Oh wait, that´s just the 500 plus Disney fans descending upon the Hershey and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania area this past weekend as it played host to this year´s MagicMeets Fan Gathering (formerly known as DisMeets). This year´s event, once again organized by Fred Block, was even bigger and more fabulous than last year. Due to the popularity of the event, it was moved to the Camp Hill area of Harrisburg where a facility was found that could fit the almost double capacity of last year´s event held in Allentown. Over 500 tickets were sold-out in ten days proving the popularity of the meet.
Saturday´s event was held at the Radisson Penn Harris Hotel and Convention Center, just across the river from Harrisburg, and included everything previous guests and new attendees were anticipating – special guest speakers, contests and giveaways, seminars, and good ole´ Disney fun. Attendees were welcomed into a massive ballroom filled with sponsor/vendor tables, Disney décor, and tons of other Disney fans. Each guest table was named after an attraction, had huge Mickey and Minnie balloons flying high above, and had as a centerpiece the awesome Fab 4 statues, later to be given away as prizes. Vendor/sponsor tables included our very own Lou Mongello, Intrepid Traveler Publishers (publishers of Disney on a Dime, Hidden Mickeys, Disney World Trivia and more), Guide to the Magic, WDW Today podcast (taping live), Guide by your Side, Steve Barrett from Hidden Mickey´s fame, Central Jersey Pin Traders, All Star Vacation Homes, Dave Marx from Passporter Guides, Deb Wills and team from All Ears, Mouse Fan Travel, Tim Devine from Magic in Pixels, MouseMom.com, and Kathie´s Christmas Collectibles. In addition to the numerous vendor/sponsor tables, we had our own Dream Auction tables set up with numerous Disney collectibles ready to be auctioned off to the highest bidder.
The event kicked off with much excitement as Fred Block jetted around the room on his Segway before starting his opening speech. It was amazing to hear Fred speak about how the event´s grown, from the first meet in Edison, New Jersey with just over 40 attendees in 2004 to today, with 500+ people. We can only imagine it getting bigger each year!
The first keynote speaker of the day was Mike Scopa from WDW Today podcast and Mouseplanet.com. Mike´s topic was “Disney Magic – The Roots, Why We Do What We Do.” Mike opened with a little stage act to demonstrate how you either “get it” or you don´t get it about Disney. Mike played the part of the neighbor/friend/co-worker/family member who doesn´t “get it” and goes on to say how he was planning a trip to the World and everyone told him to visit sites like All Ears, read Passporter and Unofficial Guide, stay on property, but he couldn´t understand why? Much to the amusement of the attendees, Mike´s character went on to say how he saved $30.00 a night by staying off-property 40 miles away and getting to the parks “early” every day at 11:00 a.m.! And then finished by asking the other two volunteer actors, “So you´re really going down again?” Mike threw out the question, “Don´t we feel sorry for those people?” The chuckling crowd nodded in agreement. Mike then went on to describe the “Disney Zone” from his last year´s keynote address, which is a state of mind when a guest forgets all their stresses and gets an emotional uplift. The signs you are in the “Disney Zone”: smiles, laughter, and tears. Mike also showed a quick clip of the Dream Maker´s video showcasing Cast Members that Disney played at their Year of a Million Dreams press launch.
Mike finished off his speech discussing how a few years ago, WDW was getting more complaints than praise and they knew something was wrong. Lee Cockerell, the former Executive Vice President of Operations for WDW Resort, wrote “The Letter” to cast members. His touching letter that Mike read explained, “Why We Do What We Do”: “We do it for the children of all ages around the world…Disney is the only place in the world where everyone can come together to have fun…we do it for the young brother and sister who are too excited to sleep the night before…for the young family who are selected to be Grand Marshals of the parade…for the teenagers having the time of their lives riding around the freeways of L.A. after falling thirteen stories at a nearby hotel…for the guests from the UK who are burnt to a crisp and still in the pool at 40 degrees…for the young boy, who in 1955, visited Disneyland for the first time and grew up to work at WDW and write this letter.” Mike closed with saying now you can understand why we (as in not only cast members at Disney but podcasters, web site folks, authors, etc.) do what we do. Mike ended with saying the Disney “magic” was in the room at this event and you could feel it. For the second year in a row, Scopa pulled at the heart strings with his speech.
