disney travel agent commission on tickets only

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How to Become a Disney Travel Agent

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Table of Contents

Why become a Disney trip planner?

How to become a disney travel agent, save money as a disney vacation planner, how much do disney travel agents make, final thoughts on becoming a disney travel agent.

If you’re a fan of Disney and you like to travel, it’s possible for you to combine these passions into a career or side hustle. By becoming a Disney travel agent, you can earn money by making bookings for clients and also save on your own Disney adventures.

Here's a look at how to become a Disney travel agent and the ways it can save you money and help you earn some cash while helping others make their Disney dreams come true.

As a Disney travel agent:

You can receive benefits on personal travel, such as discounted hotel rooms, free theme park tickets and complimentary Disney cruises.

You control your own schedule and how much you work.

You will be able to work from home in most cases.

You’ll earn a commission on successful bookings.

» Learn more: 10 ways to save on your first — or next — Disney vacation

Becoming a Disney travel advisor is similar to the process of becoming a regular travel agent.

First, you’ll need to meet specific travel agent requirements — but there are additional criteria needed to specialize in selling Disney vacations.

You’ll have to become familiar with Disney’s entire portfolio of products including Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Lines, Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa in Hawaii and Adventures by Disney. In addition, clients may also ask Disney travel agents to book Universal Studios, Sandals and Beaches Resorts, and Royal Caribbean Cruise Line packages.

If you’re already a travel agent , you can register for Disney travel agent training on the Disney Travel Agents website. Once you’ve created an account, you’ll need to complete the College of Disney Knowledge training, which includes online classes and information about Disney Destinations.

If you’re not already a certified travel agent , you’ll need to become one before signing up for Disney travel agent training. Certification programs vary in terms of cost, time commitment and requirements. Once you've completed a program, you can choose to join a travel agency or operate on your own as a small business. At this point, you can register for the Disney training.

Once finished, you’re eligible to become an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner and entitled to all the benefits that the designation includes.

» Learn more: Do travel agents really save you money?

Disney travel agent benefits are one of the reasons to become a Disney vacation planner. Perks include special access to discounted hotel rates and other advantages, like:

Disney travel agent discounts

Disney travel agents can take advantage of discounted rates on accommodation and park entrance fees for their personal trips as well. This also applies to Disney branded hotels, in addition to other properties, cruises and excursions that include:

Disneyland Resort Hotels.

Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa.

Walt Disney World Resort Hotels.

Adventures by Disney.

Disney Cruise Line.

Select all-inclusive resorts in Mexico.

The discounts will vary based on where you’re going, but you can expect to save up to 50%.

Adventures by Disney are guided vacation packages, which include Antarctic cruises, European getaways and more.

» Learn more: What a travel agent can do for you that a search engine can't

Complimentary Disney Park Hopper tickets annually

Businesses want you to be familiar with what you’re selling. After all, the better you know a place, the more capable you’ll be of helping clients choose the right vacation.

To that end, Disney provides Authorized Disney Vacation Planners with complimentary theme park tickets . As a standard Disney travel agent, you’ll receive a one-day Park Hopper ticket to either Walt Disney World or Disneyland each year.

Or, if you want to visit for a longer period of time, you can opt for discounted two- to 10-day Park Hopper tickets at Walt Disney World.

The highest-performing travel agents are recognized by Disney’s EarMarked. This invite-only program grants extra support and perks, such as additional complimentary theme park tickets.

» Learn more: Is the Disney Park Hopper worth it?

Discounted Universal Studios tickets

Cheaper tickets aren’t limited to Disney. As a Disney travel agent, you’ll also receive up to four half-price tickets to Universal Studios per year.

» Learn more: How to go to Disney World for cheap

Discounted Disney cruises and increased commissions

Disney cruise travel agents can also score reduced or free tickets to Disney cruises. Depending on the travel agency you work with, agencies with a high number of sales can earn increased commissions on sales associated with cruises.

» Learn more: How much does a Disney Cruise cost?

Disney travel agents work on commission, which means that they make money only when their clients book and complete vacations.

Disney pays up to a 10% commission to travel agents, depending on the package booked for the customer. Disney cruises yield a higher commission. If you’re working independently, you’ll receive the full commission amount — so if your client booked a $5,000 vacation pretax, you’d receive $500 in commission.

You can also opt to join an existing travel agency. These companies offer more support and can help you if you’re just getting started. Depending on the agency, it can also provide marketing support and send leads your way.

If you choose to join a travel agency , you’ll split your commission. The rate for this will vary based on where you’re working, but you can expect to receive up to 75% of the total commission Disney pays out.

This means that if you had a client taking a vacation that cost $5,000 pretax, Disney would pay the travel agency $500. At a 75% split, you would be paid $375. It’s less than you’d make if you were operating on your own, but it may be worth it for the added support and access to interested clients.

» Learn more: The best Disney resort for adults

There’s no denying that there are benefits to becoming a Disney travel agent. This includes free theme park tickets, discounted rates at official Disney hotels and even savings on cruises. Aside from these perks, you can also turn your passion into a job by selling Disney vacation packages to customers.

Whatever your reason for wanting to become a Disney travel agent, you’ll need to first become a certified travel agent, then complete Disney’s specialized training program.

How to maximize your rewards

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No annual fee: Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card

Flat-rate travel rewards: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Bonus travel rewards and high-end perks: Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Luxury perks: The Platinum Card® from American Express

Business travelers: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

on Chase's website

1x-10x Earn 5x total points on flights and 10x total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Travel℠ immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually. Earn 3x points on other travel and dining & 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.

60,000 Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $900 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.

1x-5x 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases.

60,000 Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.

1x-3x Earn 3X points on Southwest® purchases. Earn 2X points on local transit and commuting, including rideshare. Earn 2X points on internet, cable, and phone services, and select streaming. Earn 1X points on all other purchases.

50,000 Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

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Travel Agent Commissions, Explained. [Infographic]

There’s no two ways about it, travel agent commissions are complicated—the numbers are not black and white numbers and there is no set way of doing things. Simply put, there is no "average" travel agent commission. Heck, if that were the case we'd be wrapping up this article by now!

We’re going to try to simplify things but since the system is complex, explaining it can be tough.

As you read this, just remember that commission levels vary by a travel agency's sales, an agency's consortium , franchise or host agency affiliation, vendor, destination, how the booking is made, and more (and that's just to name a few).

This article is a rough guide to travel agent commissions. It will give you a thorough, yet general, idea of travel agent commissions and what to expect.

If you're a sucker for details, don't worry. Once you join a host, franchise, or consortium, their commission guides will have all sorts of juicy details on specific commission levels!

Now, let's start breaking this stuff down, shall we?

⭐️ har's Travel agent commissions article highlights ⭐️

• Travel Agent Commissions, Big Picture : Curious about the average commission rate for different travel products? You can check out our infographic in this section!
• How Do Travel Agent Commissions Work? Commissions are typically tiered according to annual sales and/or passenger sales.
• Host Agencies and Travel Agent Commissions : A host agency can help travel agents receive higher commission levels due to economies of scale.
• Types of Travel Agent Commissions: There are 2 primary kinds of commissions for travel agents, flat commissions and tiered commissions.
• Airline Commissions: Airline commissions are a different beast altogether because their commission range depends on a variety of different factors! (Read this section to find out why.)
• Negotiated Contracts: Going with a host or consortia can help you leverage their commission contracts with suppliers.
• Commission Confidentiality: You might not know the exact commission rate you'll receive until you sign on with a host. This section is where we tell you why.

Travel Agent Commissions: The Big Picture

Let's start with a visual to give you the 40,000-foot view of travel agent commissions. You can see some hard numbers and how things are broken down in an easy-to-digest infographic.

After you've checked that out, we'll deep dive into how travel agent commissions work to make sure you know all the ins and outs!

How Do Travel Agent Commissions Work?

First things first: where do travel agent commissions come from? How do they get from supplier to host to travel agent? How does a supplier know who gets what?

At its simplest, a supplier/vendor recognizes a travel agent from any Joe Blow on the street because travel agencies have an accreditation number .

These magic accreditation numbers are how travel agents get commissions! When you call/login to make a booking, the supplier asks for your travel agency's accreditation number. This is how they know who to send the commissions to.

It's like when you call any doctor's office and they always ask for your name and date of birth to identify you. Travel suppliers ask for an agency's accreditation number to pull the agency up in their system.

Host Agencies and Travel Agent Commissions

In the case of a host agency, all of the travel agencies in the host's network use the same accreditation number (the host's). The supplier/vendor will recognize all of the host's independent contractors (ICs) as "one" large agency since all of their ICs are using the host's accreditation number.

Consortia and some franchises are a little different from hosted agencies in that each individual agency needs its own accreditation number.

If that's a little confusing, let's try to give a similar example in the real world . . .

I like to think of the host agency model being like the relationship between a general contractor and a homeowner. A homeowner paying a general contractor is like a supplier paying a host agency.

Instead of paying the electrician, plumber, and architect separately, homeowners pay the general contractor who in turn pays the individual companies (that's the hosted agents!).

So the supplier pays the host agency (general contractor) commission because they are what's called "the agency of record". In turn, the host agency pays the individual independent contractor (IC) travel agencies their share of the commission.

Using a host's accreditation is one of the major benefits of using a host agency . . . not only does it spare you the hassle of getting your own accreditation, but a host agency is able to negotiate better commission levels than an individual agent because of their higher sales.

The general rule in travel is, that the more your agency sells of a vendor, the higher the commissions (to a point).

This is a great segue into our next section! (PS: Did you know it's segue and not segway? I just found out and want to make sure you appreciate my newfound knowledge by pointing it out.)

Two Kinds of Travel Agent Commissions

1. flat commission rates.

A flat-rate travel agent commission is the simplest type of commission. The flat rate is just what it sounds like: every travel agent gets the same no matter how much they book, what consortium they belong to, or how cute their dog is. Flat-rate commissions are actually standard and predictable! Hooray!

Here are a few types of vendors with a flat rate commission:

→ Hotel-only bookings and car rental companies: These types of bookings typically pay travel agents 10% commission and that’s that. There are small variances but car and hotel-only bookings are probably the most predictable commission level in this whole mess.

→ Boutique tour operators: Smaller or boutique vendors will typically pay a 10% commission or give agents net rates. They won’t have sales tiers (more on that soon). If you’re sending a boutique hotel or small tour operator tons of business, there may be room to negotiate a higher commission.

→ Disney: Okay, so they're not exactly a boutique vendor! But Disneyland and Disney World have a flat rate commission of 10% for all agents. No matter how special you, your consortia, or host agency are, you're not going to be able to negotiate a better commission.

When it comes to Disney Cruise Line and Adventures by Disney products, their commissions are tiered (we'll talk about tiered commissions in-depth in just a sec) but the sale thresholds for those are the same for every. single. agency. out there.

2. Tiered COMMISSION RATES

It only seems fair that if you sell more of something, then you get a higher commission, right? Well, a lot of vendors think so too! Tiered commissions essentially mean that the more you sell, the higher the commission you get. Sounds simple?

