Why Magical Journeys (Intercot Sponsor)?

[Strmchsr]

We have many, many threads asking about Magical Journeys, which is official Intercot sponsor. To make this easy on every one I'm going to sticky this thread. The question you need to answer in this thread is "why use Magical Journeys over Disney.Com, AAA, or any other TA?" While folks may still have specific questions about MJ, this will at least allow an easy to find "why is MJ the best" thread.

[mecarroll]

For me, Magical Journeys, is a must do every trip. While I love all the details of planning, finding the best deal, researching it, etc., etc., etc., they make things so much easier. Why??? There are several reasons

1. ]They have far more knowledge about Disney than I can ever have - True, most any other travel agency you could go to would have a great deal of knowledge about Disney. But, take a look at MJ’s site. They have a lot of agents that have been doing this for awhile now. And...Disney is their specialty. AAA, for example, does just about anything and will probably not have near the knowledge that MJ would. In addition, each agent may operate independent of each other, but they have each other as resources, if needed. But they all have been to Disney many times and stayed at many of the different resorts. They know the ins and outs. There has not been a question that my agent has not been able to answer

2. They work FOR you - Booking just with Disney.com, you are dealing directly with the company who's mission is to make money. MJ's reputation is based on client satisfaction. The harder they work for you, the more satisfied you are. My agent that I work with at MJ has ALWAYS been very responsive to my questions. Whether its during the day, night, or weekend, she always responds promptly. Is AAA going to be willing to answer your email at 8PM on Saturday night...not likely.

3.They find you the best rate - If read these boards much, you know that Disney releases discounts from time to time. MJ monitors these and as soon as they are released, MJ's agents go to work trying to switch your existing reservation to a discounted one. While you may be sleeping, working, or just surfing the Intercot message board, they are working to get you a better deal. Sometimes they are successful, sometimes they are not. But, they have just as much chance as getting the discount (and probably a better one) than the person who books directly with disney.com.

4. You can still plan – for you plan-o-maniacs, this is for you. You can still plan you days, dining options, activities, and everything else. The extent to which you use them, is totally up to you. Sure there are probably things that they will not do for you, but they do no less than any other agency. I still go onto the Intercot site daily, read all the posts. And, I still email my agent with questions. She is another resource. She never tries to push on me anything that I don’t want to do. She may make a suggestion here and there, but I have never felt like I wasn’t planning my own trip. I feel like I have a bargain hunter out there looking for the best deal for me. Also, I HATE waiting on hold…my agent now has to wait on hold to book my trip, or change it…as I have put my agent through once already.

I cannot say enough good about MJ. THEY ROCK and so does my agent…WENDY!!!!

[vamaggie]

Ditto to all said above. MJ is wonderful! I have booked a trip myself (did ok--probably did not get as much as I could have for discounts etc), and booked one through AAA (got some discount, agent gave me wrong info about park tickets, good parking pass for parks) and booked upcoming trip through Debbie at MJ. Will NEVER go it alone or with another TA!!! Magical Journeys' agents are so much more knowledgeable than other TAs (IMHO) and even more than some CMs at Disney(one CM told me the confirmation # I had--from DISNEY!!!!--could not be right because it didn't start with a 3)!! They work FOR you but also work WITH you. They don't cost anything so why would you not want to use them!! I still do all the day to day planning but let MJ help make sure my vacation is as magical as it can be. I'll say it again: They ROCK!!!!

[mickeefan]

I think it has already been very well said. I just want to add I was a do it yourself guy for years until a few years ago when I was in way over my head and desperate. I contacted MJ and Wendy came to my rescue doing what I thought was impossible. Since then I have had her make all my room reservations and wouldn't consider doing it any other way.
I think they are the greatest.

[Harriet]

When I first came into contact with MJ and Nanci Intercot was not known to me. She has always been understanding and knew what my limits where. She always got me the best deal. She make suggestions but never ever pushed me into anything. I always had options to take. I will always use MJ when planning a trip to Disney weather it be DL or WDW or any other trip I may plan in the future. It cost you nothing to use them and DO THE BEST cause thye know DISNEY inside out.3 cheers

[mttafire]

Our next trip will be in May of '10. I know thats 2 years 11 months away BUT when the time comes M.J.'s WILL be where we do our vacation planning. Between them and Intercot i cant see any other way to get the MOST out of your Disney vacation.

[MushuGrl]

And they are SO FUN!!!! Melissa booked our trip and while we were getting all the financial stuff taking care of, we Disney yakked which got me EVEN MORE fired up for the trip!

It was actually Melissa that led me here three years ago.

