A Fond Farewell... ✨🌎🔑✨

I've got some sad news to share today.  

For starters, it's the two year anniversary of the day we lost my Nana, so it's a sad day to begin with.  And since today is also the 4th of the month, I figure it's appropriate to post this news today.  After much deliberation back and forth (at least 100 times), I've decided to resign from being a travel agent with Key to the World Travel.

It certainly wasn't an easy decision.  I've been with the company for over a decade... ever since they first hired me back on October 4th of 2013.  That was just over a year after Eliot and I got married.  We had moved up to Maine for his new job and I was still trying to figure out what my next steps were.  I'd started blogging that May, but I still wasn't working at a "real job" quite yet.  So becoming a travel agent who could plan Disney vacations for people just seemed like the next logical step at the time!

And I've absolutely loved it. ✨💙💛🌎🔑🌍💛💙✨ 

It has been really hard to let go... especially when this job has meant so much to me for such a long time.  I've been pretty involved over the years too.  

Through the years there have been so many highlights and magical memories... many of which I've written about on here.  (Search "Key to the World" and you'll see all of them.)  And there's probably a few things that I haven't written about.  Like how a few times, I was a "guest professor" and I wrote a few blog posts when we were using "Theme Park Professor" for our agency.  

Eliot and I have also made tons of mouse ears for my co-workers.  One of the highlights was definitely designing special mouse ears with our company logo.  It was also a huge honor when Jeff asked me to make some for KeyCon at Disneyland.

And KeyCons... those are extra special to me.  I've written a bunch about those through the years, so I won't get into it too much.  But I will say that they were my favorite part of being an agent with Key to the World Travel.  Having the opportunity to gather together to meet each other in person, learn and network was an invaluable experience. 

Finally... the friends are what I'll miss the most.  Honestly, the people are the reason that I held on for as long as I did.  And that is what made it so hard to finalize this decision.

On the last day of 2024, I made it official with the owners of the company as I sent them my official resignation.  It wasn't easy to write, but I was very happy with the final letter.  Eliot and I have a lot going on right at the moment, and at the end of the day, I just don't have the time and energy to put into it that I used to.

Jeff and Heather have been wonderful to work for.  I've been so amazed watching the incredible growth of the company over the past 10+ years.  We went from only a few of us when I first joined, to hundreds.  We have a bunch of agents who are mentors, some who help with training, as well as some in charge of niches like inclusion, groups or destination weddings.  It's really impressive and I'm so proud that our company cares enough to make sure we're all getting the education we need to succeed in the industry.

In my letter, I made sure to tell them that if things change and I ever decide to get back into travel, I know who my first call will be.

Thank you again to Heather, Jeff and my entire KTTW family for making the past 11+ years with the company so wonderful.  It really did become a family to me.  °o°

✨💙💛🌎🔑🌍💛💙✨ 

Top 10 Favorite Parts of Being a Travel Planner

Today is my 9th anniversary with Key to the World Travel!!!

I can't believe it's already been nine years since I joined Key to the World.  I remember back in the beginning when there were less than 50 of us in our little KTTW Family Facebook group.  My how times have changed!  Now, there are over 450 of us!

In honor of my anniversary, I thought that I would do a special edition of my Top 10 today.  There are so many wonderful things about being a travel planner, especially with my company.  So today, I'm going to tell you about some of those things!

My Top 10 Favorite Parts of Being a Travel Planner

10.) We Like to Help People- It's fun to work with a bunch of people who are just like you.  We like to help other people and will pretty much bend over backwards to do it!

9.) We Like to Learn- I love to learn new things.  It's awesome to work and be friends with so many other people who also like to learn... whether it's about new places, destinations, resorts, opportunities, sales techniques, or more. 

8.) Plan Magic for Others- Who wouldn't want to help make other peoples' vacation dreams come true?  Being able to help plan trips for others is a gift that I cherish.

7.) We Care- I love working with people who genuinely care for their clients.  I think that's a rare thing in a world where so many people are only out for themselves.

6.) We Love To Travel- It's great to be able to surround yourself with people who love the same things as you.  I've always loved traveling and exploring new places.  These people speak my language.  Plus, it's awesome to learn about other places I might never think of going when I hear about them from my travel planner friends!

