Episode Transcript
[00:00:07] Speaker A: Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Mouse Ears podcast where we talk about all things travel, but mostly Disney, brought to you by Fairy Tale Journeys Travel.
[00:00:21] Speaker B: Hello, and welcome to another episode of the Mouse Ears podcast. I am your host, Jenny and I am joined by Kelton.
[00:00:30] Speaker A: Hello.
[00:00:31] Speaker B: And by Brooks.
[00:00:33] Speaker C: Hi, De ho neighbors.
[00:00:35] Speaker B: And from way down in Florida, Stephanie. Hi. Steph.
[00:00:39] Speaker D: Hi, everyone.
[00:00:40] Speaker E: Hello.
[00:00:41] Speaker B: And we are thrilled.
[00:00:44] Speaker A: Always chiming in early over there.
[00:00:45] Speaker B: I love it.
I love. See, we're just so excited. But I am thrilled to have very, very special guests today. So these are the sponsors of the Mouseers podcast, the owners of Fairy Tale Journeys travel agency. Welcome to Suzanne and Steve Hayes.
[00:01:03] Speaker A: Thank you.
[00:01:04] Speaker E: Hello, everybody.
[00:01:07] Speaker D: Yeah, I was going to say where's the applause? It is necessary.
[00:01:17] Speaker B: All right. And if you're watching us on YouTube, help us spread more magic. If you love all things travel, but mostly Disney, click that like button, subscribe to our channel and smash that little bell for your VIP pass to be notified of every new episode.
All right, now, before we get into chatting with Steve and Suzanne, we are going to have some trivia and I think we have a really good question this time. So Brooks, take it away.
[00:01:46] Speaker C: As opposed to not good questions that we sometimes.
[00:01:49] Speaker B: They're always good. All right, scratch that. Reverse it.
[00:01:53] Speaker C: All right, so today's trivia question is brought to you by our another wonderful sponsor, Magic Candle Company. Next time you want a Disney inspired scent to fill your home or office, whether it may be a candle, room spray or more, use our special promo code, mouse ears for 15% off, that is without the dashes. M O U S E E A R s for 15% off of any future Magic Candle company purchase. So today's trivia question, what year was the Walt Disney Travel Co. Inc. Founded?
What year? Bonus. What was it called? What was it called beforehand?
[00:02:43] Speaker B: I am stumped.
[00:02:44] Speaker C: So if. If you know the answer, put it down in the comments and stay tuned to the end of the episode for the answer. Now back to you, Jenny, for today's episode.
[00:02:57] Speaker B: Thank you. So today we are going to be talking with Stephen, Suzanne and we're going to talk a little bit about using a travel agency, but specifically an authorized Disney Vacation planner and exactly what all of that means and what all of that entails. So we are thrilled to have you guys on here.
So what is an authorized Disney vacation planner? An authorized Disney Vacation Planner are travel experts specially trained and certified by Disney to assist with planning and booking Disney vacations. They have in depth knowledge of Disney parks, resorts, cruise lines and they ensure to provide you with the most current information and personalized recommendations. Now that's just the general definition of it. There's a lot that goes into that. Fairy Tale Journeys is one of, I believe it's 19 agencies that is platinum earmarked. And so, you know, we'll get into that some, but Suzanne and Steve. So tell us a little bit about Fairy Tale Journeys and when was it established?
[00:04:12] Speaker F: So it was established.
It was around 2010. So we're coming up on our 15 year anniversary.
[00:04:22] Speaker E: That's a big, big milestone.
[00:04:24] Speaker B: Yeah, that is awesome. That is great. And how many agents do you have in total?
[00:04:29] Speaker E: Oh, gosh, it's, it's about 250. It's kind of where it stays.
It'll fluctuate around.
[00:04:37] Speaker A: So is that considered, you know, considered in this, Is that considered like a small agency? Larger, you know, somewhere in the middle? Like where, where's FTJ on that? Do you know?
[00:04:49] Speaker E: Oh, gosh, I'd say in terms of platinum agencies, we might be on the smaller side.
[00:04:53] Speaker F: Yeah, I would say because.
[00:04:56] Speaker E: But there are agencies with well over a thousand agents and some of those are getting into the diamond, platinum status, so. Or not platinum, but diamond.
[00:05:04] Speaker F: They are diamond. Yeah, that's.
[00:05:08] Speaker D: I do want to mention something about how many agents FTJ has because I know in multiple different episodes I've brought up just the fantastic network and the camaraderie and just the family that we have established at ftj. So if I say ftj everyone, it is the abbreviation for Fairytale Journey. So I apologize in advance. But you know, we're experts. But there's always new information. There's always so much knowledge out there. And being an agency like fairy tale journeys, 250 agents is still pretty big if you ask me. Even if we're not the biggest.
