Perks at Conferences at WDW

[napnet]

My boss told me the bad news that i HAVE to go to a conference/symposium at Disney... what a bummer right? Anyways, its a 5 night deal and am staying at Port Orleans but i was wondering is are there any benifits that WDW offers to conference goers? I have an AP so tickets arnt a big deal but has anyone else ever gone to a conference and found any additional perks they offer?

 

[metscool]

I don't have the answer. But I would like to see what people say on this topic.

 

[shoppingnut]

I feel your pain in being forced to a conference at WDW. I know exactly how you feel, I had to attend one at the Orlando World Center Marriott a while back.

I think any perks that you might get at WDW even when staying at their resorts, would be dependent upon what your company pays for.

 

[PSU_Princess]

I went to a conference several years ago at the Hilton by Downtown Disney. Unfortunetly there were no perks that I was made aware of. I'm sure we were offered a group discount rate when we booked the room, but I didn't plan the trip. Any perks we received were offered by the various vendors at the conference (free water from gatorade, fresh fruit and snacks from some sponsor, etc--all were located in the exhibit hall)
I also attended the national PA conference last year which was held somewher on International Drive (well I didn't so much attend the conference as spend the whole week in the parks :lookaroun ). For that conference there were a certain number of discounted rooms available at various resorts but they sold out pretty quickly. No discounts for park tickets, dining, or merchandise.

 

[figment1985]

you lucky son of a ..... gun

 

[isitingood]

I just returned from WDW in June because my girlfriend had a insurance conference at the Grand Floridian. She was able to get a suite for almost half the price:wave: Now my girlfriend told me the Grand Floridian is holding it again next year but I have already booked the GF for Jan24-Feb 4th so I might switch to either the WL or the poly because I have never stayed at either of them:lol:

 

[Master Yoda]

I have attended conventions at Disney before at the Contemporary in particular. With regards to perks it pretty much depends on what the convention sponsor pays for or has added into their contract. If I remember correctly the particular convention I went to had a page on Disney's website that listed the perks. They can range from golfing, tickets, and meal discounts but the biggest perk that seems to be most common (haven't been to a convention without this one) are pretty huge room discounts that can be extended before and after the convention. At the last convention I went to at the Contemporary (2005) I could get rooms at the contemporary or the Poly for $129 a night. By comparison the AP rate at PO for October of this year is about the same. This discount was able to be applied us to 3 days before and 3 day after the convention.

 

[JimboJones123]

I just returned from WDW in June because my girlfriend had a insurance conference at the Grand Floridian. She was able to get a suite for almost half the price:wave: Now my girlfriend told me the Grand Floridian is holding it again next year but I have already booked the GF for Jan24-Feb 4th so I might switch to either the WL or the poly because I have never stayed at either of them:lol:

The high cost of insurance rates are too easy.

 

[bgraham34]

My friend goes to a conference down there every year. They usually rent out the Studios. But I am not sure who pays for that exactly.

 

[napnet]

Hrm, well its a Federal Conference (its dealing with managing and registering s-e-x offenders... it felt weird calling Disney saying i was goin to the s-e-x Offender Conference ) so im not sure what the feds would do and its at Coronado Springs (no more rooms there available so i had to settle for PO-Riverside) but the Govt discount rate is really nice, well not that i care the job pays for everything. Well i hope maybe they would offer something fun like cheap golf or something but none of the informatino says anything so i don't want to bring my clubs!

 

[GoofyMom2]

My DH had a conference in Aug 04.....people stayed at Dolphin and Swan. We were able to go with him and stayed in his room at the Dolphin.

Some of the "perks" that his company paid for were:
A few dinners in the halls.....one was a character dinner with princesses.
Buffet breakfast every morning.
Private meet-n-greet with characters...Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Donald, daisy, Chip and Dale. They also took pictures and gave 5x7 photos. Those were very nice to get!
AK was rented out one night.....Dinoland and TOL areas were open. Very cool to walk onto some rides with zero waits. They also had a buffet dinner for us at Pizzafari that night.

Last year they had up to 4 free 1 day Park Hopper tickets....but had to be used that week. None of the other items above were available. Families were not invited after 2004. Guess too many employees blew off classes and meetings to go to parks w/ families!

