#25: How to Reduce the Stress and Overwhelm of a Disney Vacation

In this episode, Matt and Chip chat with #1 Best Selling Author Christy Wright and dive into ways to reduce stress and overwhelm on family Walt Disney World Vacations.

They also chat about what Christy is up to now, tips for entrepreneurs and content creators and more.

📒 Show Notes and Resources 📒

[00:10:00] Tips for content creators and small business owners on growing their audience and brand through authenticity and strategic planning.

[00:12:35] Christy emphasizes the importance of actionable advice for your audience, providing clear, step-by-step strategies to implement in your businesses or content.

[00:19:25] Christy shares her family's experiences visiting Disney World, focusing on strategies that made their trips enjoyable and stress-free, including the challenges of navigating the parks with kids.

[00:29:29] Discussion on the benefits of the Disability Access Service (DAS) and how proper planning can lead to a stress-free Disney experience for everyone.

[00:32:40] A candid talk on managing expectations for Disney trips, highlighting the value of simplicity and focusing on the joy of the experience over the pressure to make everything perfect.

[00:35:20] Christy's personal revelations on how lowering expectations led to some of the most enjoyable and memorable family moments at Disney World.

🔗 Connect With Christy Wright

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christybwright

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialChristyWright 

Site:  https://www.christywright.com/

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Episode Transcript

[00:00:00] Matt: Welcome back to the adventures of a Disney dad podcast. My name is Matt and I'm a dad of three and the founder of adventures of a Disney dad. com a travel agent with the magic for less travel and your host. I'm joined as always by my cohost chip, who is a dad of five. And this week we are joined by a very, very special guest.

[00:00:15] Matt: Christie Wright is the number one national bestselling author of business [00:00:20] boutique. She's also the author of take back your time, the guilt free guide to life. Balance. She was previously a Ramsey personality for, I think, nearly 12 years, often appearing on the Dave Ramsey show and hosting the Christy Wright show.

[00:00:33] Matt: She currently hosts the get your hopes up podcast as well as the business boutique podcast. Christy, correct me [00:00:40] if I'm wrong. I think they're both on the same podcast channel, correct? Yes,

[00:00:44] Christy: they are on the same channel. And the old podcast was called business boutique, but the new one is called business bootcamp.

[00:00:48] Christy: Also confusing because the abbreviation is still BB, which is fun. It's a fun week to my old audience, but it's called business bootcamp. You can find a both on that same channel.

[00:00:56] Matt: That's awesome. And you can get the, get your hopes up podcast. New [00:01:00] episodes are on Mondays. The business bootcamp podcast episodes are on Tuesdays, I believe.

[00:01:04] Matt: And she's also a certified business coach. She helps equip women with the knowledge and steps they need to successfully run and grow their business. She coaches speakers and content creators. She's spoken to thousands of women at conferences and national business [00:01:20] conferences, fortune 500 companies sold out events, all of those things.

[00:01:24] Matt: She's very, very accomplished. Christy. We really appreciate it. And as someone who's listened to you for years while you were at Ramsey solutions, thank you so much for taking the time. And it's an honor to have you join us.

[00:01:35] Christy: You have done your homework, Matt. I'm impressed. I'm like, I did that thing you did.

[00:01:39] Christy: [00:01:40] Well, thanks. Thanks so much for having me on. This is gonna be fun. I can't wait.

[00:01:43] Matt: I told Chip before you got on, I was like, man, her bio, she is very accomplished. It's going to take me a minute to get through it all. So, You

[00:01:51] Christy: did. You did great

[00:01:52] Chip: giving you, giving you a little background. I am a financial peace university student, my wife and I.

[00:01:57] Chip: So I was telling Matt, we've, we in about [00:02:00] a year and a half, we paid off 70, 000 in debt and it's changed our life. And my wife knew you were at everything. I've been listening to your podcast now for a couple of weeks. And oh

[00:02:10] Christy: my gosh, well, thank you for saying that. Congratulations to you. That's awesome.

[00:02:13] Christy: You did the hard work, so that's amazing.

[00:02:16] Matt: So Christy, we're going to talk to you about all things like small [00:02:20] business, content creators. We also want to talk to you about some fun Disney stuff because you went on some recent Disney vacations with your little ones. Cause you're a mom of three, correct?

[00:02:28] Matt: That's right. That's right. All right. And so, but to catch everybody up on kind of where you are in this, this Current season of your life. What have you been up to lately? And, and how did you get started with the get your hopes up podcast [00:02:40] and kind of transitioning to that season of your life?

[00:02:42] Christy: Yeah. Thanks so much for asking.

[00:02:43] Christy: So a quick overview and then we can dive into anything y'all want to dive into. I'm an open book, so we can take it any direction you want to, but I worked for Dave Ramsey for Ramsey solutions for 12 years and then in the fall of 2021. I left and I'm a person of faith. And so I use this language a lot, but I felt like God [00:03:00] told me my season is up there and it's time to leave.

[00:03:03] Christy: And he didn't tell me what I was doing next, which was, I don't know, terrifying with three little kids and bills to pay and all that. And that was all my brand, my security, my books, my products, my, my podcast, my coaching, I mean, everything, events, everything you just said. Was built there. And so when I left Ramsey, I left all of that.

[00:03:17] Christy: And so it was very much this Abraham kind of [00:03:20] call for anyone that's familiar with the Bible. Abraham was called to leave everything he knew and go into the unknown. And God said, I'll show you when and who, when we get there. And he's like, okay. And so it felt like that. And it felt very, very terrifying.

[00:03:31] Christy: But it was also such a consistent and persistent call and pattern in my life that I knew I had to do it. It was not like, Oh, I had [00:03:40] an idea one day, nothing was bad. Nothing bad happened. I was, it was actually the greatest year of my life in 2021. All my books, all my products, things had kind of compounded over 12 years.

[00:03:49] Christy: And so everything was good. And that's what made leaving so hard. But I knew that if God was calling me to leave that it was because he wanted me to and I had to obey and it was because he had plans for me [00:04:00] to do something different. And so I left in fall of 21 in spring of 22, the right around, it was actually, I can tell you the day it was February 24th.

[00:04:07] Christy: God had told me all through the fall that he wanted me to rest for three months and then he would show me what to do next. And so on February 24th, this random Thursday, I wake up. And I had the idea to train speakers, [00:04:20] and it's this idea that feels like it quickly takes on a life of its own. It makes perfect sense.

[00:04:25] Christy: I'm a professional speaker. I'm a very accomplished speaker. I've spoken with some of the best speakers in the world, shared stages with them. I've learned from the best of the best. I've spoken for 12 years. I've spoken at every kind of event that you can imagine, from small and unimpressive. High school cafeterias in Kentucky [00:04:40] County, you know, Kentucky counties all the way up through massive arenas and stages.

[00:04:44] Christy: And it's something I love to do and was always kind of doing behind the scenes. Like I was always writing talks for my peers and helping get them ready for stage. I just did it cause I loved it. And so as this idea kind of takes on a life of its own, I really pray about it. And I feel like that that's what I'm supposed to do next.

[00:04:59] Christy: And I [00:05:00] look at that day, I'm like, what was that day? February 24th. Like that was just a random Thursday. I looked at the calendar, went back three months. Three months to the day was the day I emailed Dave Ramsey's assistant saying I needed to meet with him. It was the day I obeyed and took action on what I felt like God was calling me to do.