But we still have such great relationships amongst all of the agents in the agency. So what that really means is that any of us who help our clients have fantastic resources beyond just the vendors that we work with to be able to provide the best information for any and all of our clients. So it's just something to really emphasize to anyone out there. Working with an agency like Fairy Tale Journeys really gives you not just a fantastic agent, but a fantastic agency and all the support that comes with it. So I just wanted to highlight that.
[00:06:26] Speaker E: Because I know I've mentioned there's always somebody who has, that specializes in kind of a niche because it's not just Disney, it's. It's several cruise lines and it's universal as well. But if, if we have like a more rare type vacation request. We're pretty sure we're going to have an agent that has sold it or been there themselves. So it's really helpful to have that many agents.
[00:06:51] Speaker D: Absolutely. Couldn't have said it better myself. But.
[00:06:57] Speaker A: You said it.
[00:06:59] Speaker E: That's what I do. What I need to know.
[00:07:04] Speaker F: Entire agency behind you. That's what I've always told people.
[00:07:10] Speaker B: They really are so helpful. If anyone, you know, it's. And I think as agents, sometimes we get into wanting to have all the answers right away and sometimes it's okay, you know, let me double check on that. And then get with one of our other agents who maybe specializes in something a little bit more or has encountered situation. I think between all of us, we've all run into just about any kind of situation you could imagine.
[00:07:38] Speaker F: Yeah, you know, it's in this business and really just in life, period, there's no way you can know everything.
And in travel, the way that it changes daily, especially like Disney, I mean, there's. I can't keep up. So I know if I can't. I mean, y'all can't keep up. I mean, the news is coming out so fast.
But as long as you know how to find the answer and where to look for it, I mean, you know, that, that's, that's, that's the best part, you know. Plus, we have all of our agents there to help us. But, yeah, there's no way you're going to know everything.
[00:08:18] Speaker A: Well, you talk about, you know, and how quick news drops sometimes. We have had days where Stephen blows up our chat. I'm at work. I look down. Okay, we gotta, we gotta text a Twitter post from. What's it, Scott something.
[00:08:37] Speaker D: Scott Gustin.
[00:08:39] Speaker A: I go back to work for 17 minutes. I look down, 37 messages.
19 of them are from Steph just blow, so.
[00:08:51] Speaker C: And 14 Twitter stories.
[00:08:55] Speaker F: Today. You probably got breaking news.
[00:08:58] Speaker D: Well, today I, I made sure to post them. So if you haven't followed us on mouse series, blog and podcast, Instagram, do so. I spent most of my day today posting all the diff. Different Disney news today.
Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, Walt Disney World, you name it, it's there. But yeah, sorry, Kelton, you guys are my people.
[00:09:23] Speaker A: That's just how fast things drop like that. And then we're sitting there, Steph is sitting there scrambling. 20 minutes before we're supposed to record updating all this new news stuff. I'm getting Royal Caribbean stuff sent to me, and it's jet. But that's how fast, like Suzanne, you said, I mean, that's how fast this industry.
[00:09:42] Speaker F: Yeah.
[00:09:43] Speaker A: Changes.
So.
[00:09:45] Speaker F: Yeah, it's. It's just impossible. It's impossible to know at all.
[00:09:49] Speaker E: One of the things that I guess Suzanne and I know a lot about is Disney Cruise Line. That's we've been on I don't know how many cruises. Probably 15, 16, 17.
[00:10:00] Speaker F: Yeah.
[00:10:01] Speaker E: And that's actually Suzanne started the business because before 2010 we started going on DCL because our first child was born in 2000. Then we got one in 2004 and then people started going with us. So we were booking half the people in this town, it seemed like to go with us and just, just doing it because.
Because they knew we went and we had a good time. And the pictures. I think that's when Facebook was fairly new too. And so, yeah, it was.
People were seeing what we were doing and I think we probably had. We probably had 50 people there from our hometown go with us at one time.
[00:10:38] Speaker F: But that is kind of how it all started. And that was, was us cruising on Disney.
[00:10:44] Speaker E: I think it was so you could ships back then.
[00:10:46] Speaker A: So it, so it all truly did start with a mouse.
[00:10:50] Speaker E: Yeah.
[00:10:51] Speaker F: It did not. It really. I mean, I love Walt Disney World, but for me to start this business, it started with Disney Cruise Line.
[00:11:00] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:11:00] Speaker D: I had no idea. I love that story.
[00:11:02] Speaker B: Yeah, I didn't know that either.
[00:11:04] Speaker A: I wonder how many of our agents actually know that.
[00:11:07] Speaker E: Yeah, I think we've told.
[00:11:08] Speaker F: I've never told that.
[00:11:10] Speaker B: We should have made that the trivia.
[00:11:12] Speaker D: Question for our agents.
[00:11:13] Speaker A: You just told like 300 consecutive listeners that that's how FTJ started.
[00:11:20] Speaker E: Yeah. And she just.
[00:11:22] Speaker D: There's Steve dropping those gems.
[00:11:26] Speaker F: There you go.
[00:11:30] Speaker E: Rename Steve Jim.
