Category — Using a Travel Agent

Yesterday prices for 2018 Disney World packages were released. I’ve largely updated my 2018 price seasons page, but have more checking to do, so have left it with its “projected” label for a day or so.

I’m also collecting and analyzing actual nightly prices, comparing them within resorts and to 2017. This is always a pain, and is much more so for 2018, as there is much more variation in prices across the days of the week than we’ve ever seen before, especially for the value, regular, peak and fall seasons.

This pricing messiness means that more than ever before it makes sense to use a travel agent, as the agent can help your figure out if small changes in your planned dates will yield huge savings.

If you want to use an agent, I recommend Kelly. She’s the agent from Destinations in Florida dedicated to the readers of yourfirstvisit.net, and hundreds of my readers have had great experiences with her.

Kelly can be reached at KellyB@DestinationsInFlorida.com or 980-429-4499.

Knowing I was swamped with pricing analytics, Kelly also wrote for me (thanks, Kelly!!!) the following update:

The wait is finally over. 2018 Walt Disney World® packages have been released. Now is the perfect time to book your Disney vacation. From the youngest child to the wisest Main Street citizen, there is something for everyone. 30 unique resorts, 4 theme parks (including the all new Pandora at Disney’s Animal Kingdom), 2 water parks, 100’s of places to snack, sip and dine across Disney property, not to mention the unique mix of dining, shopping and entertainment found at Disney Springs.

When you book a Walt Disney World® vacation package you are in for a magical experience like no other. Your Magic Your Way package includes:

• Resort accomodations at a Disney Resort hotel
• Magic Your Way Tickets (2-10 Days. Base tickets allow admission to one theme park per ticket day. Add the Park Hopper Option to visit more than one park per ticket day. To visit the water parks as well, be sure to add the Park Hopper Plus option)
• Complimentary MagicBands (1 per resort guest)
• Free airport transfers aboard Disney’s Magical Express (this service is only available at Orlando International Airport – MCO)
• Keepsake Luggage Tag (one per resort guest)

As a Disney resort guest you also have the option of adding one of Disney’s Dining Plans. Quick Service Dining Plan, Disney Dining Plan or Disney Deluxe Dining Plan.

(All guests staying in the same room must have the same package -dining and ticket options. Children ages 2 and under are free).

The magic doesn’t stop there. These exclusive Magical Extras are included with Walt Disney Travel Company packages at the Walt Disney World® Resort.

Things to Do

• Miniature Golf: Receive four (4) vouchers per package, each voucher valid for one (1) 18-hole round of miniature golf prior to 4:00 p.m. on one (1) day for ONE (1) Guest at either Disney’s Fantasia Gardens Miniature Golf Course or Disney’s Winter Summerland Miniature Golf Course. Voucher and Magic Band or resort key card are required at time of redemption. Voucher is non-transferable and expires at midnight on the day of checkout. Lost or stolen vouchers will not be replaced. Not valid with any other offer, discount, or promotions, and may not be redeemed for cash in whole or in part. Due to capacity limitations, occasionally it may not be possible to accommodate Guests at the time they choose to visit. No photocopy or reproductions of voucher will be accepted. VOUCHER IS VOID IF SOLD.
• ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex: Receive four (4) vouchers per package, each voucher valid for one (1) general admission to ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex on one (1) day for ONE (1) Guest. Valid only on event days. Some events require an additional admission charge. There are no events on certain days. Days and hours of operation of concessions, venues and attractions varies. Visit www.espnwwos.com for more information.
• Voucher and Magic Band or resort key card are required at time of redemption. Voucher is non-transferable and expires at midnight on the day of checkout. Lost or stolen vouchers will not be replaced. Not valid with any other offer, discount, or promotions, and may not be redeemed for cash in whole or in part. No photocopy or reproductions of voucher will be accepted. VOUCHER IS VOID IF SOLD.
• Sammy Duvall Water Sports: Receive 10% off the non-discounted price of all activities, including parasailing, waterskiing, wakeboarding, tubing trips and personal watercraft rentals at Sammy Duvall Water Sports Centre located at Disney’s Contemporary Resort. Restrictions apply. Excludes merchandise. Subject to availability. For reservations call (407) 939-0754. Due to capacity limitations, occasionally it may not be possible to accommodate Guests at the time they choose to visit.
• Splitsville Luxury Lanes™: Receive 10% off the non-discounted price of bowling (walk-in bowling only); receive 10% on the purchase of food and non-alcoholic beverages (dine-in only); and receive 10% off the non-discounted price of merchandise at Splitsville Luxury Lanes located in Disney Springs® West Side.

