Melissa Rhodes

Why did you decide to become a travel consultant?
I started my travel consultant career focusing solely on Disney, with good reason – it is one of my favorite places on Earth! My love for Disney goes back to 1978. I was a year old when I first toddled through the gates of the Magic Kingdom. Since that first fateful visit, I would add over 90 Disney visits to my resume. Disney is more than a place to me; it is a place where memories are made. I remember being a little girl and going to the Magic Kingdom with my grandparents. I have since lost both of them but I remember standing on Main Street watching the parade with them while my grandmother clapped and my grandfather tried to look upset (he wasn’t, but he didn’t want anyone else to know that). I remember my mom and I standing at Epcot watching IllumiNations while I told her about the boy I loved (he is now my husband). I can’t stand next to her and watch the fireworks anymore but I know that she is by my side laughing.

Now I am the mom and we take our two children to Disney all the time. They know their way around and what they love and where they want to go. But most of all, they laugh and have fun and for just a little while we all forget about schoolwork or meetings and we spend time together, laughing.

That is what is at the heart of what I do and why. To help families find those same moments of love and laughter and togetherness. Those memories may be at Disney or zip-lining through a jungle in Hawaii, either way I would love to help you plan your next vacation and create some amazing memories of your own!

What is one of your “Bucket list” destinations?
I would love to go on an African photo safari. While I can’t take a picture (I leave the photography skills to my husband) I am pretty sure that there are no bad photos to be had. One of my all time favorite animals is the hippopotamus, to even have a chance to see a hippo in their native habitat is amazing!

What is your favorite Disney ride?
No question – it’s a small world!