[00:11:34] Speaker B: Well, we talked a little bit about, you know, really maybe not being able to be an expert in every single thing that there is, but we are about as well versed as we could be and we stay up to date on things.
As being part of an authorized Disney vacation planner agency. We undergo extension extensive training.
We have the college of Disney knowledge. There's lots of hands on experience. If anyone follows any of our pages, it seems like some of us are there a lot more than others. Oh yeah, I was there a lot last year. I can't say anything, but there's certification, accreditation, customer service skills, industry practices.
Suzanne, do you want to tell us a little bit about some of those and just what goes into them? The amount of training that it takes to be an authorized Disney vacation planner.
[00:12:37] Speaker F: Now say that one more time.
[00:12:39] Speaker E: That's a Train.
[00:12:41] Speaker F: I was too busy reading what somebody wrote.
[00:12:48] Speaker B: Can you tell us a little bit just about the trainings that we go through and the things that we do on a yearly basis and, you know, multiple times a year, some of the events and stuff like that that we do to make sure we're at our very best?
[00:13:04] Speaker F: Well, like you mentioned, you know, Disney has the college of Disney knowledge that we go through every year and we have to renew that because they have the updates. And then throughout the year, for example, say, about the Disney treasure, they'll have, you know, a webinar or.
Oh, gosh, the Disney wish, you name it. Or even, like the resorts that we need to be going through.
They even have sales and marketing on there, too. That's really good, y'all. Also, like every year we do our yearly summit that we go to where Disney, they're. They're really wonderful with us being a platinum agency.
I feel like they.
They really do.
[00:13:56] Speaker E: Gosh, they kind of go out, out of the way.
[00:13:58] Speaker F: It seems they go above and beyond. Yeah. Yeah.
And I think all of y'all have been. Hadn't you. Kelt Kelton. Oh, you hadn't been.
[00:14:08] Speaker A: I was gonna go this year and then.
[00:14:10] Speaker E: But he couldn't get his garage door open.
[00:14:13] Speaker A: Didn't get the four wheeler out of the garage, and it was.
[00:14:15] Speaker C: He'll still be stuck and Toby's stuck inside.
[00:14:20] Speaker A: No, we got a wedding that weekend, so we gonna be.
[00:14:23] Speaker F: Well, you're gonna.
[00:14:24] Speaker D: This is tragic.
[00:14:25] Speaker A: I. I don't want to hear about it. I. It makes me Sad already.
[00:14:30] Speaker D: We're FaceTiming you.
[00:14:32] Speaker C: I was going. I was going to say Kelton. We'll take you out of the group chat for that weekend so we don't. So we don't hurt your feelings.
[00:14:42] Speaker A: Brooks. My feelings are hurt now.
I cannot believe you would do such a thing to me.
I thought we were boys. We were the guys.
[00:14:54] Speaker C: I was trying to think of you.
[00:14:56] Speaker F: Oh, my gosh.
[00:14:59] Speaker A: Move on.
[00:15:00] Speaker C: I'll take myself out.
[00:15:02] Speaker F: So back to the training.
So, yeah, I mean, gosh, the past few years, we usually have Disney Cruise Line adventures by Disney plus Disney executives to come see y'all and talk to y'all.
And also the mouse, I think has been there several times. But you know, the training, you know, gosh, I think it's wonderful just what Disney does for us being a platinum agency. And I know, like a lot of y'all, you get a lot of hands on experience because y'all travel so much down there or you're going to Disneyland. Or Disney Cruise Line.
So, yeah, y'all are always. Y'all travel more than I do.
[00:15:54] Speaker B: It seems like as far as the agency goes, at any given point, we have at least one agent in the Parks or.
[00:16:02] Speaker F: Yeah, I agree with you.
[00:16:04] Speaker B: You know, at. At any given time there. There's an agent down there, is what it seems like.
[00:16:10] Speaker F: Yeah. Or on Disney Cruise Line.
[00:16:13] Speaker D: This is true. Yeah.
[00:16:15] Speaker C: And chances are that's probably Laura Greco.
[00:16:17] Speaker B: It's probably Laura.
[00:16:18] Speaker F: That's who I was thinking about.
[00:16:20] Speaker E: I don't think. Unless it's like a special occasion. Laura's on every cruise I think I've been on. I think it seems like it.
[00:16:28] Speaker B: Yeah. I don't think cruises.
[00:16:31] Speaker E: She came by our room and then our.
Oh, the guy that comes by and makes the beds and the stateroom. Yeah, the stateroom host.
[00:16:40] Speaker F: Anyway, she acted in 17 cruises.
[00:16:43] Speaker E: Yeah, well, maybe 14. But she knew exactly who he was. And when she saw him, they just hugged each other. I mean, she's on a first name basis with the entire crew.
[00:16:54] Speaker F: Oh, yes. She knows everybody. Have y'all been with Laura?
[00:16:58] Speaker D: Not yet, but that's our queen of dcl.
[00:17:01] Speaker B: She's.