Places to Eat

• EARL OF SANDWICH®: Receive 10% discount on the purchase of food and nonalcoholic beverages at EARL OF SANDWICH located at Disney Springs Marketplace. Valid for dine-in only. Gratuity not included.
• Ghirardelli Ice® Cream and Chocolate Shop: Receive 10% discount or $1 off any Specialty Sundae at Ghirardelli Ice Cream and Chocolate Shop located in the Disney Springs Marketplace. Cannot be combined with any other offers.
• House of Blues® Restaurant & Bar: Receive 20% discount on the purchase of food and nonalcoholic beverages during lunch or dinner at House of Blues Restaurant and Bar located in Disney Springs West Side. Valid for dine-in only. Excludes Quick Service location. Discount limited to six guests per party. Gratuity not included. Receive 10% off the non-discounted price of merchandise, excluding CD’s, art, sundries and sale items, at House of Blues Restaurant and Bar located at Disney Springs West Side.
• Joffrey’s Coffee and Tea Company®: Receive 20% off entire purchase excluding alcohol at Joffrey’s Coffee and Tea Company at the following locations at Walt Disney World Resort: Magic Kingdom® Park, Epcot®, Disney’s Animal Kingdom® Theme Park, Disney’s Hollywood Studios®, Disney’s Blizzard Beach Water Park, Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park and Disney Springs The Landing including Tea Traders Café by Joffreys, or purchases online at Joffreys.com and use coupon code: travel.
• Planet Hollywood Observatory™: Receive 10% discount on the purchase of food and nonalcoholic beverages during lunch or dinner at Planet Hollywood Observatory located at Disney Springs Marketplace. Valid for dine in only. Gratuity not included. Offer not valid for merchandise.
• Wolfgang Puck® Express: Receive 10% discount on the purchase of food and nonalcoholic beverages during breakfast, lunch or dinner at Wolfgang Puck Express located at Disney Springs Marketplace. Offer not valid for merchandise.

Places to Shop

• Basin: Receive 10% off entire purchase, (excluding sale items), at Basin located at Disney Springs Marketplace or Basin White located in Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa.
• Crystal Arts by Arribas Brothers: Receive 10% off purchases at the Crystal Arts by Arribas Brothers stores at Disney Springs Marketplace, Magic Kingdom Park and Epcot. Exclusions apply. Not applicable for shipping charges. Some other restrictions apply. Discount may not be combined with any other offer.
• Curl® by Sammy Duvall: Receive 10% off the non-discounted price of merchandise at Curl by Sammy Duvall, located at Disney Springs West Side, excluding sale items.
• JOHNNY WAS: Receive 20% off a single full priced item at JOHNNY WAS located at the Disney Springs Town Center. Not to be combined with any other discount or offers. Exclusions may apply.
• Live Trends: Receive 10% off the non-discounted price of merchandise purchased at Live Trends located at Disney Springs Marketplace.
• Pop Gallery: Receive 10% off the non-discounted price of merchandise at Pop Gallery located at Disney Springs West Side. Published artists excluded. Not valid toward shipping. Other exclusions may apply.
• Set The Bar: Receive 10% off the non-discounted price of merchandise at Set The Bar located at Disney Springs The Landing.
• Something Silver®: Receive 10% off the non-discounted price of merchandise at Something Silver located at Disney Springs West Side.
• Sublime Gifts and Finds: Receive 10% off the non-discounted price of merchandise at Sublime Gifts and Finds located at Disney Springs The Landing.
• Sugarboo & Co: Receive a gift with any purchase of US $50 or more at Sugarboo & Co. located at Disney Springs Town Center. Cannot be combined with any other offers or promotions. Exclusions may apply and subject to availability.
• UGG: Receive customization up to US $35 with any merchandise purchase at UGG located at Disney Springs Town Center. Exclusions may apply.
• Vince Camuto: Take 15% off your Vince Camuto purchase located within Town Center at Disney Springs. Offer valid in Disney Springs Vince Camuto store only. To redeem, present card at point of purchase. Not for use on previous purchases, with purchase of gift cards or in combination with other offers. No price adjustments on items purchased after 30 days. Some exclusions may apply. See sales associate for more details. Code: MAGIC15