I hate to burst your bubble, but tiered commissions are so complex so I'm going to put them in the spotlight after our intermission...

Rigel Break!

Ugh. My mind is wandering too. Let's take a break and look at a cute picture of my dog, Rigel.  This is his "business dog" look.

Sigh. Handsome lil' devil, isn't he? Sorry, that's all the cuteness for now; back to work!

Tiered Commission Rates. How Are They Determined?

So why would Travel Agent #1 receive a 12% commission for selling vendor X, while Travel Agent #2 receives a 16% commission for selling the same product?

There are two major factors that will determine travel agent commission tiers:

1. Aggregate/ Annual Sales Volume

For some vendors, the commission level (or tier) they pay an agency is determined by the sales volume under that agency's accreditation number. A vendor may increase commission based on annual sales of an agency (or their host agency).

Here's an example (numbers are hypothetical)

Annual Sales Commission Level:

• 10% . . . $0-$49,999
• 13% . . . $50,000-$249,999
• 14% . . . $250,000-$499,999
• 15% . . . $500,000+

From the numbers above, you can see that as a solo travel agent, it's a heckuva lot easier to reach 15% when you belong to a host agency!

So even though you may have a commission split with your host agency, in the end, many agents stand to rake in more dough with a host because they are earning more commission.

When you look at the big picture, it's also worth noting that nearly all host agencies also belong to a travel consortium (such as Travel Leaders Network, Signature, Virtuoso, or Ensemble). With a host agency's aggregate sales among ICs and their consortia relationships, host agencies are able to bring in higher commission tiers with vendors than most individual travel agencies.

2. Passenger Count

While many vendors use sales numbers to determine an agency's commission level, there are a handful of vendors that use a different marker. Instead of looking at the total sales coming from an agency, a vendor will look at how many passengers you're sending their way.

You’d see something like this (these are hypothetical numbers):

Annual PASSENGER Count Commission Level:

• 10%: 0-20 passengers
• 11%: 21-49 passengers
• 13%: 50-199 passengers
• 15%: 200+ passengers

A Note on Airline Commissions

I always say airlines are another animal and honestly, they're not my forte. So I’ll say this. Don't expect to become a millionaire by selling domestic tickets from JFK to LAX.

In August 2017, American Airlines announced they would pay travel agents a $2/segment for airline ticket commission — which is the first time airlines have offered all agents commission on all air tickets since the 1990s.

Kinda huge. But really, is it just me, or is the $2/segment airline commission incentive not really doing it for anyone else? Well, don't worry, because going through a host agency and/or travel consortium can give you access to private air contracts that are quite a bit more attractive.

Airlines offer travel agent commissions through two routes:

1. AIRline Consolidators:

These are airline wholesalers. They specialize in air and have private contracts with the airlines. Travel agents can make money with these airline consolidators in one of two ways: commission and marking up net rates.

2. Airline Contracts:  

Your host agency or consortium/franchise/co-op will most likely have private air contracts that allow for travel agent commissions on certain airlines. Not every domestic or international ticket is going to be commissionable, it depends on things like city pairs, class of service, the carrier, time of year, etc.

The commission percentage agencies earn on air depends on numerous factors, the most important one being which private contracts you have access to.

Here's a general rule of thumb on the airline ticket commission range you can expect as a travel advisor:

• Domestic: 0-5%
• International: 10-22%

For most leisure agents, airline ticketing alone is not a large source of commission. That's why the most common fee travel agencies charge is a service fee for airline tickets. It helps stabilize an agent's income and ensures they're being compensated for their work.( Looking for more data on travel agent fees? HAR's 75+ page travel agent research reports are just what you need. )

Travel agents can book air-only reservations in a variety of ways, most notably through consolidators (often used by leisure agents) and for corporate agents, through a Global Distribution System (GDS) .

Now, let's chat about how companies like host agencies, consortia, and franchises help secure better commission deals for their agency members...

Negotiated Contracts: Host Agencies, Consortia, and Travel Agent Commission Agreements

Alright, you've probably figured out that the travel industry is all about economies of scale. The more you bring to the table, the more leverage you have.

So it's no surprise that host agencies (a group of independent agencies using the same accreditation number) and consortia (independent agencies with their own accreditations that band together for more buying power and access to marketing/tech tools) are able to negotiate better commission tiers.

For you, as an agency, these negotiated commission tiers are a big benefit of aligning with a host agency or consortium. When you (or your host agency) are affiliated with a travel consortium, the consortium will negotiate lower sales tiers/passenger thresholds with their preferred suppliers .  

Let me break it down in real terms.

Most vendors will have commissions broken down into tiers. Maybe they say an agency has to sell $75,000 of their product to get a 12% commission. But, if a host/franchise/consortia has a negotiated commission agreement, their agents may only need to sell $50,000 to reach the same 12% commission tier. A deal!

Since many of the readers of this site align with host agencies at some point in their careers, we’ll mention again that for hosted agents, your tier is not dependent on your individual agency’s sales, but the cumulative sales of all of the agencies under the host’s umbrella .

The value in this becomes a little more clear if we compare two agencies: one is a hosted agency that belongs to a $100M host agency, the other is a smaller agency that has $2M in sales.

Both of our agencies belong to the same travel consortium. Both agencies have access to the same negotiated commission tiers because they're members of the same consortium. But, who is going to have a harder time meeting the $50,000 commission tier the consortium worked out?

You got it. The $2M agency because they have to rely on only their sales, whereas the agency who belongs to a host agency — regardless of how much of the vendor they actually sell — reaps the benefits of the sales of all of the other agencies in their host agency's network.

Host agencies and consortia will have the strongest travel agent commission agreements with their preferred suppliers. When a vendor is on a "preferred supplier list," it means that the host or consortium will have better contracts with them and likely sell a higher volume with that vendor.

Understanding Commission Confidentiality

As you can imagine, commission contracts between travel agencies and vendors, as well as those between consortia and vendors, are confidential. They’re like trade secrets that can give one travel agency/consortium an advantage over the other.

Knowing that, don’t be surprised if a consortium or host is tight-lipped when you ask for their commission guides. Sadly, they're not going to hand over a detailed pamphlet listing all their trade secrets. If you made it to this point, you can understand why :)

Or maybe they're tight-lipped because they're spies? I dunno. I say follow your gut on that one.

All that said, if you do sell a lot of a certain vendor(s), it’s perfectly acceptable to ask about commission info for your top vendors.

Even if a host/franchise/consortium doesn't spell out the commissions you'd get in detail, you can ask for:

• a list of the preferred suppliers and
• an idea of the sales volume with your favorite vendors

More Ways to Earn . . .

Believe it or not, there are multiple ways an agent can earn money beside travel agent commissions!

A few other common income streams agents included service fees, consultation or planning fees, markups from net rates, and selling insurance (which is technically still a commission, but worth a note!).

Here's a few more resources to check out:

Curious to Start Earning Commissions Like a Bona Fide Travel Advisor?

Looking for some resources on how to start your own travel agency?

We happen to have oodles of resources on our site. But I have to say, that at this stage in the game our 7 Day Setup Accelerator course takes the cake.

Because it cuts the noise for you and delivers the exact info you need to launch your agency, with the support of industry experts and the accountability to make things happen!

Editor's Note: This article was originally published in Oct. 2021. We occasionally update it with the latest data, indicated by the publish date listed on the article.

About the Author

Steph grew up in the travel industry. She worked with thousands of agents in her role as a former host agency director before leaving in 2012 to start HAR. She's insatiably curious, loves her pups Fennec and Orion, and -- in case you haven't noticed -- is pretty quirky and free-spirited.

If you’re looking for Steph, she leaves a trace where ever she goes! You can find her on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Pinterest as 'iamstephly'. 🙂 She doesn't do TikTok as no one would ever see her again.

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How to Become a Disney Travel Agent – Complete Guide

• How do I become a Disney Travel Agent?

Ever since we started Pixie Vacations we get asked how to become a Disney Travel Agent?  So we created this Disney Travel agent complete guide to help you out and hopefully give you a good understanding what it takes to sell Disney vacations.

First I want to start by saying you are not technically a “Disney Travel Agent”  you would be a Travel Planner that specializes in Disney vacations and you would be working for a travel agency.  If you are looking to work for the Disney Company at their Central Reservations (CRO) this is a different job altogether.

• What we are going to cover
• What is a Disney Travel Agent AKA Travel Planner that specializes in Disney destinations?
• How do I become a travel agent that sells Disney vacations?
• What to look out for and what questions to ask to be a travel agent.
• We will cover the skills you should have to sell travel.
• We will get in-depth into some marketing tips, and also cover frequently asked questions about becoming a Disney travel agent.
• What legal pitfalls to avoid and helpful links to do your homework before becoming a travel agent.
• What is a Disney Travel Agent?

In most cases you will need to find and apply at a travel agency.  We will go over what to look for in a travel agency later in this article, so don’t worry.  Also in most cases you will be selling Disney Destinations as an independent contractor and your “Title” will be a travel agent that specializes in Disney vacations, not “A Disney Travel Agent” because you are NOT working for the Walt Disney Company.

To find travel agency’s just do a google search on: “How to become a Disney Travel Agent”,  “Be a Disney Travel Planner”, “How to sell Disney vacations”, and search terms like this.

Now that we have that out of the way, let’s get into what to look for in a Travel Agency.

• FirstHeading

How to pick a Travel Agency

What are the advantages to being a travel agent that sells disney vacations, what other advantages are there for disney travel agents, disney travel agent (dta) training, which disney focused travel agency should i work with, commissions and commission splits, when do you get paid, red flags and scams, support systems at the travel agency, what skills do you need, seller of travel licenses and legal questions.

• It's awesome to be a Disney Vacation Planner

Join Pixie Vacations

Your personal information.

• What Social Media accounts do you have?Facebook URL Instagram URL YouTube or TikTok URL Previous Experience

More About You

Doing your research is key.  There are loads of travel agencies that have travel planners that work as contractors offering Disney Vacations and it can be overwhelming.  Start with the owners of the travel agency.  Do some basic research on each travel agency.

• Does the travel agency have a professional looking website?
• Can you find the owners name, address, phone number and email on their website?
• Does the owner answer the phone or call you back?

I know this sounds really basic but you can tell a great deal from the travel agencies website.  If you can’t call the travel agency this is a red flag.  If you can’t speak with them then how are clients supposed to speak with them if there is a problem?  You should be able to talk with someone, that’s what your clients will expect and you should expect.

Who are the owners?  What is there experience in travel and with the Disney Company?

Does the travel agency have travel agents already?  If so email a few and ask them how they like the travel agency, how long have they been there?

We will get into more ways to determine which travel agency is a right fit for you indirectly in some of the following topics below.  Let’s move on.

You might hear that you get to travel for free.  You get to stay at Walt Disney World and Disneyland hotels for Free.  Not exactly.  There are Disney travel agent benefits but if you want to be a travel agent just for the benefits this is not the job for you.  The Disney travel benefits should be looked at as extras you earn for becoming a successful agent that sells Disney travel destinations.