[00:05:14] Christy: And so began to build a business training speakers, which was something I could do in [00:05:20] the two year period post Ramsey that honored Ramsey and our separation and all that kind of stuff, but still use my gifts and help people and make a difference. Cause I, there was a lot of things I couldn't do, honestly.

[00:05:29] Christy: And so I spent two years building that business and helping people. I've got. Courses on that. And, and what's so interesting is there's, there, there, I mean, if I could just be real blunt, the bar in the speaking world is [00:05:40] pretty low. Y'all like we've all seen bad speakers and it's like, it's very old school.

[00:05:45] Christy: The people are not really trained in how to do this. There's overhead projectors and podiums and laser pointers. And it's painful. It's like painful to watch. So I thought, man, I can really add value and help people in becoming great storytellers and craft their content. And so I've spent the last few years doing [00:06:00] that.

[00:06:00] Christy: And then in January of this year. As I kind of ended that two year period, I'm going back into business coaching. And so I have a business podcast called business bootcamp and and so I'm now merging speaking in business, but all through all of it faith has, my faith has only gotten stronger and I'm getting bolder, more courageous, more.

[00:06:17] Christy: Direct and authoritative in my faith. [00:06:20] And so get your hopes up was, I feel like a natural evolution of that as God put that on my heart to tell people to get their hopes up. And and so I'm really kind of helping people build both grow your faith, grow your business, which includes speaking. And I feel like God is just merging these three loves that have always been in me, but I focused on one at a time, if that makes sense.

[00:06:38] Christy: So now they're all coming together.

[00:06:39] Matt: It [00:06:40] does. And I think one thing that we're seeing that's unique in more of this social media content creation world is that you're building a business around creating content and speaking and doing the kind of being forward facing on social media. How do you see those two things merging and what advice do you have for people that are kind of getting started in those types of [00:07:00] businesses?

[00:07:00] Christy: Well,

[00:07:00] Christy: I think the biggest, I guess the biggest lesson I learned in creating a course on training speakers is that no one thinks they're a speaker. So I have a course on learn how to become a speaker and all these people that have businesses that are doing pitches, that are on social media, that are on Facebook live, that have YouTube channels that have podcast channels.

[00:07:18] Christy: They're like, Oh, I'm not a speaker. No, no, I'm [00:07:20] not a speaker. And I'm like, but you are, cause that's what you do every day. Like you guys, you're speakers here. We are on your show. This is what you do. So it was really challenging to connect with my audience when they are opting out mentally going, I'm not a speaker, except they are because the reality is.

[00:07:36] Christy: Your ideas are only as [00:07:40] powerful as your ability to communicate them, whether that's content or your business solution, whether it's a product or service or online, or you're teaching your content, your skills, whatever you're doing, travel planning, your ideas are only as powerful as your ability to communicate them.

[00:07:54] Christy: And so it doesn't matter how smart you are. It doesn't matter how amazing and beautiful your product is. It doesn't matter how transformative your [00:08:00] services. If you can't communicate that, They're storytelling. They're speaking through content, through your delivery. No one is ever going to trust you or buy from you.

[00:08:09] Christy: No one is ever going to be able to get helped by you. And so I love helping people, whether it's through marketing content or speaking content or some particular skills or industry [00:08:20] content, help them craft messages. That are making the impact they want to make. And so it's just been really challenging for me because when I say the word speaker, people think big stage, bright lights, headset, mic, a blazer.

[00:08:33] Christy: And I'm like, Oh no, no, that's not me. And I'm like, well, that's one type of speaker, but there's also. Millions of people every day going live on [00:08:40] YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, all the pitching in front of clients that what you're doing is you're speaking. So it's really about being able to understand that this is a skill that most people never learned.

[00:08:51] Christy: And if you don't figure out how to do it, how to, how to communicate with confidence and craft your, your content that adds value to people. No one's ever going [00:09:00] to come into your business. They're not going to be able to get helped by you because the way that you build relationships of people coming into your business, get them to know you like you and trust you so that they can buy from you.

[00:09:09] Christy: It's through content. It's through your words. It's the stories you tell and the way you connect. And you guys are doing that on this podcast. As example, you are bringing people into your tribe. [00:09:20] That's brilliant. It's a brilliant business strategy. Top of funnel for white space and a megaphone that brings people in.

[00:09:26] Christy: Otherwise people won't know about your business. And so it's just, it's something I want to help people do, but it has been a little bit of an uphill battle because people think it's not for them. I'm like, yeah, it is. But it is,

[00:09:35] Chip: so, so I'm a teacher, a high school teacher.

[00:09:37] Chip: And I, I'm in the special ed world, but [00:09:40] I tell all of my students, I don't care if you're working at McDonald's or selling the new iPhone, you have to be able to communicate with, with people. That's, that's, that's part of life. So what you just said, I am going to show to my class because it is a hundred percent true.

[00:09:51] Chip: No matter what job it is, as long as you can communicate with people, that's going to get you very far in life.

[00:09:57] Christy: That's exactly right. That's so good.

[00:09:58] Matt: And to go a little deeper on [00:10:00] that, you recently were on with Sean Cannell at Think Media. And I think a lot of what you talked about in, in that episode, and I would encourage anybody that is interested in digging deeper on this to go and watch it, was really connecting these two things and finding your audience, especially for content creators.

[00:10:15] Matt: And I know there's a lot of our listeners that are starting to emerge in the content creation space. And [00:10:20] it's, it's, it's. It's daunting. Like, you know, people get nervous and they get uncomfortable. And one of the things that I've always felt you do really well is just hopping on stories on Instagram and really talking to people and not at people.

[00:10:34] Matt: How do you recommend people get comfortable doing those kinds of things?

[00:10:37] Christy: Well, I think in terms of comfort level, that [00:10:40] really comes from practice and not practice like in front of your mirror and your dog, which you can do. It just comes through repetition, being willing to show up imperfectly again and again and again.

[00:10:49] Christy: So. You know, when we first started, we talked really briefly about me leaving Ramsey. That was a very, very, very humbling experience because I went from having entire [00:11:00] teams that did everything for me. Now I've always been a hard worker. I was never like a diva. Like I don't do that. That was never my, my attitude.

[00:11:06] Christy: But when you leave something like that and you have to do everything yourself. You make mistakes. I don't have the funds to put out the production level that they put out. I don't have the cameras. I don't have the team. So it's weird because [00:11:20] the audience knows me as, Oh, she's been on the today show.

[00:11:22] Christy: There's a bus wrapped with her face on it, but I'm at home with my laptop trying to figure out why my zoom link doesn't work. Right? Like, and so it's very, very humbling to to be, to do that. But I think a lot of people don't have, this is a, this is a bold statement, but I, but I stand by, I think a lot of people don't have the To suck [00:11:40] and start over or start small or be a beginner.

[00:11:42] Christy: They're like, they want to be perfect. And if they can't be perfect and compete in their mind with like the people they follow on Instagram that are perfect, that have tons of teams and tons of resources and technology, then they don't want to do it at all. It's like, okay, well, you're never going to start.

[00:11:55] Christy: You're never going to get to that level and you're never going to help people in the meantime. Because the truth is [00:12:00] you have something to offer today. Right now with your iPhone, with the knowledge in your head, you don't have to go buy anything, take any classes. There are people that you can help today.

[00:12:10] Christy: Now we'll say, when you are getting started, the imposter syndrome is very real. I have an episode coming out I think in a couple of weeks on how to fight the imposter syndrome on [00:12:20] business bootcamp. So you can keep an eye out for that. Today, or this week's episode is on Three lies. Business owners need to stop believing.

