Utilizing an Approved Disney Trip Planner can take the stress out of planning a Walt Disney World trip, which is difficult and overwhelming for first-timer vacationers. Journey agent could make the method simpler by reserving reservations, making itineraries, securing reductions, and extra. (Up to date March 22, 2025.)
One factor that regulars typically neglect as soon as we’ve discovered the ropes is simply how convoluted it’s to plan and make a journey to Walt Disney World. Because of years of expertise and analysis, WDW veterans know the fundamentals of planning–from methods for reserving Advance Eating Reservations to leveraging reductions, utilizing Lightning Lanes, doing break up stays, making supreme itineraries to beat the crowds, and extra–in and out. Nonetheless, the entire course of is international and formidable to newbies, which is why there’s big worth in utilizing an Approved Disney Trip Planner.
If all you’re on the lookout for is a journey agent advice, Be Our Visitor Holidays is our most well-liked Approved Disney Trip Planners. They provide no-cost planning, their brokers have years of expertise and go to the parks a number of instances per yr, and their workforce is proficient and tight-knit. Nonetheless, this isn’t merely a gross sales pitch for Be Our Visitor Holidays…
Our recommendation to make use of a journey agent holds true no matter which company you find yourself selecting. The purpose right here is extra broadly that it’s extremely advantageous to make use of Approved Disney Trip Planners–any of them! Whereas some companies and brokers do a greater job and have extra thorough data of Disney than others (extra on these pitfalls in a minute), the overwhelming majority are useful. Suffice to say, when you’re overwhelmed by planning, a Disney TA may also help.
Extra importantly, there’s no disgrace in needing assist or being overwhelmed! We journey across the globe, and nowhere that we go to is as difficult or intimidating for first-timers as Walt Disney World. It’s actually the scale of a metropolis, and Walt Disney World has its personal quirks, insurance policies, and unwritten guidelines that aren’t simply understood. It’s a bit like studying Na’vi, a language with out a lot actual world worth however that can endear you with a hardcore neighborhood of fellow-fans!
The primary huge cause to make use of an Approved Disney Trip Planners is saving cash. This isn’t to say journey brokers have entry to higher reductions than you or anybody else–they don’t. (I don’t know why there’s this mistaken perception on the market that some journey brokers discover higher or worse costs on the subject of Disney–any variance in pricing is a results of video games Disney performs with its stock and particular provides at completely different instances.)
The benefit they do present on the subject of value is that they’re educated and diligent about reductions, and proceed monitoring your reservation even after reserving. This may be significantly helpful when you ebook far upfront earlier than reductions are launched. It’s additionally related proper now as Walt Disney World is probably going going to launch 3-4 new reductions within the subsequent couple of weeks that run by way of late 2025.
Trying additional down the highway, 2026 Walt Disney World Trip Packages will likely be launched within the subsequent couple months. There’s solely upside–no draw back–in reserving earlier, as you beat potential value will increase–and lock-in present costs now. And you may at all times apply future reductions as soon as they’re launched. However once you work with a journey agent, they monitor your reservation, so that you don’t must hold checking for brand new particular provides and race to use them earlier than availability is gone.
I do know a number of Approved Disney Trip Planners who stand up at 3 a.m. each time Walt Disney World releases a brand new low cost with the intention to shortly apply the deal to all eligible reservations they’re managing. In contrast, when you discovered in regards to the deal just a few days later and referred to as Disney to ebook, quite a lot of availability would already be gone.
Additionally they know the ins and outs of tweaking reservations so that they fall inside Disney’s eligibility parameters and are much less doubtless the be excluded from promotions. (All too typically, we hear from readers who technically qualify for a reduction to be utilized to their current reservation, however Disney finds a strategy to exclude them because of lack of availability below the promotion or one thing else.)
In that sense, Approved Disney Trip Planners are discovering higher costs for a lot of of their shoppers, however it’s not directly on account of that data and diligence. We anticipate this to be an enormous factor within the coming weeks and months. Walt Disney World is predicted to launch extra reductions in late March or early April 2025, and will proceed to drop extra reductions if necessitated by financial uncertainty, a pullback in journey demand, or Common’s Epic Universe leading to a slowdown for Disney.
The following huge cause to make use of an Approved Disney Trip Planner is the service. Think about the knowledge-base of this weblog (assuming you suppose I’m educated), however in a kind that may apply the ideas right here to your explicit circumstances, preferences, and desires. That’s what an excellent Approved Disney Trip Planner supplies. It’s a back-and-forth dialogue, they usually’re there to carry your hand and provide you with customized recommendation.
Not like conventional, large-scale journey companies, most Disney-specializing brokers acquired into it not because of a need to construct some extremely worthwhile enterprise empire, however as a result of they love Disney and actually loved planning their very own journey. That is why I distinguish between “Approved Disney Trip Planner” (the phrases you need to search for) and conventional journey brokers.