[thejens]

I have also booked once by myself through Disney and once with Magical Journeys (Wendy). I am a do-it-yourselfer type, but loved letting Wendy help. She was so easy to email at my convenience (rather than wait on hold) and always got back to me rapidly. On my last trip I added a day at the last minute and then whined that I didn't get the value that I wanted at first. Sure enough she came through and found me an opening at ASM eventually. She notified me about an additional promotion (free water parks and quest) was added on to our package. I have no idea if I would have gotten this without her. I use Intercot regularly (okay, obsessively) and I had never heard about the promotion. So, here's another vote for Magical Journeys!

[Dedivah]

I am very much a do-it-yourselfer. I have booked a Grand Gathering in 2006 and a 2nd Honeymoon for DH and myself 2007 through Disney Reservations.

We have an upcoming Grand Gathering in July of 2009 and even though it is 2 years and 21 days away I will be booking through MJ. I wish I knew about them before.

[Dyanna]

After being a little "shy" about using an online travel agency I decided to try MJ. I was contacted back by Terrisue within minutes. Gave her all my information for a pre-booked trip already made thru Disney direct. She took over my entire reservation & even got a better rate in a better hotel. From now on I will always use MJ for all future Disney vacation trips. Terrisue is my hero

[Here we go again...]

I never used a travel agent before for anything... then I read about MJ here on Intercot. I decided to give them a try. I sent off for my quote and was partnered with Melissa. I was so paranoid!!! I was scared to death to be turning my precious Disney vacation over to someone I never met and for all I knew was going to take my money and run.

I am sure Melissa hated me at first. I must have called her 20 times before that trip... checking on things or changing resorts.

Needless to say we had no problems at all. As a matter of fact, Melissa saved me over $200 on that first trip alone! After that, I was sold. I would never use anyone but her. There were many times I would get off the plane from a Disney trip and send her an email asking her to start planning our next trip.

Now that we are DVC members I am very sad that I can not use her to book my trips. I hope that changes soon.

Now, I still get to book cruises through her, so I have not lost Melissa for good.

Please consider giving them a chance. Not only does it help Inthercot, but you get to see what a travel agent with a PASSION for Disney can do.

[biodtl]

I have a question - has anyone ever compared AAA package rates with MJ? I have used AAA in the past, since my aunt works there. I know MJ can get AAA room rates but not package rates, so I was wondering if anyone has ever had the opportunity to compare the two. We will probably do an 8-night stay (arrive early sat, leave early sun), 8-day park-hopper, DDP.

I am planning my fall 2008 trip and I want the best rates, obviously. And since it's not a problem for me to NOT use AAA (my aunt is in group travel but she books us as a favor, so it wouldn't hurt her if we went elsewhere), I would definitely consider MJ, given all the positive feedback.

Any info would be appreciated - Thanks!

[Strmchsr]

AAA packages must be booked directly through AAA. The AAA discount on the package may not be combined with any offer released by Disney. It is one or the other.

Magical Journeys initially books packages at WDW's current rate and then monitor for any discounts that may be applied. The main difference btw YMJ and AAA is that they are internet based and do not work traditional hours, they are on the phones when Disney opens on a discount day and are available for emergencies, etc during "non traditional" work hours.

So, as for whether MJ's packages are better or the AAA discount it's really impossible to say since you don't know year to year which discounts Disney will offer. Generally, though, most people I talk to say that the Disney discount during value season (it depends on when in the fall you're going as to whether its value season or not) will beat the AAA discount, but AAA is great if you're going during a time when Disney hasn't released a special package.

[biodtl]

Generally, though, most people I talk to say that the Disney discount during value season (it depends on when in the fall you're going as to whether its value season or not) will beat the AAA discount, but AAA is great if you're going during a time when Disney hasn't released a special package.

Thanks! It will most likely be early October, which falls (according to this year's matrix) right after value season. I guess I'll have to think about it some more before I decide.

[Strmchsr]

It will most likely be early October, which falls (according to this year's matrix) right after value season.

Disney does still sometimes do public discounts even outside of the listed "value" season. October 2006 had a nice discount. Click here to see the historical discounts.

[biodtl]

Thanks again. It's amazing that you can spend hours and hours here and keep getting new information.

[IceCreamlover]

I LOVE MAGICAL JOURNEYS!!! My t/a Debbie is so so so efficient!

[Hull-onian]

MJ is the best. I got in a bind and Melissa got me out it. She worked her magic.

[Mousefever]

Because they are knowledgable, accessible, friendly, and they save me money!

P.S. Wendy rules! Superstar!(Mary Katherine Gallagher style)

[ryca1dreams]

I have used Magical Journeys for my most recent 3 trips and they have provided excellent service. I usually like to have control and plan everything. Karen has been great at taking that part of the process and saving me time and money so I can do the fun planning for my vacation. She still keeps me in the loop and answers all my questions quickly. Thanks Karen.