5.) KeyCon- I can't even tell you how amazing KeyCon is.  I absolutely love it.  I've been blessed to be able to attend five of them in person.  I haven't been able to go to the past few events, but I cherish all of the time that I've spent at them.

4.) We Are Supportive of Each Other- Even while I haven't been able to attend our KeyCon conferences the past few years, my KTTW friends remain the most supportive people that I know.  Whenever I post online, it's always them filling the comments and liking my posts.  It doesn't matter if it's personal or something about our businesses, these people are in my corner and I love them for it!

3.) We Have Fun- I can't even begin to tell you how much fun that I have with all of my KTTW friends.  We've shared so moments where I laugh so hard that I've cried.  We all like to have fun and none of us seem to take ourselves too seriously.  We have themed dance parties, gather to share stories over drinks, and play in theme parks.  We also do an annual Socks and Sweets exchange every holiday season.

2.) Friendships- I never imagined that I'd meet so many complete strangers and feel so close to them... then I went to my first KeyCon in 2014.  And the rest is history!

1.) We Love Disney- As someone who obviously is a huge fan of Disney, it's nice to have a bunch of friends who just "get it".  They all feel the same feels when they walk into the park.  We're all known to cry at the fireworks.  We look at Walt Disney as an icon.  I love having friendly, supportive people in my life who completely understand that part of me and don't make me feel like I'm weird for it.  We all love the mouse!

I'm so proud to say that I've worked with Key to the World Travel for nine years.  The owners, Heather and Jeff, are wonderful people, who I am happy to work for and glad to also count as friends.  My fellow travel planners are some of the most kind, fun, supporting and hardworking people that I know.  They all really feel like family.

Happy 9th KTTW Anniversary to Me!  May I have many more Key-versaries!!!  °o°

WDW 2017 Packages Released

Hi Friends!  I'm going to take a minute to do a little shameless self-promo.  I want to remind you that along with being a blogger and hat maker, I'm also a travel agent.  As you can probably tell, I'm not a shark about it.  (Unlike some agents I've seen from other companies on Facebook- yowza!)  Instead, I take a more relaxed approach.  My main goal is to help others plan a magical vacation that they'll always remember.

I work for Key to the World Travel.  KTTW is a wonderful company.  They take time to educate their agents.  We have a great support system.  We're always helping each other and asking for opinions or how to approach certain situations.  I consider all of my fellow KTTW agents extended family.  I'm so proud to be a member of their team!

There's a lot of confusion about booking with travel agents.  A lot of people think that they're going to pay extra for our services.  This is not the case.  When you book with an agent, you will get the same pricing that you would had you booked directly with Disney.  (Unless the agent gives you a deal and forfeits some or all of their commission as a bonus for booking with them.)  We're paid our commission directly from Disney.

That begs the question, why use a travel agent if the price is the same?  There are so many benefits!  We get up early to book your FastPass+ and dining reservations.  We also keep track of the latest deals from Disney so we can change your package if there's a better deal that comes along.  We like to save you money.  

Not to mention, we also can help book special experiences like Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party or Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique- even though we don't get commission on those.  We're here to help you have a magical, stress-free vacation!  And we'll give you some insider tips and tricks too!

Of course, Disney is my area of expertise.  It's what I'm most familiar with.  (And it's clearly what I'm most passionate about!)  I would be happy to help with your vacation planning.  Or, if you have a friend who is an agent, help support them!  It won't cost you anything extra!  Believe me, it really hurts to see photos from your friends and family at Disney and to know that they didn't book their trip through you.

Speaking of booking, Walt Disney World packages for 2017 (through Oct 31st), were released earlier today!  All it takes to start your magical vacation getaway is a $200 deposit.  The rest is due 30 days prior to your trip.  You can also make payments along the way if a payment plan is easier than the remaining balance all at once.

Travel agents are here to help make your life easier.  Feel free to contact me anytime for a free, no obligation quote: melissa.cady[at]keytotheworldtravel.com  °o°

Mini Keycon- Maine Edition

I'm am so grateful that my love of Disney has allowed me to meet so many wonderful people.  Disney really is magical.  Not only that, but tonight was another example of how blessed I am to be a part of the greatest family of travel agents.

I just got back from having dinner, aka "Mini KeyCon", with my friends Carrie and Shauna.  I'm lucky to live close to a few of the other Key to the World travel agents from Maine.  Both these ladies aren't too far from me, and we've been trying to meet up to get dinner for a few months now.  Tonight was finally the night!