[00:17:01] Speaker C: I have never been on a cruise.
[00:17:03] Speaker F: She knows everybody. They know her.
[00:17:06] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:17:07] Speaker F: Yeah.
[00:17:10] Speaker A: You know, it wouldn't be surprising if one day she's up there, champagne glass in hand, just driving the ship.
[00:17:18] Speaker C: Maybe. Maybe for the 60th sailing. She can do that.
[00:17:22] Speaker A: That's what it'll be. They'll let her drive the ship.
[00:17:24] Speaker C: Yeah.
Or drive.
[00:17:28] Speaker E: Yes.
[00:17:28] Speaker A: Steer.
[00:17:29] Speaker B: Steer.
[00:17:30] Speaker A: However you want to call it.
[00:17:31] Speaker E: A blow the horns. That's. That's the one.
[00:17:33] Speaker A: Oh, that would be fun.
[00:17:34] Speaker B: That would be fun.
[00:17:35] Speaker A: Did you all hear the treasure's horns?
[00:17:38] Speaker F: No, but I read about it, but I didn't hear about it.
[00:17:42] Speaker A: It was all over Tick Tock today.
[00:17:45] Speaker F: Yeah, I didn't get on Tick Tock today.
I guess I will when I get off of here.
[00:17:50] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm gonna have to do that, too.
[00:17:51] Speaker D: Oh, man, you'll get Como real quick. Real quick.
[00:17:55] Speaker E: First sailing is coming up in December.
[00:17:57] Speaker F: So I don't know. I don't know if y'all heard. And he. Well, he kind of let it out the other day, but we're leaving.
We will be there next week in New York for this christening for the Christmas tree.
[00:18:12] Speaker A: That's right.
[00:18:14] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:18:15] Speaker A: And that's. Oh, and this. This episode is gonna drop.
[00:18:21] Speaker C: Oh, you have already been there.
[00:18:24] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:18:25] Speaker F: Yeah.
[00:18:26] Speaker A: Nice.
[00:18:26] Speaker D: That's awesome.
[00:18:27] Speaker E: Well, we will have.
[00:18:28] Speaker F: But then we actually go on it.
[00:18:32] Speaker D: So after the Christian. You guys are Getting on in New York and.
[00:18:36] Speaker F: No, in December.
[00:18:38] Speaker D: December, right. Next week is not December.
[00:18:41] Speaker F: No. Nice. December 9th.
[00:18:43] Speaker E: Yeah. We'll be feeding the information out, too. So.
[00:18:46] Speaker F: Yeah.
[00:18:47] Speaker A: So just out of Curio. So it's going out of Port Canaveral, where It's our. It already is. When do you guys fly in?
Where to Orlando.
Steph's dogs.
So.
So when do you guys fly into Port Canaveral? Or. Or really be Orlando, you mean?
[00:19:11] Speaker F: Wait a minute. So we're going to New York first? First.
[00:19:14] Speaker A: I'm talking about. You said the sailing.
[00:19:17] Speaker F: So the 8th. December 8th. But we get on the ship on the 9th. So it's the 9th through the 12th. Yeah. And it's the media preview, so we'll be the guinea pigs again.
So. Yes. As the guinea pigs or just as.
[00:19:37] Speaker E: Just to see the ship.
[00:19:39] Speaker B: Just to see the ship.
[00:19:40] Speaker F: So we'll see the ship next week.
So y'all will get, like, first pictures and videos.
[00:19:53] Speaker C: Oh, I can't wait for that.
[00:19:54] Speaker F: Yeah.
[00:19:55] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:19:55] Speaker B: That's gonna be amazing.
[00:19:57] Speaker E: I love themes on the boat because it's got a little more of a sort of a villain aspect to it. So a lot of those.
[00:20:06] Speaker C: We love our villains.
[00:20:08] Speaker E: So I'm excited about that because every ship has got their own sort of specialty, and I think this one is kind of set apart from all the others, so it's going to be nice.
[00:20:22] Speaker F: Yeah, just. Steph, I don't know if you've told your knees.
[00:20:28] Speaker B: Steph has news. Now I'm intrigued.
[00:20:31] Speaker C: What do we need a drum roll for this, Steph?
[00:20:34] Speaker F: Yep.
[00:20:34] Speaker E: I'm not in trouble.
[00:20:35] Speaker D: Suzanne can spill the beans.
[00:20:37] Speaker C: Hold on. Drum roll.
[00:20:39] Speaker A: So.
[00:20:45] Speaker F: Being part of a platinum agency, you know, we get.
As you were saying, we're.
There's 19 platinum diamond combined agencies, and with that, where I'm on an advisory committee, which we call it mtac.
And being a platinum or diamond agency is really huge because, I mean, it's an elite honor because. Oh, gosh, there's probably. And I'm just throwing out a number and I don't know the exact number, but say if there's like 600 earmarked agencies in the US we're in the top 19, so that's huge.
