From “Disney Ben” to Trusted International Travel Advisor

For a decade, Ben Sohl made his living inside Disney and Universal’s parks. As a private VIP concierge, he escorted clients through their vacations day by day, anticipating their needs and smoothing out friction so families could just enjoy themselves. When the parks changed their policy on third-party operators, he needed to pivot.

Given his in-depth expertise, his first move was to join a travel agency with a strong Disney focus. But after some time there, he realized how much of the travel world he still wanted to explore. He found that range at Fora, whose all-in-one tech platform and broad booking options won him over, and has quickly grown his business, Atlas & Ever, alongside his business partner, Jade.

Building on his concierge experience

The decade Ben spent in the parks turned out to be a perfect foundation for everything that came next. Concierge work, like travel advising, is about reading a group, catching problems before they surface, and taking the stress off the client’s plate: “Paying attention to everybody in the family, making sure that everyone is having a good time,” as Ben puts it. 

Ben’s experience providing concierge-level attention to multigenerational trips is especially beneficial when he organizes group itineraries. Planning for a group means holding a lot of context at once: who wants to be up at 7 a.m. and who wants to sleep in, who’s adventurous, who has food allergies. “You’re not trying to make just the lead booker happy,” Ben said. “You want to make sure that everyone is happy and feels as though their needs and desires were taken into consideration.” One-size-fits-all plans miss the point. “If you're treating them the same, you’re not doing your job right.”

You want to make sure that everyone is happy and feels as though their needs and desires were taken into consideration.

Ben Sohl

joined November 2025

Winning client trust with unique value

Previous clients already trusted “Disney Ben” for their parks vacations, but his challenge was showing both longtime clients and new ones that he could plan everything else, too. His approach is to make the value he provides concrete. For the busy families and couples he works with, that value usually comes down to time: the research, the supplier relationships, and the client benefits he can access that they can’t get on their own.

An even bigger value: Ben prides himself on crafting personalized trip itineraries that clients couldn’t assemble by themselves. One client heading to Sardinia has a specific interest in Blue Zones—regions where people live much longer and healthier lives than average. He’s booked them for a shepherd-town visit, private cooking classes, agriturismo dinners, and a boat tour, all sourced in partnership with a carefully chosen destination management company. “You wouldn’t be able to find all of that through Google,” Ben said. “It’s just not possible.”

Booking in places he hasn’t been yet meant looking to other experts with exacting standards he knew he could trust. He leans on the Fora community’s firsthand experience with destination partners before he recommends them, and on fellow advisors for the specific, in-the-weeds answers he needs. “The way I learn is just through very specific questions,” he said. “Forum was the best for me.”

Ben personalizes trips with tips from Fora’s supplier and advisor community

Fora advisors have access to over 5,000 preferred partners through Fora Reserve, including global DMCs, and a community app to exchange insider knowledge and supplier recommendations.

Growing without leaving his niche behind

Since joining Fora in early 2025, Ben and Jade have booked more than $700,000 in travel, and roughly 90% of their new business now comes from outside the parks. They still book Disney and Universal vacations, but upcoming trips look much different: the Sardinia trip; a 25th-anniversary itinerary through Athens, Mykonos, and Santorini; and an eight-cabin group cruise for a circle of friends.

Ben’s advice to any advisor who worries a specialty will box them in is the same thing his partner once told him: stop overthinking it. “You just have to start,” Ben said. “Get out of your own way, and just go for it.”