How do Travel Agents Make Money??

It’s been quite some time since I talked about how the travel industry works with travel agents and how we’re paid. It’s not as straight-forward as you might think! So, here’s the lowdown on how I get paid doing this fun job…. 

The only reason I bring this up is that I talk to people often that book on their own because “they didn’t want to bother me.”  That puts both of us at a disadvantage! Booking on your own means you won’t get my expert advice (I also won’t be able to help if issues arrive on a trip that I didn’t book), and I don’t get paid!  

There are two main things that should make you want to bug me and have your friends and family bug me too!

1 - I LOVE planning trips to the destinations that I consider “my favorites”.  Every time I log in or call about a trip, I head right down memory lane.  I only book vacation spots that I love and am excited to work on.

2 - I actually make money doing this.  I know, it’s crazy that I’m paid to do something I truly love.  I would probably do this for free, but I have bills to pay just as you do!

People always get a little uncomfortable discussing money, but let me give you the basics.  You pay Disney/Universal/Sandals… the same price whether or not you go online, call it in, or have a travel agent do it for you.  The exact same price.

If a travel agent books a Disney World trip for example, Disney pays the travel agency a commission and then the agency pays the agent a portion of that commission.   So even if I did nothing but book the trip, you aren’t paying a dime more than if you did it yourself.  But on top of helping you figure out the best plans for your trip, I’m there for questions, checking for potential discounts released after booking and helping with any issues that arise during travel.

The reason Disney is willing to give a portion of their profits to a travel agent is that they know that the Guest is more likely to enjoy their vacation.  There’s a much better chance of Guests returning to Disney again and again if they are given guidance by someone with a knowledge and passion for their product. 

One little interesting nugget is that most vendors do not pay commission until AFTER the trip has ended. Then of course, there’s a bit of lag time as the agency has to get collect payments and then send out the agent portion. So it’s often a couple of months after the trip before I’m paid.

And if the Guest cancels the trip? Most likely, I’m not getting paid at all. I completely understand when circumstances change, but just keep in mind that any travel agent you use is probably doing a fair amount of work for free when it comes right down to it.

So why would you NOT want to use a travel agent?  Let me answer some of the most common reasons…

*  I want the cheapest rate and can do that myself.  —  Nope!  You just aren’t going to find it cheaper on your own.  And I will monitor and possibly find a cheaper rate as it gets closer to your trip.  I will apply it automatically and let you know!  And if time is money, I’m saving you tons of it by doing the leg work for you.

*  I love Disney too and want to plan it all myself.  — This one is totally understandable as I feel the same way!  But the cool part is, I can book it and then let you take over the planning if you like.  I will still be there for questions, will still monitor for better deals and be available if issues arise.

*  How do I know you won’t up-sell me?  —  Trust me, I am the queen of getting a good deal.  I spend way more time then I should figuring out how to save a penny or a bit of time.  I will never lead you towards spending more just to spend more.  I want you to get the absolute most out of your vacation for the least money and hassle.

So PLEASE consider contacting me when you’re thinking about a trip.  And I would be so appreciative if you would forward my information to your family and friends.  Word of mouth is the absolute best advertising I can get! I’ve got those bills to pay, you know!  :)

PS - if you refer a friend and they book a trip, your next meal is on me!  I'll contact you to find out your favorite restaurant and send you a $10 gift card to the place you choose!  Easy!!

FREE Disney Fun - The Animation Experience

Looking for an awesome FREE experience and souvenir for your next Walt Disney World trip? Then you’ve got to check out The Animation Experience at Conservation Station inside Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

You’ll uncover the secret of how Disney animators bring your favorite characters to life - often using real life animals as inspiration! When I was there, we drew Pumba but the live animal on display as we entered was a chicken. Didn’t actually help me draw Pumba but being a former chicken-mom, I did enjoy seeing it! :)

Each 25-minute class will offer something different. The characters being drawn change periodically so you can do this every trip and add to your very own art collection each time!

FastPasses are available for this experience although if it’s not a busy day in the park, you won’t need it. There is a lot of seating for this experience. There are specific “show” times for this though, so make plans as to which one you’ll attend - check the daily times guide. Keep in mind that you’ll need to ride the Wildlife Express Train to Rafiki’s Planet Watch. The train ride itself is around 6 minutes one-way, but you may get there right as the train has departed. Disney suggests being at the train station 40 minutes prior to the experience start time. You can probably make it in less time if you’re lucky with the train. All in all, I would plan on the entire experience to take close to an hour and a half if you consider the ride there, the experience itself and the ride back.

I wanted to keep my drawing as a souvenir and knew that if I lugged it around in my backpack all day, it would get ruined. To avoid this, you can purchase a tube at the shop outside of the building and put your artwork in it. They will then send it to your resort if you are staying on site (as long as it’s not your check out day). Just be sure to pick it up from your resort’s gift shop before you leave! The tube was $5 at that time which I thought wasn’t too terrible for a cool souvenir. Good thing I did this as there were torrential downpours that evening and everything in my bag was soaked!

Take a look at the pics below and be amazed at my talent… (I actually have ZERO artistic talent which just proves how great the instructor was!)