The day was broken up with three breakout sessions where you were able to choose the topic of choice. For my first breakout session, I chose Dave Marx from the Passporter guides talk on “The Ins, Outs, and Pleasures of Disney Dining.” The talk focused more on the popular Disney Dining Plan. The Disney Dining Plan, which is now sometimes offered free as part of your vacation package, allows a group of credits per person per day for 1 snack, 1 counter service meal and one table service meal. What Dave and his crew at the Passporter guides did to see if the DDP was a value, was take the average cost of all restaurants at WDW based on an appetizer, entrée, dessert, soft drink, tax and 18% tip and came up with the following figures. The average cost for a snack was $2.50, counter service meal was $11.50 and table service was $30.00 or more. Overall, most restaurants come up as a great value on the DDP, like Le Cellier (if you can ever get a reservation…). Dave predicted that the DDP will be with us forever because, for one, Disney isn’t losing any money, even with free dining it fills their restaurants to capacity. One rumor Dave brought up was Disney requiring guests to pay tips out of their pocket. Currently, the tip is included as part of the package. He also predicted because of the DDP, Disney will probably build more restaurants, have cheaper counter services and add more buffets. He also noted that each year, when the new list of participating restaurants comes out, the ones to pull out are always the ones operated by outside contractors. Dave then took some attendees questions and answered no, he didn´t believe the quality of the restaurants in general suffered because of the DDP, recommended Fulton´s or Bluezoo for seafood if not using the DDP, and when you make ADR´s have 2nd and 3rd choices ready! When asked what he thought was the best kept dining secret he responded that with the web, there are no secrets and added you must really book ADR´s 180 days! Dave, who is an encyclopedia of knowledge, was very informative and insightful as noted by the number of hands waving with questions!
For my next breakout session, I attended the funny Len Testa´s “Shorter Lines, Flexible Touring” talk. Len is the co-author of The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World, owner of TouringPlans.com, and part of the WDW Today podcast crew. Len gave a brief background of how he got involved with the UOG, published since 1986, while in grad school. He wrote software to figure out the scheduling algorithms of WDW and was able to top the original UOG´s 3 1/2 hours MK guide by saving guests an additional 90 minutes. He now co-authors the book and has a team of 20 people in Orlando working for the guide. As exciting as the work may sound, fewer than 1 in 4 people will do the research a second time. Len noted some examples of the work, such as walking by every attraction at MK every 30 minutes. Len´s first slide of the day was the most amusing as it contained a tribute to our very own Lou Mongello labeled “My Hero” which got quite the laughs from the crowd. Unfortunately, Lou wasn´t there to see this!
Len´s plans are step-by-step instructions on how to best maximize your time in the park for seeing the most attractions and they are the most efficient anywhere. These guides can save you more than four hours in line per day at a park. Readers like the average wait time of 4-12 minutes per attraction and that you can print and go from the site, which you need a paid subscription. What readers dislike are rigid schedules and backtracking or skipping attractions for later, especially with kids. One of the most popular plans from the UOG is the “Not a Plan” Animal Kingdom Plan. This plan has guests first getting fast passes for Expedition Everest, starting at Dinoland counterclockwise, working in shows as you are near them, leaving the Finding Nemo musical for last and not crossing the park. Some of Len´s tips included utilizing the single-rider lane if you can, noting the worst day for crowds for MK was Sunday while the best was Tuesday, and the best time to visit was the week after Labor Day and in January. He went on to give sample touring plans for each of the parks while answering questions. By using the UOG´s plans you can have flexibility in your touring and not add time onto your trip. He sure convinced me! I plan on buying the guide for my next trip! Len had attendees laughing the entire time, and not just because of his Lou Mongello slide!