[00:12:26] Christy: One is the market's too saturated. I'm not qualified. I'm not ready. I talked about these things in business because they affect our ability to build our business and put ourselves out there as much as the technical know how. It's the fear and [00:12:40] intimidation that I'm not good enough or I don't, I don't know enough.

[00:12:43] Christy: The truth is the knowledge that you have and the skills that you have, you undervalue because you have them. They're obvious to you. So you assume if it's obvious to you, it's obvious to everyone else too. What you guys know about Disney, it's probably easy to think, Oh my gosh, I bet everybody [00:13:00] knows this.

[00:13:00] Christy: Everybody knows about that shortcut. Everybody knows about this technique to save money. They don't. They don't. And so when you can push past that fear of everybody already knows this, this isn't going to help anybody. It's obvious. You'd be amazed at the people that you can help before every single article I write or social media post that fear comes up.

[00:13:18] Christy: People already know this. They're [00:13:20] going to go, obviously we already know that, but it's not, it's not true. What's obvious to you is not obvious to them. So being willing to humble yourself, put yourself out there, be a beginner, have low production value. You just whip out your phone and just show up as you are.

[00:13:34] Christy: You may actually connect with more people than you would if you were perfect, because the truth is your audience is not perfect either. [00:13:40] And they find it really, really relatable to have someone that has a screaming child in the background or messy hair or their technology goes down because that's them too.

[00:13:47] Christy: And so I just encourage people. The one liner I say is you don't have to wait until you're not scared to do the thing you want to do. You do it while you're scared, show up scared, show up before you're ready. And through repetition, you realize, Oh my gosh, This [00:14:00] connects with people anyway. I don't have to be perfect.

[00:14:01] Christy: And you just keep doing that.

[00:14:03] Matt: I feel that so much because I think that's the biggest reminder that we have to have, at least in this space, particularly for the travel agents and myself included, like reminding people, reminding yourself that like Disney's complicated and there's a lot of people that don't understand it and they're going, like, You know, one [00:14:20] time it's their once in a lifetime trip and they need to go back to the basics.

[00:14:24] Matt: And so kind of remembering that that's your audience and things like that is really difficult. And that imposter syndrome, I think is, is a, is a great point. And I'm looking forward to that episode for sure.

[00:14:34] Christy: Well, it's interesting. Cause I actually, there's a, I just relaunched on YouTube a couple months ago.

[00:14:39] Christy: I had a A [00:14:40] channel back when I was at Ramsey and kind of went dark for a couple of years because I couldn't maintain it. I had a lot going on and with one of my kids and so on. And so I relaunched it in January. And so I began to understand some of the features where there's a feature on YouTube where you can search like research what's most commonly searched.

[00:14:56] Christy: So I did this a couple of weeks ago. I was thinking of content for my show business bootcamp. I was like, I just want to [00:15:00] know what are people asking? If you type in the term business in the search, one of the most common things that is searched is how to start a business. That's as basic as it gets y'all.

[00:15:11] Christy: I'm over here trying to teach them business funnels. It's like get back to the basics because that's what most people want to know. And so I, I saw that and that jumped out to me. I'm a, I'm an [00:15:20] entrepreneur, you know, where I'm going, okay, I see an opportunity here. So I went and created a lead magnet for email generation for lead generation, the get started business plan.

[00:15:28] Christy: I created this business plan, had it designed, bought the URL, get started, business plan. com, and then crafted an entire episode for my podcast about starting a business step by step by step. Now, if you're following [00:15:40] along in your, get started business plan, you're going to fill this in here. Where did that come from?

[00:15:44] Christy: The basics, the basics. That's what people want that to your point. Sometimes we're trying to be so sophisticated to prove That we have value, that we are smart, that we are competent. And they're going, no, no, no. Just tell me how to make a peanut butter jelly. Just tell me, just tell me how to buy tickets [00:16:00] to Disney.

[00:16:00] Christy: I don't need to know the secret routes. I just need to know how to actually get a ticket. Like, Oh, Oh, it's that simple. Okay.

[00:16:06] Matt: I literally just went, okay. I just went through that. You know, somebody, I was talking to somebody about Genie Plus and Genie Plus is very, very complicated, and the person was like, I just need to understand how to buy it first.

[00:16:18] Matt: Right? . And it's like, oh my gosh, where do [00:16:20] I go? ? Yeah, I, I'm thinking like, you wanna pick this ride and you wanna do this at this time and you wanna do this at this time? And then it's really going back to here's how you get into the app and here's how you make the purchase. And here's when you have to purchase it.

[00:16:32] Matt: And getting down into that stuff is something that I think a lot of us forget and it's applicable to all businesses, which I [00:16:40] think is great.

[00:16:41] Christy: Well, it's true. And it's interesting because there's so many parallels between what I teach in speaking and what I teach in business. And one of the things in both that's important, especially with content creation, with any type of, any type of content, it doesn't matter the format, if it's written or verbal or video, it doesn't matter, it should follow the same format and one of the things that most people miss is [00:17:00] making what you're teaching.

[00:17:02] Christy: Actionable. So giving them a call to action of step by step, what do they do about what you just taught them? If you spend 45 minutes on an episode teaching people about why you need to have a great nutrition and fitness in your home, if they're a fitness instructor, for example, then you need to tell them, okay, here's the three things you can do today.[00:17:20]

[00:17:20] Christy: To get started having a healthier pantry. Here's three steps. Now, what are the three steps? Whatever you want them to be. You're a freaking thought leader. You have permission to decide the three steps. It can be three steps today at a different three steps next week. It doesn't matter. You just need to give them steps because your audience.

[00:17:33] Christy: It's overwhelmed. They are distracted. They are tired. They probably have shame around some of that topic. [00:17:40] Shame, even around Disney. Oh my gosh, I don't even, I can't even figure this out. I can't even take my kids to Disney. I can't even figure out a stupid app. They feel stupid. They don't know how to clean out their pantry.

[00:17:49] Christy: They don't know how to start a business yet. See that imposter syndromes, right? Who are you to do this? See, I shouldn't even do it. They have shame. When you take the thinking out of it and you literally tell them what [00:18:00] to do, Tell them step by step. Step one, download the Disney app. Step two, click on genie plus on the bottom.

[00:18:10] Christy: I'm making this up. I'm not even saying it right, but you see what I'm saying? Step two, step three, add to cart. In your mind, as a person that knows this, where you could do it in your sleep, what would you do? It [00:18:20] almost sounds condescending. You almost have this fear that you're talking down. You're not. I can't stress it enough.

[00:18:26] Christy: You're not. You are helping people because you're taking the thinking out of it. You're taking the interpretation out of it. You're saying step one. You want to craft an amazing talk. Step one, figure out the one thing you want to say. You want to start a business? Step one. Step two. Figure out the one problem you solve, break it [00:18:40] down into steps for them in any business, any industry, any type of content you're delivering, tell them what to do, because here's what's beautiful.

[00:18:48] Christy: You've taken the thinking and interpretation out of it, but then guess what? They're much more likely to do it. They're much more likely to do it simply because you told them to do it. And so I think often as content creators, we, we feel like we're [00:19:00] insulting people by telling them what to do. No, they're coming to us literally to tell us how to buy the tickets.

[00:19:05] Christy: Just tell me how to buy the tickets. Christie, tell me how to start a business. Okay. Step one, figure out the problem. So when you do that, you will see the engagement of your audience, the appreciation of your audience, but also the results your audience gets shoot through the roof, which is what we're doing this for.

