December 7, 2023 • 33 mins
Really looking forward to your next trip to Disneyland, but DREADING booking the travel? This episode features Christina McBride, a seasoned travel agent and former Disneyland cast member, who shares her insider's knowledge and love for all things Disney.
CHAPTERS:
0:02 Hiring a Travel Agent for Disneyland
9:51 Using a Travel Agent Benefits and Questions
22:30 Disneyland Park Hopping and Underrated Rides
26:54 Disneyland Packing Tips and Snacks
31:52 Dock Work and Contact Information
We kick things off with a deep dive into the benefits of hiring a travel agent for your Disneyland adventure. Christina, with her rich experience as a former Disney cast member and travel agent specializing in Disneyland, shares about the importance of choosing an agent who's familiar with the ins and outs of each park. She also reveals some of her favorite underrated rides that are steeped in Disneyland's history.
Pondering over the merits of hiring a travel agent? You won't want to miss Christina's insights.
Links:
Follow Christina on Instagram or reach her via email
Right now, our tools are just for Disneyland, but we hope to expand to other parks soon. Disney changes policies, prices, and shows often. Be sure to visit our website at Parkmagic.com or Disneyland's Website for more information.
Park Magic is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Walt Disney World, Disneyland, or Disney Enterprises, Inc. Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and Mickey Mouse are all registered trademarks of Disney Enterprises, Inc. Any use of third-party names or trademarks is for identification purposes only and does not imply, nor is it intended to imply, any affiliation with, endorsement from, or business relationship with any third party, including with Walt Disney World, Disneyland, or Disney Enterprises, Inc.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to Park Magic , where we want to help you plan
a practically perfect trip toDisneyland, giving you the tips
that you need to make your tripa lot less stressful and to feel
like you don't need a master'sdegree in Disney studies in
order to have a great time atDisney.
I've got Christina McBride ontoday.
She's a travel agent and formercast member.
We're going to talk a littlebit today about you know.
Should you hire a travel agent,what should you look for, and
(00:25):
maybe who's not a good fit for atravel agent?
So, christina, thank you somuch for coming on the show
today.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Thank you so much, Robin, for having me.
It's wonderful to be here.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Can you tell us a little bit about your experience
specifically with Disneyland asa cast member and as a travel
agent?
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Yeah.
So Disneyland it has a specialplace in my heart.
I grew up no more than 30minutes away.
My entire life Grew up goingthere as a kid with my family.
We were gifted passes oneChristmas from my grandma, so
then we became a pass holderfamily and we'd go, you know,
just for a couple hours here andthere in the evenings during
(01:01):
the holidays.
We'd watch the parade, thefireworks and just go home.
And then in 2008, shortly afterI graduated high school, I hired
in to Disneyland where I spent13 magical years and then later,
a couple years, obviously, thepandemic hit and I was
furloughed for 14 months.
So that was.
It was definitely a difficulttime.
(01:23):
I ended up quitting because Ihad plans to move to central
Florida with plans to transferout to Walt Disney World, but
the pandemic derailed thoseplans.
So instead of transferring fromWest Coast to East Coast, I
just had to quit so I could moveacross the country.
But I am like you said, I'm atravel agent.
(01:45):
I'm under the TravelmationAgency.
We are a top producing agencywith Disney.
So we book both Disneyland,walt Disney World, we can do the
international parks, we doDisney cruise line, we do
adventures by Disney.
We can do a lot of money, soit's an all encompassing thing
(02:06):
and I do do more than Disney,but obviously, since this is a
Disney podcast, we'll we'llfocus on Disney and Disneyland.
So yeah, that's kind of mystory and I am always happy to
talk anybody's ear off aboutDisneyland and all things Disney
.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
You know, sometimes people will think any travel
agent, but Disney is like itsown animal.
It's kind of like, you know,alice in Wonderland.
You know things are differentbut the same, and so can you
talk about why, if you'relooking to plan a Disney trip,
it might be worthwhile talkingto somebody that has specific
experience with Disney andespecially like the park that
(02:44):
you want to go to.
So because even.
Disneyland and Disney World arelike very different.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
Oh yes, they.
They are night and day, sohaving a travel agent that knows
their destinations well is ahuge plus, thankfully, you know,
growing up in California andworking at Disneyland and now
living near Disney World, like I, have the best of both worlds.
Like I, my knowledge is vastfor both.
(03:11):
Obviously, disneyland more sothan Disney World, but I'm
getting there.
I'm getting there, I'm catchingup.
But even though a lot of peoplethink they're similar, like you
said, there are still so manydifferences between West Coast
and East Coast.
I always like to think of itwhen I'm talking to people that
have either grown up coming toDisney World or have vacation
(03:31):
frequently here, in Florida.
I always like to talk aboutDisney land as it's the original
park.
If we didn't have Disneyland inAnaheim, there would be no
Disney World.
There would be no DisneylandParis or Tokyo.
So it's.
I always try to throw out that,like that emotional aspect of
(03:51):
it and like it's Walt's part.
He walked through that park.
He has not stepped foot, youknow, in any of the other parks
around the world.
So it's kind of that.
I like to talk at theheartstrings a little bit.
But you definitely wantsomebody that knows their
differences, knows the kind ofthe nuances of Disneyland versus
the nuances of Walt DisneyWorld and kind of the the pros
(04:15):
and cons to each, but also whatmakes each park special and
special in their own way.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
So kind of like the difference between traveling to
Europe versus traveling to Asia.
You know there's some thingsthat are going to be fundamental
, that you know you're going toneed a airfare, you're going to
need a hotel, but there's a lotof cultural differences,
especially around Genie Plus,getting up at 7am in Walt Disney
World versus not being able tobook until you get to the parks
at Disneyland.
You know, at Disney World it'sreally important for a lot of
(04:45):
people to stay at a Disneyresort.
At Disneyland there's just notthat same culture because
they're so crazy expensive andthere's so many other ones.
You know they're not even theclosest to the parks.
Really.
You can actually get a shorteror about the same walk from some
of the hotels across the street.
So what kind of person reallyis going to be like?
(05:06):
The travel agent was the bestthing I've done.
What kind of client is it thatyou feel is like they get the
most value out of having atravel agent?
Speaker 2 (05:15):
I feel like it's the busy parents, or the kind of
career oriented person that justdoesn't have the time to do the
research on their own, or theone that wants to go somewhere
but doesn't like to spend thehours potentially to figure out
(05:35):
dates and pricing and well, howmany people are going and are
there any specials?
Are there any you know, Floridaresident rates or California
resident rates, or or somebodythat just does not know anything
about that destination.
I had the privilege of booking.
(05:57):
A family of four from Illinoishad never been out to Southern
California and obviously I wasborn and raised there, so I got
to put my expertise, you know,in their pockets and plan.
You know, I booked them a stayat Disneyland hotel.
They had early entry becausethey were hotel guests and I got
(06:17):
to talk up everything that Ilove about Disneyland and they
loved it.
They had so much fun andbecause you know they're,
they're from the Midwest, sothey frequented Disney World
more than they ever haveDisneyland, which is actually
pretty common.
A lot of, you know, Midwestvirus and towards the East Coast
(06:38):
, tend to venture to Floridathan they do California.
So I was able to give them,like all of my tips and tricks
and things that I knew as a castmember or things that I just
knew as a guest playing in thepark.
You know, they got theirdaughter, got to meet the
princesses, got to ride radiatorsprings, racers Her son loves
(07:00):
Nightmare Before Christmas andthey thankfully they were there
right after Hanumanchen turnedover to Hanumanchen's holiday.
So it's just the type of clientsI mean anybody theoretically
can, can use a travel agent.
It's just kind of based on howmuch do you want to be involved
in the planning aspect of yourvacation or your group outing or
(07:24):
your school function orwhatever, versus how much do you
not want to be involved.
So we can have kind of bothends of the spectrum.
But it's kind of a we do allthe heavy lifting for you, so to
speak.
So I will spend the time aftermy day job and doing the
(07:46):
research, pulling quotes,sending emails and all that kind
of stuff.
So it's for everybody, but it'snot for everybody.
So it's just kind of whatsomebody, like I said earlier,
just kind of how much do youwant to be involved as the
client booking your trip?
Speaker 1 (08:03):
So and I kind of feel like, you know, there's some
people like I'm somebody wholike like when I went to Costa
Rica, I joined every Facebookgroup.
I learned about every activity.
I researched, you know, andsome people like that.
Like that gives me joy, that'slike feeds my soul If my husband
was the one planning a trip.
Or, you know, like I have acouple, you know, a friend,
that's like.
You know.
Like, how did you know what wasavailable?
(08:24):
I'm like, how do you not know?
I think that you know, ifyou're somebody who's like, I
want to go, but I you know, likeI don't get joy out of the
planning part.
