I tend to book everything myself so that I can control/change the bookings if the need arises. It does mean that I will end up making calls to Disney; as I don't like their website.
I have also used an American
Travel Agent that specialises in Disney vacations. There are a number of them around; and I dealt with mine via email a lot. American TAs charge the same as Disney as they earn commissions directly from them. The benefit of using an Disney specialist TA; especially one that is good; is that they will keep an eye out on the discounts and contact you when a better deal is available.
I wouldn't deal with most Australian Travel Agents because they charge a lot more than through the Disney website or an American TA.
I have bought tickets through Undercover Tourists before the Magic Bands became available and was able to link the ticket number with my MB on the Disney website. UT will ship tickets to Australia and they are cheaper than the gate prices. I haven't looked at whether UT tickets can still be linked or if they sell something similar for linking with the bands or not since about April last year. If you sign up for the AllEars newsletter, they will send you a weekly/monthly email. There is a link in there to UT and it will save you an extra dollar per ticket off the UT price.
Whether you buy tix from UT will come down to whether you need to buy a package through Disney for a Free Dining offer or not. According to the rumours, there will be a room only discount coming out shortly. It's going to be up to 30% discount for the deluxes. Not sure what it will be for Pop. I'd recommend that you run the numbers with the room only discount and the UT tix, add an estimate for food and work out whether this option is better for your family or not.
To qualify for free dining in the past, you would need to purchase a package; room and tickets, at full rack rate.