With so many options and choices, planning a Disney vacation can be a bit overwhelming. But no worries, Kelly B is the designated Destinations in Florida travel agent for yourfirstvisit.net. As your personal Disney World expert, when you book a vacation package with Kelly, she is able to provide you with the agency’s many valuable services including:

• Free Itinerary Planning
• Free Mouse Perks – Tips, Updates, and Fun Freebies
• Free Dining Services – Dining suggestions and reservation planning
• Free FastPass+ Services – FastPass+ planning and reservation assistance
• Free Future Discount Search – Ongoing searching for future discount to apply to your vacation
• Give Kids The World – Our agency is proud to support one of Orlando’s local organizations called Give Kids the World. This organization is a 70 acre storybook village in Kissimmee where children with life-threatening illnesses are treated to a cost-free fantasy vacation. For every package booked with our agency, a donation goes to Give Kids the World. Thank you for helping support this wonderful organization.

Contact Kelly B today at KellyB@DestinationsInFlorida.com or 980-429-4499.

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Those of you who pay attention to the comments on this site or on my Facebook page will recognize the name of frequent commenter “Kelly B.”

Kelly is a travel agent with Destinations in Florida, and was hand-picked to specialize in helping readers of yourfirstvisit.net several years ago.

She can help at 980-429-4499 or kellyb@destinationsinflorida.com, or fill in the form below.

I asked Kelly to introduce herself—and here she is!

INTRODUCING KELLY B.

By Kelly B.

Hi I’m Kelly B, the official Destinations in Florida Travel Agent for yourfirstvisit.net.

Travel has always been a part of my life. Family vacations during my childhood created snapshots in my memory.

One of my first memories is being perched on my daddy’s shoulders to see the fireworks in the Magic Kingdom. It’s the moment my love for all things Disney began.

As an adult my travels take me all across North America. I’ve lived in 9 states and visited over 25 others.

But a permanent tag with “Destination: Walt Disney World” hangs from my luggage. No matter what, my heart always returns there. And now as a mother of 3, I’ve not only watched my children enjoy the magic of Disney from infants through their teenage years, but I’ve been able to continue to experience Disney and all of its magic.

It was a dream come true when I was asked to become an agent with Destinations In Florida. As a travel agent I’m able to combine my love of travel, my fondness of planning and organizing, and my heart towards helping others, all into one.

In addition to the knowledge I’ve gained from my own travel experiences, I continue to do specialized training in the travel field. I’m a graduate of the Disney College of Knowledge. I’ve also earned certification as a Universal Specialist, SeaWorld Parks Specialist, Orlando Travel Expert and Royal Caribbean Cruise University of WOW – Expert Level.

If you need help planning your next vacation please contact me at 980-429-4499 or kellyb@destinationsinflorida.com.

As your personal Disney World expert, when you book with me, I am able to provide you with our agency’s many valuable service including:

• Free Itinerary Planning (valued at $149)
• Free Mouse Perks – Tips, Updates, and Fun Freebies (valued at $299)
• Free Dining Services – Dining suggestions and reservation planning (valued at $69)
• Free Future Discount Search – Ongoing searching for future discount to apply to your vacation
• Give Kids The World – Our agency is proud to support one of Orlando’s local organizations called Give Kids the World. This organization is a 70 acre storybook village in Kissimmee where children with life-threatening illnesses are treated to a cost-free fantasy vacation. For every package booked with our agency, a donation goes to Give Kids the World. Thank you for helping support this wonderful organization.