I don't you know, and I'm or I'manxious that I'm going to book
the wrong hotel, will it be?
Too far away, will I not beable to like how do I manage the
car seats All of?
Speaker 2 (08:40):
those things.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
I think that then, having a travel agent because it
doesn't cost anybody, so beforeyou would hire a like back in
the before days, back way, youknow you would hire a travel
agent because they had access toyou know, digital like assets
and computer programs that youdidn't have.
Now everybody has that, so it'sreally more about having them.
You know it doesn't cost youextra.
(09:02):
If you're looking to save everypenny and get the best possible
deal, you might I didn't knowspending $10 more a night on a
room, but for the most partyou're going to get pretty close
to the best deal and you'regoing to have somebody to say
you know, you really don't wantto stay at that hotel.
You know my last client therehad, you know, saw rats, you
know, you know.
So I think that if somebodywants to have help planning but
(09:26):
tell me if I'm wrong on that orif I'm off- no, I definitely
think that is kind of you hitthe nail on the head, like.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
So I will preface to say that not every agency and or
agent has free services.
Mine are, mine will cost younothing extra.
But kind of the caveat to thatis we do like, if we're going to
do all the light work for you,we do ask that you go ahead and
book with us.
There are times where you knowpeople will do all the light
(09:57):
work for them and then they'lljust decide to have all the
information and do it on theirown.
That is kind of frustrating.
That's kind of like the clientthat we don't necessarily want
because that takes so like we'resmall businesses although we're
under, you know, an agencyitself.
I'm doing this as a smallbusiness owned person.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
And if somebody books themselves you don't get paid,
correct, so yeah, the big boxgets paid.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
So if you're booking with a travel agent, you're
helping somebody with theirsmall business, which I'm all
for.
Like, I shop so many smallbusiness that are Disney
oriented, like clothingcompanies kind of, you know, ear
companies and stuff like that.
So, especially as we come intothe holiday season, they're
small business Saturday, theweekend after Thanksgiving.
(10:46):
So it's kind of that, if you'regonna do that, it's maybe not
use a travel agent.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
If you're just looking for somebody, yeah,
you're gonna try to rebook andyou know where you're gonna.
It's disrespectful, because youknow somebody who's trying to
start something and you'reactually not only taking their
time but keeping them away fromfinding new clients.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
Somebody else?
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
So you know, and that's why there are travel
agents that say like there is abooking fee, and you know, to
keep people from doing that.
And that doesn't mean thatthat's a scam, it's just that
you know that agency's been donefor many times.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Their time is yeah, exactly.
Which is I mean?
And that's you know.
I'm not obviously throwingshade under anybody that does
charge something for theirservices.
That's just that's not whattravel nation is about.
That's not what I'm about.
Like, I'm here to help you asmuch or as little as you want.
So if you book for me and helpme support my small business, I
(11:48):
will almost do everything excepttake a bullet for you.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
Well, I think that's one of the biggest things,
especially with in, like there'sso many more airline delays and
cancellations.
Oh yeah, it's crazy right now.
Can you talk about how a travelagent can help you, like
mid-trip, if something goeswrong?
Speaker 2 (12:08):
Yeah.
So airlines are a little bitmore tricky because a lot of
times if you have somethinggoing on say you're at the
airport like there's a flightdelay or something a lot of
times your best, your best betis to talk to the airline
directly, talk to the gate agent.
Unfortunately, with flights andairlines there's not a whole
(12:28):
lot we can do as travel agents.
That's not to say travel agentsdon't book flights, because we
do.
However, trying to contact usfor a flight issue is not
necessarily something that maycome out on your benefit.
Just because we're not there,we don't know the whole picture
of what's going on.
(12:48):
But for everything else, one ofthe huge benefits of having a
travel agent is you havesomebody in your corner for
anything that goes wrong.
So if you're on vacation andsay there's like an air
conditioning leak in your roomand you've tried to talk to the
front desk, you've tried to talkto housekeeping, you can reach
(13:11):
out to me as your travel agentand I can call the resort and be
like hey, I'm a travel agent,this is my client.
This is not acceptable.
You need to do something now.
You need to move rooms, youneed to do ABC, xyz, and if
that's not good enough.
The beauty about travel nationis I have a team, so I'm a part
(13:31):
of a team.
I have a supervisor and I canget my supervisor involved.
I can get our owner and founderinvolved, like we have amazing
relationships with so manydifferent vendors that we can,
nine times out of 10-ish, youknow, get something fixed or and
not saying you know it worksout that way every time.
(13:54):
But having a travel agent a lotof times can benefit you in
ways that you may not be awareof or you may not find out,
because you're that family thatthankfully doesn't have any
issues while on vacation.
But you know there may be thatone time where you may have to
(14:14):
have, you know, somebody fightfor you and fight for your
rights as a paying customer anda guest of you know, wherever
you choose to go.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
I think another advantage of a travel agent is
that you can do payment plansand book packages.
Can you talk a little bit aboutthat?
Speaker 2 (14:34):
Yeah, so not every payment plans are great.
Unfortunately, not every vendorallows payment plans.
However, with Disney, thesooner you book as kind of with
anything in life the sooner youbook you're typically going to
get the better rates.
So with Disney, all you have todo if you're booking a package
(14:55):
package includes hotels andtickets and actually now that
the dining plan is back at WaltDisney World, you can also add
on dining plan.
So package includes just adeposit of $200.
That's it and then package youcan have.
So your deadline for yourpackage due date is typically 30
(15:16):
days prior to your check-indate.
So you have all of that timebetween booking and your 30 days
prior to check-in to makepayments.
If you don't have a package sayyou do hotel only you have a
deposit.
Deposit is typically one nightof room rate and then you have
(15:37):
up until check-in date to paythat off, whether you choose to
do payments or pay it all upfront upon check-in.
So you have a little bit moreleeway with non-package and then
packages.
Like I said, your due date is 30days prior to check-in.
So at least with Disney there'sso much flexibility.
(15:57):
You can pay as little, as muchas you want.
You can pay just the deposit.
You can pay more than depositand have less payments
throughout the remainder upuntil you leave, so it just kind
of depends.
With other vendors,unfortunately, payment plans
aren't necessarily an option,but that's one of the great
things about Disney is you havethe option as long as you're not
(16:20):
booking within 30 days, becauseotherwise you'll have to pay in
full.
But for the most part you areable to make payments on
packages or hotels only.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
And the other thing is that you're living and
breathing Disney all the time,and so when Disney puts out a
new promotion, you can be like,hey, I rebooked your hotel and I
saved you 300 bucks on yourtrip, which I think is, you know
, especially for people whodon't want to immerse themselves
in the Disney world for sixmonths while they're planning
their trip.
I think that's a huge.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
It's great Like we get anytime a new deal drops or
new food items released for youknow like the holidays are
coming up, so we got emails forall the food selections, all the
food offerings are coming toWalt Disney World and Disneyland
, and we also get those sameemails for room promotions.
(17:12):
There's a lot of Florida rateright now for the resident rates
for Walt Disney World.
There are several, I think atleast one or two, maybe even
three, like Southern Californiaresident rates on tick, whether
that's tickets or hotels or youknow.
So there's there's all kinds ofdifferent rates that we get
emails on that we could be, andit's not even something that you
(17:34):
would be aware of that we do.
It's just we get the email.
If we have a client travelingbetween those dates, we'll look
it up, see if we can do it basedon the criteria and then, if we
can, we'll be like, hey, guesswhat?
I just saved you X amount ofmoney.
It'll be like all the shirts.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
He just paid for all the shirts.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
All the citrus swirl.
Not a deal with person.
Speaker 1 (18:02):
Blast for me.
I know I'm not on team dealwith.
I love the deal with for thefirst three bites and then I'm
like I just I'm not.
Speaker 2 (18:10):
I'm okay with pineapple on pizza.
I know, again that's likeblaspheming, but that's that's
it.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
I'm girl, same 100%.
Don't tell any Italian.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
Yeah, so that's just, and that's again.
A benefit of using the travelagent is as we get constant
emails from Disney, especiallylike we're.
I think it's almost like adaily or every couple days with
with emails for variousdifferent whether it's the
entertainment offerings, updateson the Disney cruise line,
(18:40):
disney treasure, which is comingout in 2024.
So all of these differentupdates that we have access to
that we can look up for ourclients, which is fantastic.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
Is there anything a travel agent can do that like a
normal person can't do?
Speaker 2 (18:58):
So it kind of just depends.
So, being a travel agent underthe umbrella of travel nation,
we are kind of one of the topagencies in the country so we
actually have some really great,fantastic relationships with a
lot of our vendors.
So a lot of times, depending onthe agency, they can
potentially have deals that areoffered to them exclusively that
(19:23):
wouldn't be available to otheragencies or the general public.