There are travel agencies out there that will ask you to pay them a fee $300 – $500 to join them and in return they will let you get a CLIA ID card or access to the Disney booking site.  This is not how you should become a travel agent in our opinion.  This should be a job, not something you do for a CLIA card.

Let me step back a little.  To get travel agency benefits like discounts on a hotel room you need either a CLIA or IATA Agent ID.  To get a CLIA Agent ID card this is what you need according to CLIA’s website:

CLIA card requirements

To qualify for CLIA Individual Agent Membership (IAM), your affiliated agency must be a current CLIA Travel Agency Member. CLIA recommends that agents generate a minimum of $5,000 in total agency commissions from cruise bookings within the 12 months prior to enrollment.

So to obtain this card they recommend that you have sold $5,000 in COMMISSIONS in your PRIOR 12 months in CRUISE bookings.  IATA has similar requirements but they don’t just focus on cruise bookings.

You will need your CLIA or IATA Agent ID card to be able to register for travel discounts.

Also you need to meet your travel agencies requirements and also the vendors requirements to be able to get the travel deal.  So there are many layers to being able to save a little on a room.

Again, don’t focus on the travel discounts, they are not worth it.  You need to focus on selling vacations and offering exceptional service to clients and help them plan their most amazing vacation ever.  If you do that your sales will come and you will be on your way to being able to apply for a CLIA or IATA agent ID card.

Work at home .  Most positions are as independent contractors (IC) and you can work your own hours and work from home.  Like any job the amount of time and effort you put in will help determine how well you do.

Money / Commission.   You will get paid a commission in most travel agency positions as an IC.  So when someone books a vacation with you, you will get a percentage of the commission.  We will go over travel agent commissions in more detail in this article.

Travel.   Depending on the travel agency you sign up with, you might be offered training trips or FAMS.  These are Familiarization trips that travel vendors and travel agencies do to show you resorts, on-site training, excursions, etc.  These FAM trips can be free or offered at a discounted cost and usually for the FAM cost you will get a room, training, and some meals covered.  Getting to the FAM is normally not covered so you would pay for your flights.  For Example a Universal Studios Orlando FAM can cost around $300-$400 for the FAM fee.  This of course varies so don’t quote us on these costs.

FAM Trips – Also depending on the agency you work for could determine if you get invited to a FAM trip.  If you want to learn more about Sandals and Beaches Resorts and your agency does not sell that much of those properties you might have a harder time getting onto a FAM trip with that vendor for example.  Travel vendors are not looking for people that want a discounted vacation, they are looking for travel agents that truly want to learn and sell their destination.

When you join a travel agency they will get you a Disney Travel Agent (DTA) account.  This is where you take the Disney College of Knowledge Classes, book Disney vacations, read Disney News, and this is your central hub for Disney Marketing pieces too.

The Disney College of Knowledge is free.  You should not be paying a travel agency for access to DTA.  The College of Knowledge has online classes that will get you up to speed on all the Disney destinations and offerings.  Here is the link to Disney Travel Agents .

You need to complete all of these Disney College of Knowledge online classes to be able to take advantage of travel agent Disney offers, like a free admission ticket to the parks.  Don’t worry the online Disney training is not difficult.  You will watch the training section videos of Disneyland, Disney World, Adventures by Disney, Disney Cruise Line, etc and take an online quiz at the end of each section.

You could complete all the Disney College of Knowledge classes in a day if you set yourself down and just go from beginning to end.  It would be better if you dedicated at least a few days to complete the Disney College of Knowledge training classes.  Other Family vacation destinations like Universal Orlando Resort also have online training .

There are many things to look at before selecting a Travel Agency that specializes in Disney Vacations.

• Does your travel agency sell other things besides Disney? If not will you be losing business when your client wants to go on a Royal Caribbean cruise, to an all inclusive resort, book a honeymoon, etc. and will your client come back to you and remember you 5 years later if they want to go to Disney again?

Here is the Earmarked logo for reference

• Is your Travel agency an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner or also known as EarMarked? An EarMarked Travel Agency has passed standards Disney requires to offer them this special designation.  If the travel agency does not have this logo on their website, then they are most likely not Earmarked.To determine if the travel agency is an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner you can go to this website:  http://www.authorizeddisneyvacationplanners.com/   This will not tell you what level they are in the EarMarked program but it will at least tell you if they are Earmarked by Disney.  The agencies are listed in random order and you will have to reload the page several times to see them all.

Every travel agency starts someplace to become an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner so figure out if you want to start with a newer agency that is not Earmarked or an agency that  has already moved up the different status levels.  Every agency at one point was not Earmarked, so understand that you should not solely make your decision on picking a travel agency based on this EarMarked status.

You need to also know that just because a travel agent is EarMarked does not mean it is a good agency.  So do some research and contact other agents at that travel agency that have been there for several years and ask them how they like the travel agency, do they get paid on time, what support do they get, etc.

The reason you wanted to become a Disney travel agent should be to get paid.  Yes it can be fun and rewarding, but it takes long hours and at the end of the day you should get paid for your work.

Every Disney Specialized Travel Agency pays differently but most pay you commission.  You would not be an employee in this example, but an independent contractor that gets paid when you book a vacation for a client.

Travel vendors, like Disney, give Travel agents a commission.  This is NOT an extra cost added to a vacation.  It’s sort of like a finders fee.  When you book a Walt Disney World Vacation Package you get a commission for that booking.  If you search the web you can figure out what commission levels are for different vendors.  But for this example lets say you contact someone you know and they book a Walt Disney World Vacation Package with a room, park tickets, and the Disney dining plan staying on property at the Disney Coronado Springs Resort.  The cost of the Disney Vacation let’s say is $4,000.

Disney will pay a percentage of the $4,000 to the agency as a commission. So let’s say for this example that the commission earned is $400 to make for easy math that would be 10%.  Once the party travels Disney will send the $400 commission to the Travel Agency.  After the travel agency gets the commission check they will send you a percentage of that commission.  What you get depends on the travel agency you work for and what they pay their travel planners.  Some travel agency’s pay 40%, some pay only on certain types of bookings, some pay a flat fee of $25 – $50 per booking no matter what is booked.  The majority of travel agencies pay 50% to 90% commission.   So  in our example the Disney vacation of $4,000 has a 10% commission that is a $400.  If the agency gives you a 50% commission split then you would get $200 and the agency would get $200.  This is just an example with made up numbers and percentages, but it should give you an idea how commissions with vendors and agencies work.

The more you sell with some travel agencies the higher commission levels you reach. So you might start at 40% commission and then go to 50% and then to 60% and so on based on your sales numbers with the travel agency.

This is also how travel vendors operate like Cruise Line Vendors for Example.

If you work for a small or new travel agency a Cruise Line vendor might be paying 10% commission to that agency.  As the agency sells more Cruise Line vacations the agencies commission level can go up to 15%, 16%, for example.

So your commission split that you get from your travel agency is important as well as the commission levels that travel agency gets from it’s vendors.

Simple Commission Split example:

Agency A – Gets 16% Cruise Line Commission $5,000 Cruise x 16% = $800.00 commission

Agency B – Gets 10% Cruise Line Commission $5,000 Cruise x 10% = $500.00 commission

You are making $300 more for just this one booking in this example so do your homework when you select a travel agency to work with.

Also equally important is what commission level you are getting from the travel agency.  Are they starting you at 40% or higher?  What commission goal levels do they have?

You will get paid AFTER the guest travels.  If you book a 2024 vacation and that’s years away, you are not seeing any of that money until that guest gets back from there 2024 vacation.  If the guest cancels you don’t get paid.

You will need a ramp up period to build a client base and then to book those clients every year and word of mouth referrals to grow.  This takes time and then you have to wait for those clients to travel.  So don’t plan on being a Disney travel agent and quickly quitting your day job, unless you really work non-stop and have an outgoing personality and sales background.

This is called the Complete Guide to becoming a Disney travel agent because we want to make sure you have the best and complete information to make an educated decision.  This section is not to scare you, but to make you aware of what could happen and how to be on the look out for scams.

First, when you got your first job did they ask you to pay them $1,000 to work for them.  No!  If someone is asking you to PAY THEM to Work for THEM that is something that should make you think twice.  Now I understand that travel agencies have costs to cover and even we charge a small fee to join because we have to pay for training systems, and other onboarding expenses.  So $100- $200 to get set up can be expected to invest in starting out.

Why can scams happen – Because you don’t get paid until after the client travels this has led some people to setup and run travel agencies as a way to rip you off.  Maybe they first created a small travel agency for fun and it just got out of hand, or maybe they have a background in doing this scam over and over again.  This is again why you need to do your homework when looking for a travel agency to join.  You can avoid a travel agency that is not going to pay you simply by contacting several of the agents that work there.  Contact agents that have been at the agency for several years (4-5 years min.) so you know they have a track record of payments and know whats going on at the agency.  If the agents are all new it’s hard to tell if agents have left because of issues with getting paid or if the agency is just getting started.

Disney pays Travel Agencies.  If you are working at a Travel Agency and not getting paid and are constantly told they are waiting for Disney to pay them, this is most likely not true.  You can contact Disney yourself and give them your booking number to see if it has been paid.

How the Scam works.  You join the travel agency and sell $200,000 in vacations but most of the people don’t really travel until 8 months or a year from now.  The travel agency also that you work for says they have 90 days to pay you.  So there is this long time line that the travel agency can have you booking vacations for them and not pay you.  When these vacations do travel and you still don’t get paid, you might be told that the vendor has not paid the travel agency yet, etc.  So now you might be owned $20k in commissions and another $20k in future not traveled commissions before you realize that the travel agency has no intention of paying you.

You can avoid all this by doing some research and not just signing up with any travel agency you come across.  Again this type of scam is also rare and just something you should be aware of.

Money and commission levels are important but a good support system is also just as important.

Look for a travel agency that has a focus on Disney and Family Vacations.

Do they have training?

Look for a travel agency that offers FAM (Travel agent training trips).  How many do they offer, when was the last one, and how much was it?

What is the owners background and what support do they offer?

Does the travel agency offer Leads?  Does the travel agency do marketing to get exposure for their agents and to get leads?

Does the travel agency have an account rep. at the different vendors you  are going to use that you can call if you have an issue?

What support is there when you need it?

What is the agency owners background?

More established travel agency’s will have a dedicated rep. at each vendor to help if there is an issue.  You might also have a special phone line you can call to book with certain vendors if your agency is one of their preferred agencies.  This could cut down wait times when you are trying to book a vacation for a client.  Having account reps. also helps tremendously when you have a client at a property and they have an issue.

Does your travel agency have conference calls, webinars with vendors, and other ways to learn and share knowledge?

These are all things you should look for and consider when deciding on a travel agency.