My face still hurts from laughing.  We reminisced about our KeyCon 2015 antics: from Slytherin group selfies to Universal ride adventures.  We talked about our next KeyCon conference coming up this fall.  Of course, we had to talk a little Disney!!!

We also exchanged a few fun things.  Carrie was awesome and offered to grab some goodies for Shauna and me from the RunDisney marathon weekend expo!  She got me the light blue RunDisney shirt I'd been hunting for.  She got Shauna the Ariel New Balance sneakers.  They're stunning!  (Mental note: Add to wishlist.)  She also grabbed us a stack of Walt Disney World maps!  

Meanwhile, Shauna raided our local craft store a few weeks ago and adopted/rescued a few plush Olafs from the clearance bin.  She brought some for Carrie and me.  They lined up to watch us eat dinner before we took them home.  I'm up next for the goodie exchange!  I'm planning to grab us all Disneyland maps when I'm out there!  Maybe I can find a few other fun Disneyland things!

It was a fantastic evening.  I'm so glad we got to catch up with each other.  We're already talking about meeting up again this summer.  I think mini KeyCon part two in Old Orchard Beach while eating fried dough is an idea we all can get behind.  °o°

Results- Universal 2015 Trip Bucket List

As I mentioned the other day, Universal and KeyCon 2015 were awesome!  I had an amazing time with Eliot and my Key to the World family.  Not only did we have a great time, but I also accomplished most of my trip bucket list goals!  This is the closest I've ever become to completing a full list!  Here are the results: 

Melissa's Universal 2015 Trip Bucket List:

⚡️ Learn More About Universal Resort

I learned so much about Universal Resort this trip!  My Key to the World group stayed on site at the Hard Rock Hotel (which was awesome).  We had an entire presentation on Universal at our KeyCon meeting.  Our group also toured the other Universal Resort Hotels.  While on our tour, we saw one of the few Minion themed suites!  I loved seeing the other hotels and now I want to stay at all of them!  Finally, I used my three day tickets to explore Universal and Islands of Adventure!

⚡️ Meet New KTTW Travel Agent Friends

I met a lot of new friends!  It was great to spend time with my KTTW friends from last year, but I also enjoyed meeting new agents this year!  I finally got the chance to meet a few of my fellow Mainers!  I also had a great time getting to know Team Slytherin.

⚡️ See the Dragon Breathe Fire in Diagon Alley

This is so cool!  I had to wait quite a few minutes the first time I went to Diagon Alley, but it was totally worth it!  I learned that the dragon growls before it shoots fire so you can get your camera prepared if you're really quick.  It's totally worth seeing in person!

⚡️ Ride the Hogwarts Express

I had so much fun on the Hogwarts Express.  It takes you back and forth between Universal and Islands of Adventure.  The train compartments have "windows" to look out.  Each way you experience a different ride.  It's definitely my favorite ride there.  

⚡️ Go to the Hard Rock Hotel Pool Bar

Eliot and I finally got to a pool bar.  Sunday night after seeing the Blue Man Group, a bunch of us returned to the hotel and went to the pool bar for drinks.  We had a great time talking and laughing before shutting the place down.

⚡️ Go to Ollivander's Wand Shop

I did go into Ollivander's Wand Shop to buy a wand.  However, I still haven't seen the "show" where a wand chooses a wizard.  I'd really like to see that next time!

⚡️ Get Butterbeer in Souvenir Cup

I finally got my butterbeer in a souvenir cup.  In fact, Eliot got a frozen one in the other style of cup so now I have two cups!  I'm looking forward to enjoying many at home butterbeers in my new cups!

⚡️ Wear my new Happily Ever Hatter Harry Potter IllusionEars

I wore my Harry Potter IllusionEars during our park touring day.  Team Slytherin loved them and we had them in a few pictures before it started to rain.  I couldn't wear my ears with my poncho (without choking myself) so I didn't get to wear them as much as I wanted.  But I did wear them when Eliot and I went back into the park after KeyCon.  I got a lot of compliments from Harry Potter fans and Universal employees.

⚡️ Try Butterbeer Ice Cream
Butterbeer ice cream is delicious!  I really enjoyed my butterbeer ice cream and I'm looking forward to enjoying many more in the future!