That's not always the case andit doesn't always happen, but in
some cases there are agencyexclusive promotions that we can
offer our clients.
So it's, it's great, you wouldfind us advertising those on
social media.
So it's, it just kind of has anagency, so it's.
(19:47):
It's not always.
You know, all encompassingagents can save you money, they
can, they get better deals andthe general public like.
That's not always the case, butin some instances we do get
special promotions, which is alot of fun.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
And if somebody is looking to hire a travel agent,
what are the questions that theyshould be asking if they're
trying to decide between severaldifferent travel agents, maybe
that they found on the internet?
Speaker 2 (20:16):
Yeah.
So that's actually a greatquestion, because I was a travel
agent with another agency.
I started December of 2020, soa terrible time to start as a
travel agent.
Everything is still locked down.
But I would say, just kind ofask what their requirements are
Like.
Are you a current cast member?
Are you a current Universalteam member?
(20:37):
Does that agency accept you?
Are they going to allow you tojoin the agency as a cast member
or a team member?
With my previous agency itwasn't an issue, but with
TravelMation, where I am now, Iwouldn't be allowed to be a cast
member because it's kind of aconflict of interest.
(20:59):
We sell Disney in my previousagency.
All week it was Disney.
So it's just it's kind of basedon the agency and in that
aspect of being a cast member, ateam member, you know, seaworld
member employee, and then kindof the other thing is like what
other requirements they have.
Like are you required to setoffice hours?
Do you have to be available24-7?
(21:21):
Do you have to work whileyou're on vacate, like if you're
on a personal vacation?
Do you have to work?
Are you required to work?
Are you required to post onsocial media every day?
Do you have to post multipletimes a day?
So that's kind of kind of likeit's basically like a job
interview.
Like you want to find an agencythat you feel is going to be
(21:43):
the best fit for you.
Obviously, at the time I waswith my other agency.
I couldn't have been withTravelMation, but I love where
I'm at now.
We have so much support, wehave teams, we have great
relationships with our vendors.
So it's definitely I've seenboth sides of it and it's
(22:05):
definitely open my eyes toquestions I maybe should have
asked the first time, but that'sjust kind of part of living
life and lessons that you learnas an adult.
But definitely ask thequestions kind of based off your
lifestyle.
If you work full-time, like Iwork full-time, so I kind of do
(22:28):
this in the evenings and onweekends.
I obviously would love to getto a place where I could do this
full-time and leave yourtypical 9-5 job, but that's not
always the case.
So you just have to kind offigure out what works best for
you and your current stage oflife.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
So if somebody is like an individual looking to
hire a travel agent, so they'retrying, what questions should
they ask to see if the travelagent is a good fit for their
personality it needs?
Speaker 2 (22:58):
Yeah, so I don't.
Just that's a great question.
It's a two-way relationship.
So you want to make sure thatthe client that you have works
best for you and you also wantto make sure that the agent that
you're choosing works for you.
So if you're a client and sayyou're somebody that likes to
talk on the phone, say it's astay at home mom and they have
(23:21):
pretty much all the free timehours during the day and they
wanted to talk on the phone andsay they wanted to utilize me
which I'm more than happy to do,guys, but I do work full-time,
I do do.
I have a typical nine to fiveoffice job.
So you know, making a phonecall in the middle of the day is
not something that I'm able todo.
Like it would have to waituntil the evening hours when I'm
(23:42):
home from work, and that maynot be conducive to that
specific client, and that's okay.
Like, if they feel like I'm nota good fit for them, they're
under no obligation to choose meas their travel agent.
I kind of like to think of it asa job interview, kind of like I
said for looking at agencies isyou kind of have to look at it
from?
Are they going to meet yourneeds?
(24:03):
Are you a client that likes tobe on the phone all the time?
Are you a client that prefersemail?
Are you a client that likes todouble check somebody else's
work, so like, are you going togo back and kind of redo all the
work that the agent did?
So just kind of differentthings back and forth.
That kind of you as a clientwant to ask and it's just kind
(24:24):
of like Like it sounds like youknow like what are the
expectations aroundcommunication.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
Can I call you?
Do you mostly do email?
What is an average turnaroundtime for those emails?
What is their availability likeduring your trip If there was
an emergency?
It sounds like those are kindof big things, right.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
In addition to like the specialty right Right.
Yeah, yeah so communication isdefinitely a big one.
I know, in today's day and age,like a lot of things are done
over text and email, whichthere's nothing wrong with that.
I am one too, especiallybecause I do work in the
evenings.
I do prefer email because Idon't want to.
You know you want to be able tohave the time with your family
in the evenings, but if you'reone that likes to talk on the
(25:05):
phone, like that's somethingthat you would kind of need to
talk with your agent with.
Or if they are, say like you,like somebody in your party has
severe food allergies.
Like, does your agent haveexperience with dealing with
(25:27):
food allergies?
If anybody knows Disney, theyknow that Disney is great with
working with food allergies.
But if you're not going withDisney, like how well does that
other location deal with foodallergies?
So it's all kind ofall-encompassing on both ends
and it kind of also goes back tolike what is it that you as a
(25:48):
client are looking for For mespecifically?
Like I'm within travel nation,I'm certified in groups and
luxury travel, so like I couldbook a school group at Disney
World or Disneyland throughImagination Campus, so you could
do a school group that gets toMarch Down Main Street with
their band or their color guard.
If they're into like theater,they have like theater workshops
(26:12):
and stuff like that.
So it's just it's really cool,because that's something that I
like to also promote for myselfis, like I can do groups, I can
do school groups.
If you want to head to DisneyWorld and, you know, dance in
Disney Springs with your danceteam, I can help book that for
you.
So it's just kind of questionsthat you as the client and or
agent want to ask.
(26:33):
You know.
And then I know there's a lotof families with special needs
kids out there.
So it's also, you know, youkind of want to ask those hard
questions too.
Like if you are a family with aspecial needs child, like, how
do you deal with that?
Are you certified?
Like, for me I'm not certifiedyet, I'm looking at doing that
(26:55):
down the road, but I do know alot of families with special
needs kids are also turned offby travel because they don't
know where to start looking,they don't know who to start
talking to and stuff like that.
So, like I said earlier, justask your questions, don't be
afraid to ask.
You know what you may feel is astupid question, like there's
no, is any cast member or I'msure universal team member knows
(27:17):
like there's no stupidquestions.
We hear it all, so don't beafraid to ask whatever is on
your mind.
Speaker 1 (27:26):
As a former cast member and travel agent, can you
give me, like your, three besttips for Disneyland?
Speaker 2 (27:33):
Oh, my gosh.
Okay, Don't compare it to anyother park you may have been to.
Don't compare it to any otherDisney park.
Obviously it's not universal,so don't compare it to universal
.
That would be the first andforemost.
Number two you enjoy it,disneyland, like I said, it
(27:55):
holds a special place in myheart, but it truly is a gem.
It's full of so much history,and not just, obviously, disney
history, but theme park history,amusement park history, like
there are so many things thatguests around the world can
enjoy today, thanks to theinnovations that Disney came up
(28:19):
with to build Disneyland.
And then number three oh gosh,park, hop, park, hop, park, hop,
park, hop.
The beauty about Disneyland isthat they are right next door to
each other.
So, for those that may not know, california Adventure actually
used to be the main parking lotfor Disneyland back in the day,
(28:44):
so they are super close.
There is a space in betweenthat's called the Esplanade, so
you literally just walk out thegates of Disneyland to go across
the Esplanade and boom, you'rein California Adventure and join
the rest of your day.
And it's one of those thingsthat, like people that have been
to Walt Disney World, are soblown away with when they go to
(29:06):
California and see how easy itis to park hop.
All of the Disney hotels arewithin walking distance.
The parks are within walkingdistance.
Downtown Disney isn't withinwalking distance, like you don't
have to leave property to getsomewhere else, unless you were
wanting to step outside of theDisney bubble.
So that's just park hop, parkhop, park hop.
(29:29):
If you're thinking you knowyou're there for one day, you
want to try to see it all,definitely park hop.
So it's there's a lot toDisneyland.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
At the Disneyland Resort.
What is your favorite, mostunderrated ride?
I mean, I think everybody knowsthe big ones.
What's a ride that you think isunappreciated for its grandeur?
Speaker 2 (29:52):
Okay, I have.
I have two.
They're both attractions that Iworked, so one is going to be
Storybook Canal Boats.
It's technically an opening dayattraction.
However, it used to be calledCanal Boats of the World and it
lasted about a year a littleless than a year, and then it
(30:13):
turned into Storybook and CanalBoats.
