First let me start off with why I-4 Travel Company was even started.  My husband, Chad, and I went to Walt Disney World for our Honeymoon in 2002.  I had previously been to Walt Disney World many years previous and Chad just a few years prior.  I was hooked from the moment we drove up to our resort, Port Orleans – Riverside.  As each day went on, I was having the time of my life and seriously cried when we had to leave.  It was a few years later that we went back and the magic and wonder of it all was still there.  Soon after that we had our first child, Maddie, and I couldn’t wait to get her there.  From there we vowed to keep going back.  Our next step from being Disney World lovers, was to see how Disney did on the high seas with Disney Cruise Line.  WOW!! Hooked again, we had a fabulous family time at both the park and at sea on the same trip.  We couldn’t wait to book our next cruise.
Family and friends, whether they wanted to hear about our trip or not, got to hear about our trips and see our pictures.  Before long, I started to have people ask me for help and advice about going to Walt Disney World.  I would get asked where to stay, why stay on property, what rides were best, anything to scary, etc.
Through our church I met a great friend and we had an instant bond with our love for Disney.  She was a Disney specialist with a local Travel Agent and she brought me under her wing to learn more about what I knew about Disney since I was going so much.  Fast forward to a couple years later when we decided why not make it official with our own agency and I-4 Travel Company was formed. I chose the name because if you have every driven to Walt Disney World, you have spent time on Interstate 4!
I-4 Travel Company is just me and my husband.  We don’t have any independent contractors or other Travel Agents under us, just him and me.  We work out of our home, no big brick and mortar building that we pay rent on. This way we control the quality of our service to you.  When you book with us, you are helping a small business run by a family.  My kids love handing out my business card and telling anyone they can that their mom is a Disney Travel Agent. We live and die by our reputation, so it is very important that our guests are taken care of and come first. We see ourselves as an extension of Disney, so the magic starts the first time you contact us.

Ok so let’s get to answering some misconceptions that I’ve either experienced myself or read about on the many Disney boards. My goal is to help you make a better-informed decision on whether or not to use a travel agent and more specifically why use I-4 Travel Company over another travel agent.

I lose all control of my vacation if I use a Travel Agent
This is your vacation, not ours!  We will help plan as little or as much as you want us to. If you have never been to Disney before or it has been a long time, we can really help add value to your vacation. It can be overwhelming the amount of choices you have on everything. We get a chuckle out of reading the Disney facebook groups and the overwhelmed people trying to do it their selves. While we applaud and admire the do it yourselfers, we are amazed at how many people will not use an expert. We also welcome those that just want to use us to book your vacation, awesome!!  If you want us to manage your dining reservation for you, we will gladly be on the computer at 6 am on your ADR day to get those restaurants for you.  When you wake up or get to work, you will have an email from us, letting you know which ones we got and which one’s we will keep looking for. We can be your advocate with Disney when you want to change something or need help with something. Since we are free, there is no downside if you don’t need or want our planning. We will provide you with more information to be better informed when planning if you decide to plan it yourself.
The only thing you must do is contact for each payment and the final payment. We must apply the payments to your vacation.  We book directly with Disney, so your credit card is instantly charged from Disney. The only charge you will ever see is from Disney. You instantly get a Disney reservation number. As soon as the payment goes through, we send you an email straight from Disney. You can be 100% guaranteed that you have an official Disney vacation reservation. We play no games…we only sprinkle pixie dust!

If I book through a TA, I don’t get anything special from Disney
Disney will send you travel information through the mail.  From your initial deposit all the way to your final payment, you will receive confirmation emails from Disney.  Yes, we will send you stuff from us as well, but you still get stuff from Disney. You don’t get anything more or less from Disney depending on how you book your vacation.
One thing Disney will not do that we will do, is send you a customized package in the mail filled with goodies. You have to book with us to find out why!!!! It’s that personal I-4 Travel Company touch.

My Disney Experience won’t work if I use a TA
You create your user name and password for your My Disney Experience account.  As part of our concierge service (free by the way for all our guest) we will set that up, ONLY if you want us too! Heck, you can even change your password after we have made your ADR’s and FP+ experiences if you want too! You won’t hurt our feelings.
The account is yours, we have our own.  If you have trouble logging in, reservations showing, etc. we can try to help or provide you with the Internet Help Desk.  Again, we will do as little or as much as you want us to, all you got to do is tell us!  We are a very easy to get along with because your satisfaction is what we care about.

Using a TA is more expensive than booking straight with Disney
WE DO NOT COST A PENNY EXTRA!  This is a popular misconception and a hard one for some people to understand. Disney pays us a small commission when you book and complete a vacation. Disney charges the same amount whether you go through a travel agent or not. You might as well have our services at your disposal even if you don’t use them. Yes, you will find some agencies that charge you for their services or tack on an agency fee to your Disney vacation.  Not here, we would never do that.  What price you see online with Disney, is the exact same price we see and the same price we will quote you!  Ours in fact might be cheaper because if there is an offer, we will apply it to your vacation. We constantly review the promotions that Disney releases and check for applicability for our guest that have reservations. Disney will not do this!
Our concierge service includes personalized daily itinerary, phone call from us during your trip to make sure everything is going good, and even make dining reservations for you and much more, cost you nothing.  Yes, you read that right, FREE.  We want your Disney vacation to be magical, stress free, and the best time you ever had, why bog that down with an extra silly cost from us, you get that enough from your mobile carrier.

 So easy, I book everything myself
With the ever-changing landscape of Disney, it can be a lot to take in.  We visit the parks a lot, we go on the cruises, we have completed courses by Disney.  We have stayed at Value, Moderate and Deluxe Resorts on property, we have even stayed off property.  We have made the impossible to get dining reservations and our FastPass+ experiences flow perfectly with our plans.  Can you say that? We do what we sell! We know Disney travel agents that rarely go to Walt Disney World and have never gone on a Disney cruise. We see that as problematic. We have even been on other cruise lines so we can help you compare and explain the “Disney difference”.

If it cost the same, why not just go straight to Disney site
When you call Disney direct (or instant messenger), the person you talk with might not have ever been to Disney. We have!!  If you have a question or a problem, you have to call Disney and depending on the time of year, you will wait on hold for a very long time. It can be multiple hours during certain times when popular promotions are released.  Just shoot us a text, email, or call and we answer very quickly, hardly ever a wait time with us.  We help you navigate which resort is right for your budget, we can give you advice on Restaurants and rides to do. We stay in business and grow because we place the customer first.

We hope this post has been helpful in dispelling the myths of using a travel agent as well as showing you the benefits of using a travel agent. If you would like to talk more about a Disney vacation, we have many options for you to contact us. Give us a call at 704.877.5868, email us at whitney@traveli4.com, or fill out one of our quote forms. We look forward to hearing from you!