And if you tell me “Dave sent you,” then for qualifying vacations I’ll even send you a free copy of The easy Guide to Your Walt Disney World Visit!

I look forward to helping you create the magical vacation of your dreams.

* * * * *

Thanks Kelly!

I get great feedback about Kelly, and she’s been such a help to many readers of this site. If you book your Disney World trip through her, you get her great help, plus the benefits noted above.

Much more important, Destinations in Florida then shares a bit of the commission they get from Disney World back with me, which I then use to take trips to keep the site updated!

So use Kelly for your next trip, and we’ll all be better off!

She’s at 980-429-4499 or kellyb@destinationsinflorida.com.

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A reader using my friends at Destinations in Florida to book his family’s Disney World vacation emailed me about why he had to help with getting building and view requests.

Following my advice that the best Little Mermaid rooms are “lake-facing building 7 rooms, as near the Lion King area as possible,” he asked the agent to request that.

He got this back from his agent: “I can put a note on your booking; however, it’s not guaranteed.  When you check in, just make sure you mention the note and ask them for the building and view and location.”

So he reached out to me to find out why he had to do this too at check-in. And I asked the big boss, Allison, and below is an edited version of her response!

“Disney’s Reservation System has a special notes section to leave any special requests. This section gets transferred to the Room Assignments at the Disney Resort.  When the guest does Online Check-in, they can add those requests again by checking the boxes.  Those checked boxes go to that same notes section of the reservation.

The reason we remind the guest to mention it at check in, is because all these are “requests” and not guaranteed…and sometimes get lost in the process….

We call Room Assignments about 3 days prior to arrival to remind the resort of the guest requests.  Then we call again on the arrival day and talk with the Front Desk about the requests for our guests.  However, rooms still get moved around and sometimes the Front Desk moves the rooms without looking at the requests in the reservation.

If our guest requests a specific room location, floor, or view; we ask them to re-confirm with the Front Desk (at check in) to make sure that request is granted if at all possible.  It is just to make sure the guest does not get to the room and find out Disney did not give them the request, but could have!

Many of our guests do not know all of the extra steps we go through with every reservation to make sure our guests have the best chance possible to get their requests.  We add the notes, call Room Assignments 3 days prior, and then the Front Desk on arrival day, all to make sure Disney has our guest requests; and then we want our guests to ask again at check-in too.”

I thought this was really helpful and a great reminder to everyone about how to handle these Disney World room requests. Get them in to the system, and then call Disney to remind them that they are in the system, then ask again at check-in!

And thanks again, Allison and the Destinations in Florida team!

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My friends at Destinations in Florida are the travel agent partners of this site.

Because so many of you turn to them for help in planning and booking your vacations, they’ve made a toll free number available just for readers of this site to get in touch with them.

When you are ready to book, to speak directly to an agent who specializes in the recommendations on this site, call 877-621-9826 Monday-Saturday between 9a-4p (Eastern). (Toll-free if dialed from within the USA.)

Moreover, to celebrate this toll free number, they are also offering for one week only (November 12-19) a special reservation transfer offer.  It’s a cool deal for those of you who already have reservations.  Here’s more:  [Read more →]

FREE CHRISTMAS AT DISNEY GUIDE FOR READERS OF YOURFIRSTVISIT.NET

My friends at Destinations in Florida are making available a free guide to Christmas at Walt Disney World to readers of yourfirstvisit.net.

To sign up for this free guide to Christmas at Disney World, click here.

Thanks to Allison and the rest of the crew at Destinations in Florida!

For more on the holiday season at Disney World, see this.

BOOKING WALT DISNEY WORLD FOR 2020

I can tell from my search traffic that people are already starting to plan their 2020 Walt Disney World vacations.

The Walt Disney World website currently only allows bookings through 2019…so how do you book for later dates? Do you have to wait?

The short answer is that you can book a Disney World resort room 499 days ahead…but it’s a little complicated… [Read more →]