Jamie Hammond
Travel Professional
Jamie is from the suburbs of Chicago where she lives with her husband of 20+ years and their three young adult children. She has been a travel advisor since July 2012 and cannot think of a better job than creating magical and memorable trips for her clients! She specializes in all-inclusive resorts, all Disney Destinations, Universal Resorts, and all cruise lines. She has visited 4 of the 7 Sandals Resorts in Jamaica, sailed on all 5 Disney cruise ships, and stayed in every Walt Disney World resort hotel except ONE!
There is not much downtime in her life, but she enjoys any time that she gets with her family – dinners, family movie nights, and of course, vacations! Believe it or not, if you are paying, older kids will still go to Walt Disney World or sit on the pool deck of a Disney Cruise ship and watch a movie on Funnel vision!!
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Behind the Agent
Hi, Jamie! Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Hi! I’m Jamie and I live in Chicago suburbs with my husband of 20+ years and our three kids, who are now young adults (Whattt!?!?!?). We are 100% a Disney family – we have been to Walt Disney World more times than we can count, Disneyland, and on 12 Disney cruises! But now that everyone is getting older, our vacations are starting to shift a bit to all-inclusives, which is super exciting! I love a good pizza, a good crime documentary, and a good Caribbean vacation in the middle of winter.
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
On my bucket list is an over-the-water bungalow in Bora Bora, an Adventures By Disney trip to Italy or Costa Rica, and visiting the Sandals resort in Barbados. I love relaxation, but also a little adventure!
Why did you become a travel planner?
I started planning vacations in 2012. I realized that I had been to Walt Disney World so many times that I was basically planning trips for my friends and coworkers. Over the years, I’ve been able to visit many new destinations, as well as stay at almost EVERY resort hotel at Walt Disney World and sailed on all 5 Disney Cruise Line ships. All of this helps me to help YOUR family plan your most magical vacation!
How has your travel planning evolved over time?
When I first went to Walt Disney World, I was in the 4th grade. I then went two more times before I got married when we honeymooned in Walt Disney World. We stayed at Dixie Landings – which is now Port Orleans Riverside! Since then, we have taken our kids from the time they were very little (the youngest was 12 weeks old on his first visit!)… and now they are nearly grown ups! We’ve gone from waking up early and rope dropping every day to sleeping in and staying out late – we don’t like to wake up early! I really thought that as the kids got older, they would not want to vacation with us and that has not been the case. They are theme park junkies who are always up for an adventure. We travel more as a couple now and the kids get a little jealous when we go somewhere without them!
What is your favorite non-Disney Destination and why?
I love, love, love Sandals Resorts – you just cannot find better service at an all-inclusive resort. The staff takes the time to get to know you, so when you return, you feel like they are family. The food is amazing – 5 star restaurants??? Yes, please! There’s something for everyone – plenty to do if you want to meet people and go out at night and also plenty to do if you want something quiet and like to keep to yourself! If you ask me to quote you an all-inclusive resort, Sandals will almost ALWAYS make that list 🙂
What is your favorite place to eat in the parks?
Do I have to pick just one?? I always go to Liberty Tree Tavern for the Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake (duh!), but the beer cheese soup, pretzel bread, poutine, and steak is the BEST MEAL at Le Cellier. We always have to get BBQ at least once and that’s when we go to the Polite Pig or the Regal Eagle Smokehouse. When I need pizza, Via Napoli is the place to go! For the best theme, Sci Fi Dine-in makes you feel like you are in a real drive-in movie theater. My new favorite character meal is the breakfast at Topolino’s Terrace – the food here is SO GOOD and the characters are fun. The Riviera is also my absolute favorite Disney resort, so I may be a little biased here!