So with that, we get perks, and so we get, you know, the media invites, which, you know, helps the entire agency. And for this cruise, we were able. We received an extra state room. So to Mouse Ears podcast will be on there, and Steph will be there.
[00:22:01] Speaker C: Steph, you're getting your media pass.
[00:22:06] Speaker D: Mousiers is Gonna be on the Treasure before the maiden voyage, guys. Yes. Thank you, Suzanne. Thank you, Steve.
People, stay tuned.
[00:22:17] Speaker A: Fantastic.
[00:22:19] Speaker C: Steph, wasn't that one, like, your little, like, sticky note vision board to get a media pass?
[00:22:24] Speaker D: Yes.
[00:22:24] Speaker A: So you had it on your bingo card at a girl?
[00:22:27] Speaker D: I. Yes. So ever since our very first recording, I put a little sticky note on my monitor, and it was a goal of 2024. So one year after was to be able to get a media pass for something.
[00:22:43] Speaker C: December 2024.
[00:22:45] Speaker E: Need to get a.
[00:22:46] Speaker D: Just. Just made it. Yeah, I love that.
[00:22:50] Speaker C: Hey.
[00:22:51] Speaker F: And I did not.
[00:22:52] Speaker C: Close only counts in.
[00:22:53] Speaker D: You did not. Yeah.
[00:22:54] Speaker C: Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. I mean.
[00:22:57] Speaker A: Yeah, it doesn't matter.
[00:23:00] Speaker D: Next is D23. Guys gonna do it?
[00:23:05] Speaker A: No, hold on. Our next one is Epic Universe. That's the one we gotta get the next pass to.
[00:23:12] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:23:13] Speaker F: I haven't heard anything about that, so.
Yeah.
[00:23:17] Speaker A: Steph, that's awesome. Congratulations on that.
[00:23:20] Speaker C: Oh, so happy.
[00:23:21] Speaker D: Thank you.
[00:23:22] Speaker A: No, we need to get you, like, Malstere's blog and podcast, like, gear, spirit, jerseys, hats. Get Sticky Mike on it. Let's go.
[00:23:31] Speaker D: I'm all for this.
[00:23:35] Speaker F: Thank you.
[00:23:36] Speaker D: I'm going to, like, all over. All over my. Anything that I have. My phone case, my camera, my back. I'm gonna have just mouse ears, stickers everywhere.
[00:23:46] Speaker E: We need those represent with everybody's face on them. So we can take you with.
[00:23:51] Speaker F: They do that.
[00:23:52] Speaker A: Yes, yes.
[00:23:55] Speaker E: Oh, you can just pretend like we're doing a podcast and I could do some voices.
[00:24:00] Speaker D: Oh, I love that. Yes. All for it.
[00:24:03] Speaker E: Voiceovers.
[00:24:05] Speaker D: So, anyways, well, fantastic news.
[00:24:10] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:24:10] Speaker B: I love that. Congrats. That is awesome. Oh, I'm so excited.
[00:24:13] Speaker F: Yeah. And y'all are the first to know. We haven't told anybody.
[00:24:17] Speaker B: I love it.
[00:24:18] Speaker F: Yeah.
[00:24:18] Speaker C: That's so awesome.
[00:24:18] Speaker A: And you just told 300 listeners.
[00:24:21] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:24:22] Speaker D: Well, this will. In all fairness, this will drop the first week of December right after Thanksgiving.
[00:24:28] Speaker C: So you will be getting ready.
[00:24:30] Speaker F: Yeah.
[00:24:30] Speaker C: To go shortly.
[00:24:33] Speaker D: Shortly.
[00:24:34] Speaker F: But she will be on the 12th, right? You go.
[00:24:38] Speaker D: I believe so. Yeah, I believe so. I know. Next to no detail still.
[00:24:44] Speaker F: Don't worry. We don't either.
[00:24:47] Speaker D: I. I kind of have an idea that I'm excited either way.
But what I did want to mention, we keep bringing up platinum, and we keep bringing up being an elite. And obviously, being elite, you get some. Exactly. Thank you, Brooks. You get some fantastic perks and just really getting highlighted by the Disney company, which is really important, especially for all the work that we do.
I think it's important for the audience to know, what are the different levels of earmarked that comes with, you know, selling Disney destination? And are earmarked agencies the only ones that can sell Disney? Maybe yes, maybe no. And can you speak on that, Suzanne, please?
[00:25:38] Speaker C: Well, I would say first, what, what is an earmarked agency?
[00:25:45] Speaker F: So a earmarked agency is.
So how can I put this?
Basically, you. It's own sales. It's based on your sales, and it's a certain amount of sales.
And I signed an NDA, so I can't talk too much.
But they start out at silver and then gold, platinum and diamond. They used to have bronze and then one last year, but it was the year before. What this past year.
It was last year.
[00:26:29] Speaker E: Jumped the requirements up.
[00:26:30] Speaker F: Yeah, they. They up the requirements for all classes for each level. And they did that for a reason. Because it had not, you know, moved in, gosh, forever in a day. And they really needed to.
