We've Moved To The Front Of The Drawer

Moving to the front of a file drawer may not be impressive for someone whose last name begins with letters A, B, C, even D.  But a last name that starts with W almost never gets their file moved to the front of the drawer.  That’s why it was so hilarious when I talked to our travel agent yesterday while booking flights for a February Walt Disney World trip, inquired about how thick our file was.  Her response was that is one of the thickest files and she scratches her hand when reaching for it in the file cabinet and was thinking about moving it to the front of the drawer.  When I told the husband this, he was thrilled that a “W” was finally moving to the front of the drawer!

I love talking to our travel agent.  A call means adventure awaits.  And this time, I called to ask her to book Southwest flights to Orlando in February.  Southwest released its flights through March 4 yesterday.  We have never flown on Southwest.  I had however, signed us up for Southwest’s frequent flier program—Rapid Rewards—3 years ago. . . just in case. 

It was the Rapid Rewards that required a reach for our file as I had emailed our Rapid Rewards member numbers 3 years ago—June 6, 2012, to be exact.  Our travel agent was able to retrieve the membership numbers and include them when making our flight reservations.

Why February?  Because in February, I will be turning 50.  I vowed last year that I would be in the most magical place on earth when I turned 50.  This vow is slowly becoming reality—we’ve got the resort room, tickets, and dining package reserved, and now, flights to Orlando.  ( I didn’t like Southwest’s return flight times, so we will most likely go with another airline for the return trip.)

While on the phone with our travel agent, she asked where we were going to eat on my birthday.  Excellent question!  She then followed up with, “Where haven’t you eaten?”  Another good question!  We’ve certainly experienced our fair share of Walt Disney World restaurants.  Good thing I’ve got a couple of months to decide!

Our travel agent shared a good review of Southwest with us—she indicated that Southwest typically does not change their flights, which can be a headache when traveling with other carriers. 

Here’s the amazing part:  We have 3 Disney trips in the works! 

Another Answer To "How Do You Help Others Plan Their Disney Vacations?"

Our travel agent is "dropping" our names and using our experiences to help other potential guests! 

Last week-end, we escorted the boy to a Valentine Dance hosted by our local children's theater group.  While at the dance, another couple who were there with their daughter, started to visit with us about their upcoming Disney trip.  Seems they use the same travel agent we do--good for them!  How did I find that out?  Well, it goes something like this. . .

The family wanted to take advantage of AAA's discounts for Walt Disney World Resort and one of the resorts available for the time they wanted to travel was Disney's Coronado Springs.  The family had never stayed at Coronado Springs before and were a bit reluctant.  Then, the travel agent asked if they knew about our family.  The answer was "yes."  Then, our travel agent told them, "The Williams' really like Disney's Coronado Springs."

When the family was telling me the story, I was chuckling.  I thought it was funny that our travel agent was using our experiences and preferences to help others.

So, while the Williams Family Blog is designed to share our knowledge and help others, we now know our travel agent is also using our experiences as well.  Just another way I can answer the question "How do you help others plan their Disney Vacations?" on the Disney Mom's Panel Application!

Is Disney Trying To Edge Out Independent Travel Specialists?

My first clue was the delay in announcing the AAA member benefits for our upcoming Disney Cruise and the second clue was the lack of offering AAA member benefits for our upcoming Walt Disney World vacation—such as AAA Story Time—click here to read more, and Reserved Wishes Viewing—click here to read more.  Then there was the announcement of the Disney Vacation Savings Account—click here to read more—that made saving for and reserving a Disney vacation conveniently located all in one location.

What are these clues telling me?  They are telling me that Disney may be trying to edge out independent travel specialists, including AAA and other Disney certified travel agents.

Already, if a guest has a reservation for Disney that was made through a travel agent, Disney cannot touch the reservation—it has to be handled by the travel agent.  For us, there have been no issues, but we have seen and heard of instances where this has caused guest confusion and dissatisfaction.  And, while not technically Disney’s fault, it is typically while at Disney this dissatisfaction happens and Disney gets the blame.

When I asked about member benefits for our next Walt Disney World vacation and whether or not previous benefits would be offered, I was told no.  The best offer will be the 10% discount at World of Disney at Downtown Disney. 

And, we have been the folks that have taken advantage of the perks of both our travel agent and Disney Cruise Line when sailing.  For example, if we rebook on-board for our next cruise and give our travel agent the credit for the booking, we walk on the ship for our next cruise with an on-board credit from Disney as well as any perks or bonuses offered by our travel agency.  In the past, these perks have been on-board credits, or drink credits, or free tube/float rental for Castaway Cay, or photo package credits.  The perks vary based on the length of the cruise—the longer the cruise the better the perks.  For our upcoming 7 night cruise, the AAA member benefit will be photo credits, which was the same for a 5 night sailing.  And, there were no member benefits for cruises booked for later in the year; another hint!

If prospective guests use the new Disney Vacation Savings Account, they are expected (not required) to reserve their vacation directly with Disney.  Guests can use an independent travel specialist, but to access the savings account to make payments requires some extra steps.

We love Disney and we love our travel agent, so we are hoping that we don’t have to choose between the two.  And, we renew our AAA membership each year, not just for the travel perks, but the other services.  We appreciate our AAA travel specialist and appreciate AAA for the discounts and the service. 