⚡️ See Kreacher at 12 Grimmauld Place

I saw Kreacher in the window at 12 Grimmauld Place.  I insisted we go look for him during our park touring day so Team Slytherin camped out and got our cameras ready!

⚡️ Exchange Money at Gringotts Bank

Eliot and I exchanged money to get $10 worth of wizarding money.  The bill is really cool and you can use it at any location in the Universal parks.  I'm definitely getting another one the next time we go!  I think I'm going to frame it or put it in my scrapbook!

⚡️ Dial 62442 (MAGIC) in the phone booth outside King’s Cross

While on our park touring day, I jumped into the phone booth with the rest of Team Slytherin and dialed MAGIC.  The recording told me that the Ministry of Magic was unavailable and the visitor entrance was closed.  It was pretty cool.  I don't think many people know about this trick so I made sure to spread the word.

⚡️ Explore City Walk

I can definitely check this off the list.  I've never spent much time in City Walk before this trip.  Now, I've been to the Blue Man Group, Margaritaville, Antojitos, Cowfish, Vivo, Menchies, and taken the water taxis to and from City Walk.

⚡️ Get a Margarita at Margaritaville

This was the first thing off my bucket list!  Once Eliot and I got settled at the Hard Rock Hotel, we met a few of my Key to the World friends at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville for a light dinner and drinks.

⚡️ Mail a postcard from the Hogsmeade Owlry

I mailed a new Diagon Alley dragon postcard to myself and one to my best friend Katie while Eliot went to ride Dueling Dragons.  Unfortunately, I forgot my stamps at home and that Universal makes you buy an entire sheet of them instead of selling them individually.  I'll make sure to remember next time!  But it was totally worth it to get the Hogsmeade postal stamp!  Maybe next time I'll write them with a quill instead of a pen!

⚡️ See Knockturn Alley

I explored Knockturn Alley with a few KTTW friends while the rest of the group was going on Escape from Gringotts.  It was dark and creepy and definitely felt like I pictured it from the books.  After a few minutes of exploring, I found the Vanishing Cabinet (complete with sounds of tweeting birds) inside of Borgin and Burkes.

⚡️ Order Ice Cream at Florean Fortescues 

Not only did I get butterbeer ice cream, but I also ventured to try a few other flavors from the menu.  The chocolate chili was good, but the after kick didn't sit so well with my sore throat.  However, the chocolate raspberry was perfection.

⚡️ Get an Interactive Wand

I bought my interactive wand on our last day when Eliot and I went back into the parks after KeyCon.  It's probably a good thing, because it was so much fun that it would have completely distracted us from touring the parks!  It was so much fun to "do" magic.  I can't wait to bring my wand back with me the next time we go to Universal!

⚡️ Explore the Wizarding Shops of Diagon Alley

I did get to explore the shops in Diagon Alley.  I really enjoyed Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.  It's so much fun.  The quidditch store was pretty cool.  I spent a lot of time in Wiseacre’s Wizarding Equipment, the store outside of Gringotts, while friends were on the ride.  The Gringotts money exchange was really cool.  I enjoyed asking the head Goblin questions.  I also explored the Magical Menagerie.  I didn't realize they made so many plushes of things from the movies!  And as mentioned before, I also went to Borgin and Burkes, Florean Fortescues and Olivanders.

⚡️ Get a picture with the Minions
This was the only thing on the list that we didn't accomplish.  Apparently, there isn't an area to meet the Minion characters at the park.  I heard you might be able to at a character breakfast, but we didn't have time for that this trip.  However, if there was something that I couldn't do this trip, this would have been my top choice anyways.

We also had a few experiences I wasn't expecting:

⚡️ Eat at Both Leaky Cauldron and Three Broomsticks in One Day
During our park touring day, we had breakfast at the Leaky Cauldron.  Then, later in the day, we had lunch at the Three Broomsticks.  This was a lot of fun.  It definitely made the Harry Potter experience feel more complete.

⚡️ Celestina Warbeck
We didn't have a great view, but Eliot and I did catch a glimpse of Celestina Warbeck and the Banshees while we were enjoying our butterbeer.

⚡️ Tale of the Three Brothers
Eliot and I did see the Tale of the Three Brothers from a closer vantage point.  I'd heard this was a must see if you were able to.  The puppets and props were really cool.  I really enjoyed the show and thought it was a great way to tell the tale.