[00:26:46] Speaker E: It was kind of to keep the number of platinum agencies to a certain.
[00:26:51] Speaker F: Number, Platinum, diamond to a certain number. Because it is such an elite, you know, status and the volume that we sell is huge.
And, you know, they wanted to keep it that way. The number of platinum diamond agencies. And so they got rid of the bronze. So they just have the silver, the gold, platinum. And the diamond. And diamond came. Gosh, I guess it was after 2020, it used to just be.
Yeah, platinum was the highest.
And then after 2020, you had a lot of agencies that they have a lot of agents and so they had to create that next level. So.
[00:27:46] Speaker D: Yeah, and also.
[00:27:49] Speaker B: Go ahead, please. Go ahead.
[00:27:51] Speaker D: Sure. Okay.
[00:27:52] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:27:52] Speaker D: So I was also going to say not every agency, slash, agent, depending on how you sell is, is earmarked or recognized with Disney. That doesn't mean that they can't sell Disney. It just means, correct me if I'm wrong, they don't have all the perks and the benefits that Disney provides. An agency that is actually earmarked, is that. Am I, am I good on track?
[00:28:24] Speaker F: Yeah, you know, there could be. And you know, I don't know the exact number, but say there's 20,000 agencies in the US that sell Disney and that could be like one or two tickets or, you know, a pack, one package. But, you know, then you've got your agencies that are earmarked. And like I said, I don't know the exact number, you know, five anywhere. I would say between 400 to 600. But I. Look, I'm just throwing that number out there because I don't even know. But Those are your earmarked agencies.
And, you know, that's where you're going to start with your.
Your silver, your gold, and then your 19 platinum and your diamond, if that kind of helps.
[00:29:14] Speaker D: I think that really puts into perspective just how elite Fairy Tale Journeys is.
[00:29:22] Speaker F: Yeah.
[00:29:24] Speaker D: Jen, you were gonna say something? Oh, sorry, Suzanne, Go right ahead.
[00:29:29] Speaker F: Well, you know, I think, you know, we talked about this on one of our lives. We have been platinum for so long, probably, what, seven, eight years, that I think we just all kind of took it for granted. You know, we were platinum agency. We really didn't think, you know, really how elite and how special that was because we're just so used to it. And I know. I remember when I told y'all back last year. I think last year there was like, we were like, there's 25 of us or more, but just telling y'all that number. I just remember the reaction of all of y'all, and it really, like, hit home to y'all. Like, oh, my God. Like, we are part of an elite group.
And I don't think, you know, people didn't realize it. The agents.
[00:30:22] Speaker B: Yeah, I know that.
I knew that we were platinum because I think I've been here longer than anyone else.
I knew that we were platinum, and I knew it was important, and I knew it was, you know, it was a big thing. And one of the reasons. Just one of the reasons why I chose Fairy Tale Journeys, but to, you know, after joining a lot of other just, you know, in general travel agent groups and just seeing how many other agencies are out there, and then to know that we are really the cream of the crop, you know, that our agency, you know, has worked very, very hard. I mean, it looks like fun and games, but we work incredibly hard to make sure our clients have the best possible experience and to keep them coming back. So.
But it really, like you said it was last year that it really.
That it dawned on me. I was like, this is something really, really special. Like, this is. This is a big deal. It was kind of just, you know, like you said not to sound, like, conceited or anything, and I don't want to come across that way. But, you know, when we go to Summit and we get a private fireworks party, and, like, I'm like, they don't do that for everybody, and we don't.
Yeah. And I was like, oh, okay, this is a big deal. And then when you told us that, you know, there I mean, really the top, you know, 25 or 20 or so, whatever. I don't remember what it was last year, but I was like, oh my gosh, that's, that's something really to be proud of. It's really something to be proud of and we are very proud of it. So if it comes off as conceited, I don't mean it like that, but I am very, very proud of all of our agents and how we work together and how together we were able to achieve this with, you know, with your help and guidance and, you know, making sure that we have what we need.
[00:32:30] Speaker A: So y'all do a lot of work in the background too. I mean, there's a lot of work that, you know, I know because we've had conversations. It's, you know, you roll over and I'm getting a text from Suzanne early on at 9:00 at night. I'm going, good God. When I was working midnight shift, you know, those 10, 11 o'clock texts would come through or a 5:00am text. I'm going, does she sleep at all?
[00:32:56] Speaker B: I'm pretty sure Suzanne doesn't sleep.
[00:32:59] Speaker F: Not much.
[00:33:00] Speaker E: Neither one of us.
[00:33:01] Speaker D: She might be a vampire. We don't know this for a fact yet.
[00:33:04] Speaker A: Nobody, I don't think. Has anybody seen her out during the day? That's the question.
[00:33:09] Speaker F: No, they really don't. Because I stay in this house, I'm working non stop.
