small world vacations

[shaunbabka]

please move to the proper place if needed. wasn't sure which thread to put this question.

so I booked a trip for next June using small world vacations. the main reason I am even using a travel agent is because be our guest for dinner is a must for this trip and I know how difficult it can be to get. my travel agent informed me they do indeed book meals/fast passes, etc.... but she will not access my mde experience on the website. she also informed me I am free to book meals and fastpasses my self.

she also mentioned how I will have an hour jumpstart selecting things because the TA's don't start until 8.00. Isn't selecting meals and passes one of the main selling points to using a TA? if they don't start until an hour later then most time slots would be gone. So I can deal with this because I like to select these things on my own anyway. my problem is BOG dinner. I understand it's a good probability nothing would be available when I log in to search. I know the websites that can be used as alerts. sometimes though, I cannot access the internet at a moment's notice so I was hoping the TA would be on the lookout in case something does open up. if we book other restaurants, need to shuffle things around should a reservation for BOG open up, How would the TA be able to do this if they won't access the account?

From talking to other people it sounds like TAs for other agencies do in fact access the disney site account but small world does not.

anyone have some thoughts or experiences to share with small world? it's early enough I could jump to another company and I've only paid with a few gift cards. should I jump to another, stick with them?????

 

[jeanico2000]

I am an experienced TA, and although I am more than happy to book ADRs and FPs for clients, I don't have access to hard to get restaurant bookings anymore than anyone else does. Not sure where this preconceived notion came from. Do TAs in the USA have this sort of advantage? I am in Montreal, Canada, so maybe it's different here?

 

[shaunbabka]

I am an experienced TA, and although I am more than happy to book ADRs and FPs for clients, I don't have access to hard to get restaurant bookings anymore than anyone else does. Not sure where this preconceived notion came from. Do TAs in the USA have this sort of advantage? I am in Montreal, Canada, so maybe it's different here?

no no. i'm not expecting my TA to have special access. I'm just asking if my TA through small world should be able to modify/be on the lookout for me

 

[Elmo888]

It sounds like she will try to make reservations and fastpass for you. I am not sure about fastpasses, but she could make an ADR in your name and give you the reservation number. With the reservation number, you can connect it to MDE. My TA did taht for me.

I don't have particular experience with that company, but I doubt that any Disney specialist TA has more access to your MDE than another Disney specialist TA. I would ask specifically how to connect fastpasses and reservations to your MDE if she makes them for you, before she makes them for you.

 

[Sue M]

I would think TAs need to start before 8:00 when discounts come out! The main reason I use a TA is to get me a room discount when the TA phone lines open. I also find it convenient for making payments. I just send a quick email asking her to make a payment. I work full time, and don't have the time to stay on hold, and being on the west coast the time change is brutal for when WDW phone lines open.
I've never had TA make me FPs or ADRs although she prob would if I asked. Are you at work when your ADR date opens? Maybe if you don't have internet you could phone Disney Dining? Or get a friend to make the BOG ADR.

 

[megs1313]

I don't know about that particular company, but this hasn't been my experience with using a TA. I know there are add on services that include itinerary planning, so if you're wanting that, I would do one of those.

 

[SG131]

Some TAs start before others. We used a TA to help with the initial planning because we were a bit indecisive about the vacation and to answer any general questions we had.

I did not use them for ADR or FP and would much rather do it myself. If your agent starts work at 8 for FP you will have an hour head start doing it yourself but for ADR you will have a 2 hr head start. Online booking for ADR starts at 6am EST. if you plan BOG for one of your last days and go on immediately at 6am, there's a decent chance you can get it.

As far as the reservation finder, that is on the touring plan site. You can only search for two reservations at a time so with the travel agent having multiple clients they really wouldn't be able to effectively use that site. However for you if you aren't able to get BOG when you first try you can set up a free basic membership to the site and set your own search. That would be your best bet.