[00:19:19] Christy: [00:19:20] Anyway, we want them to get results and they're much more likely to get it. If we tell them how to get them.

[00:19:24] Matt: Absolutely. Absolutely. And those are great, great points to transition a little bit into your recent Disney trips with your kids. Let, let's talk a little bit about it and I guess what, how often have you gone with your kids to Disney?

[00:19:37] Christy: Okay. Okay. So I ended up going to Disney since I was a [00:19:40] kid. Okay. Like age, like 10 years old. And then in 2020, right when Disney opened back up, we took just my oldest son, Carter, on a very last minute, short kind of spontaneous trip to Disney. There was no ounce of like, this is the dream trip. We have to make it perfect.

[00:19:55] Christy: I didn't feel that pressure. We're just going to kind of show up in a mask and see what happens. Like, so we were very chill about [00:20:00] it. The bar was low. And we had a great time. Also, everybody that went during that time was saying you didn't get the Disney experience. Half the things were closed. There was no characters.

[00:20:08] Christy: I didn't know any different. Cause I haven't been since I was 10. So like this feels great. It was great. I don't know that restaurants closed. Let's keep walking. Like it was no big deal. Fast forward to just a couple of months ago. We took my daughter with Rachel Cruz. We took just the girls and I went back with my boys [00:20:20] and my son.

[00:20:21] Christy: I did not think I could handle all three there. My, all my kids have different neurological differences or neurodiverse brains. My middle son has special needs. I was like, I can't handle all three under age nine. At Disney, that sounds like a nightmare. So my husband had a conference, we decided to split them up and do two trips, which I realized everybody can't do, but we made it work with points and stuff.

[00:20:39] Christy: And so we go [00:20:40] down there and I literally became a Disney person. I was like, Oh, this is what everybody's talking about. I got the monitor. I got the shirt from Etsy. We're matching and sweatshirts with the magic kingdom. I'm like, can we come back next week? Can we come back next month? Do I need to sell my house?

[00:20:57] Christy: I get it. I get, I get the deal. It was [00:21:00] so amazing and magical. I see what they meant by 2020 was not the same thing. And so we just had the most truly magical, wonderful time. And I think there were several factors that contributed to that, which I'm happy to dig into. I think several things we did. Made it so wonderful because I've heard lots of stories from friends that did not have that experience.

[00:21:18] Christy: And granted, we have several, [00:21:20] you know, things at our disposal to make that happen. But we seriously had the best time we had the best time.

[00:21:26] Matt: That's awesome. What was your planning? Like let's talk about your first trip with your girls. Yeah. That was, you know, your first trip basically since you were a kid, first real trip.

[00:21:35] Matt: Did you plan anything? Cause we talk about Disney being complicated. Did you guys spend a lot [00:21:40] of time like digging into what you were getting yourself into?

[00:21:43] Christy: I will tell you my entire planning strategy for my first trip, which is with the girls. My entire planning strategy was Rachel Cruz.

[00:21:50] Christy: She, she did everything. You know, on every marriage, there's like the planner with like the, I just posted this on Instagram today of like they have the full itinerary and the other person going, where are we [00:22:00] going again? I am the, where are we going again? So Rachel was that person, man. I mean, she just, she was like, Lightning lane, lightning lane.

[00:22:06] Christy: I just followed her and marched around. I literally didn't have to think she booked everything. I just, I was like, I Venmo you Venmo Venmo. I just Venmo'd her when I was supposed to Venmo her. She made the reservations. She did every single thing so much so that I didn't even know what was going on most of the time.

[00:22:19] Christy: [00:22:20] I just showed up with the children and we just rode rides. But on the last day I started to panic. Cause I was like, I have to come back here in two weeks and I am the you. And I don't know what I'm doing. So I'm like, you got to teach me what to do. So she literally taught me like how to do the lightning lane and stuff.

[00:22:31] Christy: And then it's so interesting because. I think this is such an analogy for anything in life and business, whatever, but you can teach someone all day, [00:22:40] but they don't get it until they do it themselves. So she could teach me there. And I'm like, yeah, I think I got it, but give me two hours, one to two hours at Disney doing it myself.

[00:22:48] Christy: And, Oh, I got it. It's the doing. And I tell people that all the time. I'm You don't need more classes, certifications, whatever. You just need to do it, get started. You're going to learn the most by doing so get out there and get moving and try some stuff, [00:23:00] parenting, business, Disney. You're going to learn on the job.

[00:23:03] Christy: You can read books all day, but it's not like having a newborn. It's not like being in line, picking your lightning lane. And so you just have to do it. And then once you do it, you get the hang of it. It's funny because on the voice trip, My friend Kristen and her family were down there and they overlapped with us.

[00:23:17] Christy: They were there right as we were leaving. And so I was doing the [00:23:20] same thing for her. I was like, okay, you go here and then you go here, then you go here, you know? And then I texted her I was like, how's it going? She's like, after about an hour, I totally was rocking it. I was like, okay, you just have to do it.

[00:23:28] Christy: You just have to do it. You'll get it. Yeah.

[00:23:30] Matt: One thing that's unique about your trip with your boys that we haven't talked about on the show that I think a lot of people face, you had an odd number, right? So you have two boys, And you was the [00:23:40] mom and it sounded like your husband didn't go. Did he?

[00:23:43] Christy: Okay.

[00:23:43] Christy: He went, yes, he was there for conference. He wasn't there for the first day. So he met up with us at the end of the first day, but that was actually one of my concerns of taking our whole family, because that would be five. And with three littles, Everybody, nobody would want to ride alone. Like I know my Children, my oldest does not want to ride alone.

[00:23:59] Christy: [00:24:00] It would be a thing. It would totally be a thing. And so just just trying to avoid that. I mean, my husband could ride alone, but just all the fighting about who rides with who. So it worked out well because me and Mary Grace wrote every ride together with the girls trip and with the boys, it was two and two.

[00:24:12] Christy: So I would almost always ride with Conley. Matt would always ride with Carter. So it was pretty even. And

[00:24:16] Matt: that's the exact problem that I was going to touch on that we haven't [00:24:20] really touched on in this podcast before. And I have that same problem. Chip now has seven total in his family.

[00:24:26] Matt: So yeah, I've got three, six and under, and we've talked about that before. It's like, if it's just me and my wife taking the three kids, it becomes a problem, right? Because even if I'm standing out with the baby, You've still got [00:24:40] mom and two kids and none of my kids are going to ride alone either. So it's a, it's an interesting problem.

[00:24:46] Christy: When they want to, they don't just not want to ride alone. They want to ride with us. So even my oldest, he doesn't want to ride with his brother. He wants to ride with one of us. It's like this security thing. And so that makes it hard. There's only two of us.

[00:24:57] Chip: And that's, that's one of the things that I've had is like, I [00:25:00] put the kids together and I sit by myself and I'm right behind them.

[00:25:03] Chip: So that, that's another tip of, of doing that. And then the other thing is we have to split a lot of our time because my little ones can't ride the ride. So my wife takes them and then I take the older ones. So it's, it, it, it, it is a pain, but it, I mean, you got to make it work.

[00:25:17] Matt: So [00:25:20] what, what are some things that really stuck out to you that you really loved about either trip?

[00:25:24] Matt: Like what, what are some of the rides or some restaurants you ate at? Fireworks, what sticks out?