To be successful as a Disney travel agent you need good communication skills.  You will need to put in the hours to learn the Disney Destinations, like Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and Adventures by Disney.  You also need to be more than just a big Disney fan.  This is a job and requires time to build up clients, keep clients, learn vacation destinations, and time to book and help your clients.  It will take time to get things going and being persistent is key.

You will be communicating with Disney and clients via email and on the internet, so an internet connection and a computer is needed.  A phone number / cell phone is needed and we would recommend a dedicated phone number so you can answer your phone professionally.  You can get a Google Number or other services offer free phone numbers so you can keep your existing cellphone and just change the ring tone.

You should be a people person.  Someone that can take little direction and just run with it.  You need to be comfortable talking with people.

You really should be a salesperson at heart and just decide to sell Disney vacations instead of another product.  If you can’t SELL this job will be difficult for you.  If you know and love Disney, that’s great, but you need to run this like a business and be able to sell the Disney destinations, organize client bookings, plan marketing and social media posts, attend local events and get out in your community or virtual community.

If you are the go to person at your church, school, business, or other clubs / events, you will have a base of customers to plan vacations for.

Technology skills are also helpful.  Posting on social media, marketing, emailing, etc all play into you being successful as a Disney travel planner.

Another Heads up section that is not so much fun to talk about but needs to be covered so you are aware.

I am not a lawyer so I would recommend you contact a travel lawyer, but here is how I understand the Seller of Travel Licenses requirements for Florida and California.

To sell travel your travel agency is required to have a sellers of travel license in certain states.  For example you should see Florida Sellers of Travel Ref No STXXXXX at the bottom of the travel agencies website and also CST XXXXXXXX for California’s Seller of Travel Licenses.  If you don’t see these on their website that travel agency can not market anyplace that a FL or CA resident might see a vacation offer.

With the Internet a consumer in FL and CA can see a travel offer anyplace.  So then it seems to reason the every travel agency needs to have this license.

If a resident from Florida or California sees a post, website, Facebook post or anything offering travel services, vacations, deals, that agency can be fined or worse.  If you as an independent contractor sell travel to anyone in these states you might come across issues.

How can you determine if the travel agency is registered in California?  Here is the CA Sellers of Travel Website Information:

“California requires all sellers of travel to register with the Attorney General’s Office and to display the registration number on all advertising. While not assuring that a company is reputable, a valid registration signals that the seller of travel has at least followed the law to be registered.”

Read more at the California Seller of Travel Website.

Check to make sure the travel agency has a CA Seller of Travel Licenses here.

From the CA Sellers of Travel Website:

“When you’re at a travel agency, ask to see the seller of travel’s registration acknowledgement — a one-page document issued by the Attorney General’s Seller of Travel Program. Be sure to check the expiration date to determine whether the registration is still valid.

You also may use the “ Seller Search ” feature on this website to assist you in determining whether a seller of travel is registered with our office. Since there are many similar seller of travel names, please spell out the full name and address of the company.”

From the Florida Sellers of Travel Website:

https://www.freshfromflorida.com/Business-Services/Sellers-of-Travel

“The sellers of travel law requires any person or business that is a seller or promoter of travel-related services to register annually with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), unless exempt. Sellers of travel are required to provide proof of assurance in the form of a performance bond, in an amount not to exceed $25,000, or $50,000 if they sell vacation certificates.

FDACS is authorized to collect registration fees and impose penalties for noncompliance of the law.”

Check to make sure the travel agency has their FL Seller of Travel License here.

Also you should make sure your travel agency has E&O Insurance.  This is Errors and Omissions Insurance.  They should be able to show you the current years binder page.

It’s awesome to be a Disney Vacation Planner

There is so much information here and some of it can be daunting, but being a travel agent that specialists in Disney vacations is also so much fun.  Yes it is work, but it can be rewarding planning vacations to the most magical place on earth.

If you would like to apply at Pixie Vacations please fill out our application form.

Application form Pixie Vacations

Step 1 of 3

What Social Media accounts do you have?

Previous experience.

Are there Disney classes for non-agents? I’ve been an agent in the past, however not a strictly Disney agent. I’m having a hard time trying g to get an agent position but would love to take classes.

Hi, The DTA classes are just for travel agents.

i would like to apply to be a travel agent

Hi, Christine,

Please write to [email protected] and be sure to include information about your qualifications, sales experience, networking or how you would generate vacation sales, etc. Thanks.

I have already completed the Disney training but would love to work with Disney vacations I am certified in cruises but really want Disney exclusively

Hi, Tammy, Please fill out the form enclosed if you have not already. Have an awesome day! 🙂

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Why You Should Use A Disney Travel Agent

Using an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner can take the stress out of planning a Walt Disney World vacation, which is complicated and overwhelming for first-timer tourists. Travel agent can make the process easier by booking reservations, making itineraries, securing discounts, and more. ( Updated April 11, 2023 .)

One thing that regulars often forget once we’ve learned the ropes is just how convoluted it is to plan and take a trip to Walt Disney World. Thanks to years of experience and research, WDW veterans know the basics of planning–from tricks for booking Advance Dining Reservations to leveraging discounts, using Genie+ and Lightning Lanes, navigating virtual queues, making ideal itineraries to beat the crowds, and more–inside and out. However, the whole process is foreign and daunting to newbies, which is why there’s huge value in using an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner.

If all you’re looking for is a travel agent recommendation, Be Our Guest Vacations is our preferred Authorized Disney Vacation Planners. They offer no-cost planning, their agents have  years  of experience and visit the parks multiple times per year, and their team is talented and tight-knit. However, this is not simply a sales pitch for Be Our Guest Vacations…

Our advice to use a travel agent holds true regardless of which agency you end up choosing. The point here is more broadly that it’s incredibly advantageous to use Authorized Disney Vacation Planners– any of them! While some agencies and agents do a better job and have more thorough knowledge of Disney than others (more on these pitfalls in a minute), the vast majority are helpful. Suffice to say, if you’re overwhelmed by planning, a Disney TA can help.

More importantly, there’s no shame in needing help or being overwhelmed! We travel around the globe, and nowhere that we visit is as complicated or intimidating for first-timers as Walt Disney World. It’s literally the size of a city, and Walt Disney World has its own quirks, policies, and unwritten rules that are not easily understood. It’s a bit like learning Na’vi , a language without much real world value but that will endear you with a hardcore community of fellow-fans!

The first and biggest reason to use an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner is the service. Imagine the knowledge-base of this blog (assuming you think I’m knowledgeable), but in a form that can apply the tips here to your particular circumstances, preferences, and needs. That’s what a good Authorized Disney Vacation Planner provides. It’s a back-and-forth dialogue, and they’re there to hold your hand and give you personalized advice.

Unlike traditional, large-scale travel agencies, most Disney-specializing agents got into it not due to a desire to build some highly profitable business empire, but because they love Disney and really enjoyed planning their own trip. This is why I distinguish between “Authorized Disney Vacation Planner” (the words you want to look for) and traditional travel agents. The latter are professionals who book trips to myriad destinations, but don’t have a Disney focus. This usually means they don’t have the expertise to provide high-quality service for Disney destinations.

For this reason, we do not recommend national, non-Disney travel agencies when booking Disney vacations. No offense to Costco or AAA, but they simply cannot compete with the ‘mom and pop shops’ in terms of quality service and knowledge. Agents at the big companies are booking myriad destinations with little experience at many of them.

It’s entirely possible that the agents at Costco, AAA, or other big box travel agencies have never visited Walt Disney World, or at least not within the last year. The best Authorized Disney Vacation Planners visit the parks multiple times per year and keep abreast of all the latest changes. They are Disney specialists, not travel industry generalists.

Unfortunately, big box agencies aren’t the only ones to avoid. In recent years, there has also been a proliferation of Disney travel agencies that are thinly-veiled multi-level marketing schemes (MLMs). These are agencies that exist not to provide exceptional service to clients, but primarily to recruit more agents and grow by charging initiation and training fees. The problem with these agencies is similar to the big box ones–a lack of quality control and subject matter expertise. They will hire any agent who expresses an interest in joining (because that’s their  actual business, not helping clients) and don’t care about the caliber of client service or knowledge of their agents.

There’s no easy way to identify which Disney travel agencies are primarily MLMs. An obvious indicator would be if they recruit you despite your lack of knowledge, but it’s not always that obvious. To each their own, but my rule of thumb is avoiding agencies with hundreds of agents. When it comes to Authorized Disney Vacation Planners, size is a liability and not an asset. Go for a boutique business and get better service.

The second biggest reason to use an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner is the time-savings. This has become a particularly pronounced advantage in the last couple of years, and is arguably the biggest reason to use a travel agent now–especially if you’re already knowledgeable about Disney.

Currently, Walt Disney World and Disneyland both have staffing shortages. This is a problem throughout the parks and resorts, but nowhere is it more pronounced than the call centers. It used to be the case that you’d wait on hold for a long time only on the days that discounts, special event tickets went on sale, or something else major and new was released.

Long hold times have become the rule rather than the exception. You might think that this is no big deal, as you’ll simply book everything online. That’s a good plan… until something goes wrong. 

Disney IT also isn’t the most reliable; between that and problems with reservations, there’s a strong probability that you’ll need assistance via a call center representative at some point during the planning process. Having an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner deal with this and advocate on your behalf will save you headaches and time waiting on hold, and the benefit of that cannot be overstated.

The third biggest reason to use an Authorized Disney Vacation Planners is saving money. This is not to say travel agents have access to better discounts than you or anyone else–they don’t. (I don’t know why there’s this mistaken belief out there that some travel agents find better or worse prices when it comes to Disney–any variance in pricing is a result of games Disney plays with its inventory and special offers at different times.)

The advantage they do provide when it comes to price is that they are knowledgeable and diligent about discounts, and continue monitoring your reservation even after booking. This can be particularly beneficial if you book far in advance before discounts are released–relevant right now as 2024 Walt Disney World Vacation Packages will be released in June 2023.

I know several Authorized Disney Vacation Planners who get up at 3 a.m. every time Walt Disney World releases a new discount in order to quickly apply the deal to all eligible reservations they’re managing. By contrast, if you learned about the deal a few days later and called Disney to book, a lot of availability would already be gone.

They also know the ins and outs of tweaking reservations so they fall within Disney’s eligibility parameters and are less likely the be excluded from promotions. (All too often, we hear from readers who technically qualify for a discount to be applied to their existing reservation, but Disney finds a way to exclude them due to lack of availability under the promotion or something else.)

So, in that sense, Authorized Disney Vacation Planners are finding better prices for many of their clients, but it’s indirectly as a result of that knowledge and diligence.

The fourth biggest reason to use an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner is for booking Advance Dining Reservations or ADRs–Disney’s term for restaurant reservations. Guests staying in Walt Disney World resorts can make reservations up to 60 days in advance plus the length of their stay (up to 10 days). This little 60+ days rule quirk is something that can be difficult to explain and comprehend, but knowledgeable travel agents  know it well–and exactly how to leverage it. 