And please contact me if you’re thinking of a Disney (or Universal!) trip! I don’t charge any fees when you book through me!!

Food! Food! Food! (From the Stomach of a Picky Eater)...

I hear people all of the time talk about the amazing food at Disney World. I agree with them - it is amazing! But my idea of amazing is pretty much what a kid would want to eat - I’m super picky. Are you a foodie? Apparently you’ll be even happier with the food selection. While I’m no expert on the gourmet options, take a look at the yummy food I had on my last trip.

Want more info on any of this food or any other options? Call me!! I LOVE to chat Disney and my planning/booking services are always FREE!

A Review of Disney's All-Star Sports Resort

On my recent solo trip to Walt Disney World, I stayed for the first time at one of Disney’s Value resorts - the All-Star Sports Resort. We have been very lucky in the past to score some great deals and have always stayed at Moderate or Deluxe resorts. Going alone and knowing that I would have very little time at the resort (remember my 23.75 hour day?), I decided to go as least expensive as possible.

I have no regrets! All of the Disney resorts are safe, clean and have amazing customer service. The Value resorts don’t have quite the same level of amenities (no table service dining, no slides in the pool, smaller rooms), but not spending time there, I didn’t miss any of that.

I’m not one to do table service dining at the resort - honestly I want every moment to be at the parks. But even if you’re a table service kind of person, don’t knock the quick service until you try it. They have a wonderful perk - mobile ordering at the food court! I was able to place my order for MICKEY WAFFLES in my room and by the time I walked to the food court, it was ready. If that’s not good news, I don’t know what is.

If I were planning to have a resort day or had kids with me that wanted to have a pool day, I would probably lean towards the Moderate at least, but I was sure happy to spend the money I saved on other things!!

All-Star Sports is wonderfully themed - I was in the football section. I meant to get over to the baseball section and grab some pics as that’s my favorite sport but completely ran out of time!

My only complaint is that although it’s highly themed, it’s not highly “Disney” themed. On the bus to the parks, instead of Disney music, they play marching band type songs. Not a huge deal, but if you’re expecting to stay in the Disney bubble, it can be a bit jarring.

Here are a few pics of the resort…

I would definitely stay here again! I’m hoping to hit every resort at some point so it may be a while but I’ll be back!

Want to plan a visit to Disney World? Give me a call! My trip planning services are always free and I can make sure you stay in the resort that is right for your family.

How I Got This Sweatshirt at Disney World for FREE!!

On my last trip to Disney, I planned to not buy any souvenirs as this was a work trip and I already felt a little guilty for not taking my kids. But I still came home with this super cute sweatshirt! And it didn’t even cost me anything. How did I do it?

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First of all, even though you can do online checkin weeks in advance at your Disney resort, always go by the front desk when you arrive. It’s never guaranteed but you might get a Cast Member looking for the next awesome family to upgrade. And I always go and reset my PIN for my MagicBand so that I can charge on it.

But even better, you can ask about forgoing Mousekeeping (Disney-speak for housekeeping) while you’re there. I did just that and got a $30 Disney gift card for opting out! (This isn’t a guaranteed perk, but so far everyone that I know that has asked about it has received it)!

Before you go telling me you can’t stay in a dirty hotel room for a week, I bet you can! As much as I try, I don’t get around to cleaning our bathrooms at home more than every 2 weeks so a few days isn’t anything new for us.

Plus you can call the front desk at any time and ask for more towels or linens. They will happily take your dirty ones away also.

The other reason I used to love Mousekeeping is that they brought fresh toiletries and the little bottles of Disney shampoo/conditioner/soap were the best. But now, in an effort to reduce plastic waste, the resorts don’t have the individual bottles anymore. Most of the resorts (if not all at this point) have bottles attached to the wall that you just pump out. At first I was sad to see those little bottles go, but then I remembered my stash of them at home that’s at least 5 years old and I never use them. I’m either a hoarder or just so nostalgic that I can’t stand the thought of not having them, that has caused me not to use them up. (Let’s go with nostalgic).

There was also something nice about knowing that no one would be coming in the room. I always feel like I have to “pick-up” a bit so Mousekeeping doesn’t know what a slob I truly am.

Of course, I wasn’t lucky enough to find this sweatshirt for $30 (I was at Disney World after all), but I had my Disney Visa reward money to make up the difference. Be sure and take advantage of that program too!!

Want more tips about how to save for Disney or earn perks? Please contact me! I’m happy to share my secrets when I plan and book your trip. And guess what… My services are FREE also!

Click this link to contact me and let’s get started on your trip!!

That Time I Went To Disney World by Myself... AGAIN...

Here we are again. I know you’ve heard my stories of going to Disney by myself but those times involved a training class so I really couldn’t take my family. This one’s a bit different. I wanted to be at Walt Disney World on the Opening Day of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. I was able to score some great deals on hotel and tickets and had points for my flight. So for a solo trip it was super cheap. Once I started pricing adding the boys in, the price skyrocketed (most of my travel agent perks can’t be used for family).