[00:33:14] Speaker A: No, But I think the biggest thing, I think the biggest thing that I think a lot of us or a lot of the platinum agencies would take for granted is that phone line, that dedicated phone line. And I say, and I say it that because just today I was on, when I got off of work, had a client reaching out about DCL or Disney Cruise Line. So I called in with questions and you know, they said, oh, you know, we'll have somebody with you shortly or whatever the line is in like five minutes. And we didn't even get through, you know, a couple of seconds into the first song of the whole music and somebody had picked up the phone.
I was not here when, you know, prior to being a platinum agency. But I don't want to go down to that step because I don't want to lose that dedicated.
[00:34:08] Speaker F: That's me. Yeah, yeah.
[00:34:10] Speaker A: I mean, that dedicated line is just because even when the big discounts drop, you know, we're not going to get that three hour hold. It might be an hour and a half.
[00:34:24] Speaker F: Right.
[00:34:25] Speaker A: But we're not going to get that long.
[00:34:27] Speaker C: I mean, in that time you can take care of two calls instead of just one easily.
[00:34:31] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:34:32] Speaker A: So it definitely pays off.
[00:34:35] Speaker F: So that was the thing, I guess it was back last year, you know, with the agency when.
When Disney up their sales goals for each level, you know, there was. I was never worried, you know, that we would not make, you know, platinum or anything. But, you know, it did come down, you know, to the very end. But, you know, I always told, you know, our BDM and rsc, we were not going back down to gold. There was just no way we were going to do what we had to do. And y'all pulled it off. I mean, y'all. They were worried. And they still talk about it. I mean, like, they.
[00:35:25] Speaker E: In a proud kind of way.
[00:35:27] Speaker F: Yeah. And they did.
I mean, every time I see, you know, one of them, they're, you know, they bring it up. They're like, oh, my gosh. You know, I mean. And I always say, well, I wasn't worried.
The RSD may have been worried. But I said. And then he got me worried. But, you know, but, you know, I. Like I said, I always told them we were not going back down.
[00:35:52] Speaker A: And that's with 250 agents.
[00:35:54] Speaker F: Yep.
[00:35:55] Speaker E: It was a sizable increase requirement. So.
[00:35:58] Speaker F: Yeah, so that was the issue. It was like a 67% increase, you.
[00:36:04] Speaker E: Know, that not everybody that was platinum made it right. But I think some of them are kind of pulling back, that we might see them again.
[00:36:13] Speaker A: So.
[00:36:14] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:36:15] Speaker D: Important words from our fearless leaders. You heard it here, people. No, but I. I wanna.
I know. She really does. And I wanna piggyback on a little bit on what everyone else has been saying. And that's.
Not only do we have a fantastic leader in Suzanne, Steve, you're there too.
We just see. We see Suzanne a lot more.
But.
And this goes back to a little bit, what I was saying earlier is the family, that is fairy tale journeys, you know, we cheer each other on. It is not a competition. We're there for each other. We were down to the wire whether or not we were going to make it. You know, it was stressful. But Suzanne kept cheering us on. And not just Suzanne, she created this environment of hope for everyone to keep going, motivate us. And you don't get that environment with just any kind of job or family, honestly, so.
And that's why, if you're. If you have had the pleasure of working with an FTJ agent, you probably have noticed just the love and dedication that we have in taking care of your vacation, because it's genuine, from the bottom of our hearts. Not only do we love ftj, but we love being an agent and we love Selling Disney Destination. And that's just across the board, just the energy that has been created by Suzanne. So I needed to say that I.
[00:38:00] Speaker E: Wanted everyone to know she also motivates the competition. It's kind of a. It's a friendly group. The top 19, if, you know, if they're kind of struggling to keep that platinum, she's there saying you could do it. So it's friendly competition there as well. And plus provide us with good information. We kind of. It's a sounding board at this level. When she goes to the MTAC meetings, there's always something maybe new. How did you do this? So it's kind of nice.
[00:38:31] Speaker B: Well, Suzanne, tell us some of the benefits that are included with being with a platinum. You know, if you book with a platinum earmarked agency.
[00:38:41] Speaker F: Well, first, y'all, knowledge. Oh, my gosh, y'all know so much.
Your expertise, you know, some of y'all, you know, you may specialize in Walt Disney World. Some of you may specialize Disneyland or Disney Cruise Line or all of all the above.
Just, you know, the exclusive discounts that, you know, we know y'all are. Y'all are, like, up very early in the morning. Y'all are early birds.
Yeah. And y'all are usually already posting by the time I'm waking up. So, yeah, y'all are making sure that, you know, your clients are taken care of and you know that they're saving money. I love that y'all. I think most of y'all do, like, itineraries for your clients.
As Kelton said, the priority line, that's huge. Not only for the advisors, but for your clients, too.
Gosh, in any kind of changes or, you know, say, if your client. This seems to happen a lot lately, they get down at Walt Disney World and something happens, you know, y'all know, just. Y'all are very good at sending me a text or calling, say, help, or I'll see something, you know, on our.