Using the length of stay + 60 day rule, a skilled travel agent will book your ADRs in order of difficulty, so you’re more likely to get the most elusive reservations. And with many restaurants still operating at reduced capacity, ADRs are more competitive than ever–by the time the 60 day mark hits, some will already be fully booked. So if you want character meals or other popular restaurants, your best bet is having an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner make your ADRs.

Beyond that, there are some generalized reasons to use Authorized Disney Vacation Planners. For one thing, they are almost always fans themselves who exclusively plan Disney travel. Most I’ve encountered over the years are good people. The overwhelming majority became travel agents because they’re passionate about planning vacations and became the go-to resource for their friends and family, and just decided to turn it into a job. Out of the Disney TAs I’ve encountered, this is true  at least 95% of the time.

And, because they’re passionate about Disney, they actually know about Disney. A traditional travel agent faces obsolescence because they were (basically) just someone to outsource the booking of vacations and had no firsthand knowledge of destinations to which they booked trips.

On the other hand, Authorized Disney Vacation Planners are only becoming more relevant thanks to the service and answers they provide in response to Disney vacations becoming increasingly complex. They know Disney inside and out (they are literally tested on it!) and have lots of first-hand experience.

They will be up at the 60-day mark to make your Advance Dining Reservations (ADRs), come up with plans to help you score the prime Lightning Lane selections, constantly monitor new discount offers to see if they can reduce the cost of your trip, and generally able to assist with other facets of trip planning.

Beyond that, there’s no cost to you for most travel agents specializing in Walt Disney World or Disneyland. Authorized Disney Vacation Planners are paid commission by Disney on the trips they book, so you’re usually not paying anything extra. I don’t know why Disney pays them, but my educated guess is because it’s essentially Disney ‘outsourcing’ the planning resources they’d otherwise need to provide. If you’re calling your travel agent, you aren’t calling Disney directly, tying up their guest services or other Cast Members.

This is win-win-win. Disney doesn’t have to deal with your questions, the Authorized Disney Vacation Planner is able to make money doing what they love, and you’re able to get free advice and help planning your trip. The biggest ‘winner’ there is you. One point person gets to know you, is responsive to your requests & questions, and feels a vested interest in making sure you have a great trip. You don’t call Disney, wait on hold for an interminable amount of time, and receive inconsistent answers from random Cast Members.

With that said, an increasing number of Authorized Disney Vacation Planners are charging an additional flat fee or hourly rate for their booking and/or planning services. This comes at a time when Walt Disney World vacations are more complicated than ever, and dealing with Disney (due to the aforementioned staffing shortages) is more time-consuming.

Without question, travel agents are  worth  these extra fees, as their professional expertise and experience is valuable. Whether you want to pay such a fee when free alternatives exist is a matter of personal preference. ( Be Our Guest Vacations , the agency we recommend, currently does not charge any consulting fees.)

The added value and expertise offered by Authorized Disney Vacation Planners is especially true in the era of My Disney Experience, MagicBands, Genie+, etc. The Authorized Disney Vacation Planner is a liaison ( or buffer! ) between you and Disney, putting out fires and fixing problems as they arise. They save you headaches and stress in solving these problems.

Again, I speak from the experience of having to deal with these headaches myself–although things are getting better with these systems. I love Disney Cast Members in the parks, but my experiences have not been overwhelmingly positive on the phone.

With all of that said, using a travel agent isn’t for everyone. Some people have obsessive personalities and like total control over their vacations, or actually enjoy spending hours reading blogs like this one (and thank you to those of you who tolerate all of my corny jokes! 😉 ). Although we used Authorized Disney Vacation Planners years ago, I’ll admit that this now describes me. I love figuring this all out for myself, and I’m a total control freak.

Even if you are a control freak like me, it might make sense to book through a vacation planner so they monitor discounts and be your liaison with Disney in the event My Disney Experience issues arise, while you can do the “fun” stuff like planning ADRs and Genie+. Most vacation planners are as hands on or off as you specify, and it’s pretty easy to let them know what expect of them and what you’d like to do yourself.

If you’re convinced that a travel agent is for you, there are a few things to consider when choosing one. First, while I think it’s poor form to comparison shop or seek information without actual intent to book through them–as this is their job and they’re only paid on bookings they actually make–I do think it’s a good idea to make sure you “click” with an agent after requesting a quote.

It should be pretty easy to tell based on their first email or two whether they’re someone you want to work with, but if you’re still unsure, request a quick phone call. You are trusting this person with your vacation and (potentially) will communicate with them a lot, so you should make sure they aren’t impersonal or will treat you like a number. This is typically a total non-issue, as most vacation planners I’ve encountered are incredibly pleasant and enthusiastic, but it’s good to double-check if things don’t seem right from the get-go.

Second, make sure they’re providing the level of service detailed here. If you want someone to make your ADRs or make recommendations with things like stroller rental, make sure those are things they do. Not all agencies offer the same services, so be sure the one you’re considering will help in the areas you’d like assistance.

Finally, they have to know their stuff. Confirm they’ve been to whichever Disney destination you’re considering (and have been there recently ). If you’re planning a Walt Disney World trip, you don’t want a Disneyland regular–they’re totally different destinations from a planning perspective. If you’re taking a Disney cruise, your travel agent having stayed at every Walt Disney World resort hotel is meaningless. You get the idea. I’m not saying they need to spend 50+ days per year in the parks, but you want them to know their stuff.

Your Thoughts

If you’ve used an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner, how was your experience? Which Disney TAs do you recommend? Any other tips you’d like for choosing a vacation planner? Share your thoughts and questions in the comments below!

Written by Tom Bricker

I do want to comment that AAA has a specific branch that specializes in Disney vacations. I have used only one AAA agent for my bookings over the years, and she has a Certified Disney Planner designation. After enjoying this article, I’d say the difference is the other Disney dedicated agents handle all the smaller stuff that I happily do on my own. My AAA agent would not be doing dining reservations I don’t think. I use her for the hotel/tickets package, with the goal of being sure sure of the best price on that potentially high price tag.

If I rent DVC points for my hotel stay, can I still use a Disney Vacation Planner for everything else?

I would imagine there are some that will work with you, but they’ll likely charge a fee. Most of the free ones require a resort reservation through them.

Who “authorizes” Disney travel agents? According to the Walt Disney company, they don’t authorize any and have no official links. So what exactly do you mean by Authorized Disney Vacation Planner? It seems a deceptive designation.

Hi! I think I can answer this. I am an “Authorized Disney Vacation Planner”. Basically it is an individual that is signed up under an agency and has registered with Disney and taken all of the required training and tests to be able to sell Disney products. The individual agents are responsible for their actual first hand experience with Disney products. The big agencies he refers to are like Costco and AAA who can sell you Disney products, but they aren’t specifically Disney, and wouldn’t offer any of the specialized services he detailed in this article. They would book your trip, possibly give you perks, but you would be on your own if a new discount was offered, with your dining and Genie+ reservations, etc… and with any personal questions you have.

Can you hire Be Our Guest Vacations to book your Genie+ and ILL reservations each morning of your trip? If not, does anyone know of a travel agent offering that service. (I’m happy to pay.) Thanks!

Oh my God, ! That’s brilliant!

Oh my God, you mad freak! That’s brilliant!

We were going to use a Disney planner but they encouraged us to call “for a quote.” We’d long understood that compensation for their services came from Disney so we avoided that planner company so we wouldn’t have to pay ourselves. But we noticed you’d used “call them for a quote” as well. What kind of quote would they give us if we didn’t have to pay. Confused.

For the price of the vacation package, not their services. You provide party details and resort preferences, and they quote you a price on what Walt Disney World will charge for that. No different than the price quotes you’d get from Disneyworld.com.

I have had a handful of wonderful experiences with Be Our Guest Vacations! Jeanette has been patient and helpful in planning Walt Disney World vacations as well as Disney cruises. She was accessible in a situation where things with the airline went sideways, and found me last minute accommodations so I didn’t have to spend the night in a chair in the Orlando airport. I have not been disappointed!

My husband and I are trying to plan a trip right now for the 4th of July weekend. He is having trouble with people emailing him back or even calling him back. We are finding better ticket prices at Sam’s club but I don’t know anything about what we are doing. We aren’t trying to spend an arm and a leg.

Thanks for sharing this great advice, it will help me a lot.

Do you know of a good planner that you would recommend for my Disney World trip?

I’m having trouble getting return emails. I’ve sent emails to two highly recommended agencies in the past few days and have not received any response. So frustrating

Hi John… interested in having your help. Let’s start the conversation. Target date May 7 – 14, 2021.

We are looking at coming next September. When we book through you; do we pay the $200 deposit to hold it and pay if off 30 days before? Or do we pay for the full trip up front?

Is there a website or somewhere I can find a ADVP in my area? I’d prefer to work with someone who is local 🙂

My question is a little unique. Are there any Authorized Disney Vacation Planners that can help with things like dining reservations, Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, etc. if we are staying at Shades of Green? The only thing stopping me from fully committing to Shades is I don’t know if there are any travel agencies that can help with just the reservations (and yes, I’m aware Shades is DoD owned). Thank you so much in advance!

I’m looking to book a trip to Disney World now that it’s open again . Looking at 3 week of September.

I am a little nervous about using a Disney planner since the one I have been in contact with is asking for my credit card information and my account password. I know they need it for reservations, but is there supposed to be a more secure way or is this how it works? Just need some ease of mind!

To my knowledge, that’s the way it works–at least with the credit card. I’ve always wondered why there Disney doesn’t create some sort of secure payment portal.

Thanks for that fast reply!

I requested a quote for an Adventures by Disney and received the first email from one of the agents at BOGV. Do I ask them if they have done the chosen destination? If they haven’t, how do I go about asking for a different agent?

You can certainly ask if you want, but I probably wouldn’t bother. There aren’t a lot of planning variables associated with Adventures by Disney, so they don’t need to have done the itinerary to book and arrange it for you.

You’re highly unlikely to find many travel agents who have done multiple Adventures by Disney itineraries, anyway.

We plan to go next year inAugust, is it too early to email them and start planning? Or will they prefer to wait as it gets closer?

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How much commission do disney travel agents actually make.

Home » Travel Marketing Tips » How Much Commission do Disney Travel Agents Actually Make?

• May 8, 2023
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If you’ve always had a passion for Disney and already share Disney tips and advice with friends and family, you might be ready to consider becoming a Disney Travel Agent. Before you jump in, it’s important to be aware of how much you’ll actually make. If you want to know the answer to that and whether or not becoming a Disney travel agent is right for you, then you’re in the right place.

An Overview of the Commission Strucutre

The commission structure with Disney is pretty straightforward. For most vacations, especially for new travel agents, your commission starts out at 10%. That means if you book a $5,000 trip, you’ll make $500 after the person travels. Disney cruises are a little different depending on the volume of sales you have. You can make up to 15 to 16% commission for Disney Cruises so it might be something you want to keep in mind!

As you’re growing and booking, you may have to share a portion of your commission depending on how your business is set up. If you’re an independent agency, you’ll earn 100% of your commissions, however, host agencies are becoming more popular, and you may have to give them a percentage of your commissions.