[00:25:28] Christy: Yeah. Okay. So we, one of the things I loved, and again, this only happens because we took them separate, but I think it's interesting if you just rethink things, because I don't think that the true [00:25:40] cost of what we spent for both trips combined was all that much more than it would have been if we went on one big long trip together, because we did two shorter trips.

[00:25:48] Christy: Me and Rachel shared a room. So we split the cost there. My husband had a conference. We used points for flying on one of the trips. You see what I'm saying? Like we really pieced it together where, where it wasn't just like we just went all out for two totally separate trips. That wasn't [00:26:00] it. We only stayed a few days each time.

[00:26:01] Christy: But I loved focusing on that particular gender. So with Mary Grace, we only did girl stuff. We did all the princess, all the, she just let, things that the boys would have never wanted to do. They never would have wanted to stand in line. For Cinderella's castle or whatever. And so that was really if someone is able to, from a budget standpoint to rethink, cause see, [00:26:20] I, without totally digging into my story, I was an only child growing up and I always wanted a big family.

[00:26:24] Christy: And so I dreamed of having a big family. So I always want us all together all the time. And sometimes that's just a lot. It's lot of noise. It's a lot of fighting. It's a lot of jockeying for attention. It's just a lot. And there's this beauty, there's this beauty in splitting up when we can or rethinking Disney doesn't have to be.

[00:26:39] Christy: The [00:26:40] whole family in front of the castle, if you're able to, from either a budget standpoint, or even just a logistic standpoint, it's like we could bring a nanny to help us, but that's expensive too. Or we could, you know, pay for the concierge. That's expensive too. Or we could split up. You just rethink it.

[00:26:54] Christy: And so I was able to give them such individual attention. There was no fighting over the princess, you know, [00:27:00] whatever the Star Wars, whatever. So that was really nice. And I know, Again, I know everybody can't do that, but we really enjoyed that. The fireworks were totally magical. Things that really helped us.

[00:27:08] Christy: And again, people might disagree on this, but I'm just, this is my story. Cause cause Disney is something I've always wanted to do with my kids. And I've really stressed about how to do it. Not just because Disney, but because my, my middle son has [00:27:20] autism and ADHD. My other two kids have ADHD. There's lots of anxiety and other things in, in our household.

[00:27:26] Christy: And so I'm like, okay, how can we do this? And, and let them enjoy that experience without. Triggering them. So things that trigger my kids are crowds, extreme heats and waiting. So Disney, [00:27:40] Disney crowds, extreme heat in the summer and waiting in line. I'm like, how, how are we going to get around this? So one of the ways we got around it was I just pulled my kids out of school.

[00:27:50] Christy: I pulled them out in January on a random Wednesday. So people may disagree. That's totally fine. It's what I decided to do. So then we're not facing the heat of summer. We're not facing the crowds of [00:28:00] summer and the mild temperature was a game changer. Way less wait times was a game changer. And then of course it's not near as loud.

[00:28:07] Christy: And so that was real. I don't know that I'll ever go in summer. I don't know that I'll ever go in summer because of that. And again, people may disagree, but that's just one of the things that as a parent, especially as a parent of special needs kids, you're [00:28:20] going, What's a work around? Your whole life is going.

[00:28:23] Christy: What's a work around? What's a work around at this restaurant? What's a work? How can I work around to make this environment acceptable where we can survive it and maybe even enjoy it? And so that was my work around. As a mom of a child with autism, and we waited way later to bring [00:28:40] him because he was seven.

[00:28:41] Christy: Whereas Carter, we took it five because of that, cause we didn't think he was ready at age five or six, but yeah, it's just, I think you just find things that work for your family. And, and that was a, that was big deal staying really close to the parks. We stayed in the contemporary and so being able to walk to magic kingdom, if there was a long line or having the monorail right there was just, again, you're just trying to [00:29:00] anticipate.

[00:29:01] Christy: What could go wrong and how can I avoid whatever's going to go wrong? You know what I mean? And that's, that's what we, I did a lot of, you

[00:29:07] Christy: know,

[00:29:07] Chip: As a teacher, every time, take your kids, take your kids during school year. It doesn't buy as an educator.

[00:29:13] Chip: It's one of those things that I say, that's a life experience that that kid's going to learn probably more than, you know, Sitting in the [00:29:20] classroom and learning about algebra for the day or something like that. So,

[00:29:22] Christy: so don't feel like days, you know, it's not a whole week. It's like two days, you know,

[00:29:27] Matt: January is also not, not the secret anymore.

[00:29:29] Matt: I think the word's getting out. That's when we go on our family trip too. And, and it's because it's less crowded and those temperatures are really great. One thing that Chip and I talked about a [00:29:40] little bit before the show about something unrelated is how little people know about the DAS program. Did you guys use the DAS?

[00:29:46] Matt: Program. We did. And what was, what was your experience with that?

[00:29:49] Christy: Okay. So similar to lightning lane, the idea of it is extremely overwhelming and keep in mind the people that this audience, the audience that this [00:30:00] service is serving is already overwhelmed. Our life is overwhelming. Everything is overwhelming all the time.

[00:30:04] Christy: So it doesn't take much to overwhelm us. It was, it was very overwhelming to understand. And I actually talked about this on a recent, I use the Disney as an example on a recent business bootcamp episode where. The whole premise of the episode was people don't like what they don't [00:30:20] understand. And that's true in your business.

[00:30:21] Christy: If they don't understand your business, they're not going to like it. They cannot like it if they don't understand it. And I use the example of DAS and lightning lane. So people, so I'm trying to understand as people are explaining to me, people that have gone before, okay, will you select DAS in advance of the rides that you want?

[00:30:35] Christy: You pre register, but then when you get there, you can also select some DAS, but they can't be [00:30:40] the same ones as lightning lane, but you can sometimes do two, but sometimes it's actually only one. And then it was just too confusing to where I decided I was like, this is stupid. I don't even want to do it. I literally, I wasn't even going to use it because it was just so overwhelming.

[00:30:52] Christy: Finally, I had a friend, it was not Rachel Cruz. It was a friend that has a special needs child explained to me how it worked and I just stuck [00:31:00] with it and stuck with it and stuck with it until I got it. Once I got it and understood it, it was unbelievable. We never waited. In a standby line at Disney the whole time because we would use DAS for all the rides that Lightning Lane wouldn't allow because there's some rides that Lightning Lane just doesn't allow because they're too crowded or whatever.

[00:31:17] Christy: We would always use DAS for those [00:31:20] first. And then the other rides we would choose lightning lane. So then we would go on the lightning lane for the lightning lane rides. While DAS, the time is ticking down. Cause you know, it's like 75 minutes, whatever for DAS. And we would leapfrog. And then once we went through the, the DAS, we would select another DAS, do some lightning lanes.

[00:31:37] Christy: We would just leapfrog the whole time between DAS and lightning lane. [00:31:40] But it's mental gymnastics. It's a lot of logistics and it is, you know, having the persistence to learn how to do it. Once you got it. The whole time I was like, this is incredible because between DAS and Lightning Lane, which we did both, we never waited in a single standby line.

[00:31:55] Christy: And that was incredible, incredibly worth it, worth the cost, worth the headache, worth all of it. But you [00:32:00] got to be willing to stick with it to figure that out. And I really do wish that it was easier for parents to understand how those interact. So that you're not having to figure it out on your own.

[00:32:08] Matt: And, and to your point, I think that's like the frustrating thing for people that love Disney is when they go down and have that bad experience because it's frustrating, it's overwhelming, it's complicated.

