Get Away Today is considered by many to be the premiere authority on Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Because that reputation goes before us, we were invited to make our fourth appearance on the KSL Travel Show this past weekend. During our 30 minute segment, we invited listeners to save $40 - $80 on their next Disneyland vacation when they stay at the beautiful Holiday Inn Anaheim Resort hotel. You can book your vacation now but you need to travel between September 1st and September 30, 2007.
If you weren't able to listen to the KSL Travel Show this weekend, you can listen it here right here.
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--------------------PODCAST TRANSCRIPT – SEGMENT ONE--------------------
Todd Carlson (Announcer): Travel news you can use. This is the Get Away Today.com Travel Show. Get Away Today is a top provider of affordable, fun family vacations to Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Hawaii, San Diego, Beaches, and Sandals in the Caribbean. The travel show is heard exclusively on Get AwayToday.com. And now, here’s the host of the travel show.
Patrick Wiscombe (Get Away Today Internet Marketing Manager): Welcome to the Get Away Today Travel Show podcast. The only podcast on the web and on iTunes where you get fresh travel content almost every day about Disneyland, Walt Disney World, San Diego, Hawaii, Universal Studios Hollywood, Beaches, and Sandals in the Caribbean. My name is Patrick Wiscombe; Internet Marketing Manager for the Get Away Today website and blog. Coming up, Get Away Today was invited to make another appearance on the KSL Travel Show this past weekend since we are the Disneyland experts. We talked about Disneyland; of course. We also talked about our new Get Away Today vacation payment plans, our brand new friends and family promotion, and our exclusive two-day early entry park hopper passes to Disneyland. One last thing, make sure to listen to the entire podcast because we’re giving you a huge discount off your next vacation to Disneyland when you stay at the Holiday Inn Anaheim Resort. You have to book by Wednesday, August 23, 2007 and you need to travel in September.
Jackie McKay (KSL Travel Show Radio Host): It’s Sunday afternoon. Welcome to the KSL Travel Show. My name is Jackie McKay. Thank you for spending your Sunday afternoon with us. Joining me for the first half-hour of the program is Get Away Today Vacations. Patrick Wiscombe is joining me and I see you’ve brought along a special guest.
PW: Yes, I did.
JM: Usually it’s Jennifer Dunyon but somebody is having a baby.
PW: Jennifer’s brother, his wife is having a baby. I was going to say that Jennifer’s brother was having the baby but that won’t work very well.
JM: No, that won’t work. So, who did you bring along with you?
PW: I have Lindsey here with me. All of a sudden I forgot your last name only because we’re on the air right now.
Lindsey Rasmussen (Get Away Today Sales): Lindsey Rasmussen.
PW: I work with her at Get Away Today and we’re here to talk about Disneyland.
JM: Well, I saw a car on the freeway the other day that was wrapped like a Get Away Today car. Was that your car? I assume it’s your car.
LR: Oh yeah, that’s our car.
JM: That’s fun. That’s exciting.
LR: Oh yeah, it’s really exciting
PW: I love that car.
JM: I bet you do.
PW: I was joking with all of the owners at Get Away Today that the anonymity of driving is completely gone now. Sometimes I feel like an animal in a zoo because everyone is looking at me now. On one side of the car I have a picture of a family at Disneyland. The picture has Cinderella’s castle in the background. On the other side I have a picture of Snow White. My only request when they wrapped the car was to not have Snow White on the driver side. That was my only request.
JM: [Laughter] The car looks awesome. Let’s talk about Get Away Today. Let’s talk about what you guys do and how long have you been around?
LR: Get Away Today has been around for 17 years so we definitely have our feet wet in the travel business, especially Disneyland.
JM: What’s new at Disneyland? Jennifer Dunyon was here a few weeks a go. She had just returned from Disneyland and said she was going to go back fairly soon.
PW: Finding Nemo is the brand new ride at Disneyland. I was down there just before the ride opened on June 11th. Lindsey, have you been on the ride.
LR: I haven’t been on the ride. We were there the day before it opened. We watched them test the ride but I didn’t get to go on it.
PW: I was down there the week before Finding Nemo was going to open and I went up to the ride attendant and asked if she needed anybody else to test the ride. I asked because Disneyland was having a friends and family party to test the ride so I thought I would ask. When I asked, it was 11:40 at night. I could tell she was going to say yes but then she looked at her watch and said no because the park was going to close in 20 minutes. So I almost got on with my family. Jennifer was able to go on it. She said it was a terrific ride. In fact, they’ve segmented the ride into three sections. You have the first section when you go into the ride. The second part of the ride is a little bit different experience than the front of the ride and then the back of the sub is a little bit different than the other two sections.