 

[ariane37]

As a TA, I will book FP's for clients at 7am and ADR's at 6am. I don't start work at 8am or stop at 4, 5, or 6pm, I don't only work weekdays. While I can't get a BOG reservation (or any other restaurant) that isn't available I can continuously check for availability so clients don't have to, as well as set up alerts on the reservation finder sites out there. I know some agents/agencies choose not to offer ADR/FP scheduling as a service they provide though and it's possible the agent you've hooked up with is one. Most TA's will also be on the lookout for discounts that can be applied to clients reservations even if that means being up on the computer early in the morning or on the phone with Disney with a long hold time, but again it varies by agency and agent.

 

[granmarquee]

We have used the same agency, SWV, six times now, three times for Disney cruises and three times for WDW vacation packages. Each time everything has been seamless and our agent has twice been able to get us difficult promotions. For example, she was able to get us three standard rooms at CBR with free dining within 20 mins of the promotion opening. I was able to sleep in the morning that the promotion went live and I woke up to our new email confirmations for all three rooms. It was amazing!

I always give her a heads up when I'm interested in a specific promotion that is rumored to be upcoming and sometimes she'll send me an email to see if I'm interested in a particular promotion or special. Although she normally starts work at 8am as well, on days when new promotions are rumored to be released, I get emails from her at all hours. However, I do not have her book my ADRs or Fast Passes, although that service is available. Since you often have to have an plan A, B, C, and D for those...I find it easier to book those myself.

I find the main benefits of using a TA include being able to make payments, not having to wait for hours on hold with Disney the day that promotions are released to book, and usually...we get an extra incentive for booking with our TA like a Disney gift card or a Disney souvenir pack.

 

[tinka-belle]

Depends on the TA and the agency guidelines where they work. Some TAs will make 7am phone ADR's for clients even if they have to do that from home, email them the res numbers to enter into their MDE. Or at 6am if they are logged into their client's MDE. Can be on the lookout for missing desired ADRs, but have no better access than the client would have. Sometimes grabbing an ADR is just the luck of when you are searching, but a TA can check a few times a day while the client is at work if their agency policy allows that. Some agencies might not since it is very time consuming, as we all know, especially when the website acts up, and making them for multiple clients can take a lot of time.

Since FP can only be made through an MDE account most TAs give some advance guidance to clients for doing it themselves. If they want a TA to get their FP or dining some TAs ask them to change their MDE to a temp password for a while, and to change it back when everything is set up. My feeling is that people would not feel comfortable knowing a TA had access to their MDE account all the time. Can still help with suggestions for FP picks and advice, and will walk them through how to modify and change FP, since obviously the TA won't be on their trip with them and they've got to learn how to do it sometime. Again, if it's agency policy not to make the actual ADR or FP bookings then the TA will handle the resort bookings, phone calls to Disney with any hold time, payments, reservation changes, etc. but not the actual ADRs or FPs. Other agencies would allow the TA to book every part of the trip, including ADRs and FPs if the client wants that, and I think most Disney specialist agents are in this group.

I don't know of any Disney specialist TAs that would not look for promotions and apply then as soon as they come out, this is one of the primary services they offer as specialists. They are willing to wait on hold and get your reservation modified, sometimes getting it done right away, other times weeks later when more promo rooms are released since they check for your promo space often.

Most people feel comfortable doing the FP and often dining ADRs themselves and know what alternates they want to grab if their first choice is not available. For those that do not some TAs will offer advice and guidance, others will make all the reservations for them up front and show them how to tweak and change the ADRs and FPs. I can understand if the agency policy is not to allow access to a client's MDE though, same reasoning Disney has for not allowing a client to access a TA package or room reservation. Hard to have two parties with access where one might not be aware right away of what the other has changed, can sometimes mess things up. Not looking to start a debate here, just that I can see why some agency policies might discourage it.

As far as ADRs and FPs, if a trip is short it's hard to find the ADRs and FPs for the handful of popular places. Those are most often found at the end of a one week or more trip and are grabbed up pretty fast. No TA or Disney CM has any better access or availability to those than any other.