Disneyland Vacation Planning 101

Whenever someone asks me what my role is at Disneyland, I usually start by saying “well, I’m a vacation planner, but really that’s just the glorified title for selling tickets.” However honestly, that’s downplaying it a little bit. Vacation Planning is a tough but rewarding role, and I’ve really come to enjoy my job even more than I thought I would be going into it! But because the name of the role is slightly misleading, I decided I’d do a post about my role, my training schedule, and some of my personal experiences working as a Vacation Planner at The Disneyland Resort.

What is a Vacation Planner?

Vacation Planners are part of the Main Entrance team at the Disneyland Resort. We work in the Esplanade area between the main entrance gates to Disneyland and California Adventure in and around the eight ticket booths. We sell tickets to Disneyland of all shapes and sizes, annual passes, citypass, and more, and because we’re in the main entrance area, we also serve as the first faces guests see when they arrive (and have a lot of questions).

Shifts and Hours for Vacation Planners

There are a few different assignments within the Vacation Planner role that we get scheduled for.

1. Booth shifts are when we are in the ticket booth at our own window

2. Esplanade GA shifts in which we are guest ambassadors in the Esplanade area and monitor and facilitate the lines to the ticket booths

3. Special Events shifts which we are scheduled for when an event is happening at the resort and we are either set up to sell only special event tickets or assisting with some form of guest control at the event. An example of this and my personal favorite is Mickey’s Halloween Party shifts!

Our earliest shifts are 6:15 AM and our latest shifts go to about an hour after the park closes, so generally the latest would be 1 or 1:15 AM. Luckily, the Disneyland College Program participants are given 3 years seniority so that we can get enough hours to pay for rent. That seniority has also gotten me mostly the shift times I want too! I love working mornings because if I start at about 7 AM, I can get off by 3 PM and have worked a full 8-hour shift! Generally, however, our shifts are between 8.5 hours and 6 hours.

Vacation Planner Costume

My costume surly isn’t the most glamourous of costumes, but it’s pretty comfy and I don’t mind it at all! I truly kind of like having a specific costume to wear to work because whenever I get to wear my own clothes, I feel like I haven’t worn them in forever, hah!

Why I love my job!

Now that I feel like I’ve gotten the hang of things more, I love my job because it’s challenging. I am constantly getting different transactions and different situations, and I love the challenge of figuring things out. I know it will take a very long time until I don’t have questions for

my leads all the time, but until then I really enjoy learning new things and getting better at my job every single day.

I also love being the first cast member many guests see and interact with when they get to the park. People are generally very happy when they get to my window, and it’s fun to see the kids super anxious and excited to go in.

I’ve learned that people are almost always going to be nice to you if you are nice to them. I’ve seen some cast members who don’t come off to guests as very friendly, and I’ve notice that their guest interactions generally aren’t as pleasant… because who is going to be happy toward you if you’re grumpy toward them! Even when I do have grumpy guests, I am still overly nice and happy toward them because it takes a whole lot of hate to be mean to someone who is being extremely nice to you. :)

My favorite thing to be able to do as a vacation planner is ask my leads to make special exceptions for our guests. We can generally make exceptions that don’t cost Disney at dime such as giving a couple fast passes to a party or waving a fee to replace their annual pass, and I love asking my leads if I can do this for guests who are being kind and pleasant to interact with.

Working at Disneyland is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I am not taking it for granted at all. I enjoy going to work every single day, and I love getting to make magic for people! I know our guests have high expectations, and they should- they’re paying a lot of money to visit The Disneyland Resort. I feel lucky to be part of the magic that makes their vacation worth it, and that brings their family lasting memories. As cheesy as that sounds, it’s truly how I feel because I believe in what Disney stands for and I know how much joy these parks bring people. It’s a privilege to be part of the grand show that is Disneyland as a Vacation Planner.