JM: So, it that the big new attraction at Disneyland?
PW: Yes. That is the biggest attraction at Disneyland right now.
JM: Is that a ride for all ages? Can smaller kids go on Finding Nemo?
PW: It’s for anybody. Let me give you an insider tip. If you’re going to Disneyland and you’re listening to the KSL Travel Show right now, take advantage of the early entry option, if you have it, and go straight to the Finding Nemo ride. That way you can avoid the lines. Is that in Fantasyland, Lindsey?
LR: Yes, it’s in Fantasyland.
PW: With Fantasyland opening early, go do Finding Nemo first because the line will be shorter.
LR: The first week the ride opened, the line was four hours long. It was huge.
JM: Let’s talk for a minute about kids being crowned royalty. Let’s talk about the Princess Fantasy Fair.
LR: Oh yeah, the Disney Princess Fantasy Fair. It’s an experience especially for the younger girls.
JM: Is this part of Disney’s Year of a Million Dreams?
LR: It is. Its part of Disney’s Year of a Million Dreams. They’re doing a lot of different things down there. There are all sorts of new attractions and interactive experiences.
JM: So that’s included. They also have the Jedi training camp. Did your boys go to that? Did you take your boys down?
PW: Yeah. We all went down but we didn’t do the Jedi training academy. The Jedi training camp takes place over by Space Mountain, Finding Nemo, and my kids’ favorite, the Autopia. Jackie, have you been down to Disneyland recently? Have you taken the girls down yet?
JM: No. I haven’t been down to Disneyland since I was about 12 years old.
PW: Has it been that long?
JM: Yes, and I’m old.
PW: I know somebody who can get you down there.
JM: Yeah, I bet. Get Away Today. [Laughter] That’s where you were going with that. I see they’ve also got the new pirates have landed attraction where you can become an honorary buccaneer.
LR: The pirates have landed attraction is over by the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. I haven’t seen it yet but you get on a boat and go to Tom Sawyer Island. You can go on a treasure hunt with the pirates. It’s a great interactive experience.
JM: What else is included as part of the Disney’s Year of a Million Dreams? Do they still have the parades at night? Do they still have the big fireworks show?
LR: The Disney block party is down there. They still have the wonderful fireworks show. They still have the parade every night. High School Musical is there.
PW: Now that is cool. I know I work at Get Away Today but let me take of my marketing hat and put on my Patrick hat. If your kids love High School Musical, you have to see the pep rally.
JM: My kids love High School Musical and the new one just aired on Friday night. High School Musical is huge. Whoever created it, wow, they’re lucky.
PW: It only plays at Disney’s California Adventure theme park. They put on the High School Musical pep rally right at the opening of the park. It’s in the main plaza. It’s fantastic. That was a lot of fun even for me.
JM: You liked High School Musical for a moment didn’t you?
PW: Yes.
JM: [Laughter] That’s ok. That’s alright. I wish I had some High School Musical music I could play for you right now.
PW: Lindsey was talking about the block party. That’s a lot of fun also.
JM: What do you do at the block party?
PW: They bring out some of the Monsters, Inc. characters. Sully was there. Mike Wazowski was there with his one eye. They bring out all of the characters. The Incredible family was there. Who else do they have there?
LR: I believe they have Toy Story characters there as well.
PW: I’m going to give you an insider tip. The best place to watch Disney’s block party is on the Paradise Pier side of Disney’s California Adventure. That’s over by Mulholland Madness, and the Maliboomer. Go to that area. That’s the best place to see it because you won’t need to fight the crowds. During the block party, the characters will begin dancing with you. It was a lot of fun.
JM: While we’ve been recording this, you’ve already given us some insider tips. Can we find these insider tips on your website?
PW: Yes you can. Another thing we’ve been working on at Get Away Today is the frequently asked questions section of the website and blog. We want customers to have that as a resource so they can better plan their vacation. We’re also in the process of spotlighting all of the hotels. We have a terrific booking site but people want to know more about the hotels so I’m working on that right now. When people go to our website and our blog site, people can now read and listen to in-depth reviews of the hotels. One of the hotels I just finished working on was Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa. I recorded a podcast with Jennifer Dunyon, our Corporate Communications Vice President, about Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel. During that podcast she talks about the hotel. She gives a review of the hotel and I posted a transcript of that conversation on the site so people can read it. We do this so people have a better idea of what to expect when they go on vacation. It’s a work in progress right now but I think our customers will really appreciate the content they can read and listen to right now.
