When: March 21-26, 2012
Where: Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort and Disney Fantasy
Who: Me(Missy) and my DH Levi (along with Kingdom Konsultant owner Pam, agent Tammy and their guests!)
Why: 2012 EarMarked Conference
When I found out I was going to be able to attend, saying I was excited would certainly be an understatement. This was going to be my first EarMarked conference, and if I know Disney(which I think I do!), I was going to have the time of my life!
My first decision was who to take. We have 2 young daughters, but we ultimately decided to make it a date trip! I knew I would have conference obligations and neither of the kids have cruised before, so it just seemed like the best decision to let them have a vacation at their grandparents’ houses instead.
I landed at MCO on Wednesday night, slightly before my scheduled time. Levi had work obligations, so he wasn’t going to arrive until Thursday night. Tammy’s gang wasn’t too far behind, so I waited for them near the DME counter. I knew I was too late to make it to any parks anyway.
I have never had such a long wait to the DME bus though! It seemed to take forever, but I think it’s safe to say that we must have waited for nearly an hour.
This was my first stay at Coronado Springs Resort. If someone asked me to describe it, I think the easiest explanation would be that it is set up like a typical Disney moderate resort. There is a main building housing registration and dining. And, much like POR and CBR, there is a body of water surrounded by many buildings of hotel rooms. At night, it was simply beautiful seeing all of the lights glistening off of the water.
From what I was told, all of the agents there for conference were assigned to the Ranchos section. It was the farthest distance away from the main building and conference center, but they had internal bus services set up just for us, making it as convenient as possible.
Here is my room
I have mixed feelings about the sliding doors separating the bathroom area from the rest of the room. They looked really nice, but mine was hard to move, and made quite a bit of noise also. I think the curtain divider we had in February at POR accomplished the same idea, and was easier to use.
These rooms do, in my opinion, have a more deluxe feel and look with the décor than the other moderate resorts though.
After I located my room, I walked a lap around the lake to get a better feel for the resort. It wasn’t a short walk by any means, but it wasn’t bad either. Being a mom who is used to pushing a stroller, I can see how the walk could become tiring after several days though.
The next morning, I met up with Pam and Tammy bright and early. We headed directly to the conference center to get our registration packets.
As soon as I walked through the door, I spied Tommy Keesling. He was our guide in January for the Agent Education Program the Kingdom Konsultants attended. He is so nice and so knowledgeable. I squealed his name like a school girl, and in return got a big hug. His official title is Training Manager, Travel Agency Sales. Eat your heart, DisneyHeather!
At the registration desk, I was given a bag of goodies.
Included in it were many helpful things, like an iPod touch to guide us through our schedule while at WDW and also on the ship. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the app with the deck plan will be made available for all!
Breakfast was being provided in the conference center, courtesy of Disney Visa. We sat to eat and listened to a Disney Visa rep give information on the newest Disney Visa options.
After breakfast, we moved into a conference room to begin our first general session. With surprise guests from the Adventurers Club and repeat appearances by Ivana Dream through the day, there was rarely a dull moment. During the sessions, we received new information on various Disney Parks attractions, updates to our Travel Agent website, and a special presentation from Adventures by Disney guides.
During our lunch break, we were honored to share a table with Ed Fouche (Sr Vice President, Travel Industry Sales America) and Craig Parsons (Vice President, National Account & Account Travel Agency Sales). For any of you who followed Disney Cruise Line Blog on Facebook like I did, while the Fantasy made its voyage from Germany, Ed is the guy who did the updates! They were both so kind, of course, and we saw Ed and his family several times onboard. And in case anyone is wondering, even Ed’s granddaughter had to wait in line to buy things at the stores, just like the rest of us. Haha.
Here are Craig, Pam, and Ed at lunch.
And we had great afternoon snacks, too!
Where: Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort and Disney Fantasy
Who: Me(Missy) and my DH Levi (along with Kingdom Konsultant owner Pam, agent Tammy and their guests!)
Why: 2012 EarMarked Conference
When I found out I was going to be able to attend, saying I was excited would certainly be an understatement. This was going to be my first EarMarked conference, and if I know Disney(which I think I do!), I was going to have the time of my life!
My first decision was who to take. We have 2 young daughters, but we ultimately decided to make it a date trip! I knew I would have conference obligations and neither of the kids have cruised before, so it just seemed like the best decision to let them have a vacation at their grandparents’ houses instead.
I landed at MCO on Wednesday night, slightly before my scheduled time. Levi had work obligations, so he wasn’t going to arrive until Thursday night. Tammy’s gang wasn’t too far behind, so I waited for them near the DME counter. I knew I was too late to make it to any parks anyway.
I have never had such a long wait to the DME bus though! It seemed to take forever, but I think it’s safe to say that we must have waited for nearly an hour.
This was my first stay at Coronado Springs Resort. If someone asked me to describe it, I think the easiest explanation would be that it is set up like a typical Disney moderate resort. There is a main building housing registration and dining. And, much like POR and CBR, there is a body of water surrounded by many buildings of hotel rooms. At night, it was simply beautiful seeing all of the lights glistening off of the water.
From what I was told, all of the agents there for conference were assigned to the Ranchos section. It was the farthest distance away from the main building and conference center, but they had internal bus services set up just for us, making it as convenient as possible.
Here is my room
I have mixed feelings about the sliding doors separating the bathroom area from the rest of the room. They looked really nice, but mine was hard to move, and made quite a bit of noise also. I think the curtain divider we had in February at POR accomplished the same idea, and was easier to use.
These rooms do, in my opinion, have a more deluxe feel and look with the décor than the other moderate resorts though.
After I located my room, I walked a lap around the lake to get a better feel for the resort. It wasn’t a short walk by any means, but it wasn’t bad either. Being a mom who is used to pushing a stroller, I can see how the walk could become tiring after several days though.
The next morning, I met up with Pam and Tammy bright and early. We headed directly to the conference center to get our registration packets.
As soon as I walked through the door, I spied Tommy Keesling. He was our guide in January for the Agent Education Program the Kingdom Konsultants attended. He is so nice and so knowledgeable. I squealed his name like a school girl, and in return got a big hug. His official title is Training Manager, Travel Agency Sales. Eat your heart, DisneyHeather!
At the registration desk, I was given a bag of goodies.
Included in it were many helpful things, like an iPod touch to guide us through our schedule while at WDW and also on the ship. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the app with the deck plan will be made available for all!
Breakfast was being provided in the conference center, courtesy of Disney Visa. We sat to eat and listened to a Disney Visa rep give information on the newest Disney Visa options.
After breakfast, we moved into a conference room to begin our first general session. With surprise guests from the Adventurers Club and repeat appearances by Ivana Dream through the day, there was rarely a dull moment. During the sessions, we received new information on various Disney Parks attractions, updates to our Travel Agent website, and a special presentation from Adventures by Disney guides.
During our lunch break, we were honored to share a table with Ed Fouche (Sr Vice President, Travel Industry Sales America) and Craig Parsons (Vice President, National Account & Account Travel Agency Sales). For any of you who followed Disney Cruise Line Blog on Facebook like I did, while the Fantasy made its voyage from Germany, Ed is the guy who did the updates! They were both so kind, of course, and we saw Ed and his family several times onboard. And in case anyone is wondering, even Ed’s granddaughter had to wait in line to buy things at the stores, just like the rest of us. Haha.
Here are Craig, Pam, and Ed at lunch.
And we had great afternoon snacks, too!
