It's official I'm a Disney Specialist!!!!

[bubbleprincessmom]

I just finished my "College of Disney Knowledge" exams and passed them all! YAHOO!!! Now I can say I'm a Disney Specialist! To think that my dream job of travel agent all started here on these boards two and a half years ago. I became involved on the boards when planning our Disney cruise and with all the hints (espically the budget ones!) I was able to fulfill a dream vacation. I than thought that if I could take this MAGICAL cruise on a budget I would love to help others find their dream as well. So after being a stay at home mom for 15 years I found a travel school and have gone on from there.Okay so I don't work for a Disney company in fact were a discounter but I have my CLIA card (a travel industry ID card) and this Feb will go to Disney World on some agent deals I've found.
But anyway....I found out that Disney offers an educational program for agents so I took them up on it and really learned alot about their products and how to sell them.
As a "graduate" of the DisneY College of Knowlege" I'll recieve a diploma and special Mickey Ears and a DCK pin!!! I shall wear my ears with pride!!!!
Monica

 

[p-nut]

Congratulations! I am so happy for you. It is nice to know we will have a specialist on the boards.

 

[Rajah]

Congrats!!! That's cool!

 

[Big V]

 

[scarlett873]

i'm a CDK graduate too!!! loved the mickey ears...had them sitting on top of my monitor so i saw them everyday...and i had my CDK pin attached to my ears...

congrats!!!

 

[Debi]

How exciting! Congratulations!

 

[smilingmouse]

How/where did you sign up for these classes? I'm interested in doing something like this too.

SmilingMouse

 

[Kelsie]

It is a great course and you learn a lot. Congrats!

 

[The Princess]

WOW!!! Thats great!! Would love more info on that it is right up my alley!!! send info asap thanks

 

[JAP]

Congratulations!!

 

[bubbleprincessmom]

Disney has a website for travel agents only, you need your companys ARC number to enter the site. Basically you learn how to sell Disney by learning about the different properties (just the basics) and where to go for the information to book a trip. When I signed up I thought...oh this should be a no-brainer but there were parts of it that I really had to think about and remember. The Disney Cruise part was a breeze though, thanks to everything I've learned from here. Disney has some other programs for agents that entail going to the properties for whirlwind tours. Have any of you done that? It was just a fun way to kill some time while were slow between the Thanksgiving and Christmas season. And I get Mouse ears...how cool is that?

 

[smilingmouse]

At the risk of soundibg like a complete idiot, I need to ask the following question:

How does someone become a travel agent? Are there classes that you need to take?

SmilingMouse

 

[cndncruiz]

Bubble princess...

I am waiting for my CDK stuff to come in the mail. I received an email at the beginning of the week saying that my documents had been mailed. I am so excited to get started and finish it.

Are you going to the training in February in WDW or DL? I want to get my work completed and pass the course so I can go to the workshops in DL in February.

I think being a travel agent is cool but being a Disney specialist is icing on the cake. Bubble princess, I became a travel agent for the same reasons as you. I started to plan our trip, even have our cruise booked through someone else and decided to become an agent myself because of the fun I had planning.

So good for you, I hope I do well in the course too.

 

[shep]

Congratulations

 

[bubbleprincessmom]

Smiling mouse: When I decided to become an agent I did go to an "agent" school. It was one that was put on by a travel agency, took 5 months to complete. We started with a class of 20 and only 4 finished. I know that our local community college has a travel agent program as well. I started my program before Sept 11 and did find that jobs were not as readily available as beofe. However of the four of us in my class two of us ARE working full time in the industry and the other two werent serious about really working anyway. The pay isn't great but then all I was doing before was staying home and now that the kids are in school fulltime this is perfect for me. Plus I can diss in between calls!!

Cndncruiz: No I'm not going for a Disney fam, I'm taking the kids to Disney World, actually with my friend from agent school (the one who IS working in the biz as well) We want to stay on property this time and take only disney transportation so we can say...hey this IS possible to do. Plus being in rainy cold Portland I need my midwinter SUNSHINE break!! Good luck with your course!
Monica

 

[#1 Disney Fan]

Cool! That's exciting. Congratulations.

 

[Liz]

CONGRATULATIONS!!!! That's really, really great that you achieved your goal!!!

 

[JulesMom]

Congrats!

That is so cool!