JM: Go check out their website. Their web address is GetAwayToday.com. There’s a link on the KSL travel show page. Go to KSL.com, click on the radio tab, then click on the travel show page and we’ll link you directly to their website. We’re going to take a quick break then we’ll come back and talk more with Get Away Today. How do people get in touch with Get Away Today?
LR: The phone number is 1-866-FUN-TRIP.
JM: That’s very simple. Even I can remember that phone number. That’s 1-866-FUN-TRIP. We’ll take a break then come back and talk more with Get Away Today. You’re listening to the KSL Travel Show on KSL NewsRadio.
--------------------PODCAST TRANSCRIPT – SEGMENT TWO--------------------
Jackie McKay (KSL Travel Show Radio Host): It’s Sunday afternoon, welcome back to the KSL Travel Show. My name is Jackie McKay. Patrick Wiscombe from Get Away Today is in-studio with me along with Lindsey. Lindsey, I forgot your last name.
Lindsey Rasmussen (Get Away Today Sales): It’s a hard one.
Patrick Wiscombe (Get Away Today Internet Marketing Manager): See, you forgot too.
JM: I didn’t forget. I didn’t what to pronounce it wrong. See, that’s the difference between you and I.
PW: That’s true.
JM: Does this bring back memories?
PW: It sure does. [laughter]
JM: [laughter] Welcome back to the program. We’re talking with Get Away Today. I read an interesting article this past week. In order to get your passport, did you know that you have to be caught up on all of your child support?
LR: Yes you do.
PW: No, I haven’t heard that.
JM: There was one gentleman who wanted to take a vacation and he was $48,000 past due on his child support payments.
PW: oh wow.
JM: That ended up being a very expensive vacation for him. It’s still summertime right now but it’s late in the summer season. Can you still get good deals if you’re going down to Disneyland?
PW: Yeah, absolutely. In fact, that’s one of the things we wanted to talk about. We have two promotions. This is the first time we’ve offered this particular promotion. In the past, friends, family, and neighbors have gone up to Get Away Today employees and asked if they can get a discount on their next vacation. In the past, the answer was no. We simply didn’t have that option. The answer is now yes. So if you know a Get Away Today employee, you’ll receive $50 off your next vacation instantly. The second promotion I wanted to talk about is the promotion I just posted on the website. One of my favorite hotels down in Anaheim is the Holiday Inn Anaheim Resort hotel. It’s gorgeous. It’s located one mile away from the Disneyland entrance but they offer free shuttle service to and from the Disneyland Resort. They use the Anaheim Resort Transit system. It’s commonly referred to as the ART system.
JM: Did you stay in the Tinkerbell room?
PW: No. If you book a two night vacation at the Holiday Inn Anaheim Resort, you get $40 dollars off. If you book a three or four night stay, you get $50 off plus you get the fourth night free. If you book a five night stay you get $60 off. If you book a six night stay you get $70 off and so forth.
JM: Is this promotion posted on the website?
PW: Yes, it’s posted on the website. In fact, it’s right on the homepage. You really can’t miss it. You have to book this special online. The web address once again is Get Away Today.com. If you want to read or listen to an in-depth review of this hotel, you can visit the Get Away Today website and then click on our blog link. That’s the main special we have right now.
JM: It’s inexpensive to go to Disneyland. You can take your whole family on vacation and it’s not going to cost a lot. When is the best time to go to Disneyland?
PW: There’s two ways to answer that question. If you go down during the peak season, the park opens early and stays open until midnight. You have all day long to experience everything. If you don’t want to fight the crowds, go during the April and October time frames.
LR: Spring breaks are usually in March and that’s a good time to go. March and first part of April is a good time to go. Mid-April to late April is also a good time to go. The first week in May is a good time to go. September and October is a good time to go if you don’t want the huge crowds. The weather isn’t as hot and there are definitely fewer people at Disneyland during that time.
JM: What kind of deals are we seeing right now for the UEA weekend?
LR: UEA is a great time to go. This year UEA is on October 29 and 30th which is a Monday and Tuesday. You get a lot of our free night specials during that time frame. We also offer the two early entry days. We used to offer one early entry day, now we’re offering two. That’s an offer you can only get from Get Away Today.
JM: What time is early entry?
PW: It’s an hour before the park opens. When you book your hotel with Get Away Today, the Disneyland Park Hopper tickets are already included. You’ve always been able to get one early entry into Disneyland when you book a vacation package with us, but now you get two. We’re the only travel company out there that offers a second early entry day. That goes into effect on September 1, 2007. You can book now but you’ll need to travel on or after September 1st to take advantage of this offer.
JM: That’s a good deal? What else do you have going on? You’re beginning to offer more tropical places like Hawaii, Cancun, Beaches, and Sandals.
