What You Don't Know

I've been thinking a lot about what it means to learn a new profession in 2026. Because, holy crap, we have access to EVERYTHING.

• Want to know which Walt Disney World resorts have Skyliner access? Google it.
• Want to understand the difference between Disney Cruise Line stateroom categories? Ask AI.
• Want to know which hotels are within walking distance of Disneyland? You can have an answer in seconds.

So I think it's perfectly reasonable for someone considering becoming a travel advisor to wonder:

Do I really need someone to teach me this stuff anymore? And my answer might surprise you.

Not all of it. There is a LOT you can learn on your own. The problem isn't getting answers anymore.

The problem is knowing which questions to ask.

When you're brand new to any profession, there's one thing you simply can't get around: You don't know what you don't know.

1. Would you know not to quote a potential client immediately?
2. Would you know why giving a client MORE choices can actually make you worse at your job?
3. Would you know when to stop selling after they've already said yes?
4. Would you know why a Disneyland client shouldn't be handled like a Walt Disney World client?
5. Would you know what NOT to discuss during that first Disney Cruise Line inquiry?
6. Would you recognize when a nervous client needs reassurance instead of another round of planning?

Of course you wouldn't, you haven't done the job yet.

This is the stuff you don't know to Google. 

Let's take that first one. A potential client reaches out and wants a Walt Disney World vacation. You're excited. You get their dates, party size and budget and immediately get to work on a quote.

Makes sense, right?

Except one of the biggest rookie mistakes you can make is quoting before you really understand the client.

What kind of travelers are they? Are they rope-drop people or sleep-in people? What matters most to them? Where are they likely to feel stress? What does a successful vacation look like to them?

You don't need to show them everything they could book. You need to learn enough about them to confidently recommend what they should book.

That's also why more choices aren't necessarily better. A new advisor can easily think, Look how helpful I am! I found six resorts that fit their budget!

An experienced advisor knows six resorts may have just handed the decision right back to the overwhelmed client who came to you for help in the first place. Sometimes your job is to say, “Based on everything you've told me, these are the two I'd consider, and here's why.”

That's the difference between having Disney knowledge and knowing how to advise someone.

And Disneyland? That's another great example.

If you know Walt Disney World, you may assume staying at a Disney-owned hotel is automatically the recommendation. At Disneyland, that's not necessarily true. Some Good Neighbor hotels are actually closer to the park entrances than Disney-owned hotels. Your client may care more about walking five minutes, having a larger room, grabbing an inexpensive breakfast next door and saving money than being surrounded by Disney theming 24/7.  

You wouldn't know you needed to rethink that recommendation until someone taught you that Disneyland works differently.

And that's really my point.

This isn't about whether Google or AI is useful. They are.

But there's a difference between asking a tool for information and learning a profession from someone who's already done the job.

I've had the clients. I've made the recommendations. I've made the mistakes. I've figured out what works. I've made money doing this. I've built a business around it and have worked with over 1,000 Disney-focused advisors to date to develop their travel businesses.

That's what I put into the Agent Prep Program.

Yes, you'll learn the nuts and bolts of the job. But you'll also learn the things I wish someone had told me before I had to learn them by doing. 

The things you don't know to Google yet.

Because eventually, experience will teach you all kinds of things.

Agent Prep just lets you borrow mine while you're building yours. 💛