The Optimal Magic Story
With my daughter Julia
The idea started in 2002...
My name is Clark Bundy. In 2002 I was an MBA grad working at a top tier consulting firm. And I was planning a trip for my young family to Disney World. Given that I was on the road and away from my family a lot, I really wanted to make the absolute most of our Disney trip - I didn't want to wait in line!
One advantage to being on the road was that I had free time at night. So after booking our Disney trip, I began to do heavy-duty research. I read every Disney World book I could get my hands on and went to every Disney World fansite I could - some info was good, most was not. And each book had advice that contradicted other books. It was a confusing mess.
So I finally said "heck with it - I'm going take the time to figure out the best trip for my family." I got maps of the parks, got (from various sources) the estimates of line times and Fastpass return times for each attraction at each park, and determined my family's best plans for visiting each park. Using my analytical background, I fastidiously created a plan to avoid the bottlenecks so we wouldn't ever have to wait in line, spending over 40 hours planning this trip.
The trip was an amazing success! We never waited in line, our young kids never got exhausted or grumpy, and we came home feeling refreshed, not exhausted. It was completely unlike any trip to Disney World I had taken before.
Naturally, being a consultant, I started to advise everyone else in my firm on "the best way to do Disney." I put together a presentation with tips and tricks, and presented to our entire office one Friday afternoon. And the thing was a hit - it went viral within the company - everyone going to Disney asked for my presentation and my advice. And everyone who used my advice had a great time.
Eight years pass by...
I took several more trips to Disney World over the next eight years. I would always plan the trips, we'd always have a great time, and I would share advice with friends who asked, but that was about it. Then came 2010. My entire extended family (19 people, ages 0 to 66) decided on a massive Disney World extravaganza. Most people in the family had not been to Disney in 20 years or more. And I was in charge of planning it!
Once again, I spent countless hours planning this trip. With so many people (including those who didn't want to be there), so many different interests, and so many moving parts, it was a huge challenge - my evenings for several months were spent planning this trip, because I wanted my extended family to experience Disney in the best possible way.
Once again, it was an amazing success! Everyone - all nineteen people (including the ones who were grumpy about the trip), had an amazing time, and everyone raved about how the planning made the trip incredible. They started raving to their friends, and before I knew it, I was planning other people's trips for them.
The start of Optimal Magic, and today
As word got out, demand has grown dramatically - the requests for Disney help keep coming in, and the reviews have been amazing. Ultimately, I have decided to make this into a "real" business, and I am now offering my services beyond my immediate circle of family and friends.
So now Optimal Magic is available for your vacation. Let me help you plan your trip - when you do a Disney trip the Optimal Magic way, you'll never go back!
My name is Clark Bundy. In 2002 I was an MBA grad working at a top tier consulting firm. And I was planning a trip for my young family to Disney World. Given that I was on the road and away from my family a lot, I really wanted to make the absolute most of our Disney trip - I didn't want to wait in line!
One advantage to being on the road was that I had free time at night. So after booking our Disney trip, I began to do heavy-duty research. I read every Disney World book I could get my hands on and went to every Disney World fansite I could - some info was good, most was not. And each book had advice that contradicted other books. It was a confusing mess.
So I finally said "heck with it - I'm going take the time to figure out the best trip for my family." I got maps of the parks, got (from various sources) the estimates of line times and Fastpass return times for each attraction at each park, and determined my family's best plans for visiting each park. Using my analytical background, I fastidiously created a plan to avoid the bottlenecks so we wouldn't ever have to wait in line, spending over 40 hours planning this trip.
The trip was an amazing success! We never waited in line, our young kids never got exhausted or grumpy, and we came home feeling refreshed, not exhausted. It was completely unlike any trip to Disney World I had taken before.
Naturally, being a consultant, I started to advise everyone else in my firm on "the best way to do Disney." I put together a presentation with tips and tricks, and presented to our entire office one Friday afternoon. And the thing was a hit - it went viral within the company - everyone going to Disney asked for my presentation and my advice. And everyone who used my advice had a great time.
Eight years pass by...
I took several more trips to Disney World over the next eight years. I would always plan the trips, we'd always have a great time, and I would share advice with friends who asked, but that was about it. Then came 2010. My entire extended family (19 people, ages 0 to 66) decided on a massive Disney World extravaganza. Most people in the family had not been to Disney in 20 years or more. And I was in charge of planning it!
Once again, I spent countless hours planning this trip. With so many people (including those who didn't want to be there), so many different interests, and so many moving parts, it was a huge challenge - my evenings for several months were spent planning this trip, because I wanted my extended family to experience Disney in the best possible way.
Once again, it was an amazing success! Everyone - all nineteen people (including the ones who were grumpy about the trip), had an amazing time, and everyone raved about how the planning made the trip incredible. They started raving to their friends, and before I knew it, I was planning other people's trips for them.
The start of Optimal Magic, and today
As word got out, demand has grown dramatically - the requests for Disney help keep coming in, and the reviews have been amazing. Ultimately, I have decided to make this into a "real" business, and I am now offering my services beyond my immediate circle of family and friends.
So now Optimal Magic is available for your vacation. Let me help you plan your trip - when you do a Disney trip the Optimal Magic way, you'll never go back!
About the owner
Out for a spin with my daughter and nephew
About me, and why I can help you!
Optimal Magic was founded by me, Clark Bundy. I'm a dad of three amazing girls, and I've got the experience and background to help you have the most incredible trip to Disney World:
Optimal Magic was founded by me, Clark Bundy. I'm a dad of three amazing girls, and I've got the experience and background to help you have the most incredible trip to Disney World:
- I focus on making everything easy for you. I do all the heavy lifting and analysis - you don't worry about the complicated stuff - you just get an incredible plan to make your vacation as best as possible for you.
- I have a background in decision science and optimization of difficult decisions (and what is more difficult than planning a Disney World Trip?). What this means is I put my years of experience in optimization to work for you.
- I have significant personal experience from many trips to Disney World, learning exactly what works (and what doesn't), to ensure you never wait in long lines and have the best possible time.
- I continually use information collected from past clients and other sources to update my information - it's always up-to-date. Incidentally, my clients love to debrief me on everything and I LOVE to hear from them - it only makes the service more amazing!
- My past experience as a management consultant means my focus is to make everything as optimal and smooth for my customers as possible.
- I have an MBA from Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.