Run through the Math

Running through the numbers will help you decide whether becoming a Disney travel agent is the right move for you. If your goal is to make $100k, you’d have to sell about one million in sales. Though that number feels really big, let’s break it down…

Let’s say your average sale lies around $5,500/sale. Some may be at a value resort, while others could be at the Grand Floridian. In order to make your goal of $100k a year, that would mean you need to book about 15 trips per month. If your goal is to make $50k a year, that number lies closer to 8 trips per month.

As a side note, if you’re doing the process of hosting, you would have to share a portion of your profits with your host. These percentages can range anywhere from 20% to above the 50% threshold. If you’re with a host, you’d have to sell more trips per month to meet your annual income goal.

Increase Your Earnings as a Disney Travel Agent

One of the easiest things you can do to earn extra income right away is to start charging planning fees. You also may want to consider offering Universal add-on packages. Yes, this post is about Disney travel, but it’s hard to do Disney without offering Universal packages. Clients with older kids are likely to request this add-on, so don’t glance over it!

You can also offer concierge fees. Offering fast passes and dining is extremely helpful to your travelers so be sure to charge extra for it! You can even get access to Disney discounts so it may be something that will give you that extra push toward becoming a Disney travel agent.

Scale your travel business

If you want to be successful as a Disney travel agent and want to make income that will make an impact, there are a few things you need to learn how to do well.

First up is you need to know how to be an actual travel agent. Disney isn’t going to teach you, so you’ll have to find training. You’ll also want to think about how you can find clients to meet your income goal. This often comes with marketing and promoting your services online. Regardless of whether you’re an independent agency or work with a hosting agency, you’ll be responsible for finding your own clients.

Need some help scaling your travel business?

Ready to become a Disney travel agent, but need help getting there? In our Careers on Vacation certification program, we’ll help you get there. With the Careers on Vacation program, you’ll get access to experts and learn how to operate at the highest level possible immediately.

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Global Munchkins

Travel + Global Inspired Lifestyle

April 12, 2023

10 Things you didn’t know about Disney Travel Agents!

After 25 Disney World Trips and 8 Disney cruises, I never thought of using a Disney Travel Agent. Then we decided to give it a go just one time to save money on our Disney Cruise. Here is why I am never going back to booking one on my own. The Best Disney Travel Agents (Here are my top 5) take care of all your worries and the best part, they are free.

From lightning lane to dining reservations , to shore excursions, to which rides to take, to planning for the 3:00 rain in the summers at Disney World (yes, pretty much every day) planning a Disney World trip is a monumental task.

From now on I tell people they should book their Disney trip with a Disney Travel Agent which is basically their own personal Disney expert. Disney World, Disney Cruise, & Disneyland are often once in a lifetime vacation with your planning.

The excitement your kids have for this kind of vacation is unmatchable. However, planning one of these vacations can be quite a task. Here are 10 reasons you might want to use a Disney Travel Agent for your personal travel planning.

1) Disney Travel Agents have their Disney Degree!

Disney Travel agents have to not only be a regular travel agent, but they also have to take the College of Disney Knowledge course to be able to book Disney Travel. This extensive online course goes through every type of Disney Vacation.

The travel agent will learn about the hotels, how far in advance dining reservations can be made, amenities of staying on property, transportation and so much more. Not only do they have to pass a test to be a certified travel agent, but they also have to take a test every year as Disney has new courses each year so that the travel agent is up to date with all the new changes at Disney Parks.

They will learn extensively about:

• Disney Cruise Line
• Walt Disney World Resort
• Adventures by Disney
• Aulani Resort and Spa
• Disneyland Resort

2) You will save yourself a lot of time, especially with a Walt Disney World Vacation

If time is a limited resource then you don’t even need another reason to book your Disney Vacation packages with a Disney Agent.

Here are just some of the things they will be able to teach you in just a short amount of time rather than learning on your own

• How to book a lightning lane pass ?
• How far in advance you need to make your dining reservations?
• Which restaurants have character breakfasts and dinner (plus, which is the best)?
• What is the Disney Dining Plan?
• What kind of Park Ticket do I need to buy?
• How to get from the resort hotel to the airport?
• Do you need a car rental?
• What are Magic Bands ?
• What is the My Disney Experience App?
• Getting groceries delivered to your room
• If Pluto is a dog, what is goofy? (ok I just threw that in to see if you were paying attention)
• How to save on photos aka Memory Maker?
• Where to rent a stroller ?
• What are Extra Magic Hours?
• Booking Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique/Pirates League/Specialty Cruises
• What items to pack for your Disney Trip ?

3) You will get the Best Price especially with a Disney Cruise

One of the things I never realized was that authorized Disney Vacation planner Services are FREE! I always assumed I would get the best deal if I booked everything on my own. If you are booking with a Disney Travel Agent the price should be exactly the same as Disney’s website, sometimes slightly better if the travel agency is offering an extra incentive to book with them.

Disney keeps pricing the same across the board so you don’t have to stress about finding the site with the best deal. However, Disney Travel Agents will know the times of year that Disney is offering special offers, such as Free Dining, Half Off Cruise Deposits and more!

Disney Cruises you’ll often see some serious additional savings as often times travel agents will give you hundreds of dollars of onboard credit to use on the ship, all for the same price you would normally pay.

4) Help with Disney Dining Reservations

Do you know that there are over 140 sit down restaurants within Disney World? That’s a lot of menus and Yelp reviews to scour through to find out which restaurant to go to. Plus, with Disney, a lot of these reservations get booked up super fast.

Did you know that you need to book the Be Our Guest Restaurant 60 days in advance just to have a chance at a reservation?

Of course, not, there is too much information to know about your Disney World trip. Your Disney Travel Agent should help guide you to the best places to eat, and some will even book them for you.

5) A re Disney Travel Agents Free?

Yes, when you book your vacation the Disney Travel Agents prices are the same as if you booked directly through Disney. They earn revenue via a commission from Disney.

Some Disney Travel agents do have some premium services they do charge for, such as complete planning of your entire vacation.

Some have a complete guide to which parks you want to visit that day, they will set up your fast passes, your dining reservations, and offer a complete layout of your vacation so you can just focus on fun. These websites should post that they charge for these premium services.

However some of Disney Travel Agents offer those services free of charge: For Instance, Best Day Ever Vacations will provide complimentarily:

• Itinerary Planning
• Provide Lightning Lane Recommendations w/ Height Requirement info
• Book your dining reservations and remind you when they can be booked. Along with which restaurants have character dining and restaurants that have Fast Passes for select evening time entertainment. (My Favorite Perk)
• Setup Magical Express to get you from the airport to the Hotel and back.
• Give you advice on how to get groceries order delivered to your room.
• Book Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique/Pirates League/for guests’ children.
• Provide Video Tutorials on My Disney Experience App, Setting up Magic Bands & More
• Even Simple things, like “Where can I rent a stroller?” is a nice thing to have someone tell you so you are not wasting your time searching.

6) One Point of Contact

Have you ever called the Disney World Reservation line, they are extremely nice people, but every time you get on the phone you need to go through the same rigamarole of having to wait on hold, give your name, spell it four times if you have a hard to spell name, and then about 20 minutes into the call you finally get to ask the question you wanted the answer to.

It’s a bit of a tedious process and it’s probably why I receive so many questions on my social media channels. (Don’t worry, I love them so keep them coming) When you use a Disney Travel Agent, they are your main contact so anytime you need to make a change just give them a call, which brings me to my next point.

7) Agents are there for you In case of an Emergency

Unfortunately sometimes life gets in the way of a vacation, and when those things happen, it is nice to have just one person to call to make changes or if need be cancel your reservation. When Hurricane Irma struck Central Florida, the Disney phone lines were backed up for hours with people needing to change or cancel a reservation.

I saw so many people on message boards who were thankful they had a Disney Travel Agent because they had to make just one phone call with no hold time and know that everything was going to be taken care of. Definitely puts your mind at ease so you can enjoy your vacation worry-free!

8) Disney World Travel Agents Have Invaluable Expert Knowledge 

Your travel agent will know Disney inside and out. This kind of knowledge is seriously invaluable when it comes to having a magical time at Disney, and you will be so thankful you had it.

Not only will they be able to help you plan your time in the park, but they have extensive knowledge about restaurants and resorts as well. As far as booking your resort stay, a travel agent is the best way to find a good rate. This can save you a ton of money on your trip!

9) You Will Truly Get to Relax

A Disney vacation isn’t just for the kids, it’s for you too! You want a travel agent because they will take so much of the pressure off of planning. You can confidently go into your day knowing things will go as smoothly as possible. 

10) Why you should use a Disney Cruise Travel Agent

We recently cruised on the Disney Dream to the Bahamas with the help of a Disney Travel Agent. After 8 Disney cruises booking on our own we finally used a travel agent. Here are a couple of things I learned about booking a cruise with a travel agent. Now, I am not sure if this is all travel agents, but this is what our experience was with Best Day Ever

• Onboard Credit – With a Travel Agent I paid the same price as I normally would but also received an onboard credit to spend including quite the delicious meal at Palo
• Booking Spa & Dining Reservations –  Our agent, knew we wanted to dine at Palo and set up a time for us on this cruise
• Booking a Cabana – Best Day Ever set us up with a cabana reservation (which is nearly impossible to get) because they have a full system set up to give you the biggest chance to get a Cabana at Castaway Cay.
• Room Location –  Lastly, our agents had been on the Dream more than 15 times so they knew not only which rooms to book, but also which ones to avoid and which rooms are the best bang for the buck. They even know about a secret mini suite which is the same price as a standard oceanview room.

So, there are definitely advantages of booking through a Disney Travel Agent, if you have any more questions feel free to message us.

How to Become a Disney Travel Agents – 

One of the many questions people ask us is how do you become a Disney Travel Agent . The first thing you need to do is to connect with a Disney Travel Agency about joining their team. Second, you will need to take the Disney Travel Professionals Course. It is a pretty extensive course that teaches you about everything from Disney World to Disney’s Aulani in Hawaii . 

Perks of Becoming a Disney Vacation Planner

When you become a Disney travel agent, there are some pretty fun perks. You can get some incredible savings on Disney Cruises. I have seen cruises for as little as $50 a day for certified Disney Cruise Planners. Walt Disney World Resort, Disneyland and Disney Aulani also have some pretty impressive savings of up to 50% off!

Other perks you can receive include a 1 day Park Hopper ticket to both Disney World & Disneyland .  Nothing better than Free tickets to some theme parks.

Do you love being the vacation planner? No worries, check out the following articles to plan your next Disney Vacation!

• Disney Cruise Tips & Trick [Over 100 of our Best Cruise Tips]
• Disney World Tips & Tricks [Over 75 Amazing MUST KNOW Tips]
• The ULTIMATE Guide to Disney’s Aulani- Full Aulani Review + Top 10 Tips & Photo Tour
• The Ultimate Disney World Packing List [Over 50 Must-Pack Items]
• The BEST Disney Cruise Packing List (+ Pirate Night Details)

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it cheaper to book disney through a travel agent.