[00:32:19] Matt: And that's [00:32:20] usually like my biggest pitch of why free travel agents are so good is that you have someone that knows what they're doing that can hold your hand. Oftentimes, like I'll do it for my clients. So, helping them understand how that program works Doing your genie plus and all that stuff, it makes it so that it takes a lot of that away.

[00:32:38] Matt: And I think that's why travel [00:32:40] agents, especially because they don't cost anything to anybody are so valuable.

[00:32:43] Christy: People don't know that though. I think most people don't know. Most people don't know like every travel planner, every Disney travel agent should have first and foremost on their website. This is free.

[00:32:54] Christy: Yeah. Free travel agent, free service, free. We are paid by Disney. Like it literally needs to be the leading line because no one can wrap [00:33:00] their head around that. And even if someone tells them like, Oh, okay, they're just waiting for the pitch. They're just waiting. That's, that's where, and it's not, they don't understand that they can't wrap their head around the fact that it's free.

[00:33:09] Matt: That's what I see a lot in, cause I'm also a lawyer. And so the first thing that people within my bubble do is they look at me skeptically. Like there's no, what's the catch? Where, where, [00:33:20] where, where are you getting? Like, when are you going to bill me? It's kind of the thing and it's like, no, I will absolutely help you for free.

[00:33:25] Matt: Disney pays me all that kind of thing. And it really does transform the way that most people have a vacation because it takes so much off your shoulders and people don't realize it until they get into it or it's too late. And that's the, I think [00:33:40] the frustrating part. And I wish, I mean, there, there's part of, you know, the beautiful part of what you've talked about, talked about in terms of building a business and marketing and getting yourself out there, all those things apply to this business so well and trying to educate people that.

[00:33:55] Matt: Hey, it doesn't cost anything. Hey, I'll help you for free. But if you are a Rachel Cruz and you like [00:34:00] doing it yourself, I'm here. If you need me, right, I can be as hands off as you want me to be. You can still be the planner of the family and, and all those things.

[00:34:10] Christy: what's challenging because you're in it, you're in an industry.

[00:34:13] Christy: If you think about even like we were talking about speaking and like the words that you use, you're in an industry that already has a certain brand in [00:34:20] people's mind, travel agents. Okay. So in, in this industry of travel agency, travel agent service, travel planning, there, that has a brand in people's mind, like speakers, right?

[00:34:30] Christy: Like they have a brand in their mind of what a speaker is. And so you're having to go against what they already believe they know about travel agents. You're like, no, but we're different. They're like, okay, sure. Right. So it's a, it's so [00:34:40] challenging because you're, you're in an industry that is Pretty concrete in their mind of being a service that they're not willing to pay for.

[00:34:46] Christy: They're going to plan their trip to the Bahamas themselves. They're going to plan their trip to New York themselves or Europe or whatever. Cause they don't want to pay an agent. They're like, I can, I can book flights. I'm okay. This is not the eighties. We're like, we don't have internet. Like we can do it ourselves now.

[00:34:56] Christy: Very easy. There's all kinds of websites and services, [00:35:00] but you guys are going, Oh, but we're different. This is different. Disney's complicated and we're paid by Disney. So it's more beneficial because it's complicated, more complicated than someone figuring out on their own. And you don't actually charge them and they just can't wrap their head around that.

[00:35:15] Christy: And that's such a, that's such a challenge you have in your business. You know,

[00:35:18] Matt: it really is. It really is. One thing [00:35:20] that I want to make sure that we touch on before we have to let you go here. Eventually you, you've spent years as a Ramsey personality helping and talking to families and about budgets and Disney is such a large purchase for families and probably the biggest Concern that I have when guests come to me is, is the [00:35:40] cost.

[00:35:40] Matt: What, what advice do you have for moms or dads that are kind of feeling that guilt of wanting to take them on this, Epic vacation, this once in a lifetime thing, but also balancing the budget concerns and, and kind of how to plan for it. I know that that's like a broad, sticky question, but what advice would [00:36:00] you have for those folks?

[00:36:01] Christy: It's interesting how you just described that because I think that when you, when you have in your mind. That this is your one shot. This is a once in a lifetime. This is the one time where I have a friend actually, that she's taken her kids to Disney this year. And she's like, this is the one time we're going.

[00:36:16] Christy: I don't like Disney. I don't want to go to Disney. We're going to do it one time. And that's it. So we're going to do it big. [00:36:20] A lot of people have that in their head, which first of all, like, wait till you get there and you get your monogram shirt, you may just change your mind and be back next year, you know, but, but I think if you have It has to be big, epic, perfect.

[00:36:32] Christy: Then in your mind, it's a 20, 000 trip in your mind. It has to be so big. I would just say lower the [00:36:40] freaking bar, do it like we did in 2020, which is like, let's go for a long weekend and see what we think. And let's not stay on the Disney property because you know what? You can buy, you can stay somewhere for half the price.

[00:36:51] Christy: If you don't care about staying at a Disney property, if this doesn't have to be the most magical trip of my whole life, then I can go. Experience it. Enjoy it. [00:37:00] It's not a bedtime. It's just not this epic 20, 000 once. If it's once in a lifetime, man, that overwhelms me. Like if this is my one shot to give my kids a Disney memory that everyone says, I would say change the way you think about Disney instead.

[00:37:13] Christy: Say, how could we do Disney small? Unintimidating for a [00:37:20] weekend, literally a long weekend, a Thursday through Sunday. Maybe we go to the parks one or two days. We stay off site. We tell the kids ahead of time. Hey, you're allowed to buy one thing each day. That's what we told our kids. You can buy one thing each day and it has to be under 30.

[00:37:34] Christy: So then I'm not getting asked in every store, can we buy this and this and this and this and this and this, and you feel like a bad mom because this is our once in a [00:37:40] lifetime. No, it's not our once in a lifetime. We may come back in a few years and stay for a little bit longer weekend and we may stay on property and then we may know the ropes better.

[00:37:49] Christy: And then we maybe budget more. I just think take the pressure off the idea of a once in a lifetime trip. That does overwhelm me. And that is expensive in my mind, but there's probably a [00:38:00] version of Disney that's not so expensive. That's not so intimidating. That's like, let's just go down. This is a silly example.

[00:38:07] Christy: It's not the same thing. It's it's not the same thing, but we're currently in an Airbnb right now because our kitchen is being renovated. And so we have to be out of the house for the floors getting stained and whatever. We had a dishwasher leak. So they're having to like, take everything out. [00:38:20] So two nights before spring break a couple of weeks ago, We find out we have to be out of the house and we have an allowance from our insurance company that only lasts us like two weeks.

[00:38:28] Christy: But one of them is spring breaks. We're like, let's just go to the beach. Let's just go to the beach. I'll be honest. Last year, the beach when we had the Epic got the beautiful house with the pool and all the deal, like [00:38:40] when we did all that, our kids were terrible. Like they were terrible the whole time. I was like, I wish we were going home early, honestly, because y'all are just at each other.

[00:38:47] Christy: And it's just, it's like, then you're like, we're spending all this money. And for what? We took them to theme parks to make them happy. It didn't. So it was just kind of a disaster. So I wasn't super excited about going to the beach originally, which is why we weren't going to travel in spring break. But two nights before, like, let's just go to the [00:39:00] beach.

[00:39:00] Christy: Let's get a cheap beach house. We have to be out of the house anyway. Let's just go to the beach. We go down there with zero expectations. And had the best time. All we did was go to the beach every day. We spent almost no money. Like we literally only spent money on food. We did not go anywhere other than to the beach and got groceries and cooked and we had the best [00:39:20] time.

