Getting the best deal when booking

Booking a vacation to anywhere is no longer a difficult task. With travel sites like Expedia and Travelocity, you really can't go wrong. You can go to WaltDisneyWorld.com and get pricing on your own vacation and book it on line, but is that the best way to do it?

From what I can tell, Disney has the policy of "Don't ask, don't tell" - meaning that if there is a special going on and you don't know about it when you are booking, they do not have to tell you about it. Having said that, I have found several great Disney travel sites that not only tell you what deals are going on but will even keep checking for you between the time you book and the time that you leave for your trip so that you are getting the best prices and the best deals on your trip.

I mainly deal with The Magic for Less Travel. I LOVE them. I first found out about them through a yahoo group called "Disney Dollarless" which then became "The Mouse for Less". I have gotten amazing information from them but the one that has stuck with me time and time again is The Magic for Less Travel. My travel guy is named Ric and he is amazing. Whenever I am thinking about booking a trip, I go directly to him, he lets me know what promos are going on, what's coming up, etc. He'll keep checking prices for me, he helps me make all of my dining reservations, makes my Magical Express reservations and most vacation packages include some gifts from the agency. I've gotten luggage tags, pass holders, insulated cup holders...I always love getting free stuff!

I have a friend who solely deals with AAA. What I learned from her was that AAA is sort of in a partnership with Disney and therefore if you are a AAA card holder, you get certain perks. You get special parking, admittance to private lounges, invites to certain story times with the characters...it kind of pays to book with them if any of that interests you. For me, we don't drive once we get to the park so the parking pass doesn't really mean much to me. My kids are too old for storytime and the lounge? Well, that could work!

Another great travel agency that I enjoy working with is Kingdom Magic Travel. There's another Rick there who is the owner and he is most definitely a Disney fanatic! He does the video travel blog that I mentioned in an earlier post and he sends out weekly newsletters that let you know all of the promos going on with all things Disney - be it Disney World, Disneyland or the Disney Cruiseline. Back in 2004, I actually won a trivia contest with them where I won a 4-day/3-night stay at the Radisson Orlando that was 5 minutes outside of Disney. It was pretty sweet. I have gone to Kingdom Magic for vacation quotes but I have to admit, I'm sort of loyal to The Magic for Less and Ric over there. Their vacation quotes are identical and so it's not like you get a different price if you chose one over the other.

Some specials and promos that Disney has offered in the past include: Free dining, 30-40% off of your room rate, buy 4 nights get 3 nights free, get in free on your birthday...I'm sure that there are others but these stand out the most to me. Sometimes there are discount codes released for certain travel dates where you get a discount...if you search your travel section of your Sunday newspaper you are almost guaranteed to find one.

Bottom line is that it is better for you to book with a travel agency because they find you the best prices, they keep looking for specials and discounts and then handle all of the changes for you. Check these great sites out and ask for Ric...or Rick!