MICHAEL'S VIPS, INC.
ORLANDO, FLORIDA

Most importantly, our VIP guests know that they will never hear the word 'no' when making a request during their vacation. There are only two answers permissible at Michael's VIPs: "Yes, I will be happy to do that for you!" or "I will do my very best to make it happen!" (Many of our guests compliment us for not having to request anything.) We are able to host our guests at any fun location in Central Florida. Walt Disney World remains the most popular vacation destination in the world, but we also enjoy hosting them at the ever-expanding Universal Studios & Islands of Adventure parks, SeaWorld, the Kennedy Space Center, water parks, the beaches, and even on shopping excursions. Even after nearly five years and a bachelor’s degree in Economics, I still wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I settled into Orlando and began working for Disney full time knowing that something better would present itself. After several promising starts that could have lead to management positions within the company, a chance encounter with a world famous celebrity while I was working as a butler at the Haunted Mansion lead me to Guest Relations. These are the hosts and hostesses that solve guest challenges, answer their questions on every possible topic, help with daily plans, make dining and dinner show reservations, sell and advise ticket options, and provide spieled guided tours for adults and families. It is from the four theme park guest relations departments that the Disney Special Activities (DSA) office auditions their VIP tour guides. I was selected to be one of the VIP Hosts for the Resort later that same year. During my years with Disney I hosted an extensive variety of guests, both ultra-famous and not, and enjoyed each and every one of them. However, I often caught myself reviewing aspects of our service I wished to change or provide differently and I wasn't in a position to do anything about it. These thoughts and opinions, as well as a personal desire to challenge my abilities, lead to the development of my own company, Michael's VIPs, in 1999. At the time no such independent service existed. Anywhere. VIP Tours for families who were not celebrities, royals, or statesmen were just beginning to take off at the theme parks, and I was convinced I could provide a higher quality vacation experience for them. The greatest difference between the celebrity and non-celebrity service wasn’t the backdoor access to the rides that the famous visitors enjoyed, something they truly required to have any privacy and a good time with their family. Instead, it was the amount of preplanning and personal care that we provided for them. My many trial and error attempts to learn the crowd patterns, and how to best tour around them instead of through them, is what later empowered me to leave Disney and set out on my own. I also disliked telling my guests, even a Royal Princess whose family was estimated to be spending over $2 million a day at Walt Disney World, that I could only accompany them at Disney’s four theme parks and nowhere else. Orlando has tons more options, including the Universal Studios parks, and they are amazing places to visit! Michael's Life Lesson #4,147: "If you want to create something positive, believe in yourself and your abilities, and welcome others to help you make it a reality." We would like to thank your office staff and our VIP Guide, Lindsey, for an incredible Florida theme park vacation! She was fabulous! We were a little skeptical going into it, but your service far exceeded our expectations. All of the pre-planning that went into the trip was evident in how smoothly each day ran. We never had to wait long for the rides, and we were ushered seamlessly from place to place within the park! We are now spoiled and will never be able to return to a theme park without your VIP service again! Michaelsvips.com is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company, Universal Studios or SeaWorld.