Today we’d like to introduce you to Laila Temsamani and Omar Elmoulakate.
Hi Laila and Omar, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Like many other Walt Disney World Cast Members, the 2020 pandemic affected us hard. Being furloughed from our dream job was very rough. We wanted to support our friends still with Disney. In an effort to assist our fellow Cast Members, we began to offer them car service to and from the parks in our personal vehicles. As the resorts slowly started to reopen, we saw a demand for transportation with tourist needing a way to get to and from the airports. We started a business of providing private transportation for these guests. We focused on giving guests a personalized experience and getting to know them on the ride to the resorts. This is how Orlando Magical Rides began.
Our small business began to grow quickly once guests saw the level of service, safety, and genuinely caring about their experience. We wanted every guests’ ride to be magical.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The biggest challenge we faced was becoming business owners in a sector that we did not really have a background in. As business owners new to this field, we had to learn a lot on the fly and realize we would make some mistakes along the way as we continued to grow.
One of the immediate obstacles we faced was finding the capital to start purchasing items used exclusively for the business. In the beginning, we were using our personal SUV for business rides but that wasn’t sustainable for the long term. We knew we had to purchase additional vehicles and as we continued to grow larger and larger, we had to eventually hire our first employees. We realized very early on that our drivers are the face of our business. We had to learn to hire people who would represent our values and are customer focused.
The permit process as well as obtaining all the proper licenses, certificates, tolls, and registering with Orange County were all things we also had to learn, and learn how to do it quickly. Learning and navigating these rules as newcomers was overwhelming at first.
Launching into a competitive industry like private transportation, especially in a tourism-heavy area that we are in was not easy at first. One of the first obstacles we had to overcome was just breaking into the market. We focused first on just simply building our brand on being genuine, trustworthy, and reliable. It was amazing to see how just sticking to those morals played a role on word of mouth, especially on social media. We have contributed a lot of success on online reviews and loyal guests recommending us
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
We specialize in private transportation transfers. Our most common clientele is Airport to Orlando area theme park resorts. We service all airports from international to private executive airports. We do so much more though. We offer transportation to and from Port Canaveral, Tampa area and everything in between. We are also available for weddings, proms, corporate events, and even conventions. Our operation is 24/7 and if someone needs transfer, we are available
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
We are extremely grateful for the team we helped put together to make this business successful. Do not get us wrong: it is still very stressful owning our own business and running it, but we genuinely feed off our guests’ excitement. Most of our business is catered towards tourism and seeing a child’s face light up when we drive them under the Walt Disney World welcome sign for the first time never gets old. Overall, our happiness level is very high and we truly do love what we do here at Orlando Magical Rides.
Pricing:
- Airport transfers to Walt Disney World/Universal/International Drive Area starts at $125
- Airport to Port Canaveral starts at $210
- We also can be hired by the hour for Weddings/Proms/Corporate Meetings and Events
Contact Info:
- Website: https://orlandomagicalrides.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/OrlandoMagicalRides