So it is so cool and it justagain like it just takes you
back to the beauty andimagination of Walt Disney and
his team, because you're on alittle boat and they're all
named after Disney characters,which is a lot of fun and you're
(30:34):
taken through miniature sets ofdifferent places from different
Disney stories.
So you first go through andyou'll you'll see it if you're
in fantasyland A giant monsterof the whale from Pinocchio with
his mouth wide open and histeeth all shown, and it's a lot
of fun because little kids doget scared.
(30:55):
I've had a few cryers on myboats in the past but his tail
was blown off, like he sneezedso hard that he blew off his
tail.
So you go through Monstro,through his blown off tail, and
then you're magically immersedin this magical miniature world.
There's Mr Toad's house,there's the three little pigs,
(31:16):
there's Agrabah, and they're allin miniature form and it's so
like you could stare at it alllike I would.
Just when I'd be doing my showtrucks in the morning, I just I
was still like have to pinchmyself, like these are so cool
and like I wish I could see itbeing built and being put
together and like it had to havebeen so much fun for the
(31:38):
Imagineers.
So like, come up with these andyou know put, you know build
them, and oh, let's see.
And then now they've kind ofstarted decorating ish for the
holiday, so like the threelittle pigs houses they'll have
like little pots of point sediasand they'll be like a wreath on
the doorhouse and a little bitof garland on a signpost, and so
(31:58):
it's just.
I could talk about it all day,robin.
But it's just.
Storybookland is so magical andit might like when you're going
under the fairy-lit lightarchway it's just like the tune
of a whole new world plays andyou just kind of sit there and
(32:19):
look and you've got Casey Jrcircling to your left and you're
entering the Cave of Wondersand you're just, you're like a
little kid again and it's just,it's so magical and it's kind of
a different experience at nighttoo, because if you can time it
right, you can actually be onthere for fireworks.
Speaker 1 (32:35):
And they stopped the boat.
It's one of the few places youcan sit down and watch fireworks
.
Speaker 2 (32:38):
Yeah, they have to stop the boat because of the
potential for falling numbers.
So they stopped the boats andI've been on those boats before
in the past and getting thecaptain, those, and it's really
cool, like you're just sittingthere on a boat working but you
get to watch the fireworks.
Like it's so cool and so muchfun and it's a ride for the
(33:00):
whole family.
Like the beauty about Fanny'sIsland is there's only one ride
that has a high requirement andthat's Matterhorn, but
everything else is for every age, from newborns to 90 year old
grandparents.
Like it's and that's what Waltwanted was something for the
entire family.
My other favorite is Casey JrCircus Train.
(33:21):
There's only one other that'ssimilar and that's in Paris but
that's more of like it's kind ofa step below, like Bar and
Stormer or Gadget's Go coaster.
It's like a family coaster butit's not quite like the heights
with the drops and all that kindof stuff.
But again like this is anotheropening to attraction and it's
(33:42):
from the story of Dumbo.
So Casey Jr, you know he was acircus train that took Dumbo and
all of his mom and all theother circus animals to the
different various circus stops.
So it's based off the story ofthe little engine equate, so it
kind of goes through, it weavesin and out of storybook land.
So it's really cool because you,if you ride storybook land, you
get the view from below.
(34:03):
And if you ride Casey Jr, youkind of get the view from above.
And if you ride it during thesunset like I've got some
fabulous pictures of sunset withlike the sun peeking out and
the rays shooting like behindAarndelle, it's really cool.
So you kind of go up this tinylittle hill and he's like I
think I can, I think I can, Ithink I can, and then he crest
(34:24):
the hill and then you're off onyour adventure around storybook
land.
So those are two of my what Iwould consider the most
underrated rides in Disneyland.
And that was long winded, I'msorry.
Speaker 1 (34:36):
No, that's okay, that was one of my son's favorites
for a really long time, so muchso that like it's hard for me to
do it now because I you know hewould want to ride it over and
over and over again when?
now I see those animal cages andI'm like I don't want to be in
the cage.
We don't ride it very muchanymore, so now it's getting fun
again because we rode it with afriend that we went with.
But when you go to Disneyland,what do you pack in your day?
(34:58):
Pack or purse, or do you notbring a purse?
Speaker 2 (35:01):
I do.
So it kind of varies dependingon the season.
I should preface this to say Iam not a park open, park closed
kind of person.
I've done that a handful oftimes and although I'm I don't
consider myself old by any meansI just cannot physically do a
park open to park close.
Maybe it's just cause I alsoworked there for so long that my
(35:22):
body's just like get off yourfeet, get off your feet.
So if it's during the summer,definitely a bottle of water,
preferably if you have aninsulated one.
I use a.
It's a knockoff but it's fromTarget.
It was like 30 bucks.
It's like a 32 ounce insulatedwater bottle.
If you have the ability to fillit with ice, fill it with ice
(35:42):
and water before you hit theparks, cause we all know water
is expensive in Disney.
But travel tip that some peoplemay not know is you can
actually get a free glass ofwater from any quick service
restaurant, except for the icecream shops.
It's not going to be very big,I think it's like less than
eight ounces, but it's free.
It will keep you hydrated, youcan throw it in your water
(36:02):
bottle and obviously there'swater fountains there too that
you can refill up on.
They are kind of starting toadd those water bottle size
water fountains in the park,which is fantastic.
So water bottles.
If it's during the summer, Itypically start off the day with
sunscreen already on and thenobviously you want to make sure
you don't get burned, so youwant to keep that in your pack.
(36:24):
I have just like a littletravel size of New Jadrina it's
like SPF 70 that I keep in mybag so I'm not lugging around
like a big old bottle ofsunscreen.
And if you have plans so kindof you want to make sure you're
wearing a good pair of shoes Ifyou plan to go on any water ride
, maybe an extra pair of shorts,because chafing and jean shorts
(36:46):
is not fun, especially ifyou're doing it like early in
the day.
So those are definitely some ofmy must haves.
Another one that I think thisDNA is you really really need is
a battery backup for your phoneand a charging cable.
You can find those on Amazon.
I started off when fuel rodskind of became popular.
I have a bunch of those.
(37:07):
I don't use them.
They're like my backup to thebackup.
But I have a brick charger.
It's solar, has the ability torecharge by solar as well, if it
would ever run out.
I'm not next to a plug.
So those are kind of my mainsummer essentials.
Winter essentials it's a littlebit less, and I don't usually
bring a backpack to Disneylandin the winter.
(37:28):
I usually just if I'm going tobe there in the evening I'll
bring a sweatshirt, but I'lljust kind of hide around my
waist and then maybe I feel likeCalifornia is all about the
layers.
Yes, yes, it's definitely.
It can be hit or miss.
There's been many Christmaseswhere it's been 90 degrees and
many Christmases where it's beenin the 40s.
(37:48):
So you kind of it's kind oflike Florida where you kind of
have to pack for everything.
But yeah, winters in Californiacan get cold.
So definitely make sure, ifyou're going to pack layers and
you want to bring a giantbackpack, get a locker.
You can get a day locker.
They're in the middle of MainStreet on the right-hand side.
(38:10):
That way you're not lugging itaround all day getting it on
rise, trying to get it out ofrise and all that kind of stuff.
But if you're just going for afew hours, just a jacket, hide
around your waist and a fannypack, that's all you need pretty
much.
Speaker 1 (38:29):
And what is your favorite quick serve meal?
Speaker 2 (38:34):
Okay, hands down Coca-Cola corner at the end of
Main Street on the left-handside, a cream cheese filled
pretzel with nacho cheese and acherry sprites.
That is my go-to every time.
Because the thing is, peopleare like what do you mean nacho
(38:56):
cheese?
What do you mean real cheese?
Because here's the thing at thekiosks in the park and here in
Florida they have thepre-packaged processed cheese,
which is gross.
At Coca-Cola corner they havelegitimate nacho cheese.
So it's the real stuff that youpour over nachos and I just dip
(39:20):
my cream cheese filled pretzelin there.
It's just, I don't know what itis and people are like ew
cheese, why not mustard?
I'm like I grew up on this.
It's what I do, it's what Ilike.
What are you gonna say?
Yeah, so that's my go-to snacks.
But I will say churro is aclose second.
The churros at Disneyland arevery good.
They definitely beat out WaltDisney World churros.
Speaker 1 (39:45):
And if you see them coming out hot, that's always
the best there are a lot ifyou've had a bad churro you
probably had a cold churro.
Speaker 2 (39:52):
Let me tell you when I would be working the dock at
Casey Jr, there's a churro standright there and they'd be
making fresh churros and I wouldbe looking at them falling out
of the oven and that gloriouscinnamon sugar mix.
I'd just be like why don't Ihave to be working right now?
Speaker 1 (40:14):
Well, I wanna thank you for coming on the show and
sharing your tips with us.
If people wanna reach you,what's the best way to do that?
