Ok friends, now that we’ve been home from Disney and I could really sit down and reflect on our trip, we had the MOST MAGICAL experience that we could have imagined -no, more than we could have imagined. I know people are on the fence about using a travel agent, but I would choose Stephanie Broom with Adventures by Steph over and over again -in fact, she’s already working on our next trip (a Disney cruise in 2025).
We were connected to Steph through a friend of ours (thank you, Betsy!) and from the very first interaction, I knew she was the perfect fit for our needs. Not only was she a resourceful travel agent in general, but she is a Disney guru and knows the ins-and-outs and tips-and-tricks that helped us make the most of our five days at Disney, both experience-wise and monetarily.
If you know me, you know that I am such an anxious person by nature (you can’t even pretend to be surprised 🤣). I ask a million questions and overthink EVERY detail. On top of this, Scott, nor I, had been to Disney since we were children. She answered every question I had thoroughly and NOT ONCE made me feel bad for asking or dumb for needing to ask. This was true during the planning process, but also WHEN WE WERE AT THE PARKS, too -and even a few questions after we’ve been home!
We had originally booked the resort stay and park tickets ourselves based on reviews from a few friends. However, after we actually spoke a few times, Steph suggested a different resort for our needs. Not only was she 100% correct that this new resort would be a better fit for our family for multiple reasons, but she called and took care of switching reservations for us and even got us some money back along the way.
Steph also found us the best direct flight to Orlando from Cleveland. She priced a few different airlines and even a few different airports until we agreed on the one we booked. Then, from there, she booked our transportation to/ from the airport to/from our resort.
As our trip got closer, she talked with me more and really fine tuned our plans for our park days. She planned AND reserved the two character dining options we wanted (Breakfast at Chef Mickey’s and dinner with the princesses at Askerhus), as well as experiences -such as building droids and the Bippity Boppity Boutique (it was a MIRACLE she snagged a reservation for this during the time we were there) where Kristy got a royal makeover. On top of that, she booked a third character dining, lunch at Tusker House at Animal Kingdom, because she knew my family would love it. It was free to reserve, so it didn’t cost us anything and once we budgeted everything else, we knew we could make it work and we kept it. I am SO GLAD we did, because that was my favorite dining experience of the three!
While at the park, Steph made herself available to me for the duration of our trip. She was literally like Tinkerbell to us, being our “eyes in the sky” and making sure we didn’t miss any of the magic Disney World has to offer. She made sure we got the best use of our lightning lane passes for both rides and character meetings, got us the best deals on food orders, and just shared general tips and tricks daily. I joke that we saw so many couples fighting and, had it not been for her, we would have too! I was able to be present while my kids experienced the magic and stayed calm and collected (yes -even at Disney during the BUSIEST time of the year) instead of my normal, anxious self.
I still CANNOT believe all the things that we were able to do in the few days we were there.
I know that so many of you have family and friends that are agents at this time. I will never try to take you away from supporting them. However, if you are planning a trip and do not have anyone you’re committed to using, I, without any hesitation, recommend Steph. She does Disney park trips, Disney resorts, Disney cruises, Universal trips, all-inclusive resorts, other cruise lines -you name it, and I’d trust her for any and everything! Feel free to ask me any questions about her and our experience with her or if you would like to connect with her.
Alyssa Valentine
Disney World