[00:39:20] Christy: And I think there's something to the psychology of having lower expectations, lowering the bar that actually leads to more joy and leads to less pressure. And so go and just go, let's just go for it. Figure it out and let's just go like, it's almost like an entry level, warmup trip to figure it out. But if you have in your head, this is the once in a lifetime, man, that that is overwhelming and expensive.

[00:39:39] Christy: And so [00:39:40] what is a, what is a 4, 000 version of Disney look like? What is a 3, 000 version of Disney look like the park tickets are 150 bucks. What are flights? Could you drive, could you stay off site? You know, we stayed at a Marriott for 200 bucks a night. The, on the last night, because we just added on a day cause we were having so much fun and didn't want to come home.

[00:39:59] Christy: And [00:40:00] so I just, I think there's a way to do it, but you have to change how you think about it. That's what I would say.

[00:40:04] Matt: That's a, there's some great points. I think I spent all last week talking about managing expectations with Disney and ship and I talked about it a lot on the podcast because spring break's coming up and there's going to be crowds, it's going to be crowded.

[00:40:15] Matt: it's expensive, and you can't afford it. Really bringing your expectations down on what you're gonna be able to [00:40:20] do. And all those things are, are all part of it too. And it certainly makes a huge difference

[00:40:25] Christy: when I think to the other thing that happens and I'm just, this is more of a personal experience, but I think it's also a theory I have in general parents when we spend a lot of money.

[00:40:34] Christy: We put a lot of pressure on our kids. Oh yeah. When we spend a lot of money, we put a lot of pressure on our kids for them to be happy all the [00:40:40] time, to never fight, to never, you know, be ungrateful or have meltdowns. And so we push them hard. We go ride to ride to ride. When we went with when I went with the boys, I went knowing this is a big deal that I bring my son to Disney.

[00:40:55] Christy: And I went not so much with like no expectations, but I went with like, He sets the pace, [00:41:00] not me. So we leisurely went ride to ride. We leisure. Oh, you want to stop and get a snack? Let's go get a snack. Let's linger through Moana and, and play, you know, play with the water features. The water features is not a ride.

[00:41:13] Christy: We all came down for, but let's just linger every single day. Is that my kids wake up real early because [00:41:20] they're excited like most kids do on vacation every single day. We would force them to leave around 2 o'clock and we set this expectation. We go back to the hotel and we'd rest for a couple hours out of the noise out of the walking everything and then we would go back at night and we would see it all in the magical light so we could enjoy the fireworks because we hadn't been there since 9 a.

[00:41:38] Christy: m. And so I [00:41:40] think that, you know, Reducing the pressure we put on our kids because again, if you have a low level version, you're not spending so much money. It's not like we got to go big or go home. Your kids can't handle that, man. They can't handle going at that speed for that long. And I think sometimes the meltdowns happen not from the crowds, but from us putting pressure on them.

[00:41:59] Christy: And so if you would [00:42:00] let the pressure be off and just go, Hey, let's take a nap in the middle of day. Let's go back. We're not wasting money. We're actually Making a better experience at the times that we are there. And so I think that we have to really check ourselves on that.

[00:42:12] Matt: For someone that hadn't been, you did it right.

[00:42:15] Matt: The, you know, the, the other thing that I think goes into that too, is pretty much anybody that's had kids under the age of [00:42:20] like 10, the, I would call them, you know, the pandemic kids. The buildup for the parents, young parents especially, I think is even worse, right? Because you spent the first four years not being able to take your kids on vacation.

[00:42:33] Matt: Right. Like I felt that way a ton because the entirety of the pandemic I'm building up to my daughter [00:42:40] that we're going to go as soon as we can go and it'll be All everything you've ever dreamed of. And it's part of part of that buildup and managing expectations. Like it's, it's hard to keep in check sometimes, especially with what we've all been through for the last, four years.

[00:42:55] Matt: Well,

[00:42:55] Christy: and I think you do. It's kind of like what you're talking about with workarounds, but I think you do what you need to do to [00:43:00] survive. So even the lightning lane would have lines of 15 to 20 minutes. That doesn't sound long. And for Disney people, that's not long at all for my son Conley. That's a long time.

[00:43:08] Christy: So we would give him the phone. Every time and let him watch YouTube videos as we move forward. I don't care if people judge me, please, please. I could care less what you think of me because I have brought my child that has autism to Disney [00:43:20] and we're rocking it. And if the phone helps us rocket in waiting in line, then that is totally fine with me.

[00:43:25] Christy: So find. What the workarounds work for you. Don't worry about other people judging you, what they think. We would take him in the stroller up to the front and DAS and anything that we could do, even though I'm sure people are going like that kid can walk. Why is that kid riding to the front? Like you don't understand how he gets [00:43:40] dysregulated and shuts down and will truly lay on the pavement if he's overwhelmed.

[00:43:44] Christy: But if he has this, Security of his stroller. He's okay. And it helps his body feel safe. I have, being a mom of a child with autism and being an Enneagram eight, that's a little bossy. I have learned to not give a flip about what people think of me , because the only person I care about is my child and that he's okay.[00:44:00]

[00:44:00] Christy: And so I just think giving parents that permission, going in. You do what's right for you. If it's a stroller, if it is a phone, if it is going back and taking a nap, you're there for your child to have fun, not to impress other parents. And so do what's right for you.

[00:44:14] Matt: Yeah. I mean, yeah, you covered it. You covered it for sure.

[00:44:19] Matt: When it comes [00:44:20] to, you mentioned one of your friends that, This is, they're going to be their one and only trip. And you've, I feel like you've converted from being that person.

[00:44:27] Christy: Oh, plenty to go in September people. I'm like, how can I get back there?

[00:44:32] Matt: So, and you've got the Halloween party in September. You're going to, you're going to have a lot of fun when it comes to that.

[00:44:37] Matt: That kind of mindset shift that you [00:44:40] experienced, do you expect most people are going to feel that way after they actually go and experience Disney?

[00:44:45] Christy: I think only if they have a wonderful time, if they had a terrible time where they are in 5, 000 degree heats and they wait in line for three hours and their child is breaking down and they're mad that they spent 20, 000 for a tantrum child.

[00:44:55] Christy: No, they'll be like, see, I was right. I was right. This is a disaster. We should have [00:45:00] never done it. So it's really just, that's what the such the value of the travel agency service that you provide in the podcast because you show people how to do it right, that they wouldn't know until they're there. That gives them an opportunity to want to go back.

[00:45:11] Christy: So I want to go back. Because I had a wonderful time because we did it right to y'all's point. We did it right. And, but if you don't know, you don't know. And so what you guys do to [00:45:20] educate and to help people understand how to quote unquote, do it right to avoid those horror stories. I think it's really important.

[00:45:26] Christy: The other thing I'll say is this, a lot of people I see a pattern in friends where a lot of people go in big groups. I've never done that. So I can't speak to it. But that sounds very stressful to me to go with in laws and cousins and all the people. And you've got a group of [00:45:40] 47 people in matching t shirts and we're trying to all migrate around.

[00:45:43] Christy: That sounds super stressful. So again, have the courage to say, we're going to go on our own. We're going to do something separate. I'm just going to worry about my little tribe of five or four, whatever I think can help whatever you need to do to make this a wonderful experience for you do that. And then you will want to go [00:46:00] back.