So I made them a promise to take them back in a year or so once the newness of Galaxy’s Edge wore off a bit. Back when I booked this, the talk was pretty much that the lines would be so ridiculous that I may not get on the attraction or even into the land. Knowing that waiting in a line for an entire day would be torture to all but me, I decided to book my trip alone.

I know I could have just gone for that one day, but really, who are we kidding? If I’m going all the way to Florida, I’m making it worth my while. I got there 3 days prior to the opening and spent every possible moment in the parks. I did shows and rides that we typically don’t do as a family. In fact, I probably spent over a third of my time doing things that the boys wouldn’t have been interested in. That helped ease the guilt a bit!

Although I truly did miss them all, I’m thankful to have had the time to explore on my own. I learned even more about my favorite place on Earth and made the most of my trip. There are a few downsides to traveling alone - mainly having no one to ride with and visit with! But there are a lot of upsides to it also. Today I’ll list those for you!

I know a normal person probably won’t schedule a solo vacation to Disney World, but you never know when you may have a conference or a reason to be there alone. Do me a favor and if that happens, call me to talk about how to have a great trip by yourself! Check out my pics of the fun I had alone and then keep reading below those for the reasons you’ll want to do just that…

Your Schedule

When you go with family or friends, you can’t do whatever you want whenever you want to. Unless you’re a bit of a bully. Everyone should have input on what to do. And if you’re the type like me to want to go from open to close (and beyond), going alone makes that easy. I got 3 hours sleep one night, up for 23.5 hours the next day and then 4 hours sleep the next night. I can handle that at least for a few days at Disney. My kids would have melted down along the way.

Price

Obviously one person is cheaper than a family when you’re talking hotel, flight and tickets. But the food costs are much less also. And I skipped a few meals and had snacks instead. Much easier on your own. Since I was alone, I also decided to do an After Hours Party. At $125 a ticket per person, that adds up to A LOT for a family. While it’s still a lot for just me, I felt like it was totally worth it. I’ll devote an entire blog post to this miracle of a party coming up!

Work

If you have a job that requires you to check-in while you’re gone or do some remote work, you have the freedom to do that without worrying others are waiting for you. I had some sweet clients that were in the midst of dealing with the incoming hurricane and I was able to sit on a curb in Toy Story Land and work on that for them. I would have felt awful if my boys were waiting on that curb the whole time with me.

Less “Stuff”

By less stuff, I mean there is less to carry around. But also, less to buy (I can sometimes stop myself from wanting souvenirs). When a rainstorm hit, I only had to worry about one poncho. And security was a breeze due to the little amount I carried with me.

No One to Make Fun of Me

Ok, so to balance out the “lonely” times where I wished I had a buddy to sit next to me on a ride, or talk about something amazing I just saw, there were times when the boys would have made fun of me for sure. I love to pose for ALL of the Magic Shots and Character Meetings (they don’t). And I always get teary-eyed and sometimes flat out cry during the fireworks. (That’s some sort of weird trick Disney does because fireworks most definitely don’t normally make me cry).

Less Stress

I’m that weird Mom that is convinced I’m going to lose a kid every time we’re in a large crowd. Yes, they are too old to get lost and all have cell phones but it’s a phobia I can’t shake. No worries about that when you’re by yourself!

No Mousekeeping

Probably the most surprising thing as I normally don’t even consider it, is that I used the option of refusing Mousekeeping (hotel room housekeeping) and instead they gave me a $30 gift card. With 3 boys, we’d be in a filthy pit after a few days. By myself I was able to keep the room clean on my own (as I was rarely there) and brought home a sweet sweatshirt instead.

Please call me when you’re thinking of a trip - solo or with 50 of your closest friends. I truly love helping everyone have a Magical time and I don’t charge a penny for it!!!



See a Penny, Pick it Up! Now Squish It!!

One of the cheapest souvenirs at Disney World just happens to be one of the most fun since it’s a do-it-yourself item. For just one penny (+ 50 cents), you can make a squished penny!

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And you can do this over and over and over again as there are tons of these machines throughout Disney World. Back when my boys were little, there was always a fight over who got to turn the handle. But with so many machines, they took turns and we mostly avoided having meltdowns over it.

Check out this video of Andrew getting his turn. For smaller kids, you may need to help a bit as the crank gets harder to turn as it does the actual squishing part. (And please notice how adorable Luke is with his little backwards hat…)

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You can buy souvenir books to keep your pennies, or I’m sure on etsy, you’ll find all kinds of ways to show them off. We tend to put things in plastic baggies fully intending to put them in something cooler later but rarely get to that! :)

So grab those pennies and get to squishing - you’ve got A LOT of options! Each machine has several different options. Currently there are 147 pennies to be squished at Magic Kingdom, 77 at the Animal Kingdom, 132 at Hollywood Studios and 140 at Epcot. There are even a few machines that will squish quarters. You can find these machines listed on the MyDisneyExperience app if you don’t happen to see one near you.

If you find yourself with a few extra minutes and a few extra coins, make yourself a souvenir!! I’d love to help you plan your next Disney or Universal trip - FOR FREE! Give me a call!!