I was lucky enough to be a guest for a meeting/trade show for a major supplier Mon-Wed. They paid for the entire trip to include the hotel, airfare, and all activities.
Monday
I checked in Monday morning around 11am at CSR and was located in building 2. I met with my co-workers for lunch and got a sampler combo they make in the woks in front of you and it was ok, but very pricey(but what isn't at WDW?). We had a networking event from around 2-5pm and then had dinner beach party afterwards. Food buffet consisted of steaks, potatoes, salad, veggies, fried catfish, and dessert. Beer/wine was also provided. Entertainment included juggling, people on stilts, and a very good gymnast/contortionist (pronounced Av-a-rick) and a very good DJ playing rock and roll until 10:30. I retired to my room and was all set for bed but wound up next to a very vocal female in room 2315 if you know what I mean, but thankfully it didn't last very long.
Tuesday
Had breakfast in the tents by the convention center. Full selection of breakfast foods and it was very good. Attended trade show events to include a speech by Pat Riley, former coach of a few champion NBA teams as he replaced Magic Johnson who cancelled at the last moment due to an award he received the night before. Lunch was served in the tents which included more steaks. For dinner, we loaded up on buses to go to Disney Studios for a private function. The streets were lined up with food buffets/bars. Food choices were hot dogs, burgers, and an excellent baked chicken with other goodies. It was all very tasty. The rides that were opened included Star Tours, Rock and Roll Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, and the Toy Story ride. A fireworks show was going to take place at 10:45, but we retired back to hotel at 10:30 because it was so cold. Got back to the hotel and closed down the hotel bar at 2am.
Wednesday
Nothing scheduled so I slept in after enjoying myself too much the night before and had another fine breakfast around 9am. Went to DTD to check it out since I'd never been there. I stopped and saw a few magic tricks and then had lunch at T-Rex. I felt there were about as many people at T-Rex as there was in the rest of the park, but oh well. I went to the bar to avoid the long wait and had the nachos, which were excellent. I bought a couple of gifts for my daughters and then headed back to CSR for my bus back to MCO.
I had a great time. Not only does Disney do it right for the leisure traveler, they also have it down to a science for the meetings/events such as this. The ONLY downfall was the weather as it wasn't much warmer there than it was back home.
Monday
I checked in Monday morning around 11am at CSR and was located in building 2. I met with my co-workers for lunch and got a sampler combo they make in the woks in front of you and it was ok, but very pricey(but what isn't at WDW?). We had a networking event from around 2-5pm and then had dinner beach party afterwards. Food buffet consisted of steaks, potatoes, salad, veggies, fried catfish, and dessert. Beer/wine was also provided. Entertainment included juggling, people on stilts, and a very good gymnast/contortionist (pronounced Av-a-rick) and a very good DJ playing rock and roll until 10:30. I retired to my room and was all set for bed but wound up next to a very vocal female in room 2315 if you know what I mean, but thankfully it didn't last very long.
Tuesday
Had breakfast in the tents by the convention center. Full selection of breakfast foods and it was very good. Attended trade show events to include a speech by Pat Riley, former coach of a few champion NBA teams as he replaced Magic Johnson who cancelled at the last moment due to an award he received the night before. Lunch was served in the tents which included more steaks. For dinner, we loaded up on buses to go to Disney Studios for a private function. The streets were lined up with food buffets/bars. Food choices were hot dogs, burgers, and an excellent baked chicken with other goodies. It was all very tasty. The rides that were opened included Star Tours, Rock and Roll Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, and the Toy Story ride. A fireworks show was going to take place at 10:45, but we retired back to hotel at 10:30 because it was so cold. Got back to the hotel and closed down the hotel bar at 2am.
Wednesday
Nothing scheduled so I slept in after enjoying myself too much the night before and had another fine breakfast around 9am. Went to DTD to check it out since I'd never been there. I stopped and saw a few magic tricks and then had lunch at T-Rex. I felt there were about as many people at T-Rex as there was in the rest of the park, but oh well. I went to the bar to avoid the long wait and had the nachos, which were excellent. I bought a couple of gifts for my daughters and then headed back to CSR for my bus back to MCO.
I had a great time. Not only does Disney do it right for the leisure traveler, they also have it down to a science for the meetings/events such as this. The ONLY downfall was the weather as it wasn't much warmer there than it was back home.