⚡️ Picture with the Knight Bus Conductor and the Shrunken Head
I knew I could get a picture with the Knight Bus but I didn't realize the conductor and the shrunken head would be there for a photo op as well.  Simon the conductor was very nice and it was a lot of fun to interact with him and the shrunken head!

⚡️ Try on Robes at Madame Malkins
During our park touring day, those of us from Team Slytherin who didn't want to go on the Escape from Gringotts found ourselves exploring the shops in Diagon Alley.  I suggested we go take a photo in Slytherin wizard robes and the next thing we knew, one of the ladies at Madame Malkins was helping us into robes.  She was in perfectly in character and it was a fun experience.  I'm saving my Galleons up so I can buy some robes the next time I visit!

⚡️ Menchies Frozen Yogurt
This probably sounds ridiculous to most of you, but I think it's worth mentioning!  I didn't realize a place like Menchies existed; we don't have them in Maine.  After our group split up on park touring day, I went to Menchies with my friend Ryan and we got frozen yogurt.  I got the cake batter and it was delicious!!!  I'm already trying to figure out the closest store to Maine.  Must get more yummy!

As you can see from our bucket list, Eliot and I had a fantastic time at the Universal Resort.  In fact, we're already planning to add a day at Universal to our trip next fall.  I'd really love to go back to the Harry Potter sections and spend more time playing around with my interactive wand and pretending I'm a wizard! ⚡️o-o⚡️

KeyCon 2015

Hello Friends!  Eliot and I are officially back in the "real" world.  We returned to Maine mid-afternoon on Monday, before falling into bed from exhaustion.  We had an amazing time at Universal, Walt Disney World and especially at KeyCon 2015!

I had so much fun last week.  KeyCon 2014 was an incredible experience and KeyCon 2015 definitely lived up to it's predecessor.  Once again, I found myself home alone (while Eliot was at work) going through my 100+ Facebook notifications.  They were mostly posts from my KTTW friends from the trip.  The biggest difference between this year and last?  This year I'm not feeling so lonely post-trip.

Don't get me wrong, I already miss my Key to the World family.  In fact, I missed them as soon as I said goodbye.  But this year, they don't seem so far away.  A few of my new KTTW friends live here in Maine.  There are a few more agents in New England and we're planning to get together sometime.  A few of my closest KTTW friends live near Chicago, and I'm hoping to meet up with them while Eliot and I are attending a wedding there in December.  Plus, the year in between KeyCon 2014 and 2015 went by incredibly fast.  I'm counting on KeyCon 2016 to arrive in a similar fashion.

I can't even begin to tell you how much fun it was.  Not only did we enjoy each other's company during our scheduled meeting times, but we went out to dinner and hung out together every single night at Universal.  I also had breakfast at Be Our Guest and dinner at O'Hana with a few of my closest KTTW friends at Disney.  We all had so much fun together last year that we planned our trip so we could spend a little bit of extra time together at Disney World.

The official KeyCon meetings were awesome.  I had a blast exploring Universal and Islands of Adventure in our "houses".  I had a great time with team Slytherin.  We embraced our evil sides and shared a lot of laughs.  We really enjoyed our tour of the Universal Resorts.  I learned a lot from our Universal presentation.  We had a great session on the Disney Cruise Line and Disneyland.  I especially enjoyed the social media session from Shannon of WDW Prep School.  The quiz sessions were so much fun.  Team Slytherin really got into the competition and while we might not have won the House Cup, we did win overall in the quiz sessions.  My favorite part of KeyCon was experiencing all of this with friends who feel more like family.

I'm so grateful to Heather and Jeff for starting Key to the World Travel and for welcoming me aboard their team two years ago.  Jeff, Heather and Cheryl have created an amazing company that's not only great to work for, but it's also incredibly fun.  I love helping people plan their dream vacations and I couldn't ask for a better group of people to work with.

I'm also thankful for my amazing KTTW family.  Eliot was sick during most of KeyCon and everyone continued to ask me how he was feeling.  When Eliot was finally feeling better, he joined us for dinner and drinks and was welcomed with open arms.  He fit right in and really enjoyed meeting everyone.  Honestly, I think he's just as excited as me for our next KeyCon adventure.

Which brings me to next year... KeyCon 2016, or rather SeaCon 2016, is only 357 days away.  The countdown to the next KTTW adventure has officially begun!!!  °o°