Yes and No. It is actually the same price if you book through Disney as if you did through a travel agent, however Disney Travel Agents often have extra promotions they might offer through their agency. For example onboard credit on a Disney Cruise or Dining Cards at Disney World.

What is the best Disney travel agency?

In our opinion, Best Day Ever Vacations is by far the best Disney travel agency. They have an incredible knowledge of all the Disney Parks, Resorts and Cruises. Their services are complimentary and they usually save you money!

Do Disney travel agents get paid?

Disney Travel Agents do not get paid by the customer, the agent make their money on commissions from Disney when a customer books a trip. The price a customer pays is the same whether they book through Disney or through the Travel Agent!

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Reader Interactions

May 2, 2018 at 8:09 pm

I love this! As a Travel Planner specializing in Disney Destinations, I couldn’t agree more. I found myself nodding along…until I got to “Dream Catcher” to save money on pictures. Is that supposed to be Memory Maker? I would love to share this post with my agency, if i could just get clarification on that phrase. 🙂

July 23, 2018 at 11:03 am

Yes, I did mean Memory Maker. Whoops. I must have been daydreaming about my next Disney vacation when I typed that. All is fixed.

September 14, 2018 at 11:43 am

Can I make a suggestion on a great item to grab for kids traveling to Disney? I’ve written a book called “Kid’s Travel Journal – Disney Edition” that would be great for kids to take with them so they can write about their adventures and experiences as they happen. A great keepsake for them! It is available on Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1508804656 or on my website: https://blueforestbooks.com/kids-travel-journal-disney-edition/

February 17, 2019 at 10:20 am

This is a great post with super helpful tips! I had read this post while planning my Disney vacation – do you mind if I share this in my upcoming blog post recapping my planning?

February 17, 2019 at 3:22 pm

Yes, of course, you can. I am glad it was helpful. Have a great trip!

March 1, 2019 at 8:22 am

thank you for all of the helpful information. i am a single mom of 2 – ages 5 and 7 and want to plan our trip for 2020. i have just started researching and almost gave up until i found your article. is there an agent you can suggest?? thanks so much for sharing and i appreciate any feedback!!

March 2, 2019 at 8:28 pm

We truly love Tinks Magical Vacations. They booked our most recent Disney Cruise and were amazing. I will have Kristin from Tink’s reach out to you.

October 19, 2019 at 6:26 am

We are living in Africa, and would like to take our three children on a once in a lifetime opportunity to go to Disney. Our children will be 8, 10 and 12 years old, so we would need a mix of some of the magic of childhood, some of the adrenalin fantastic (like the waterpark) and anything anything that makes for quicker, cheaper (but not tacky!) holiday, as we would have a maximum of 6 days available. If you think staying in a B&B is going to save us a whole lot rather than staying in the park, please recommend it! Thank you, thank you.

October 19, 2019 at 7:31 am

Hi Katherine,

Yes, an Airbnb might save you money, but I would check out David’s Vacation Rentals . You can stay up to 50% off a Disney resort and you get stay in some of Disney’s nicest properties. Otherwise, check out Disney’s Value resorts. They are an affordable option to stay on property.

December 27, 2019 at 1:39 pm

I am planning a trip to Disney World the last part of April 2020. Would you please have Tinks Magical Vacations contact me as well. Thanks!

December 28, 2019 at 6:52 am

I will message them now. Have a great day.

March 6, 2019 at 11:10 pm

I actually booked a reservation at be my guest restaurant 32 days before our trip on my Disney app.

March 7, 2019 at 4:58 am

That’s Awesome!

March 12, 2019 at 5:33 am

Mama I agree, Disney Fastpasses are key. If we had not had our agent book fastpasses we would have wasted soooo much time. I also think staying at Disney World itself saved us. We got to book fastpasses that much sooner than if we stayed in Orlando at the Holiday Inn.

January 8, 2020 at 2:50 pm

Hi I am thinking about taking my granddaughter to Disneyland during President’s week 2020 Beginning Tuesday the 18th. Is that an okay time to go. Is there a hotel that has a monorail to the park like in Disney World. Is there a height requirement to go on all the rides.

Thank you for any help in advance. Please ask Kristan from Tinks to contact me as well.

January 28, 2020 at 9:45 am

Presidents Day Weekend is going to be SUPER busy!

There is a HUGE Dance Competition being held at the Disneyland Hotel that literally sells out the hotel and it’s also the USA High School Cheer Nationals at the convention center.

January 20, 2020 at 3:29 pm

I completely agree. When I was in training to become a Disney Specialist, I learned so many cost saving tricks and park secrets that have proven time and again to please my clients beyond measure. Take the stress off yourself of creating the perfect trip and let an agent plan it for you. Best part is our services are free.

January 29, 2020 at 3:23 am

Please help. I have a trip partially planned and it is 2/14-2/22. I need the premium services of details of each day. Thank you.

February 12, 2023 at 6:27 pm

Hi there. Great info here. I was wondering; I’m based in Singapore, and want to use a Disney Travel Planner for Disney in Tokyo. Do you know of a Travel Planner who can help and works with international customers.

February 24, 2023 at 5:45 am

Checkout TDRExplorer.com he has tons of resources and I believe has travel agents

March 30, 2023 at 4:09 pm

We LOVE our Disney travel agent!!! She does it all and cost us nothing to use. With all the many many changes happening at the Disney parks these days like having to use an app to reserve rides!! She helped our tech challenged family through it all and is now helping us with a Royal Caribbean Cruise! She’s the best and she’s free.

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Is It Cheaper to Book Disney Through a Travel Agent?

From time to time, Disney releases special promotional rates on hotels, dining, tickets, and vacation packages.  Disney travel agents match the deals that Disney offers through its own website.

Disney travel agents get their clients the lowest possible rates. If a better discount comes along after a trip is already booked, then they will go back into the system and apply the new discount to the trip in order to take advantage of the new lower rate. 

Let’s investigate why it’s cheaper to book through a Disney travel agent .

Disney World’s Website vs. Disney Travel Agents – Which is Cheaper?

The internet has made it easy to book your own trip and Disney vacations are no exception. You can just go on Disney’s website, sort through the Disney hotels , select your ticket, and make all your arrangements in one sitting. It’s as simple as that, right?

As easy as that may sound, I wouldn’t recommend just winging it like that.

When it comes to Disney World vacations, there’s a lot to consider. It’s a vast resort, with 4 theme parks, 2 water parks, dozens of hotels, and restaurants galore. There are Advanced Dining Reservations, Genie+ selections, Disney After Hours , Club Level at Disney World , stroller rentals , and the list goes on. Disney vacations are much more complicated than meets the eye!

If you want to do Disney properly, I wouldn’t recommend going it alone, especially if it’s your first or second time.

The most magical Disney vacations are well thought out. You should have good touring plans and your reservations should be in place way ahead of time. Otherwise, you won’t know what to do and see, and you won’t be able to just the lines at the most popular rides or eat at the best restaurants.

A Disney travel agent can walk you through every detail of a Disney World vacation. They can give you tips on where to stay, which rides to prioritize, where to dining, the best location to watch the fireworks, and more.

Once you have decided on where you’d like to stay, and which restaurants and theme parks you’d like to book, then your dedicated Disney travel specialist will book every aspect of your resort stay. They are a Godsend!

How Disney Travel Agents can Save you Money

There’s a common misconception when it comes to Disney travel agents.  Let’s clear that up.

It’s not more expensive to book a Disney trip through a travel agent vs. booking it directly with Disney.    In fact, many trips end up being cheaper.

Disney releases a number of travel discounts throughout the year.  This may include the Free Disney Dining promotion , Room Only discounts (often up to 25% off), or the Play, Stay, Dine, and Save discount. We argued that Disney vacation packages ARE worth the money in our last blog post because they combine a hotel stay with either a ticket or dining discount in one convenient and affordable package.

The price you see on Disney’s website will be the price you pay through a Disney travel agent. In other words, the price is the same regardless of where you book it – online, over the phone with Disney, or with a travel agent.

However, there are times when a Disney travel agent can save you money.

For starters, most Disney travel planners don’t charge their clients any fees to plan their vacations. That means you won’t pay a dime in commission for their services.

Next, you can be confident that your travel planner will get you the best discount. It’s their job to keep updated on Disney’s latest promotions. This means that, while you may overlook one, there’s not a chance that they will.  They’ll make sure you get you the best deals out there and you’ll never pay more than you need to.

Another way a Disney travel agent can save you money is in the re-booking process. If you book your Disney vacation package before a bigger and better discount is released, then you can still get to take advantage of the new promotion.

If applicable, your Disney travel agent will go back into the system and apply the newly released discount to your package. You’ll get the lowest rate and you won’t have to do lift a finger because your Disney travel agent handles everything for you. They provide an invaluable service and it’s completely free!

Yes, Disney Travel Agents Are Often Cheaper

So, to sum it up, the deals you find on Disney’s websites are the same ones that your Disney travel specialist will book for you. However, you yourself may overlook some promotions that the travel agent will be privy to.

Your Disney travel specialist will also rebook your trip to take advantage of any lower rates that may arise after your initial booking, and your dedicated specialist will handle all your planning, hotel and ticket bookings, dining reservations , and answer all of your questions and concerns.

Their services are entirely free and, with their help, it’s likely to end up being a cheaper trip.

After you pay the initial $200 booking deposit, your Disney travel specialist can set up a payment plan to pay for the remainder of the trip (layaway).  This means that you can pay down your balance over the time, as long as you’ve paid in full by the final payment deadline (typically 30 days prior to check-in).

Using a dedicated Disney travel agent is a no-brainer!

Check out our When is the Cheapest Time to go to Disney , How to Become a Disney Travel Agent , and How Much Does it Cost to go to Disney World  pages for more tips.

Ready to Book your Disney World Vacation?

Contact the Disney travel planners at The Vacationeer . Their services are 100% free of charge and they’ll make sure you get the cheapest and most magical trip possible!

Thanks for reading our “Is it Cheaper to Book Disney through a Travel Agent” post.  Remember to check out our Disney World Crowd Calendar , Disney World Map , Magic Kingdom Rides , and Epcot Rides pages.

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Travel Agent Question

• Thread starter Rigby
• Start date Sep 19, 2018

Mouseketeer

• Sep 19, 2018

The fees that travel agents make are built into the rates you pay regardless of if you used an agent or not.  

Last chance to lose your keys.