Speaker 2 (40:21):
Yeah, so the best way to do that is through email or
message me on my Instagramhandle.
So my email is ChristinaMcBride at travelmationnet, so
it'sC-H-R-I-S-T-I-N-A-M-C-B-R-I-D-E
at Travelmation, so it's travel,it's a combination of travel
(40:47):
and animation, because we're abig Disney company, so travel.
And then mationnet, or myInstagram handle is
adventuresofchris, so it'sA-D-V-N-T-R-S.
Underscore word of underscoreChris C-H-I-S, c-h-r-i-s.
So those are the two bestlocations.
(41:08):
They can email me, they candirect message me, say they're
interested on a trip and we cango from there.
Speaker 1 (41:14):
Awesome.
Well, thank you so much forcoming on the show today.
Thank you so much.
Welcome to Park Magic , where we want to help you plan
a practically perfect trip toDisneyland, giving you the tips
that you need to make your tripa lot less stressful and to feel
like you don't need a master'sdegree in Disney studies in
order to have a great time atDisney.
I've got Christina McBride ontoday.
She's a travel agent and formercast member.
We're going to talk a littlebit today about you know.
Should you hire a travel agent,what should you look for, and
(00:25):
maybe who's not a good fit for atravel agent?
So, christina, thank you somuch for coming on the show
today.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Thank you so much, Robin, for having me.
It's wonderful to be here.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Can you tell us a little bit about your experience
specifically with Disneyland asa cast member and as a travel
agent?
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Yeah.
So Disneyland it has a specialplace in my heart.
I grew up no more than 30minutes away.
My entire life Grew up goingthere as a kid with my family.
We were gifted passes oneChristmas from my grandma, so
then we became a pass holderfamily and we'd go, you know,
just for a couple hours here andthere in the evenings during
(01:01):
the holidays.
We'd watch the parade, thefireworks and just go home.
And then in 2008, shortly afterI graduated high school, I hired
in to Disneyland where I spent13 magical years and then later,
a couple years, obviously, thepandemic hit and I was
furloughed for 14 months.
So that was.
It was definitely a difficulttime.
(01:23):
I ended up quitting because Ihad plans to move to central
Florida with plans to transferout to Walt Disney World, but
the pandemic derailed thoseplans.
So instead of transferring fromWest Coast to East Coast, I
just had to quit so I could moveacross the country.
But I am like you said, I'm atravel agent.
(01:45):
I'm under the TravelmationAgency.
We are a top producing agencywith Disney.
So we book both Disneyland,walt Disney World, we can do the
international parks, we doDisney cruise line, we do
adventures by Disney.
We can do a lot of money, soit's an all encompassing thing
(02:06):
and I do do more than Disney,but obviously, since this is a
Disney podcast, we'll we'llfocus on Disney and Disneyland.
So yeah, that's kind of mystory and I am always happy to
talk anybody's ear off aboutDisneyland and all things Disney
.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
You know, sometimes people will think any travel
agent, but Disney is like itsown animal.
It's kind of like, you know,alice in Wonderland.
You know things are differentbut the same, and so can you
talk about why, if you'relooking to plan a Disney trip,
it might be worthwhile talkingto somebody that has specific
experience with Disney andespecially like the park that
(02:44):
you want to go to.
So because even.
Disneyland and Disney World arelike very different.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
Oh yes, they.
They are night and day, sohaving a travel agent that knows
their destinations well is ahuge plus, thankfully, you know,
growing up in California andworking at Disneyland and now
living near Disney World, like I, have the best of both worlds.
Like I, my knowledge is vastfor both.
(03:11):
Obviously, disneyland more sothan Disney World, but I'm
getting there.
I'm getting there, I'm catchingup.
But even though a lot of peoplethink they're similar, like you
said, there are still so manydifferences between West Coast
and East Coast.
I always like to think of itwhen I'm talking to people that
have either grown up coming toDisney World or have vacation
(03:31):
frequently here, in Florida.
I always like to talk aboutDisney land as it's the original
park.
If we didn't have Disneyland inAnaheim, there would be no
Disney World.
There would be no DisneylandParis or Tokyo.
So it's.
I always try to throw out that,like that emotional aspect of
(03:51):
it and like it's Walt's part.
He walked through that park.
He has not stepped foot, youknow, in any of the other parks
around the world.
So it's kind of that.
I like to talk at theheartstrings a little bit.
But you definitely wantsomebody that knows their
differences, knows the kind ofthe nuances of Disneyland versus
the nuances of Walt DisneyWorld and kind of the the pros
(04:15):
and cons to each, but also whatmakes each park special and
special in their own way.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
So kind of like the difference between traveling to
Europe versus traveling to Asia.
You know there's some thingsthat are going to be fundamental
, that you know you're going toneed a airfare, you're going to
need a hotel, but there's a lotof cultural differences,
especially around Genie Plus,getting up at 7am in Walt Disney
World versus not being able tobook until you get to the parks
at Disneyland.
You know, at Disney World it'sreally important for a lot of
(04:45):
people to stay at a Disneyresort.
At Disneyland there's just notthat same culture because
they're so crazy expensive andthere's so many other ones.
You know they're not even theclosest to the parks.
Really.
You can actually get a shorteror about the same walk from some
of the hotels across the street.
So what kind of person reallyis going to be like?
(05:06):
The travel agent was the bestthing I've done.
What kind of client is it thatyou feel is like they get the
most value out of having atravel agent?
Speaker 2 (05:15):
I feel like it's the busy parents, or the kind of
career oriented person that justdoesn't have the time to do the
research on their own, or theone that wants to go somewhere
but doesn't like to spend thehours potentially to figure out
(05:35):
dates and pricing and well, howmany people are going and are
there any specials?
Are there any you know, Floridaresident rates or California
resident rates, or or somebodythat just does not know anything
about that destination.
I had the privilege of booking.
(05:57):
A family of four from Illinoishad never been out to Southern
California and obviously I wasborn and raised there, so I got
to put my expertise, you know,in their pockets and plan.
You know, I booked them a stayat Disneyland hotel.
They had early entry becausethey were hotel guests and I got
(06:17):
to talk up everything that Ilove about Disneyland and they
loved it.
They had so much fun andbecause you know they're,
they're from the Midwest, sothey frequented Disney World
more than they ever haveDisneyland, which is actually
pretty common.
A lot of, you know, Midwestvirus and towards the East Coast
(06:38):
, tend to venture to Floridathan they do California.
So I was able to give them,like all of my tips and tricks
and things that I knew as a castmember or things that I just
knew as a guest playing in thepark.
You know, they got theirdaughter, got to meet the
princesses, got to ride radiatorsprings, racers Her son loves
(07:00):
Nightmare Before Christmas andthey thankfully they were there
right after Hanumanchen turnedover to Hanumanchen's holiday.
So it's just the type of clientsI mean anybody theoretically
can, can use a travel agent.
It's just kind of based on howmuch do you want to be involved
in the planning aspect of yourvacation or your group outing or
(07:24):
your school function orwhatever, versus how much do you
not want to be involved.
So we can have kind of bothends of the spectrum.
But it's kind of a we do allthe heavy lifting for you, so to
speak.
So I will spend the time aftermy day job and doing the
(07:46):
research, pulling quotes,sending emails and all that kind
of stuff.
So it's for everybody, but it'snot for everybody.
So it's just kind of whatsomebody, like I said earlier,
just kind of how much do youwant to be involved as the
client booking your trip?
Speaker 1 (08:03):
So and I kind of feel like, you know, there's some
people like I'm somebody wholike like when I went to Costa
Rica, I joined every Facebookgroup.
I learned about every activity.
I researched, you know, andsome people like that.
Like that gives me joy, that'slike feeds my soul If my husband
was the one planning a trip.
Or, you know, like I have acouple, you know, a friend,
that's like.
You know.
Like, how did you know what wasavailable?
(08:24):
I'm like, how do you not know?
I think that you know, ifyou're somebody who's like, I
want to go, but I you know, likeI don't get joy out of the
planning part.
I don't you know, and I'm or I'manxious that I'm going to book
the wrong hotel, will it be?
Too far away, will I not beable to like how do I manage the
car seats All of?
Speaker 2 (08:40):
those things.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
I think that then, having a travel agent because it
doesn't cost anybody, so beforeyou would hire a like back in
the before days, back way, youknow you would hire a travel
agent because they had access toyou know, digital like assets
and computer programs that youdidn't have.
Now everybody has that, so it'sreally more about having them.
You know it doesn't cost youextra.
(09:02):
If you're looking to save everypenny and get the best possible
deal, you might I didn't knowspending $10 more a night on a
room, but for the most partyou're going to get pretty close
to the best deal and you'regoing to have somebody to say
you know, you really don't wantto stay at that hotel.
