We are The Park Planners
Our Story
The Park Planners was started in 2018 from Colleen’s couch in their tiny Chicago apartment. This came after a family trip to Walt Disney World where she noticed people just showing up to the parks and spending their days waiting in crazy lines. Not so magical. There had to be a way to help families experience Disney how their family did!
Colleen worked on this unique idea for a planning service after her day job was done and spent most nights up late listening to park music while she brainstormed. Eventually the concept of a Concierge Service developed and the business was official. Her first year of business brought in only eight clients, and then with a little magic and hard work, that number skyrocketed into the hundreds – even through the challenges of 2020.
Colleen went full time with the business that year and an incredible team was hired in 2021 to help make the magic for all of these clients. The Park Planners team continues to grow with Disney experts as they serve hundreds of families each year. Colleen opened their first office in downtown Clarendon Hills in March of 2023!
Meet The Team
These are the Disney experts who make the magic happen for your family.
Colleen Bentley
Shannon Jenkinson
Kim Collins
Brianna Welbourn
Mary Balash
Michelle St. Laurent
Staci Meyer
Lisa Auriemme
Emily Hansen
A thank you to our incredible families for sharing about their magical experiences with our Concierge Service. Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo!
We had the most wonderful trip! Your recommendations, detailed plan, and suggestions were SO helpful. It was immensely helpful to have all our reservations lined up in advance, and our Concierge Planner did such an amazing job checking in with us throughout the trip, changing things on the fly, and helping us with the hurricane in the middle of the trip too. You helped make our trip so easy so that we could really just show up and enjoy it all. We will absolutely be recommending The Park Planners to all our friends.
– Katie & Trevor Reitz
Thank you so very much for all your help in this entire process – we had the most wonderful first family trip to Disney, and really can’t thank you enough for everything. Our Concierge Planner was amazing to work with, and we appreciate all the effort in making it a stress free and memorable vacation.
– Laura Dupuis
Thank you so much for your help with our trip to Disney. We could not have done it (and stayed sane:) without you. In a nutshell, I’d say we had a fantastic trip because of your advice, both before and during the trip. The assistance with logistics, where to stay and eat, and how and when to schedule our days was critical. Looking back on the trip our girls had a wonderful time and I’m confident it would not have been as memorable — for them or us — without your support.
– Karl Liebenauer