LR: Yes. We have vacations to Hawaii. We also offer packages to Sandals and Beaches in the Caribbean. We also offer Mexico. Our customers we’re asking us to sell Mexico so we now offer vacations to Mexico.
JM: On your website, will we only find Disneyland vacations or will we find the vacations to Sandals and Beaches?
LR: You’ll find everything on Get Away Today.com
JM: One time I was talking to Jennifer and said you will begin offering vacations to New York. It sounds like you’re beginning to work on vacations to New York. It also sounds like you can book almost any vacation with you guys.
LR: Oh yeah, we’re really proud about that.
PW: One of the things our programmers have been working on and I want to mention them by name, Jason Seeley and Jeremy Provow, they’ve been working night and day to get our airfare module online so people can now book their airfare with us as well. So, if you want to travel anywhere in the country, you can now get airfare through Get Away Today which is something we haven’t offered before. It’s a nice benefit for all of our customers.
JM: What else do we need to know? You guys do San Diego.
LR: I love San Diego. San Diego is really big in the fall. We have a lot of customers that want to travel to San Diego in the fall. We have great specials to San Diego. We have SeaWorld tickets at kid prices. We also have discount tickets to the San Diego Zoo and the Wild Animal park.
PW: SeaWorld is so much fun. When was the last time you were there?
LR: I was there in June.
PW: Were you really? If it’s been five years since you’ve been to SeaWorld…
LR: I’d say three years. They’ve done so much with their new park. They’re constantly changing things so you definitely need to go so you can check it out.
JM: You now have podcasts on your website.
PW: Do you mind if I plug the podcasts?
JM: Go ahead. I’m used to this.
PW: When you go the Get Away Today website, if you scroll down a bit, you’ll see the picture of the girl and a computer screen that says blog. Click on that link and you can listen to all of the podcasts we’ve produced including the hotel spotlight features. As I mentioned a few minutes ago, we recorded an in-depth feature about Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa. We’re also going to do an in-depth piece for the Holiday Inn Anaheim Resort. The intent here is to give customers the information they need and want about the hotels they want to stay at. If you go to any travel site all you get is a thumbnail picture. It doesn’t effectively communicate with the customer how wonderful these hotels and destinations are. We’re going to change that. One way we’re going to do that is by recording podcasts with each of the hotel sales managers or the hotel owners then transcribe our conversation so people can read what we talked about just in case the media player on their computer doesn’t work. They’ll also be able to listen to the podcast while they’re on the site. They won’t need to install any software. All they need to do is press the play button and it will begin playing for them. We’ve also uploaded all of the Get Away Today Travel Show podcast on iTunes. If you have iTunes software installed, open the software and look in the upper right corner of the iTunes screen for the search field. If you type in the words ‘Get Away Today’ then press enter, it will display our podcast. On this screen you’ll be able to subscribe and listen to each of the podcasts we’ve already produced for our customers. If you want to subscribe to the podcast, you can do that too. It’s a great way to stay in touch with Get Away Today.
JM: You guys are getting bigger and bigger every time I have you on the program.
LR: On one of the podcasts, we talk about our vacation payment plans.
PW: Oh yeah. Let’s talk about that for a second. One of the most popular questions we get at Get Away Today is about vacation payment plans. People want to go on vacation but they can’t afford to max out the credit card. They want to know if they can pay for their vacation over time and the answer is yes.
LR: The answer is yes for all of our destinations.
JM: So is this kind of like a vacation layaway?
PW: Yeah, basically.
LR: You put your hotel on layaway and you can go on vacation as soon as you pay it off.
PW: Exactly.
JM: That’s awesome.
PW: I think we’re the only travel company that offers a vacation payment plan for our customers. Normally when you call any travel company, you have to pay for your entire vacation up front.
JM: Those payment plan options come in handy.
PW: One of the things Get Away Today is really good at is our customer service. We’re famous for our excellent customer service. With regards to the vacation payment plans, we’ll bend over backwards to help our customers. For example, let’s say you know $300 on your vacation and you’re having a hard time making a payment that month, just call us. We’ll work with you. We’re not like a credit card company that comes after you like pit bull asking for the money.
LR: It’s really convenient but you do need to pay if off three weeks before your check-in date. It’s very nice.
Todd Carlson (Announcer): You can book your Get Away Today vacation package right now by going to Get Away Today.com or calling one of our friendly reservation agents at 1-866-FUN-TRIP. This has been the Get Away Today travel show podcast heard exclusively on Get Away Today.com
--------------------END OF PODCAST TRANSCRIPT--------------------
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