[00:46:00] Christy: But a lot of that takes time. Knowledge on the front end of knowing how to do that, but also the courage to stand up for yourself. Like we've been talking about and do that. But, but I have no intention of ever going with like extended family because I just don't want to manage everybody else's emotions and feelings and all the grandmothers get in line for the cat.

[00:46:16] Christy: I mean, get a picture. No, I don't have No, again, I'm worried [00:46:20] about my three kids. I'm not worried about grandparents. I don't need y'all in my brain space. I got a maxed out. So it's just, it's just having the, self awareness to know what you need. And even you could, so one of the things my husband and I do, this is very tactical, but I'll share it today.

[00:46:35] Christy: Cause I think it can be great for your audience. One of the things my husband and I do is [00:46:40] after any big event. Okay. So any event would be a holiday or a trip. Any big event after holiday or a trip, a birthday. So Christmas a trip to Disney, whatever, if the trip was really great or if the trip was really terrible on our way home, we will truly say out loud and make a [00:47:00] list of why what made that awesome.

[00:47:04] Christy: So we can do it again, or what made that terrible. So we can never do that again, because what will happen if you're not careful is you go have this trip. It's a disaster. It's a train wreck. It's awful. And it's awful. And you don't know why. And you don't even stop to reflect on it. And then a year later, you're like, it wasn't that bad.

[00:47:19] Christy: Was [00:47:20] it let's do it again. You go do it again. It's terrible again. You just keep doing the same terrible things. We will truly make a list. So after we had a holiday a couple, we had a holiday a couple of years ago, that was just a disaster. And we drove home and we said, why was this a disaster? And we said, never again to this and this and this.

[00:47:37] Christy: So the next year when family asked us to do this and this and this, we're like, no, we're [00:47:40] good. No, no, thank you. Thank you. We're going to pass this year. You have the, you have the memory. So you can do the same thing with Disney. It's like, okay, what we said after Disney, what made it so great? It was January.

[00:47:50] Christy: It was cool. We use DAS. We split them up. We, I mean, we went through the list. And that is how we will do it again as long as that we are able to. And so I think part of it is just having [00:48:00] the awareness of what made something awesome so that you can do it again. So you can remember, cause sometimes as a parent, you're just tired and you forget actually literally say out loud to your spouse, to your family, what made that awesome.

[00:48:11] Christy: So you can do it again.

[00:48:13] Matt: That's awesome advice. One last question before we wrap up, the, the, there's a lot of advice that you give is for [00:48:20] business owners that are getting started. And you talked about how you focused on that a little bit recently in some of your podcast episodes. One of the questions that I see really frequently, especially in the travel agent space is what do I do if I feel stuck or plateaued or in a rut?

[00:48:33] Matt: My business is doing well, but I feel like I can take it to another level. What advice do you have for those [00:48:40] folks?

[00:48:40] Christy: Yeah. You know, it's, it's. I think there's, we're always trying to push ourself outside of our comfort zone. And so there's, there's an element of, you want to keep doing what works, especially if you've been in business for a while.

[00:48:49] Christy: So you don't want to mess up the machine that is working well for you, but you still want to take some risks. You still want to try some new stuff. Even if it doesn't work at first, you'd say, how can I, Either [00:49:00] add a new service to my business, add a new product line to my business, add a new marketing machine, whether that's YouTube or podcaster or collaboration.

[00:49:07] Christy: One of the things I was just, so I have a coaching group called the Goal Getters Club. And one of the things I was just teaching them yesterday is if you want to get new audience into your into your tribe, one of the best things you can do is go be on other people's podcasts. When you're on [00:49:20] other people's podcasts, you're, it's, it's a 20.

[00:49:23] Christy: So this is true for your business. I'll tell you guys this right now. You should go do what I'm doing right now. You should go be on other people's podcasts. It doesn't matter the size. What matters is the fact that you are getting time with that audience. I've been on the state show y'all and being on podcasts, I believe is more powerful than [00:49:40] being on national news media because the today show running in the background of a doctor's office, no one is engaged for two minutes.

[00:49:46] Christy: Media hits are usually two to five minutes is nothing. Compared to an hour with an audience that is completely engaged. Your audience is here because they are engaged. They know you guys, they trust you guys. If I'm here, they now trust [00:50:00] me because of you, because they love you. I love Matt and ship. So Matt and ship say Christie's great.

[00:50:04] Christy: She must be great. Versus nobody that knows anybody from Adam on the today show. Podcasts are an amazing way that you could go pitch yourself to be a guest on other people's podcasts. You get to hang out with awesome people, have great conversations and talk about fun stuff that you know about and they talk about.[00:50:20]

[00:50:20] Christy: And then you're bringing people into your audience. There will be people that listened to this episode that go to get started business plan. com and download my business plan. And they will now be on my email list where I get to build a relationship with them and talk to them and hang out with them. It doesn't harm you guys one bit and me talking about your services and the benefit of travel agency is hopefully only bolstering credibility to what you're doing.[00:50:40]

[00:50:40] Christy: A rising tide raises all ships. And so go be on other people's podcasts, bring, which will bring people into your tribe. It's a very effective way. It's a six, you know, if, if you want people to do business with you, they need to know you like you and trust you. What better way to get them to know you like you and trust you than hanging out with them for an hour, teaching them, telling stories, getting to know them using your voice, [00:51:00] like we're saying.

[00:51:01] Christy: And so I think you just have to get outside your comfort zone and try some new stuff. Whether that's a YouTube channel, a podcast, go be on someone else's podcast, collaborate on Instagram, try new products and services. I am, I did a five day money making challenge a few weeks ago. And one of the tips I shared on one of those days was [00:51:20] how can you even repackage what you already have?

[00:51:23] Christy: To create a new offer. So I've pulled templates out of my courses, repackaged it, and sold it as a separate thing. So now I have a $40 price point product that all I did was repurpose. What I already have, I've taken I had one lady that was in my coaching group that she, this is super random, but she [00:51:40] sells packets of yeast and so she would always sell packets for like $5 a piece, and that led to $200 profit per case.

[00:51:47] Christy: She decided to sell smaller, tiny packets of $2. And that led to 600 profits per case. So her profit per case tripled just because she repackaged what she already had. How can you do that in your business? It may bring more money [00:52:00] in. It may bring more people in. You just have to think outside the box and try some new stuff.

[00:52:04] Matt: Christy, it's been an incredible episode and thank you so much for joining us. That's going to wrap it up. If you have any comments or questions, don't hesitate to reach out to any of us on social media or via email. I can be found at, at adventures of a Disney dad chip. Where can people find you on social media?

[00:52:19] Chip: At

[00:52:19] Matt: Robinson [00:52:20] dad life

[00:52:20] Matt: and Christy, what were the best places to stay up to date on all things? Christy, right?

[00:52:25] Christy: Instagram at Christy B. Right. And Christy right. com. And if they're interested in any of my resources, it's Christy right. com slash free, where I've got templates for everything in your business.

[00:52:34] Matt: Wonderful. And if you're interested in having me assist you in planning your next universal or Disney vacation, please feel free to reach out [00:52:40] all the links to get a free quote or in the show notes, our services are completely free to you, and we'd love to help you plan your next dream vacation. If you have a moment and you could follow subscribe, like.

[00:52:49] Matt: Review the podcast on whatever platform you prefer. We greatly appreciate the support. We know you have a lot of choices when it comes to the content you consume. And we hope this episode brighten your day a little bit. And thank you for spending some time with us. We really appreciate [00:53:00] it.