Magical Partnership
As my site grew over the years I tried to add information about things that people had questions about. Some of the questions were about the history of the resort so I would dig up information and then add it to my history section. People wanted to know more about the resort so I would do news updates to let them know what was going on at the resort.
As the site grew, people would use it to help plan their visit. I would get questions about the best rates or any Disney specials coming up. Unless it happened to be around a time I was looking to book for myself, I often did not do enough research to keep up with the specials all year. I eventually teamed up with a great travel agency called Magical Vacations. At the time I was considering working with a few Authorized Disney agencies like Magical Journeys, MEI- Travel & Mouse Fan Travel and many others. I had known many of the agents or the people that started the agencies and I knew they worked hard to make sure others trips were well planned. In the past I had only used Disney, AAA or a local Travel Agent (who knew nothing about Disney).
One of the reasons I started my site was because my local agent could not tell me anything about the Polynesian and the brochure was of no help. Back then the internet did not exist either. I figured I would make a site that would help people see what the resort was like through some photos and a trip report (way back before trip reports were cool).
Some people tell me they still book with Disney because they feel safe or that they have all the information. They also worried that booking with an agency would cost them more money. I can tell you that I will always book with an agent if I need someone to make sure my trip is going to be planned well and I am going to get the best deal. They do not charge you anything for booking your trip. They are paid by Disney. Also they will keep an eye on any specials coming up so you don’t have to check every week. Many of them have been to Disney many times and have a lot of knowledge about trips to Disney.
We see that calling Disney does not always get you the right answer. Now I am not beating up on the people that work the phones for Disney travel because most of them work very hard, are friendly and can do a great job. Unfortunately they are not always given accurate information. We have seen people post that they were told no construction was going on at the Polynesian when half the resort was closed off or that the pool was going to close a year before it did. That was because someone was not giving them correct info to help them do their job.
The good Authorized Disney agencies out there have people that are online all the time and trying to get up to date info for their clients. I can’t tell you how many have emailed me or follow my Facebook page to keep up on the current information so they can help their guests. I know even some of the Disney staff does also. The people and agencies I know are a great bunch of people and I enjoy seeing them when I am at Disney. They also work very hard and you would be lucky to have them working for you to help you plan and book a trip. I say plan and book because there is nothing sleazier than working the staff at an agency for info and the best deals out there and then booking it yourself. I have a few names of people that agencies have told me do that so I will know who they are if they ever email me for help. How would you like someone to come into your work and have you work for weeks on something and then say you are not getting paid?
Many of you may remember Magical Vacations from my site and how Lisa (the original owner) set up the Tikifest parties as a thank you to all the great people that Love the Polynesian Resort. It was also a way to all get together and meet the people who we helped plan trips for over the years. Back during the first Tikifest is when Lisa worked with Disney to get some Agency exclusive rooms to help make the trip for Tikifest more affordable. Many were able to stay at the Polynesian for the first time because of the low rates. Years later, one of the guests at Tikifest (Michele DeNofa) took over Magical Vacations Travel. She also added a great staff that I would personally trust with any of my trips.
So why did I stop teaming up with Magical Vacations and switch to Love the Mouse Travel? Talk about a tough decision. I had met a group of people that were very passionate about Disney and had a few web sites along with a podcast. They were very involved in many things at Disney and I wanted to be a part of that all so I could be more involved in the online Disney community. They also were part of a travel agency called Love the Mouse Travel. Jay Angoff asked me if they could sponsor my site and after making sure they were going to be a good place to refer my readers, I added them to my site.
I know that Magical Vacations would do great with Michele and they did not need my help. Many of my readers have continued to book with them for years. I also knew that Love the Mouse Travel had a great group of knowledgeable agents. Being such a great friend, Michele understood my reason for having them sponsor my site. I was afraid it would look like something bad had happened between us but it was not that at all.
Now I am happy to say that Magical Vacations Travel and my site will be teamed up again. It was another hard decision because Jay and the friends I made through Jay and Love the Mouse Travel are like family to me and will always be. I will also continue to tell anyone that asks me about Love the Mouse Travel that they are a great place to book through and they know a ton about traveling to Disney.
I am very excited to be working with Michele again. I have also been in contact with some of her agents that are asking me about the Polynesian all the time. They are very dedicated to getting the right info for their clients. I am also excited to be able to share with my readers that they have some agency exclusive rooms at a few resorts (including the Polynesian) for different times in 2015.
If you have been on some of the message forums and seen people talking about the “magical deal” because they can’t mention Magical Vacations Travel by name, this is what they are talking about. They have rooms for the Polynesian and other resorts at different times in 2015 at amazing rates. Just like back with the rooms during Tikifest, the deal is so good I can’t post them. You can ask them for a quote and see what the cost is but I can’t post the numbers here. No, it is not a scam to get you to go to their site and get a quote. I get nothing for referring you to them and that is not the kind of thing I do anyway. People that have been visiting my web page for the last 15 years know I don’t promote stuff unless I believe in it or use it myself. I am using the “Agency Exclusive” room myself next August. They started booking these rooms a little while ago and many categories are sold out but if you want to see if they have anything for your dates you can Click here.
I want to give a special thank you to Jay Angoff and all those at Love the Mouse travel for all they have done for me and my readers. I wish them continued success in assisting people with their dream vacations.
I also want to give a special thankyou to Mathew Turk (Turkmandu.com) for his hard work in the designs for my site as well as the Magical Vacations Travel and DVC Magic Resales site during a busy time of the year.
Thank you to Tim Tracy for the artical photo. Look for more of his photos here as I update the site pages with new photos.
