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Greg Antonelle has booked hundreds of Disney vacations for folks through his organization MickeyTravels.
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Due to the fact founding the company, he’s planned journeys for royals, actors, musicians, and athletes.
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The journeys normally include VIP tour guides that price tag upwards of $29,750 for a five-working day trip.
Greg Antonelle explained to Insider he never ever prepared to operate with extremely-wealthy customers when he and his spouse released MickeyTravels, a Disney getaway-scheduling corporation, in 2011.
But as the corporation expanded to 250 journey brokers, so did its list of connections to the expert sporting activities globe and amusement industry, Antonelle, the handling director of MickeyTravels, claimed. Given that it was started, the company has prepared Disney holidays for royalty, musicians, athletes, and actors, Antonelle included.
These days, Antonelle estimates that a third of his purchasers plan deluxe trips to Disney parks. These outings generally require suites at the nicest Disney resorts and VIP tour guides that price $850 an hour.
Planning a journey starts by nailing down the desired working experience
As very long as a customer plans to remain on a Disney property, Antonelle and his group will book their trip. In 2021, he explained his group booked much more than 10,000 Disney journeys.
“The demographics can go from a youthful few on their honeymoon at a price vacation resort to 25 persons for a household reunion where they are staying at the Grand Floridian,” Antonelle explained, referencing Disney World’s most highly-priced resort.
Antonelle claimed his wealthier consumers often know accurately what they want out of their Disney knowledge, these kinds of as reservations at well known, high-priced places to eat like Oga’s Cantina in Galaxy’s Edge at Hollywood Studios and Space 220 Cafe at Epcot.
When it arrives to Walt Disney Entire world parks, Hollywood Studios is by much the most popular amid his consumers adopted by Magic Kingdom, Antonelle stated.
Once Antonelle’s team appreciates what his shoppers are on the lookout for, he stated his vacation brokers start locking down facts like VIP tour guides and reservations in Disney villas.
Antonelle’s rich shoppers generally ask for the $850/hour VIP tour
An upgrade to the regular park encounter, VIP excursions — which are operate by way of Disney — assign attendees their individual own Disney solid member and give them accessibility to personal parts. Moreover, they can skip the
traces at rides and brief-support dining places, and park-hopping regulations really don’t implement, Antonelle claimed. Normally, site visitors are not able to go in between parks right until 2 p.m. each day, but on a VIP tour, visitors can go where ever whenever, Antonelle explained.
Over and above the perks, VIP tour guides know “the ins and outs of just about every inch of the parks,” Antonelle reported. They give historical past, stories, and abnormal Disney facts all through their excursions.
Dependent on the period, a VIP tour manual expenses between $650 and $850 an hour, he mentioned. That would not consist of park admission furthermore there is a 7-hour least need for each working day. A solitary working day with a VIP tour guidebook can assortment among $4,550 and $5,950, and some of Antonelle’s consumers will reserve a VIP guideline for an overall week, he explained, costing upwards of $29,750.
The ultra-loaded splurge on major Disney inns, suites, and villas
A good deal of luxurious vacationers e book the nicest suites at Disney resorts, but Antonelle said that is not generally the case.
“We’ve booked certain purchasers that you would believe would go all out and that they are heading to shell out incredible amounts of income,” he claimed. “But they really don’t.”
For instance, Antonelle stated his crew helped coordinate a holiday last December for a well-recognised singer and actor who failed to have any special lodging. Alternatively, they booked a much more basic area in a Disney Planet resort.
Most vacationers who commit large, on the other hand, splurge on luxury suites and villas, and generally remain at the monorail resorts at Magic Kingdom so they can simply get to and from their vacation resort, Antonelle said.
The major a few resorts are Disney’s Grand Floridian Vacation resort and Spa, exactly where the nicest suite charges $4,800 for each evening for the duration of peak time, according to Within the Magic Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, the place the price of a night time in the ambassador vice-presidential suite ranges amongst $2,500 and $4,000, in accordance to Touring Options and Disney’s Contemporary Resort, the place a two-bed room suite is priced amongst $2,500 and $4,700 a night, according to Touring Ideas.
Antonelle reported he has one particular wealthy shopper who visits Disney World each individual 12 months and textbooks an whole ground at the Grand Floridian for 10 evenings. For reference, a single evening in a standard place at the Grand Floridian costs $750, according to Disney’s internet site.
Booking brokers travel to Disney to serve as assistants to their wealthy clients
Antonelle claimed his wealthier purchasers are utilised to a particular regular of living. They count on that normal all through their Disney vacation.
To make sure that’s achieved, Antonelle explained his agency will mail the reserving travel agent down to Disney to aid the clientele in man or woman.
“They are going to nearly act as their assistant for the 7 days,” Antonelle reported, adding that they’re going to look at into the resort on behalf of the consumer, deal with eating reservation
s, and be obtainable on FaceTime if anything at all goes mistaken inside the park.
In addition, privateness is a huge detail for quite a few of his celeb-standing shoppers.
Antonelle explained steering clear of crowds is a tricky assure to make, but he extra that the VIP tours’ access to non-public places will help preserve his consumers as at the rear of the scenes as possible.
Antonelle additional that the Florida wardrobe necessities — sun shades and a hat — twin as a primary disguise.
In the long run, Antonelle said his clients have the very same target as every person: They want to knowledge the magic of Disney.
“When celebrities are right here, they just want to be like anybody else,” he mentioned. “They’re just wanting to have fun.”
Go through the first article on Insider