After the second breakout sessions, it was back to the main ballroom for LUNCH! Once again, we had a great buffet of food and even more great desserts to stuff ourselves with. After a nice, long lunch, everyone remained in the ballroom for the second keynote speaker of the day, our own Lou Mongello discussing “The Seven Wonders of Walt Disney World.” Lou made it up to the stage after a rousing chant by the crowd, “Loooooouuuuuu…” Lou spoke of the seven most magnificent and wondrous things of WDW. The first was Spaceship Earth, which Lou said was on the list because it was an “instant classic…and it appeals to everyone.” The second wonder was Cinderella Castle, representing the hub of the park which made the list for many reasons, including the many details inside and out, the new Cinderella suite, and because it´s considered one of the most photographed buildings in the world. The third wonder was not an attraction or building, but Audio-Animatronics. They are truly a wonder considering they are so life-like and fluid (e.g. the Wicked Witch of the West from The Great Movie Ride´s Wizard of Oz scene), they stand the test of time and because of their technological advancement. The WDW monorail took the next spot on the list. Lou said the monorail can transport you from the real world into another world and for some people, it´s their first introduction to Spanish (Por favor mantengase alejado de las puertas)! And of course, the voice of Jack Wagner, could never be forgotten. Coming in fifth was the construction of WDW, from the man-made lagoons and beaches to the “underground” utilidors, Walt Disney and his team made the impossible possible. The unforgettable music of WDW came in at sixth. The music, which Lou divided into two distinct areas, background and attractions, has become a part of our culture. And finally, rounding out the list, the seventh wonder of WDW is the Cast Members. It´s the Cast Members and their dedication to the parks and guests that make people always feel compelled to share their stories of Cast Members. As expected, Lou´s speech was wonderful and memorable and we can only look forward to hearing him deliver another keynote speech next year.
We decided to stay in the main ballroom for the third and final breakout session of the day (despite being tempted by the Segway demos), which once again was Lou Mongello but this time it was for some Walt Disney World trivia! We were asked to stay at our tables and were given sheets of paper with letters A, B, C and D on them to respond to our questions. Unfortunately, my table was out by the third question!! (Better read up more on those Disney trivia books!) The winning table did receive a prize after beating out many, many other tables. Looks like some people were doing their studying!
Following the third breakout session was the closing ceremonies. First, the results of the Dream Team Auction were announced. The Dream Team Auction is a silent auction used to raise money to sponsor the wishes of children with serious illnesses to go on a Walt Disney World Vacation. Members of the Dream Team work all year to organize donations of Disney-related items that are then auctioned off at MagicMeets. Last year, close to $4000 was raised, enough to send two families to WDW! This year was no exception! With over 500+ attendees, it was no surprise to see $9000 raised!!! Some of the items auctioned off included pin sets, Disney classic collectibles and even a guided tour with Hidden Mickey´s author Steve Barrett!
Following the great news, Fred Block finished raffling off the rest of the giveaways, including books, stays at All Star Vacation Homes, collectibles, Yankee tickets and more. There were many thrilled attendees walking away with great giveaways (including me, a MagicMeets ornament!). Fred thanked everyone, attendees, sponsors, volunteers and the wonderful day came to a close.
In addition to the meet, there were several post-meet events to keep attendees occupied who stayed. There was a scrapbook meet with scrapbooking and photography expert Shalra Whalen (another event speaker) as well as a catered reception from Kathie´s Christmas and Collectibles offsight where a beautiful Thomas Kinkade Disneyland framed picture was given away. Sunday activities included a Hershey Park meet for those guests who stayed overnight with pre-arranged exclusive ride time before park opening.
Once again, MagicMeets was a magical day and event. Where else can you meet hundreds of fellow fans and Disney personalities, learn some inside secrets, and win some prizes while having a blast? The only disappointment of the event? That the next one is a year away…
More more photos, visit Lou’s Magic Meets 2007 gallery
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