for people like us, IMO) and the one time I used an agent I didn't like letting go of that control even though it made sense given what we were trying to reserve and my work schedule not allowing me to be online during the critical times. Our agent wasn't the problem, my personality was.

RE: Crescent Lake, have you looked at the Swan and Dolphin resorts? They're technically not Disney, but I found the Dolphin on Hotwire and booked a very good rate (less than AOA) for my last trip. The key is to look at the sample room photos--the balconies are distinctive. I can't remember if I got to use the early entry (I think I didn't), but since I was traveling solo it wound up not really mattering. My only complaint was that the bus drivers were assholes, but I solved that problem by walking over to the Boardwalk and riding a Disney bus instead.

[purplepenguin7]

Apr 10, 2023 19:57:28 GMT -5 nsl said:

Like you, I really like being in control of my trips (ergo why I like going to Disney so much--the planning is involved and designed for people like us, IMO) and the one time I used an agent I didn't like letting go of that control even though it made sense given what we were trying to reserve and my work schedule not allowing me to be online during the critical times. Our agent wasn't the problem, my personality was.

RE: Crescent Lake, have you looked at the Swan and Dolphin resorts? They're technically not Disney, but I found the Dolphin on Hotwire and booked a very good rate (less than AOA) for my last trip. The key is to look at the sample room photos--the balconies are distinctive. I can't remember if I got to use the early entry (I think I didn't), but since I was traveling solo it wound up not really mattering. My only complaint was that the bus drivers were assholes, but I solved that problem by walking over to the Boardwalk and riding a Disney bus instead.

Thank you!! I think I’ll end up doing it myself. I got a quote from a travel agent and it’s the exact price from the Disney website. I can get discount park passes from work and I don’t mind doing the leg work myself so it doesn’t seem to make much sense to use an agent.

I did look at the Swan/Dolphin but I’ve heard the busses are terrible and sometimes don’t even stop at the hotel. We are definitely going to Mk twice so I’m not sure I want to deal with shitty busses or having to walk 15 mins just to get on another bus.

[picksthemusic]

We were going to stay at Caribbean Beach, but ended up at Beach Club. Remember Caribbean Beach doesn't have elevators.

I would highly recommend watching hotel review YouTube videos to get a good feel for what each place has to offer. DFB Guide is our favorite.

[roo54]

If you are on the fence, I'd recommend using an agent. We can be completely hands off if you want after the initial booking of the hotel/tickets. There is no other cost to you, the rate the travel agent would receive is built in to the price. If you don't use a TA you are just giving Disney more money. The only thing you'd have to do through the TA is any payments. You can book your dining/experiences/etc as you would without an agent. The agent can also assist you. It's often easier to get highly sought out reservations if you have 1 person booking say Ohana, and another booking Chef Mickey.

I just recently stayed at AoA, and I gotta say, the skyliner to HS and EPCOT is pretty amazing. It was SO much nicer to not be a on a crowded bus at the end of a long park day.

I think I mentioned it to you before, but I'm a travel agent that specializes in Disney World, so feel free to message me if you'd like any other help!

[hermione]

I will never not use a travel agent again and I am as Type A as a person can be. I loved just telling them what reservations we wanted and they made them. Plus the tips they have about when to do some things were so helpful. Another benefit, we had a problem with a fast pass working and I messaged our TA, they were able to get us a (one time) pass to choose any ride we wanted at whatever time we wanted the next day.

[nicolewi]

I used a TA when we went, but really she just did all the initial booking stuff for me when I was new to everything. She did also change the week of our vacation for us. It was helpful to me at the time to have her do all that front-end work for us (and it didn't cost me anything). As we got close to the trip, I did all my fast pass and dining changes on my own.