Travel agents make commission off their bookings. Typically, the company (i.e. Disney, Marriott, etc) will send the agent a commission check shortly after the customer pays or travels, usually sent once a month with the total commission amount. Commission rates vary but they are often set at industry standards with no room for negotiation. Unfortunately, Disney has a pretty low commission IMO. Airlines don't pay commission at all, so unless its part of a vacation package, a travel agent will usually charge the customer a service fee for booking airfare only because they don't make any money on the booking otherwise. For vacation packages, the agent will make commission on the package amount minus the cost of the airfare. Its difficult to become a travel agent on your own because you need to obtain an IATA number to book on commissions, which requires a certain amount of volume and experience. Many Disney Travel Planners work as independent contractors for a parent agency and make a percentage of the commission from their booking (usually split 50/50 or 60/40 with the parent company), so until you establish a good base of business, its really only incremental income. And from my own experience, its hard to establish a customer base in this day and age. Another option is to work for a major company like Liberty Travel or AAA. These agents usually make a base salary plus partial commission, and its a sales environment. They eventually establish a customer base, but have the benefit of walk-in business and members as well. They aren't making $$$, but its reasonably enough to live with the benefits of set hours, vacation, health care, etc.  

writerguyfl

Dis veteran.

Travel Agents are paid a commission by Disney. Once booked, the Travel Agent (TA) is responsible for that booking. Other than answering informational questions, Cast Members aren't able to modify or cancel the reservation. As such, all the questions you might find on DisBoards will get asked of the TA. Whether you make money will depend upon your clientele. You may get lucky and have people who book Deluxe Resorts at full price to get free dining and never make changes or ask many questions. Or, you may get people that want the cheapest possible accommodations and tickets, change resorts four times, and ask tons of questions. With those second type of guests, you'll probably end up losing money based on the time it takes to manage the booking. As I was typing, nkereina posted. I pretty much agree with everything she or he wrote.  

• Sep 20, 2018

Thanks for the responses  

• Sep 23, 2018

As an old travel agent I can tell you that when last I was in this profession, commissions ran from 8-15% of the base rate of the package booked ( minus taxes and any misc. fees ). Money can be made, but like most things, the harder/smarter you work, the more you will make. If you are interested, do your homework. Look for an agency that provides leads ( vs. you already having to have a profile full of clients ) and if you only want to work Disney - make sure you find an agency that has the majority of their business in that area. ( Most agencies have a vast array of specialty locations ). Good luck with your searches, if you truly love Disney it can be a wonderful career.  

Rigby said: Hi! I wasn't sure where to post this but I have a question about Travel Agents. Like many of you I'd imagine, I have been told from friends and loved ones that I should plan Disney World vacations for a living. The few times I've used Travel Agents I always checked the official price against our agents quote and it's always the same. My question is how do Travel Agents make money? I'm seriously considering pursuing this down the road and any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Click to expand...

• Sep 24, 2018

Rigby said: Thanks so much everyone! Are there courses or programs one could take to learn about the industry? Anything you guys recommend? I'm a stay at home parent with a lot of free time. Been thinking about this for years but never thought about getting serious with it until just recently. We're DVC members and planning our Disney vacations has become one of my favorite things ever. To get paid to do it seems too good to be true. Click to expand...

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Theme Parks for Grown-Ups

11 Amazing Benefits You Get as an At-Home Disney Travel Planner

Travel Agent · Travel Guide

All the Discounts, Special Training, and Benefits You Receive as a Travel Agent

Imagine receiving huge discounts on your Disney vacations. Not just the normal discounts that anyone can get. Discounts that make your travel obsession a little more affordable.

That’s the life of a Travel Agent. As a travel professional, you get access to incredible benefits like discounts on Disney hotels, theme park tickets at reduced rates, and the ability to tour cruise ships for free.

Not to mention getting paid to plan theme park vacations.

Um. Yes, please! 

This article is a continuation of my Step-by-Step Guide to Becoming a Disney Travel Planner. That’s where you can learn the travel lingo I use in this article and get an in-depth look at starting a career a Travel Agent.

I’ve been a Disney Travel Planner for three years and have built my travel business from nothing. Never in my wildest dreams did I believe that I could get travel benefits and make magic for a living. 

Now I want to share all my experience with those of you who want to start your dream job too!

To get started, sign up for my FREE course below: How to Jumpstart Your Career as a Disney Travel Planner in 5 Days!

Helpful Resources for Travel Agents

• Frequently Asked Questions About Starting a Career as a Disney or Universal Travel Planner
• Host Agency Reviews
• How to Jumpstart Your Career as a Travel Agent in 5 Steps

Earn Commission for Your Own Vacations

Yes, you can earn money by booking your own vacations! Whether you’re booking a vacation for yourself or a client, you will earn money doing it. This means you’re getting a fairly large discount on your own travel plans. A commission can be earned on Disney hotels, theme park tickets, tours, cruises, rental cars, and other travel.

How do you get paid for your travel?

You will receive your commission once your vacation is finished.

How much of a commission do you receive when you book a vacation?

It depends on the price of your purchases and the commission cut you get from your Host Agency. 

As an example, you will earn about 10% commission on Disney World packages. Meaning, you can book a vacation including tickets and a hotel stay for about $2000 and get back around $200.

That’s a fantastic discount if you already plan on staying onsite. You can apply any deals or discounts Disney may be running at the time too!

Prefer to watch a video about the perks of becoming a Disney Travel Planner? 

Watch the video below and follow me on YouTube for more!

Booking Incentives

Most companies will give you incentives to sell more travel. For example, Disney recently ran a campaign that allowed you to earn a free Adventures by Disney River Cruise if you booked three River Cruise packages. Many other travel companies run incentives whether it’s for free cruises, tours, or resort stays. The incentive motivates you to sell more, earn more commission, and receive bonus vacations for yourself!

Property and Ship Tours  

The opportunity to tour Disney properties and cruise ships is my favorite benefit of all! Disney will often schedule private tours for Travel Agents in Disneyland, Disney World, and Disney cruise ships for Travel Agents. The purpose of the private tour is to familiarize yourself with hotels and cruise ships you haven’t visited before. This way you can explain the properties to your clients in detail and sell vacation packages more effectively.

The hotel tours give you a chance to see the rooms, facilities, and restaurants up-close. While the Disney Cruise Line tours allow you to experience a Disney cruise ship without paying for a full cruise vacation. For both, you will have a guide that can answer any of your specific questions.

Plus, it’s super fun to visit the properties if you’ve never been on a cruise or stayed at a Disney resort!

Sales & Marketing Assistance

College of disney knowledge.

Ever fantasized about going to Disney school? Want to major in Churros with a minor in Fireworks? Well, you’re going to love the College of Disney Knowledge.

Sadly, you won’t be able to learn how to make churros. You will be guided through course units that teach you about the theme parks and other Disney destinations. Chances are you probably know a lot about Disney, but these courses are designed to fill in the gaps for other experiences you may not know about. Getting to know all of Disney makes it easier for you to sell diverse vacation packages like Aulani or Adventures by Disney. Your clients will appreciate your Disney knowledge too!

In-Person Training

The Disney Institute offers training seminars focused on leadership, employee engagement, and service. The program is a great way for travel leaders to hone their sales skills. The program travels to regions across the U.S. so you don’t have to go too far from home! Disney Institue courses have a fee, but they offer discounts to Travel Agents sometimes.

Additional in-person training sessions are held throughout the year too. Last year, AMA Waterways and Adventures by Disney held a Lunch and Learn where Travel Agents came together for a seminar. 

Universal Studios also hosts in-person training sessions across the country. These sessions are free to Travel Agents! It’s a great way to meet other travel professionals and learn about the theme parks from the company’s leaders.

Work from Home

What’s better than getting to work in your Mickey pajamas? In all seriousness, working from home means working around your schedule and on your terms. I wanted to make a career change because I wanted the flexibility of working from anywhere. Now I have the ability to work during my own set hours and I’m only accountable for myself.

One Word of Advice: Create office hours for yourself and stick with them. Communicate to your clients what hours you’re available and do not contact them outside of these hours. 

Unless it is a true travel emergency, there is no reason for your clients to be contacting you at all hours of the night. Create clear boundaries or people will begin to take advantage of your time, whether it is intentional or not.

Travel Perks For Experienced Travel Agents

All the perks I’ve mentioned are valid for new and experienced Travel Agents. Once you become more established and earn your IATA or CLIA card you will have access to a lot more benefits! 

This is true for theme park vacations and almost any other destination you decide to sell. Organizations like Sandals, ClubMed, Funjet, and AMA Waterways provide Travel Agents with the opportunity to take Familiarization (“FAM”) Trips. FAM Trips are a way for Travel Agents to experience the destinations at a highly discounted rate so they can sell the product easier.

I mean, it’s pretty much the coolest training session you’ll ever be a part of.

On top of that, you can earn deals with other industries like tours, rental cars, or transportation companies. When you sign on with a Host Agency they will be able to tell you what kind of Travel Agent rates are available.

Disney Resort Discounts

Disney and Universal often provide Travel Agent deep-cut rates for onsite resorts. The rates are usually quite good and you’re allowed to share the room with your immediate family. I’ve seen rooms be discounted by about 50% in the past. The only disadvantage is that the rooms are subject to availability and there are some blockout dates around Christmastime. Despite that, you’re getting a fantastic rate for an official Disney hotel. You will have to have a valid IATA card to make the reservations.

Offsite Resort Discounts

Most chain hotels will offer Travel Agent discounts too. If it’s not explicitly listed anywhere on the website, just call the hotel and ask for their Travel Agent rates. If anything, you will probably get the commission back for booking with them.

Discounted or Free Theme Park Tickets 

Some Host Agencies will offer a free one-day pass to the theme parks and others will give you a good discount on them. This is dependent on the status of your Host Agency and you will have to check with them to see if you qualify.

Other Discounts

The main discount that Travel Agents go crazy about are hotel rates. Outside of that, you can get a ton of discounts on Disney cruises, Aulani, Adventures by Disney, and pretty much anything else they own.

Much like the resorts, you can get some pretty hefty discounts on any of these. I’ve seen cruise cabins for $1600 be discounted to $800. This depends on cruise availability and they usually release cabins around two months in advance of the departure date. This means you will have less time to prepare for travel, but you’ll get a nice deal.

You get to Plan Disney Vacations for a Living

I truly believe this is the best perk of all. When I learned that people were making a living planning theme park vacations, I knew it was my calling. I daydreamed about the day I could quit my office job and become a full-time Disney Travel Planner. Now I spend my days looking up rates for Disney hotels, creating in-depth itineraries for the parks, and connecting with amazing families across the country.

The job is fun, but it’s also extremely gratifying. I’m constantly receiving feedback from my clients expressing their gratitude about how I made their vacation an amazing experience they will never forget.

Check out this email I received from the Jackson family.

“I just wanted to follow up with you after our trip and tell you what a fantastic time we had! It was seriously the best vacation we’ve ever taken. The weather was great (luckily), the kids had a blast, and everything was soooo convenient! The Polynesian was an A++ recommendation and you made everything so easy for us. Thanks again for all of the help – we’re already trying to figure out when we can go back!” -Trent, Chicago

Emails like this tell me that I chose the right career and I’m doing my job well. There’s nothing better than doing something you love, making magic for families, and earning money while you do it. Want to learn how to get started as a Disney Travel Planner right now? Fill out the form below and learn how to start your new career!

Don’t lose these tips!