This year they stayed at Marriot in DTD area......my DH didn't even make it to DTD for shopping! :hammer:

Looks like his company spent all their money 2 years ago! :lol:

 

[unkadug]

I think a convention at WDW would be HORRIBLE.


Meetings that you must attend ,when that time could be so well better spent at the parks. :lol:

 

[isitingood]

I think a convention at WDW would be HORRIBLE.


Meetings that you must attend ,when that time could be so well better spent at the parks. :lol:

It depends on the conference,my girlfriend only had to attend 2 out of the 5 days so it wasn't bad at all plus we stayed at the GF for almost half the price and free tickets for my daughter, but not the adults. We satyed at the GF for 8 days so my girlfriend didn't miss anything

 

[mousermerf]

Perks will depend on what your conference planner has set up. Technically, nothing is really free for you as an attendee, someone has paid for it somewhere.

The planners, however, get bumped up to good rooms, gift baskets, VIP treatment, and all sorts of other perks because they brought big business to the resort by bringing you all there.

 

[autumndawn1006]

I just returned from WDW in June because my girlfriend had a insurance conference at the Grand Floridian. She was able to get a suite for almost half the price:wave: Now my girlfriend told me the Grand Floridian is holding it again next year but I have already booked the GF for Jan24-Feb 4th so I might switch to either the WL or the poly because I have never stayed at either of them:lol:

Which insurance company? Are they looking for any new adjusters? :wave:

 

[wjaye918]

My boss told me the bad news that i HAVE to go to a conference/symposium at Disney... what a bummer right? Anyways, its a 5 night deal and am staying at Port Orleans but i was wondering is are there any benifits that WDW offers to conference goers? I have an AP so tickets arnt a big deal but has anyone else ever gone to a conference and found any additional perks they offer?

I went with my Mom in 2001 when she had a conference for work. Her room was at the Contemporary. The only perk I know of was discounted park tickets that we had to order on a special form ahead of time. They also offered a 2-day ticket which at that time, you could not get except for through a conference. (If my memory serves me correctly.)
Have fun!

 

[dramamM]

The official site for Disney convention guests is www.disneyconventionears.com

enjoy...

 

[BRER STITCH]

I've attended a number of Sales Meetings at the Contemporary over the years and the "perks" only exist if your company pays for them. Otherwise, it would be just another discounted Resort stay.

There is a menu of "special activities" that your meeting planner can choose from and they include anything from special dinner services to park tours, to classes from the Disney Institute, etc.

I think the only real "perk" that is offered that is available to all convention goers is a special discounted "evening convention pass" type of park ticket that is good for reduced price discount after 3PM or something.

Some of the Special Events my company hosted that I remember included private Buffet Dinners and Entertainment in China, the American Adventure, and Mama Melrose's, Dessert and Cocktail Parties with reserved seating for Fantasmic and Illuminations, Team Building Classes with Disney Staff, Various Scavenger Hunts throughout the parks, and my favorite - a private after hours tour of MGM and The Osbourne Lights. One of the best parts of attending these events is that Disney transportation handles all the traveling, getting the group to all the events from backstage in a quick manner.

The Disney Meeting Planners can (AND WILL!) do just about anything a company requests.....for a fee!

 

[a2grafix]

Can't say too much exactly, but I remember my dad's business and his association in the steel industry for many years had annual conventions down at WDW in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Maybe it was a different time back then but as a kid in his formative years and born in 1970, Disney was a magical place annual convention or no annual convention.

Of what I remember, dad and mom did attend meetings. Mom attended some "spouses only" events, not really meetings, and I remember attending some kids only events -- sometimes during the day and night.

Oh, we stayed at the Contemporary -- way before the expansion of the convention center thing (of which I have never seen -- yet).

Just a few things from my fuzzy memory -- some of the convention kids from my dad's association, plus my younger sister, got to go to one of the floors of the Contemporary and we watched The Jungle Cruise. The one night we all went on one of the boats along the Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake and took it to The Hoop De Doo Revue. Another night, another year, one of the closing nights, the Kids of The Kingdom performed for the association - on either the second or third floor inside the Contemporary.

But the best was being on one of the top floors of the Contemporary for a reception and in comes -- PLUTO! Yeah, it was awesome. Fantastic memories.

 

[PintoColvig]

I had a board meeting last year at the Omni Orlando at ChampionsGate. What a dump. :lookaroun At least I got to go the parks every day I was there.