there’s not much i won’t try and diy. i always love a challenge and trying to figure out something new. but, there is officially one thing i won’t diy: disney trip planning.

when we started talking about our big goal a year ago to take the boys to disney in the fall of 2017, i figured i would cobble together our trip in some way. and before i could start creating a patchwork trip, my friend jill walked back into my life.

jill is jill hiatt, who was a neighbor of mine while growing up, and we went to school together back in muncie, indiana. jill is now a travel agent with a family of her own, and she loves disney more than anyone i know. she has created her own business based on her love for travel + disney. she was just what i needed to make this trip come together, be memorable, and allow us to do everything we wanted to do!

before i leap into the biggest online disney scrapbook you’ve ever seen, i have to tell you why i will never diy a disney trip:

1. like so many of you reading this, i’m a busy lady. between the boys, the house, the family, the full—time gig, and re-nest studio, there’s not a lot of extra time. jill handled it all.

2. yes, i love disney, but i am by no means an expert. nor do i get to follow all of the disney blogs. having someone plan your trip who makes knowing disney their job = brilliance.

3. did i mention i didn’t have time to plan the trip?

4. jill’s planning doesn’t cost you a cent. seriously.

5. i gave jill our dates, our budget, who was going, and any must-haves. she did it all. she was up at 5am on multiple mornings on our behalf to get the promotions we wanted, the dining reservations we wanted and more.

having someone that i could rely on (and, let’s face it – also keep my accountable for the very few things i was trying to do!) was insanely valuable. because of jill, we had the best trip. it was truly the vision of the disney trip that i hoped we could give our boys. if you are thinking about doing a disney trip, i can’t recommend jill enough. she made this our dream come true.

now, let’s look at the fun stuff, shall we?