You know my last client therehad, you know, saw rats, you
know, you know.
So I think that if somebodywants to have help planning but
(09:26):
tell me if I'm wrong on that orif I'm off- no, I definitely
think that is kind of you hitthe nail on the head, like.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
So I will preface to say that not every agency and or
agent has free services.
Mine are, mine will cost younothing extra.
But kind of the caveat to thatis we do like, if we're going to
do all the light work for you,we do ask that you go ahead and
book with us.
There are times where you knowpeople will do all the light
(09:57):
work for them and then they'lljust decide to have all the
information and do it on theirown.
That is kind of frustrating.
That's kind of like the clientthat we don't necessarily want
because that takes so like we'resmall businesses although we're
under, you know, an agencyitself.
I'm doing this as a smallbusiness owned person.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
And if somebody books themselves you don't get paid,
correct, so yeah, the big boxgets paid.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
So if you're booking with a travel agent, you're
helping somebody with theirsmall business, which I'm all
for.
Like, I shop so many smallbusiness that are Disney
oriented, like clothingcompanies kind of, you know, ear
companies and stuff like that.
So, especially as we come intothe holiday season, they're
small business Saturday, theweekend after Thanksgiving.
(10:46):
So it's kind of that, if you'regonna do that, it's maybe not
use a travel agent.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
If you're just looking for somebody, yeah,
you're gonna try to rebook andyou know where you're gonna.
It's disrespectful, because youknow somebody who's trying to
start something and you'reactually not only taking their
time but keeping them away fromfinding new clients.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
Somebody else?
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
So you know, and that's why there are travel
agents that say like there is abooking fee, and you know, to
keep people from doing that.
And that doesn't mean thatthat's a scam, it's just that
you know that agency's been donefor many times.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Their time is yeah, exactly.
Which is I mean?
And that's you know.
I'm not obviously throwingshade under anybody that does
charge something for theirservices.
That's just that's not whattravel nation is about.
That's not what I'm about.
Like, I'm here to help you asmuch or as little as you want.
So if you book for me and helpme support my small business, I
(11:48):
will almost do everything excepttake a bullet for you.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
Well, I think that's one of the biggest things,
especially with in, like there'sso many more airline delays and
cancellations.
Oh yeah, it's crazy right now.
Can you talk about how a travelagent can help you, like
mid-trip, if something goeswrong?
Speaker 2 (12:08):
Yeah.
So airlines are a little bitmore tricky because a lot of
times if you have somethinggoing on say you're at the
airport like there's a flightdelay or something a lot of
times your best, your best betis to talk to the airline
directly, talk to the gate agent.
Unfortunately, with flights andairlines there's not a whole
(12:28):
lot we can do as travel agents.
That's not to say travel agentsdon't book flights, because we
do.
However, trying to contact usfor a flight issue is not
necessarily something that maycome out on your benefit.
Just because we're not there,we don't know the whole picture
of what's going on.
(12:48):
But for everything else, one ofthe huge benefits of having a
travel agent is you havesomebody in your corner for
anything that goes wrong.
So if you're on vacation andsay there's like an air
conditioning leak in your roomand you've tried to talk to the
front desk, you've tried to talkto housekeeping, you can reach
(13:11):
out to me as your travel agentand I can call the resort and be
like hey, I'm a travel agent,this is my client.
This is not acceptable.
You need to do something now.
You need to move rooms, youneed to do ABC, xyz, and if
that's not good enough.
The beauty about travel nationis I have a team, so I'm a part
(13:31):
of a team.
I have a supervisor and I canget my supervisor involved.
I can get our owner and founderinvolved, like we have amazing
relationships with so manydifferent vendors that we can,
nine times out of 10-ish, youknow, get something fixed or and
not saying you know it worksout that way every time.
(13:54):
But having a travel agent a lotof times can benefit you in
ways that you may not be awareof or you may not find out,
because you're that family thatthankfully doesn't have any
issues while on vacation.
But you know there may be thatone time where you may have to
(14:14):
have, you know, somebody fightfor you and fight for your
rights as a paying customer anda guest of you know, wherever
you choose to go.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
I think another advantage of a travel agent is
that you can do payment plansand book packages.
Can you talk a little bit aboutthat?
Speaker 2 (14:34):
Yeah, so not every payment plans are great.
Unfortunately, not every vendorallows payment plans.
However, with Disney, thesooner you book as kind of with
anything in life the sooner youbook you're typically going to
get the better rates.
So with Disney, all you have todo if you're booking a package
(14:55):
package includes hotels andtickets and actually now that
the dining plan is back at WaltDisney World, you can also add
on dining plan.
So package includes just adeposit of $200.
That's it and then package youcan have.
So your deadline for yourpackage due date is typically 30
(15:16):
days prior to your check-indate.
So you have all of that timebetween booking and your 30 days
prior to check-in to makepayments.
If you don't have a package sayyou do hotel only you have a
deposit.
Deposit is typically one nightof room rate and then you have
(15:37):
up until check-in date to paythat off, whether you choose to
do payments or pay it all upfront upon check-in.
So you have a little bit moreleeway with non-package and then
packages.
Like I said, your due date is 30days prior to check-in.
So at least with Disney there'sso much flexibility.
(15:57):
You can pay as little, as muchas you want.
You can pay just the deposit.
You can pay more than depositand have less payments
throughout the remainder upuntil you leave, so it just kind
of depends.
With other vendors,unfortunately, payment plans
aren't necessarily an option,but that's one of the great
things about Disney is you havethe option as long as you're not
(16:20):
booking within 30 days, becauseotherwise you'll have to pay in
full.
But for the most part you areable to make payments on
packages or hotels only.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
And the other thing is that you're living and
breathing Disney all the time,and so when Disney puts out a
new promotion, you can be like,hey, I rebooked your hotel and I
saved you 300 bucks on yourtrip, which I think is, you know
, especially for people whodon't want to immerse themselves
in the Disney world for sixmonths while they're planning
their trip.
I think that's a huge.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
It's great Like we get anytime a new deal drops or
new food items released for youknow like the holidays are
coming up, so we got emails forall the food selections, all the
food offerings are coming toWalt Disney World and Disneyland
, and we also get those sameemails for room promotions.
(17:12):
There's a lot of Florida rateright now for the resident rates
for Walt Disney World.
There are several, I think atleast one or two, maybe even
three, like Southern Californiaresident rates on tick, whether
that's tickets or hotels or youknow.
So there's there's all kinds ofdifferent rates that we get
emails on that we could be, andit's not even something that you
(17:34):
would be aware of that we do.
It's just we get the email.
If we have a client travelingbetween those dates, we'll look
it up, see if we can do it basedon the criteria and then, if we
can, we'll be like, hey, guesswhat?
I just saved you X amount ofmoney.
It'll be like all the shirts.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
He just paid for all the shirts.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
All the citrus swirl.
Not a deal with person.
Speaker 1 (18:02):
Blast for me.
I know I'm not on team dealwith.
I love the deal with for thefirst three bites and then I'm
like I just I'm not.
Speaker 2 (18:10):
I'm okay with pineapple on pizza.
I know, again that's likeblaspheming, but that's that's
it.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
I'm girl, same 100%.
Don't tell any Italian.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
Yeah, so that's just, and that's again.
A benefit of using the travelagent is as we get constant
emails from Disney, especiallylike we're.
I think it's almost like adaily or every couple days with
with emails for variousdifferent whether it's the
entertainment offerings, updateson the Disney cruise line,
(18:40):
disney treasure, which is comingout in 2024.
So all of these differentupdates that we have access to
that we can look up for ourclients, which is fantastic.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
Is there anything a travel agent can do that like a
normal person can't do?
Speaker 2 (18:58):
So it kind of just depends.
So, being a travel agent underthe umbrella of travel nation,
we are kind of one of the topagencies in the country so we
actually have some really great,fantastic relationships with a
lot of our vendors.
So a lot of times, depending onthe agency, they can
potentially have deals that areoffered to them exclusively that
(19:23):
wouldn't be available to otheragencies or the general public.
That's not always the case andit doesn't always happen, but in
some cases there are agencyexclusive promotions that we can
offer our clients.
So it's, it's great, you wouldfind us advertising those on
social media.
So it's, it just kind of has anagency, so it's.
(19:47):
It's not always.
You know, all encompassingagents can save you money, they
can, they get better deals andthe general public like.
That's not always the case, butin some instances we do get
special promotions, which is alot of fun.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
And if somebody is looking to hire a travel agent,
what are the questions that theyshould be asking if they're
trying to decide between severaldifferent travel agents, maybe
that they found on the internet?
Speaker 2 (20:16):
Yeah.
So that's actually a greatquestion, because I was a travel
agent with another agency.
I started December of 2020, soa terrible time to start as a
travel agent.
