Expedition Everest Update – A long 48 hr day!

I am happy to report I am sitting in my room at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, well rested and ready to enjoy everything this event has to offer! <more />But the last 48 hours have already been quite the expedition. This has been an endurance test already this week. Between the opening for bookings on the Med cruises and the new Magic Your Way with Free Dining offer, holding plane tickets for the red eye cross county trip from Seattle to Orlando, all on the same day, it was quite an adventure It’s the first time in a long time we had the&nbsp;office land line dialed into DCL and the cell phone minutes burning on the WDW lines for hours at a time and it was a blast! Tuesday started at 7 am after the previous day ended at
2 am due after the pack of documents for a nice size group cruise arrived and I wanted to be sure they were prepped and on the way before I left. To add to the fun… I have never been one to sleep on a plane.

Is it my imagination? Are my legs actually getting longer and I didn’t notice or was airline seat in front of me really shoved into my knees on purpose?

I digress.

Hey! Ever been so exhausted you land at Walt Disney World and cant muster the energy to go to a park? .. ya… me neither.

But I must say, getting into the travel planning biz does change your schedule a little when you arrive. Instead of getting things together and heading out to the park, with all the tourist garb strapped around waist, hanging from neck and shoved into Rockin Roller Coaster proof pockets, I found myself dressing for lunch at Le Cellier for the first of many business meetings. One of the benefits of traveling to Orlando is seeing the people we talk to in the course of doing business. Nothing like face to face communication after weeks, or months of email and phone tag. They are all great folks so I cant say its tough duty. More like catching up with friends over coffee while working on ways to find new benefits for our clients.

After lunch I headed back the resort and paid a visit to the event hospitality room which is located in one of the suites at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Friendly event staff were waiting to sign me in, hand over credentials and made sure everyone is well hydrated with water, apple juice, etc. They gave me the schedule of events telling me where and when I should be the next two days. I also received an Expedition Everest bag-o-goodies including a EE T-shirt, watch and sponsor yummies like a special event wrapped box of Nestle Sno-Caps (perfect for that need for chocolate at midnight) and samples of cokes new products Vault and Blak.

Speaking of credentials… which is basically a name tag on a long string you wear to show you actually should be where you are and you didn’t just wonder in. Funny thing is they make these things the length for your average basketball player. You hang it around your neck and to drops well below the waist line. I will be tying an extra knot in it later today. hmm… credentials made for a person over 6 feet tall – airline seats made for people 4.5 feet tall. Mixed message I’d say.

… ya, ya…digressing again.

Returned to the room and caught up on work from the past few hours spent in transit. Ever wonder if the fridge in your room is cool enough to keep those drinks cold? Never fear… my half bottle of water I placed in there when I checked it was found to be frozen in a nice little ice brick. Funny – it didn’t feel that cold when I put it in there…. or maybe they are taking the theme of Everest to an extreme for the effect. Or maybe the Yeti has been here.  Hmmmm…

So while I have been to a park, I have yet to ride anything. That changes today. I am determined to go into a park and ride something between meetings then get ready for the first official event tonight which includes a Travel Industry reception and Welcome Ascent Party Over at Animal Kingdome Theme Park.

I will post an update tonight on the party so stay tuned. Now… what park to go to first? hmmmmm…