Meet Dani Sjostrom | Travel Agent Specializing in Disney

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dani Sjostrom and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dani, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking.
I’ve always thought of myself as a moderate risk-taker, whether it be in school, trying new sports, or even physical risks like endurance running, climbing, and hiking. It wasn’t until I had my daughter that I really thought about the importance of risk-taking, however. As a mom, I now strive to take risks, calculated ones of course, and show my daughter that taking risks allows us to grow. Sometimes those risks pay off and we grow by succeeding in doing something we didn’t think we could; but sometimes the risks pay off by showing us that we can fail, but still move on knowing we learned something.

I think one of the first calculated risks I took when becoming a new mom was becoming a travel agent specializing in Disney. I stepped away from a full-time career that I loved to focus on being a mom, but I also knew I didn’t want to totally lose my identity in the professional and creative world, because I wanted my daughter to look up to me as someone than more than just “mom”. I strive to be the type of mom that she can look up to as also someone who is always striving to learn and grow.

With my small business, I work around our family schedule because I don’t ever want to lose sight of my family first motto. But each day I make the time to connect with my clients to help them prepare for their trip and make sure their needs are met, as well as create streamlined systems so my business can scale. Without having the courage to take this professional risk, I would have never pursued a job I have dreamed about doing for so long.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
As a travel agent specializing in Disney, I work with families and groups from the initial “where do we stay” questions to check-out. I don’t just book trips for someone and move on, I am there for my guests every step of the way. I send regular check-ins with expert-level tips, reminders, and updates so they can go into their Disney trip not only excited, but stress-free as well! Most of my services are complimentary as I try to make my services available to as many families that need help!

I spent many years working in collegiate athletics and transitioned to being a corporate executive assistant. I learned so much in both fields, but I think I truly grew into the professional I am in my executive assistant role. I worked with not just incredible leaders, but incredible humans. I learned about leading with empathy while also still having a backbone and having high standards. I approach my small business the exact same way I approached every day when working with my corporate leaders and peers.

I think what I want the world to know about my brand is that I truly am in the travel industry business to help people, and that’s not just a tagline! I made SO many incredible memories at the Disney parks with my family and friends. Some trips were so smooth, and honestly, so many were met with challenges since the Disney parks change weekly. I have learned so much over my many trips spanning 20 years to the Disney parks and I want to pass on the knowledge to help others make the same great memories I have made.

I think becoming a mom has also helped me create a sub-mission, and that is to ensure moms have magical trips as well. Typically (not always, I see you too, dads!), moms are the ones planning the trips and bear a lot of stress that comes with it. I want to be all of the moms’ Disney BFF so they can give their stress to me to handle so they can enjoy their family trips to Disney just as much as the rest of the family.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my friend were visiting the Valley for the first time, I’d take them to some of my favorite places- Cup of Joey for some coffee in Mesa, a DBacks games, and a trip to the Salt River to see the wild horses. I think I’d then want to head a bit north to camp outside of the Grand Canyon and do some hiking!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I owe so much of who I am to the Arizona Cinderella Scholarship Program. I competed in this program for over a decade and grew so much as a person because of it. I gained public speaking and interview skills, as well as learning to have the self-confidence to be my unique self because of this program.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/magicalparksdani

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/magicalparkswithdani/