And talking of Epic Universe, most journey companies with experience in Disney even have overlap with Common Orlando. (Many brokers are Disney followers, however loads of others are theme park followers, extra broadly.) Epic Universe is a game-changer for Central Florida, and an excellent journey agent will be capable to help you with a seamless break up keep (which is what we’d suggest) between Walt Disney World and Common Orlando so you may make the most of the on-site perks at each locations.
Level being, there’s a distinction between theme park-focused journey brokers and all-purpose ones. The latter are professionals who ebook journeys to myriad locations, however don’t have a spotlight. This often means they don’t have the experience to supply high-quality service for Common or Disney locations. Theme parks could appear easy, however they’re something however.
For that reason, we don’t suggest nationwide, non-Disney journey companies when reserving Disney holidays. No offense to Costco or AAA, however they merely can not compete with the ‘mother and pop outlets’ when it comes to high quality service and data. Brokers on the huge firms are reserving myriad locations with little expertise at a lot of them.
It’s totally attainable that the brokers at Costco, AAA, or different huge field journey companies have by no means visited Walt Disney World, or a minimum of not inside the final yr. The most effective Approved Disney Trip Planners go to the parks a number of instances per yr and hold abreast of all the newest adjustments. They’re Disney specialists, not journey business generalists.
Large field companies with out specialised experience aren’t the one ones to keep away from. In recent times, there has additionally been a proliferation of Disney journey companies which can be thinly-veiled multi-level advertising schemes (MLMs).
These are companies that exist to not present distinctive service to shoppers, however primarily to recruit extra brokers and develop by charging initiation and coaching charges. The issue with these companies is much like the large field ones–a scarcity of high quality management and subject material experience. They’ll rent any agent who expresses an curiosity in becoming a member of (as a result of that’s their precise enterprise, not serving to shoppers) and don’t care in regards to the caliber of consumer service or data of their brokers.
There’s no straightforward strategy to determine which Disney journey companies are primarily MLMs. An apparent indicator can be in the event that they recruit you regardless of your lack of know-how, however it’s not at all times that apparent. To every their very own, however my rule of thumb is avoiding companies with lots of of brokers. In terms of Approved Disney Trip Planners, dimension is a legal responsibility and never an asset. Go for a boutique enterprise and get higher service.
One other benefit in utilizing an Approved Disney Trip Planner is the time-savings. This has grow to be a very pronounced benefit within the final couple of years, and is arguably the largest cause to make use of a journey agent now–particularly when you’re already educated about Disney.
Though staffing shortages have largely been resolved inside Walt Disney World and Disneyland, it’s nonetheless a pronounced difficulty with Disney’s off-site name facilities. It was the case that you simply’d wait on maintain for a very long time solely on the times that reductions, particular occasion tickets went on sale, or one thing else main and new was launched. Lengthy maintain instances have grow to be the rule slightly than the exception.
You may suppose that that is no huge deal, as you’ll merely ebook every part on-line. That’s an excellent plan…till one thing goes improper. Disney IT additionally isn’t essentially the most dependable; between that and issues with reservations, there’s a powerful chance that you simply’ll want help through a name middle consultant sooner or later throughout the planning course of. Having an Approved Disney Trip Planner cope with this and advocate in your behalf will prevent complications and time ready on maintain, and the good thing about that can not be overstated.
Another excuse to make use of an Approved Disney Trip Planner is for reserving Advance Eating Reservations or ADRs–Disney’s time period for restaurant reservations. Admittedly, this isn’t as necessary because it was a pair years in the past, except you’re a bigger social gathering (4+ folks), reserving character meals, or different aggressive ADRs.
Visitors staying in Walt Disney World resorts could make reservations as much as 60 days upfront plus the size of their keep (as much as 10 days). This little 60+ days rule quirk is one thing that may be tough to clarify and comprehend, however educated journey brokers comprehend it nicely–and precisely easy methods to leverage it.
Utilizing the size of keep + 60 day rule, a talented journey agent will ebook your ADRs so as of problem, so that you’re extra more likely to get essentially the most elusive reservations. And with many eating places nonetheless working at diminished capability, ADRs are extra aggressive than ever–by the point the 60 day mark hits, some will already be absolutely booked. So if you need character meals or different common eating places, your greatest wager is having an Approved Disney Trip Planner make your ADRs.
Past that, there are some generalized causes to make use of Approved Disney Trip Planners. For one factor, they’re virtually at all times followers themselves who completely plan Disney journey. Most I’ve encountered over time are good folks. The overwhelming majority turned journey brokers as a result of they’re enthusiastic about planning holidays and have become the go-to useful resource for his or her family and friends, and simply determined to show it right into a job. Out of the Disney TAs I’ve encountered, that is true a minimum of 95% of the time.
And, as a result of they’re enthusiastic about Disney, they really learn about Disney. A conventional journey agent faces obsolescence as a result of they had been (mainly) simply somebody to outsource the reserving of holidays and had no firsthand data of locations to which they booked journeys.
However, Approved Disney Trip Planners are solely turning into extra related due to the service and solutions they supply in response to Disney holidays turning into more and more advanced. They know Disney in and out (they’re actually examined on it!) and have numerous first-hand expertise.
