Turn Your Disney Obsession into a Money-Making Career!

Her Prince Broke Her Heart

Three years ago on the drive back from a vacation, I was on my phone planning another vacation. My husband’s words pierced my heart. “We are just getting home and you are planning another big trip in 3 months? We have 3 kids in Episcopal school!” Hold on! I gave up my six figure corporate career to stay home with the boys. Were my husband and I not on the same page with the travel necessity? We had never actually discussed this annual travel budget that was growing larger with every child and more diverse as they were growing in age. That was the moment that the lightbulb went off. Showing my kids the world is non-negotiable. I chose to come up with a solution. I would start doing some Disney travel planning to make some money to pad the travel budget.

Once Upon A Time

It is not just Disney travel that I love. I want to take my kids everywhere. My best memories are our childhood vacations to Hawaii, New York, California, Europe and so forth. But Disney and Disney Cruise is what I know best due to my ridiculously high number of visits which I why I decided to initially specialize in Disney travel! Growing up, we did our annual beach trip and Disney trip, plus our big summer vacation to another part of the country. I did not realize how lucky I was at the time.

Plannerella

DisneyI was already the one in my circle of friends who everyone knew had the Disney scoop. I was the one that people came to with questions when they were planning their visits, and I enjoyed every minute of helping out! How could I turn this into a career? Research and hard work led me down the path to eventually forming my own company, Castles and Cruises Travel Company, which is sort of like my 4th child! Castles and Cruises Travel is an IATA internationally certified travel agency. We can book anything and everything but we specialize in luxury travel to family destinations, namely Disney resorts, Universal resorts, and other popular locations such as the Caribbean. Fast forward three years and my company is thriving and growing to the point that Disney is working with Castles and Cruises as a business partner. I have a team of 12 agents collaborating to make vacations amazing and I am always searching across the United States for new teammates to coach who share a similar passion.

Happily Ever After

A meeting at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort

Castles and Cruises is growing! I am looking for other Disney obsessed, career minded team members who can talk about family vacations all day and enjoy the planning process. Are you also the go-to person in your community for Disney planning advice? Are you extremely organized, articulate, out-going and do you pride yourself on having excellent communication skills? If you are also a frequent Disney visitor and enjoy keeping up on the latest in luxury travel trends, this might be the perfect opportunity for you, too! The Disney travel bug is the number one requirement, but hard work and full commitment to your clients are equally important! The magic happens when you treat each vacation with the care and attention that you would treat your own. I have grown to love helping moms (or dads) across the country turn their travel passion into a career and grow a successful business. This might just be the perfect fit for you, too! Do you have what it takes?

Marissa Prejean
Marissa is the proud mom of three blue-eyed boys. She graduated from Loyola University New Orleans and spent her early career years in public accounting and pharmaceutical sales. She traded in her full-time corporate gig to stay home with her boys until the baby started school full time. Never expecting to work again, Marissa’s love for family vacations planted the seed to turn her hobby into a vacation planning service. Thanks to this world full of internet overwhelm and automated processes, old fashioned customer service served her well. She quickly grew her company, Castles and Cruises Travel Company, into a full service travel agency specializing in Disney and family travel. You will also find her chauffeuring children, volunteering at school, playing tennis, shopping a good sale, and drinking lots of coffee!