Disney and Business Meetings/Conferences

[godders]

Hi all,

So has anyone attended or organised a business meeting or conferences at Disney World (preferably a smallish one)?

I've been tasked with organising one from here in the UK and looking at venues in Vegas and LA and me being a Disney fan thought I'd throw Florida into the mix

If anyone has been/organised one...what were your experiences, what special deals with hotels/parks were you offered? Were there any special events that were organised?

Anyone who organises business meetings overseas have any tips for me? Our normal meetings are held at someone's place of work but this time there will be people roughly 50 attending from all over the world so I'm a little out of my depth here

Anyone attended ones in Las Vegas or LA and would recommend any venues they attended?

Any help would be appreciated!!

 

[JaxDad]

I attended one conference in LA. We were sort of sequestered in a downtown hotel, so it probably does not fit your requirements.

I've twice done conferences at the Marriott Renaissance across from SeaWorld that included teambuilding events at the park. Those were very cool! I was not an organizer, so I can't offer much more help. I'm sure you can find information on their website or call. I think it was called Passport to Adventure...

 

[morgan98]

Another decent venue in Atlanta that I have been to two separate times for various meetings is the Gaylord Palms Convention Center.

Also don't forget Universal. They do a very nice job and had excellent food, etc. We were there two different times as well. This was at the Royal Pacific Resort.

 

[DopeyDame]

I attended one conference in LA. We were sort of sequestered in a downtown hotel, so it probably does not fit your requirements.

I've twice done conferences at the Marriott Renaissance across from SeaWorld that included teambuilding events at the park. Those were very cool! I was not an organizer, so I can't offer much more help. I'm sure you can find information on their website or call. I think it was called Passport to Adventure...

I was just going to suggest the Renaissance near Sea World! My husband had a conference there last summer and it was fantastic. The hotel is nice, the pool/splash pad area is great for kids, and DH said the conference aspect was all really professionally handled.

Of course, it's not onsite at Disney...

 

[rastahomie]

I can't imagine attending a business conference at WDW. It just makes no sense. How can someone be expected to wear a suit and tie and listen to a speaker drone on about leveraging organizational equities or exciting developments in the electric toothbrush industry, while a few hundred yards away thousands of happy families are enjoying the Magic Kingdom?

Vegas is a much better bet, IMHO. After the day's business is over, attendees can hit the blackjack tables or the strip clubs or whatever they're into.

 

[Micca]

I'm sure you'll be getting some bids from the various cities. Perhaps the first step would be to contact to a Convention & Visitors bureau in each of the cities. I think by reaching out to those groups they can have representatives from various venues contact you for more information including the size of the group and your budget. DW used to work for a company that had annual meetings at WDW, I'm certain the associated costs are near the top of the line for such events. Vegas may very well be the most cost effective from the cities you've mentioned. Depending on the time of year, places like Denver or Minneapolis-St. Paul might be good choices.

I can't imagine attending a business conference at WDW. It just makes no sense. How can someone be expected to wear a suit and tie and listen to a speaker drone on about leveraging organizational equities or exciting developments in the electric toothbrush industry, while a few hundred yards away thousands of happy families are enjoying the Magic Kingdom?

No kidding rastahomie! I can tell you as one who attended some biz meetings/conventions in the Orlando area, I'd put in an appearance, and bolt for the parks when no one was looking. I could not deny the Force I've also noticed that most convention attendees at WDW aren't in suit & tie.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

My dh attends lots of conferences.

The Disney one was held at the Swan/Dolphin. They also had a special event where they closed Hollywood Studios for them for a few hours, but this was probably over 500 attendees. Disney also offered them the conference discount rate park tickets. The hotel had the blocks of rooms set aside at the conference rate which was cheaper by far then the published rate.

His Las Vegas conference was also over 500 people. They had it at the MGM Grand. I think he said they had people on Harleys riding into the conference venue for some kind of entertainment one night.

I would check both Disney and the Swan/Dolphin to see how the rates compare. I know the Yacht Club/Beach Club and the Contemporary resorts host lalot of Disney conferences.

