O’Fallon Mom Helps Families Plan Disney Vacations

If you’re planning a Disney vacation for your family, but have no idea where to start—that’s where Elizabeth Hollman comes in.

The O’Fallon mother of two is a travel specialist and owner of Me and the Mouse Travel, an agency that helps families plan their Disney vacations for free. 

Hollman was a third grade teacher for many years before deciding to stay home with her children and apply for a job as a vacation specialist.

Her background with Disney started when she visited the parks as a small child, and continued as a mom taking her own kids.

“I’ve always had that love of Disney and I think with my teaching skills, it just kind of meshed into a nice fit and a good job for me.”

Me and the Mouse Gets Started

A year ago, Hollman teamed up with business partner Kelly Maher to begin their dream job of planning Disney vacations.

Me and the Mouse Travel helps families plan every detail from flight arrangements, hotel, dining and entertainment itinerary—and the entire service is free.

The agency will constantly monitor reservations for any sales or promotions- saving clients time and money.

Travel agents can also be reached during the vacation if needed at anytime.

“A lot of people out there don’t know there’s people out there like me that will from start to finish plan their vacation,” Hollman said.

Hollman is well versed in everything Disney and is a graduate of the Disney School of Knowledge, so she is prepared to answer any questions the clients may have.

She and the other agents have visited every park and stayed almost every resort. They also travel to Disney each year to update their training.

“Me and The Mouse will be at the grand opening of Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom and also Test Track at Epcot this year,” Hollman said. “This is a huge honor for our agency and we are thrilled to be recognized by Disney for all of our hard work.”

Relax, and Leave it to Me and the Mouse 

Me and the Mouse Travel agents can set up meetings with clients, or start planning by phone and email.

With 28 resorts and four parks to choose from, Hollman said to some people, Disney can seem overwhelming. 

“We pretty much take the stress out of planning and we do it all,” Hollman said. “If we have a client who says, ‘ I have three girls,’ I’ll plan the whole week around princess themes or if they have boys, we’ll do pirates.”

Me and the Mouse Travel also provides families with a customized itinerary book which includes,  park hours, crowd levels, best spots to watch the parades and the entertainment and dining schedule for each day.

Hollman said Disney has three room categories ranging from value, moderate to deluxe.

Me and the Mouse Travel works with all price ranges and also scopes out deals and sales for clients.

Planning Your Disney Vacation

One of the questions Hollman receives most often is: what’s the best age to take children to Disney World?

She said she thinks children between ages 5-9 appreciate it most.

“Everything is just magical then,” she said. “They still think it’s neat to eat with Cinderella or fight Darth Vader with light saber.”

But she is quick to add—Disney isn’t just for kids and has plenty of night-life and adult entertainment as well.

If you’re planning a magical vacation for your family, Me and the Mouse Travel suggests starting a year in advance to be sure you can book your dining reservations.

“I always tell people get room rate, reservation and at 180 days out, work on all of dining,” Hollman said.  “A lot of popular dining with characters gets booked.”

To get start planning your vacation with Me and the Mouse Travel, you can contact Hollman at:

• 636-614-3290
• Elizabeth@meandthemouse.com
• http://www.facebook.com/Elizabeth.Hollman.MeAndTheMouseTravel
• www.meandthemouse.com

Hollman said she found her dream job making other people's dreams come to life. 

“The best part of my job is when the client gets back from their trip and they let me know how much fun they had and how I helped them create memories of a lifetime,” she said.

Me and the Mouse Travel Shares Fun Disney Facts:

• Disney covers 40 square miles- it's the size of San Francisco or two Manhattan islands. 
• Disney employees over 62,000 people
• Cinderella's Castle is made out of fiberglass, not stone.
• Disney washes 285,000 pounds of laundry each day!
• 1,500 Christmas trees at Walt Disney World will be covered in over 700,000 LED lights for Christmas.
• 75 million Cokes are consumed at Disney each  year.
• 210 pair of sunglasses are turned in each day to lost and found