They are going to be up on the 60-day mark to make your Advance Eating Reservations (ADRs), provide you with plans that will help you rating the prime Lightning Lane alternatives when your pre-arrival window opens, always monitor new low cost provides to see if they’ll scale back the price of your journey, and usually capable of help with different aspects of journey planning.
Past that, there’s no value to you for most journey brokers specializing in Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, or Common Orlando. Approved Disney Trip Planners are paid fee by Disney on the journeys they ebook, so that you’re often not paying something further.
I don’t know why Disney pays them, however my educated guess is as a result of it’s basically Disney ‘outsourcing’ the planning sources they’d in any other case want to supply. For those who’re calling your journey agent, you aren’t calling Disney straight, tying up their visitor companies or different Solid Members.
That is win-win-win. Disney doesn’t must cope with your questions, the Approved Disney Trip Planner is ready to earn money doing what they love, and also you’re capable of get free recommendation and assist planning your journey. The largest ‘winner’ there may be you. One level individual will get to know you, is conscious of your requests & questions, and feels a vested curiosity in ensuring you might have an important journey. You don’t name Disney, wait on maintain for an interminable period of time, and obtain inconsistent solutions from random Solid Members.
With that stated, an rising variety of Approved Disney Trip Planners are charging a further flat price or hourly charge for his or her reserving and/or planning companies. This comes at a time when Walt Disney World holidays are extra difficult than ever, and coping with Disney (as a result of aforementioned staffing shortages) is extra time-consuming.
With out query, journey brokers are value these further charges, as their skilled experience and expertise is effective. Whether or not you need to pay such a price when free alternate options exist is a matter of private desire. (Be Our Visitor Holidays, the company we suggest, at present doesn’t cost any consulting charges.)
The added worth and experience supplied by Approved Disney Trip Planners is very true within the period of My Disney Expertise, MagicBands, Lightning Lanes, and so on. The Approved Disney Trip Planner is a liaison (or buffer!) between you and Disney, placing out fires and fixing issues as they come up. They prevent complications and stress in fixing these issues.
Once more, I communicate from the expertise of getting to cope with these complications myself–though issues are getting higher with these methods. I really like Disney Solid Members within the parks, however my experiences haven’t been overwhelmingly optimistic on the telephone.
With all of that stated, utilizing a journey agent isn’t for everybody. Frankly, the diehard Walt Disney World followers who don’t want journey brokers in all probability knew simply from studying the title that this submit wasn’t from them, and the overwhelming majority who clicked out of curiosity in all probability didn’t make it this far.
For many who did, listed below are extra “indicators” a TA isn’t best for you. Some folks have obsessive personalities and like complete management over their holidays, or truly take pleasure in spending hours studying blogs like this one (and thanks to these of you who tolerate all of my corny jokes! 😉 ). Though we used Approved Disney Trip Planners years in the past, I’ll admit that this now describes me. I really like figuring this all out for myself, and I’m a complete management freak.
Even if you’re a management freak like me, it’d make sense to ebook by way of a trip planner so that they monitor reductions and be your liaison with Disney within the occasion My Disney Expertise points come up, whereas you are able to do the “enjoyable” stuff like planning ADRs and Lightning Lanes. Most trip planners are as palms on or off as you specify, and it’s fairly straightforward to allow them to know what anticipate of them and what you’d love to do your self.
For those who’re satisfied {that a} journey agent is for you, there are some things to contemplate when selecting one. First, whereas I feel it’s poor kind to comparability store or search data with out precise intent to ebook by way of them–as that is their job they usually’re solely paid on bookings they really make–I do suppose it’s a good suggestion to ensure you “click on” with an agent after requesting a quote.
It needs to be fairly straightforward to inform based mostly on their first e mail or two whether or not they’re somebody you need to work with, however when you’re nonetheless uncertain, request a fast telephone name. You might be trusting this individual together with your trip and (probably) will talk with them lots, so it’s best to be certain that they aren’t impersonal or will deal with you want a quantity. That is usually a complete non-issue, as most trip planners I’ve encountered are extremely nice and enthusiastic, however it’s good to double-check if issues don’t appear proper from the get-go.
Second, be certain that they’re offering the extent of service detailed right here. In order for you somebody to make your ADRs or make suggestions with issues like stroller rental, be certain that these are issues they do. Not all companies supply the identical companies, so ensure the one you’re contemplating will assist in the areas you’d like help.
Lastly, they must know their stuff. Affirm they’ve been to whichever Disney vacation spot you’re contemplating (and have been there lately). For those who’re planning a Walt Disney World journey, you don’t need a Disneyland common–they’re completely completely different locations from a planning perspective. For those who’re taking a Disney cruise, your journey agent having stayed at each Walt Disney World resort lodge is meaningless. You get the concept. I’m not saying they should spend 50+ days per yr within the parks, however you need them to know their stuff.
Your Ideas
For those who’ve used an Approved Disney Trip Planner, how was your expertise? Which Disney TAs do you suggest? Another suggestions you’d like for selecting a trip planner? Share your ideas and questions within the feedback under!