Our private page. And y'all know I'm gonna step in and help and do what we have to do. So.
So anyway, and plus, I guess the biggest thing is our services are free.
[00:40:29] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:40:30] Speaker F: We do not charge. And, you know, since COVID a lot of agencies, they, they. They had to start charging. And we are one of those agencies. We do not charge. And, you know, whether or not a client books directly with Disney or Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland or with us, you know, it's going to still be the same price. So why not book with a Fairy Tale Journeys agent and have a travel advisor that. Right.
[00:41:03] Speaker E: Helps you all the way.
[00:41:05] Speaker A: So if you don't mind, I'm gonna. Because I was just. And this is. This goes back to my DCL client. They, you know, I worked with them going to Disney World this year, like back in September the same time. They came the week after we had left when we met up.
And she called me and said, hey, I'm looking at, you know, this very specific itinerary.
You know, I know you. You know, you did Disney for us. I'm looking to book online. Why should I book with you? And I. The heart starts racing a little bit, going, oh, crap. You know, now this is that part of the job where you have to sell yourself. And if you ask Casey, I'm horrible at selling myself. I can't do it to save my life. But one thing that. And I do want to mention that we do as the agency for Disney Cruise Line, is the onboard credit.
[00:42:02] Speaker C: That's right.
[00:42:02] Speaker A: I mean, the fact that we can, you know, assist and get you up to $1,000 of. On of onboard credit, I mean, that's huge. You're not going to get that booking through Disney Cruise Line. And you're also paying, like you said, Suzanne, paying the same price. But you don't have somebody who's knowledgeable in Disney Cruise Line or who knows, you know, hey, I know. God, if Laura called in, she's going to get somebody she knows there. And I did it once. She said, oh, tell Laura I said, hi. I'm going. I have no idea who you are, but I will relay your message. But so, I mean, as agents, we're building relationships with you, the clients, as well as the people at the Disney call center for all of these places. So it helps.
[00:42:58] Speaker C: Yeah. And you talk about that. That call center that the cast members that help you there are just incredible. So I. I had a story.
I had a client. It was one of my first clients going. And I remember helping them book all their reservations.
And they showed their. And I was able to look at one point to make sure. And this was back when you had to make your park reservations, made sure that they had the reservations made and everything.
Well, they call me. I remember they called me when they arrived, and this was December 1st, the busiest times of the year.
Their park reservations were gone.
Were all gone. They. And they had stuff planned at the different parks. They tried to rebook them. And through the. Through the. My Disney Experience app and stuff was already sold out. So I called the platinum earmarked line and I get. I talked to a cast member and within 10 to 15 minutes. And this was also myself and I advised my client, hey, go to the front desk, see if you can talk to someone as well. Within 15 minutes. I think it may have been by the time they got to the front desk, all the reservations were made.
They. And they didn't see anything at first, was like, you know what? We got you all the rest. And we were able to get them back to where by the time they finished checking in, all their stuff was taken care of. So you know that. And that's another reason, what with the travel agent, you, you don't have to worry about that because that's our job. Our job is to worry about that.
[00:44:52] Speaker F: So that's right.
[00:44:54] Speaker D: And you get that level of dedication and care and availability for from an FTJ agent at any point of your trip or trip planning experience, whether it's before or during or even after, let's say something happened and you want to file a complaint, boom. We're going to be there to help you. We've talked on this podcast. You know, hurricane season, things happen, changes need to be made. We're your experts that are going to be able to help walk you through whatever is going to be best for you and your family, your party, your group.
So, you know, again, that level of dedication is what you will get with an FTJ agent. Not just us here that you see on YouTube, every one of our 250 agents. So.
Yeah, and it's free. Can't get any better than that.
Won't cost you a dime extra.
[00:45:51] Speaker E: If we don't know the answer, we know somebody that knows the answer.
[00:45:55] Speaker A: We call Laura.
[00:45:57] Speaker F: Yeah, there you go.
[00:45:58] Speaker E: Exactly.
[00:45:59] Speaker F: Look, I handpicked every one of y'all, so that tells you something.
Yes, we just don't bring out. Yeah, we just don't bring on anybody.
[00:46:11] Speaker D: I feel honored.
Wow.
[00:46:15] Speaker F: Y'all not think about that.
[00:46:17] Speaker E: She handpicked me to what?
[00:46:22] Speaker C: Steve, we're in a special group.
[00:46:26] Speaker A: Well, folks, that just about does it for this part. One of a two part episode series with Steve and Suzanne from Fairy Tale Journeys Travel.
Don't forget to join our Mouse Ears podcast Facebook group. Follow us on TikTok and Instagram to stay up to date for all things travel, but mostly Disney. And if you are interested in having a Fairy Tale Journeys agent book your next trip, please visit them fairytalejourneys.com and let them know that the podcast had sent you.
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Until next week for the second part of this episode. Thank you, everyone, and have a wonderful weekend.