Everything is still locked down.
But I would say, just kind ofask what their requirements are
Like.
Are you a current cast member?
Are you a current Universalteam member?
(20:37):
Does that agency accept you?
Are they going to allow you tojoin the agency as a cast member
or a team member?
With my previous agency itwasn't an issue, but with
TravelMation, where I am now, Iwouldn't be allowed to be a cast
member because it's kind of aconflict of interest.
(20:59):
We sell Disney in my previousagency.
All week it was Disney.
So it's just it's kind of basedon the agency and in that
aspect of being a cast member, ateam member, you know, seaworld
member employee, and then kindof the other thing is like what
other requirements they have.
Like are you required to setoffice hours?
Do you have to be available24-7?
(21:21):
Do you have to work whileyou're on vacate, like if you're
on a personal vacation?
Do you have to work?
Are you required to work?
Are you required to post onsocial media every day?
Do you have to post multipletimes a day?
So that's kind of kind of likeit's basically like a job
interview.
Like you want to find an agencythat you feel is going to be
(21:43):
the best fit for you.
Obviously, at the time I waswith my other agency.
I couldn't have been withTravelMation, but I love where
I'm at now.
We have so much support, wehave teams, we have great
relationships with our vendors.
So it's definitely I've seenboth sides of it and it's
(22:05):
definitely open my eyes toquestions I maybe should have
asked the first time, but that'sjust kind of part of living
life and lessons that you learnas an adult.
But definitely ask thequestions kind of based off your
lifestyle.
If you work full-time, like Iwork full-time, so I kind of do
(22:28):
this in the evenings and onweekends.
I obviously would love to getto a place where I could do this
full-time and leave yourtypical 9-5 job, but that's not
always the case.
So you just have to kind offigure out what works best for
you and your current stage oflife.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
So if somebody is like an individual looking to
hire a travel agent, so they'retrying, what questions should
they ask to see if the travelagent is a good fit for their
personality it needs?
Speaker 2 (22:58):
Yeah, so I don't.
Just that's a great question.
It's a two-way relationship.
So you want to make sure thatthe client that you have works
best for you and you also wantto make sure that the agent that
you're choosing works for you.
So if you're a client and sayyou're somebody that likes to
talk on the phone, say it's astay at home mom and they have
(23:21):
pretty much all the free timehours during the day and they
wanted to talk on the phone andsay they wanted to utilize me
which I'm more than happy to do,guys, but I do work full-time,
I do do.
I have a typical nine to fiveoffice job.
So you know, making a phonecall in the middle of the day is
not something that I'm able todo.
Like it would have to waituntil the evening hours when I'm
(23:42):
home from work, and that maynot be conducive to that
specific client, and that's okay.
Like, if they feel like I'm nota good fit for them, they're
under no obligation to choose meas their travel agent.
I kind of like to think of it asa job interview, kind of like I
said for looking at agencies isyou kind of have to look at it
from?
Are they going to meet yourneeds?
(24:03):
Are you a client that likes tobe on the phone all the time?
Are you a client that prefersemail?
Are you a client that likes todouble check somebody else's
work, so like, are you going togo back and kind of redo all the
work that the agent did?
So just kind of differentthings back and forth.
That kind of you as a clientwant to ask and it's just kind
(24:24):
of like Like it sounds like youknow like what are the
expectations aroundcommunication.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
Can I call you?
Do you mostly do email?
What is an average turnaroundtime for those emails?
What is their availability likeduring your trip If there was
an emergency?
It sounds like those are kindof big things, right.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
In addition to like the specialty right Right.
Yeah, yeah so communication isdefinitely a big one.
I know, in today's day and age,like a lot of things are done
over text and email, whichthere's nothing wrong with that.
I am one too, especiallybecause I do work in the
evenings.
I do prefer email because Idon't want to.
You know you want to be able tohave the time with your family
in the evenings, but if you'reone that likes to talk on the
(25:05):
phone, like that's somethingthat you would kind of need to
talk with your agent with.
Or if they are, say like you,like somebody in your party has
severe food allergies.
Like, does your agent haveexperience with dealing with
(25:27):
food allergies?
If anybody knows Disney, theyknow that Disney is great with
working with food allergies.
But if you're not going withDisney, like how well does that
other location deal with foodallergies?
So it's all kind ofall-encompassing on both ends
and it kind of also goes back tolike what is it that you as a
(25:48):
client are looking for For mespecifically?
Like I'm within travel nation,I'm certified in groups and
luxury travel, so like I couldbook a school group at Disney
World or Disneyland throughImagination Campus, so you could
do a school group that gets toMarch Down Main Street with
their band or their color guard.
If they're into like theater,they have like theater workshops
(26:12):
and stuff like that.
So it's just it's really cool,because that's something that I
like to also promote for myselfis, like I can do groups, I can
do school groups.
If you want to head to DisneyWorld and, you know, dance in
Disney Springs with your danceteam, I can help book that for
you.
So it's just kind of questionsthat you as the client and or
agent want to ask.
(26:33):
You know.
And then I know there's a lotof families with special needs
kids out there.
So it's also, you know, youkind of want to ask those hard
questions too.
Like if you are a family with aspecial needs child, like, how
do you deal with that?
Are you certified?
Like, for me I'm not certifiedyet, I'm looking at doing that
(26:55):
down the road, but I do know alot of families with special
needs kids are also turned offby travel because they don't
know where to start looking,they don't know who to start
talking to and stuff like that.
So, like I said earlier, justask your questions, don't be
afraid to ask.
You know what you may feel is astupid question, like there's
no, is any cast member or I'msure universal team member knows
(27:17):
like there's no stupidquestions.
We hear it all, so don't beafraid to ask whatever is on
your mind.
Speaker 1 (27:26):
As a former cast member and travel agent, can you
give me, like your, three besttips for Disneyland?
Speaker 2 (27:33):
Oh, my gosh.
Okay, Don't compare it to anyother park you may have been to.
Don't compare it to any otherDisney park.
Obviously it's not universal,so don't compare it to universal
.
That would be the first andforemost.
Number two you enjoy it,disneyland, like I said, it
(27:55):
holds a special place in myheart, but it truly is a gem.
It's full of so much history,and not just, obviously, disney
history, but theme park history,amusement park history, like
there are so many things thatguests around the world can
enjoy today, thanks to theinnovations that Disney came up
(28:19):
with to build Disneyland.
And then number three oh gosh,park, hop, park, hop, park, hop,
park, hop.
The beauty about Disneyland isthat they are right next door to
each other.
So, for those that may not know, california Adventure actually
used to be the main parking lotfor Disneyland back in the day,
(28:44):
so they are super close.
There is a space in betweenthat's called the Esplanade, so
you literally just walk out thegates of Disneyland to go across
the Esplanade and boom, you'rein California Adventure and join
the rest of your day.
And it's one of those thingsthat, like people that have been
to Walt Disney World, are soblown away with when they go to
(29:06):
California and see how easy itis to park hop.
All of the Disney hotels arewithin walking distance.
The parks are within walkingdistance.
Downtown Disney isn't withinwalking distance, like you don't
have to leave property to getsomewhere else, unless you were
wanting to step outside of theDisney bubble.
So that's just park hop, parkhop, park hop.
(29:29):
If you're thinking you knowyou're there for one day, you
want to try to see it all,definitely park hop.
So it's there's a lot toDisneyland.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
At the Disneyland Resort.
What is your favorite, mostunderrated ride?
I mean, I think everybody knowsthe big ones.
What's a ride that you think isunappreciated for its grandeur?
Speaker 2 (29:52):
Okay, I have.
I have two.
They're both attractions that Iworked, so one is going to be
Storybook Canal Boats.
It's technically an opening dayattraction.
However, it used to be calledCanal Boats of the World and it
lasted about a year a littleless than a year, and then it
(30:13):
turned into Storybook and CanalBoats.
So it is so cool and it justagain like it just takes you
back to the beauty andimagination of Walt Disney and
his team, because you're on alittle boat and they're all
named after Disney characters,which is a lot of fun and you're
(30:34):
taken through miniature sets ofdifferent places from different
Disney stories.
So you first go through andyou'll you'll see it if you're
in fantasyland A giant monsterof the whale from Pinocchio with
his mouth wide open and histeeth all shown, and it's a lot
of fun because little kids doget scared.
(30:55):
I've had a few cryers on myboats in the past but his tail
was blown off, like he sneezedso hard that he blew off his
tail.
So you go through Monstro,through his blown off tail, and
then you're magically immersedin this magical miniature world.
There's Mr Toad's house,there's the three little pigs,
(31:16):
there's Agrabah, and they're allin miniature form and it's so
like you could stare at it alllike I would.