I understand why Disney is doing this—edging out independent travel agents—I just don’t like it.  And, Disney does have the capability of providing service to assist guests in all aspects of the travel planning process—flights to dining.  Prospective guests will be able to experience the “Disney bubble” even before touching down in Orlando.  It is just that I don’t have Disney Reservations’ phone number on my phone, but I do have my travel agents.  And, I can tell you that more people ask for that number than any other!

I Love Talking To Our Travel Agent!

I love it when my travel agent calls!  She phoned last night and left a message, so I returned her call today.  Every time we talk, it means excitement and adventure are just around the corner.

Seems my name came up when she was having lunch with a friend, who asked HER why we still use a travel agent.  Something about having done “this” enough times that surely I would know how to do it on my own.  Our travel agent had a quick and spot on reply, “She likes the service and the discounts.”  Exactly!  I did find it ironic that the travel agent was being asked the question and not the customer, but the universe is like that sometimes.

I told her that I get asked that question regularly and that I actually wrote about it our blog—click here to read why we use a travel agent.  The husband said he even gets asked that question at his work.  I didn’t know that until today when I was sharing about my phone call.

I also appreciate that our travel agent appreciates us, as clients.

 

So, we made a date to visit again in January, when we will book the Walt Disney World portion of our summer trip, as January is AAA’s Disney month!  Our 16 day adventure already includes a 7 night sailing on the Disney Fantasy. I also reminded her that Disney typically releases its summer discounts in April, so we would most likely revisit our reservation at that point.  There might even be other incentives!

I wished her happy holidays and hung up the phone.  Now, to wait until January!

Flexibility Is Key: Flight Changes

We are now less than three months from our next Disney vacation and our flights have changed. . . twice.

Let me begin with the fact that we have the best travel agent ever!  We love her and all that she does for us—which is a lot!

The first change came a couple of weeks ago.  I got an email or phone call, I don’t remember which, about our return flights.  They were being changed drastically, so we were able to pick new flight times at no expense.  The change went in our favor as the late morning flights would mean NO three or four AM trip on the bus to the airport.  We’ve done it and it isn’t pretty.  Score one in our favor!

The most recent change came yesterday with an email from our travel agent.  This change affected our outgoing flights and had us reaching our destination at midnight.  When I read the email I groaned, audibly.  When we purchased the flights we were arrived close to 10:00 pm which was not ideal, but midnight?  I immediately picked up the phone and Shauna, our travel agent, said she would try and work her magic.  Even if it meant an early morning flight out, that would okay as we would reserve a park-n-fly hotel nearby and make our drive to the airport the night before (the airport is 2 ½ hours away.)

Another email came in with good news.  Our flights had been changed and we now had a late morning flight with an arrival time of early evening.  Yeah!  And, we were flying on a different airline altogether.  Again, the changes were at no charge to us.  Score another one in our favor!

So now the decision is whether or not to reserve a park-n-fly room for the night before or drive the morning of our flights and pay for airport parking.  We are waiting a bit to make the final decision.  Weather and possible additional flight changes are factors in our decision making.

Flexibility is the key.  We purchased our flights 7 months ago and had we been rigid in the flight times these changes may have been difficult.  Also, we planned to fly to our destination the day prior to sailing on our cruise.  Imagine the frustration and anxiety if the flight changes were occurring the day OF the cruise!  We’ve been there, done that, and will try to avoid it if at all possible.

Also amusing in the whole story is that for our return flights on our new carrier, our seat assignments are not together.  Oh, the husband and I have been assigned to sit together, but not the boy.  When we were talking about it at dinner last night, the boy was thrilled to be seated away from us on both legs of our flights—that speaks volumes for his confidence and number of times flying.  The husband then segued into a story about how the boy would be seated next to a comedian and the story would then be used in a stand-up act, etc.  (He also wanted to know if we sitting in first class.  Answer: No.) 

Am I concerned?  No.  Either one of us will sit with the boy or we will check about switching seat assignments at flight check in or will wait until we get on the plane and see if someone will switch.  We have an aisle seat to trade for a window seat so the bargaining is in our favor!

I know that flight changes, seat assignments, late arrivals, and early departures are some of the reasons some folks choose not to fly.  I get it.  Yet, given the distance to our preferred destination and travel windows, we prefer the expediency of flight travel.

Another Reason We Love Our Travel Agent

We love our travel agent and yesterday, she proved again why she has earned our loyalty.

We have had our 9^th trip to the Walt Disney World Resort reserved since September.  We made  a change about a month ago to a different resort to save some money—no problem.  Our travel agent was able to find which resort would offer the best savings.

Yesterday, we made a significant payment on our trip.  Before processing, she checked again to make sure we had the best deal.  Then, because January is Disney month at AAA, she added the bonus gift to our package.

We are receiving a framed Lion King film cell!  I can’t wait!  For the trip. . . and the art!

Our travel agent has helped us with this trip and 8 others to Walt Disney World, four Disney cruises and has the reservation for our fifth, an Adventures by Disney tour, and a trip to Cancun.  Over the years, we have received luggage, gift cards, backpacks, and even a digital picture frame.  There’s something to be said for loyalty!