Did ABD book your flights or did you handle?

[JLoane]

I just booked the July 4th Enchanted China trip for my husband, daughter and I, but I'm wondering what to do about the flights. On the one hand, the convenience of having Disney handle it is attractive, but, of course, I don't want to pay more than I need to. I obviously need to do some research to see what kind of fares I could find, but I'd be interested to hear others' experiences.

Did you feel that Disney got you a good deal? How far in advance did you book the flights? Any feedback would be much appreciated!

Thanks,

Jen L

 

[Bobo912]

I just booked the July 4th Enchanted China trip for my husband, daughter and I, but I'm wondering what to do about the flights. On the one hand, the convenience of having Disney handle it is attractive, but, of course, I don't want to pay more than I need to. I obviously need to do some research to see what kind of fares I could find, but I'd be interested to hear others' experiences.

Did you feel that Disney got you a good deal? How far in advance did you book the flights? Any feedback would be much appreciated!

Thanks,

Jen L

I have booked my flights through ABD for both of the trips we've taken so far, and I would do it again. I did some research before I called them and found the best deal. They found the very same fares that I was able to find on my own. So they didn't save me any money, but it wasn't more either. And it is very convenient. They notify you if there is a flight number or schedule change. The first trip I booked with ABD was within 90-days of departure so I booked my flight right away. This year's trip (which was in July) I think I booked the flight in February.

 

[sayhello]

I agree with Bobo912. I've asked ABD to price a flight for me, and their quote was way higher than what I'd found myself during my research. So I called back later with the exact flights I wanted, and they found the same flights for the same price, and booked that for me. It worked very nicely.

The ABD that Disney booked the flight for me, I booked the flight in February for a September trip.

Sayhello

 

[Tozzie]

I just booked the July 4th Enchanted China trip for my husband, daughter and I, but I'm wondering what to do about the flights. On the one hand, the convenience of having Disney handle it is attractive, but, of course, I don't want to pay more than I need to. I obviously need to do some research to see what kind of fares I could find, but I'd be interested to hear others' experiences.

Did you feel that Disney got you a good deal? How far in advance did you book the flights? Any feedback would be much appreciated!

Thanks,

Jen L

I had been pricing my flight for my trip in June for a few months, last week I called ABD and had them book it, I gave them the airline and flight numbers as well as class of service and their price was exactly what I would have paid myself. I had them book it, as I have been the victim of their cancellations 2 years in a row and I figured if this trip was cancelled I didn't want the hassle of dealing with the airline.

 

[Diskidatheart]

I used frequent flyer miles for my trip in May, so obviously I didn't use ABD to book. However, if I was paying for them, I would have booked with ABD. The flights with ABD are not the same as when you book airfare with a cruise, where the cruise charges you an excessive amount to guarantee that you make it on the ship. It appears that ABD books the flights at the same time that you would, so there is no advantage either way other than convenience if your trip is canceled. Even if your trip is canceled and you book on your own, I understand that ABD will pay your change fees.

 

[sayhello]

Even if your trip is canceled and you book on your own, I understand that ABD will pay your change fees.

Yes, they will. In my case, they actually handled everything for me. I purchased my own airfare for my Canadian Rockies ABD, and when they canceled that, and I signed up for the Alaska trip, they took care of everything in regards to booking the new reservation, and they absorbed the costs. So there was really no issue there, even though I had not originally booked the airfare through ABD. It was much easier to let them book the new airfare, and deal with the costs internally, than to re-book myself & get reimbursed. But I chose the new flights myself, and they booked exactly what I wanted.

So really, there's not that much advantage/disadvantage one way or the other. It's just personal preference.

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