Just when I'd be doing my showtrucks in the morning, I just I
was still like have to pinchmyself, like these are so cool
and like I wish I could see itbeing built and being put
together and like it had to havebeen so much fun for the
(31:38):
Imagineers.
So like, come up with these andyou know put, you know build
them, and oh, let's see.
And then now they've kind ofstarted decorating ish for the
holiday, so like the threelittle pigs houses they'll have
like little pots of point sediasand they'll be like a wreath on
the doorhouse and a little bitof garland on a signpost, and so
(31:58):
it's just.
I could talk about it all day,robin.
But it's just.
Storybookland is so magical andit might like when you're going
under the fairy-lit lightarchway it's just like the tune
of a whole new world plays andyou just kind of sit there and
(32:19):
look and you've got Casey Jrcircling to your left and you're
entering the Cave of Wondersand you're just, you're like a
little kid again and it's just,it's so magical and it's kind of
a different experience at nighttoo, because if you can time it
right, you can actually be onthere for fireworks.
Speaker 1 (32:35):
And they stopped the boat.
It's one of the few places youcan sit down and watch fireworks
.
Speaker 2 (32:38):
Yeah, they have to stop the boat because of the
potential for falling numbers.
So they stopped the boats andI've been on those boats before
in the past and getting thecaptain, those, and it's really
cool, like you're just sittingthere on a boat working but you
get to watch the fireworks.
Like it's so cool and so muchfun and it's a ride for the
(33:00):
whole family.
Like the beauty about Fanny'sIsland is there's only one ride
that has a high requirement andthat's Matterhorn, but
everything else is for every age, from newborns to 90 year old
grandparents.
Like it's and that's what Waltwanted was something for the
entire family.
My other favorite is Casey JrCircus Train.
(33:21):
There's only one other that'ssimilar and that's in Paris but
that's more of like it's kind ofa step below, like Bar and
Stormer or Gadget's Go coaster.
It's like a family coaster butit's not quite like the heights
with the drops and all that kindof stuff.
But again like this is anotheropening to attraction and it's
(33:42):
from the story of Dumbo.
So Casey Jr, you know he was acircus train that took Dumbo and
all of his mom and all theother circus animals to the
different various circus stops.
So it's based off the story ofthe little engine equate, so it
kind of goes through, it weavesin and out of storybook land.
So it's really cool because you,if you ride storybook land, you
get the view from below.
(34:03):
And if you ride Casey Jr, youkind of get the view from above.
And if you ride it during thesunset like I've got some
fabulous pictures of sunset withlike the sun peeking out and
the rays shooting like behindAarndelle, it's really cool.
So you kind of go up this tinylittle hill and he's like I
think I can, I think I can, Ithink I can, and then he crest
(34:24):
the hill and then you're off onyour adventure around storybook
land.
So those are two of my what Iwould consider the most
underrated rides in Disneyland.
And that was long winded, I'msorry.
Speaker 1 (34:36):
No, that's okay, that was one of my son's favorites
for a really long time, so muchso that like it's hard for me to
do it now because I you know hewould want to ride it over and
over and over again when?
now I see those animal cages andI'm like I don't want to be in
the cage.
We don't ride it very muchanymore, so now it's getting fun
again because we rode it with afriend that we went with.
But when you go to Disneyland,what do you pack in your day?
(34:58):
Pack or purse, or do you notbring a purse?
Speaker 2 (35:01):
I do.
So it kind of varies dependingon the season.
I should preface this to say Iam not a park open, park closed
kind of person.
I've done that a handful oftimes and although I'm I don't
consider myself old by any meansI just cannot physically do a
park open to park close.
Maybe it's just cause I alsoworked there for so long that my
(35:22):
body's just like get off yourfeet, get off your feet.
So if it's during the summer,definitely a bottle of water,
preferably if you have aninsulated one.
I use a.
It's a knockoff but it's fromTarget.
It was like 30 bucks.
It's like a 32 ounce insulatedwater bottle.
If you have the ability to fillit with ice, fill it with ice
(35:42):
and water before you hit theparks, cause we all know water
is expensive in Disney.
But travel tip that some peoplemay not know is you can
actually get a free glass ofwater from any quick service
restaurant, except for the icecream shops.
It's not going to be very big,I think it's like less than
eight ounces, but it's free.
It will keep you hydrated, youcan throw it in your water
(36:02):
bottle and obviously there'swater fountains there too that
you can refill up on.
They are kind of starting toadd those water bottle size
water fountains in the park,which is fantastic.
So water bottles.
If it's during the summer, Itypically start off the day with
sunscreen already on and thenobviously you want to make sure
you don't get burned, so youwant to keep that in your pack.
(36:24):
I have just like a littletravel size of New Jadrina it's
like SPF 70 that I keep in mybag so I'm not lugging around
like a big old bottle ofsunscreen.
And if you have plans so kindof you want to make sure you're
wearing a good pair of shoes Ifyou plan to go on any water ride
, maybe an extra pair of shorts,because chafing and jean shorts
(36:46):
is not fun, especially ifyou're doing it like early in
the day.
So those are definitely some ofmy must haves.
Another one that I think thisDNA is you really really need is
a battery backup for your phoneand a charging cable.
You can find those on Amazon.
I started off when fuel rodskind of became popular.
I have a bunch of those.
(37:07):
I don't use them.
They're like my backup to thebackup.
But I have a brick charger.
It's solar, has the ability torecharge by solar as well, if it
would ever run out.
I'm not next to a plug.
So those are kind of my mainsummer essentials.
Winter essentials it's a littlebit less, and I don't usually
bring a backpack to Disneylandin the winter.
(37:28):
I usually just if I'm going tobe there in the evening I'll
bring a sweatshirt, but I'lljust kind of hide around my
waist and then maybe I feel likeCalifornia is all about the
layers.
Yes, yes, it's definitely.
It can be hit or miss.
There's been many Christmaseswhere it's been 90 degrees and
many Christmases where it's beenin the 40s.
(37:48):
So you kind of it's kind oflike Florida where you kind of
have to pack for everything.
But yeah, winters in Californiacan get cold.
So definitely make sure, ifyou're going to pack layers and
you want to bring a giantbackpack, get a locker.
You can get a day locker.
They're in the middle of MainStreet on the right-hand side.
(38:10):
That way you're not lugging itaround all day getting it on
rise, trying to get it out ofrise and all that kind of stuff.
But if you're just going for afew hours, just a jacket, hide
around your waist and a fannypack, that's all you need pretty
much.
Speaker 1 (38:29):
And what is your favorite quick serve meal?
Speaker 2 (38:34):
Okay, hands down Coca-Cola corner at the end of
Main Street on the left-handside, a cream cheese filled
pretzel with nacho cheese and acherry sprites.
That is my go-to every time.
Because the thing is, peopleare like what do you mean nacho
(38:56):
cheese?
What do you mean real cheese?
Because here's the thing at thekiosks in the park and here in
Florida they have thepre-packaged processed cheese,
which is gross.
At Coca-Cola corner they havelegitimate nacho cheese.
So it's the real stuff that youpour over nachos and I just dip
(39:20):
my cream cheese filled pretzelin there.
It's just, I don't know what itis and people are like ew
cheese, why not mustard?
I'm like I grew up on this.
It's what I do, it's what Ilike.
What are you gonna say?
Yeah, so that's my go-to snacks.
But I will say churro is aclose second.
The churros at Disneyland arevery good.
They definitely beat out WaltDisney World churros.
Speaker 1 (39:45):
And if you see them coming out hot, that's always
the best there are a lot ifyou've had a bad churro you
probably had a cold churro.
Speaker 2 (39:52):
Let me tell you when I would be working the dock at
Casey Jr, there's a churro standright there and they'd be
making fresh churros and I wouldbe looking at them falling out
of the oven and that gloriouscinnamon sugar mix.
I'd just be like why don't Ihave to be working right now?
Speaker 1 (40:14):
Well, I wanna thank you for coming on the show and
sharing your tips with us.
If people wanna reach you,what's the best way to do that?
Speaker 2 (40:21):
Yeah, so the best way to do that is through email or
message me on my Instagramhandle.
So my email is ChristinaMcBride at travelmationnet, so
it'sC-H-R-I-S-T-I-N-A-M-C-B-R-I-D-E
at Travelmation, so it's travel,it's a combination of travel
(40:47):
and animation, because we're abig Disney company, so travel.
And then mationnet, or myInstagram handle is
adventuresofchris, so it'sA-D-V-N-T-R-S.
Underscore word of underscoreChris C-H-I-S, c-h-r-i-s.
So those are the two bestlocations.
(41:08):
They can email me, they candirect message me, say they're
interested on a trip and we cango from there.
Speaker 1 (41:14):
Awesome.
Well, thank you so much forcoming on the show today.
Thank you so much.
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