 

[mnrose]

My dh attends lots of conferences.

The Disney one was held at the Swan/Dolphin. They also had a special event where they closed Hollywood Studios for them for a few hours, but this was probably over 500 attendees. Disney also offered them the conference discount rate park tickets. The hotel had the blocks of rooms set aside at the conference rate which was cheaper by far then the published rate.

His Las Vegas conference was also over 500 people. They had it at the MGM Grand. I think he said they had people on Harleys riding into the conference venue for some kind of entertainment one night.

I would check both Disney and the Swan/Dolphin to see how the rates compare. I know the Yacht Club/Beach Club and the Contemporary resorts host lalot of Disney conferences.

I was going to say all this. I've attended several events at DW which were "business" events. Very well done. I have no idea the cost involved, and our group was also in the several hundred plus range. We had access to several rides at the Studios, and the park was closed to everyone except our group. It was AMAZING. So fun to ride Tower of Terror like 20 times in a row without ANY wait. LOL. We stayed at the Swan/Dolphin for both these events.

 

[godders]

Thanks everyone for your input!

All the attendees are Techies in Architecture and Engineering so I thought they might appreciate a location like Disney or Universal because they push the boundaries as far as technology an not many of them will have attended an event there. People may not like Magic Bands/My Disney Experience/FP+ but that a serious bit of IT! I would love to get the brains behind that to come an talk to these guys because they all come from companies that have thousands of employees around the world and the vastness and size of all the data on that system is incredible I'm sure. They are also more of the converse wearing crowd so I think Florida would suit them.

I think I'm pushing for the event to actually be bigger than my boss intended (I'm the dreamer!) because the people we want to attend go to huge tech conferences around the world so have high expectations. If we want them to keep coming back, we need them to find it worth spending the money. Also the after events are just as important (if not more so as far as exchanging ideas) as the actual business and since I know Disney/Universal and what they can offer, I'd be able to arrange some really good stuff for them.

I can think of a picture/food Scavenger hunt round Epcot now haha!

I will also look at the other places everyone has suggested (however begrudgingly )

 

[saucymb]

My husband and I attended a 3 day conference at WDW in January. We were at Coronado Springs. Room rate was a great deal (lower than rack rate). Tickets were offered at a discount - the after 2pm tickets were a fantastic deal. We extended after the conference for 2 days, so we were able to buy 3 each of the after-2pm tickets. We used one day the day before the conference began, and then one the day the conference ended and one the next day. On the non-conference days, we slept in, had a leisurely breakfast/lunch, visited Disney Springs, etc until 2pm when we could go in. We are not morning people and feel no need for rope drop so it worked out perfectly for us. Full-day passes are also available at a discount.

Regarding the convention itself: it was a small one (~100 attendees). Catering exceeded my expectations, which were not high. The mid-morning snack on the last day was impressive. A bus was arranged for most of our group to travel to Disney Springs for dinner after meetings one day.

Disney Conventions (or whatever it is called, I can't remember) provides a website to attendees with access to discounted park tickets and more information.

 

[NotUrsula]

While the CVB will certainly offer advice to you, they won't get involved in the bidding on a meeting that small. CVB's normally only get involved when you have upward of 1000 attendees.

Swan/Dolphin are really very good for smaller meetings, and since you are in the UK, don't forget that they are Starwood properties; if you have any kind of corporate account with them, they are likely to be very generous on terms.

Private park parties are great, but that's for big groups; they are very expensive to host. What is often done for small groups though, are private fireworks dessert parties at Epcot.

Essentially what it boils down to is, are these the sort of folks who like to bring family? That will sell them on Orlando more than anything else.

 

[bcla]

They have a website for this sort of thing.

https://www.disneymeetings.com

On top of that, there are special business meeting tickets. There are also discounted twilight tickets.

http://www.disneyconventiontickets.com

I know for Disneyland, the meeting or conference doesn't have to be on Disney affiliated property. It just has to take place somewhere in OC. It's not only offered for meetings, but often for large scale conventions like the D23 Expo.

Often attendees will take families with them.