Allentown PA, July 15th, 2006 Who's Comin?!?!?!

I paid for my admission...

Still gotta book that hotel room tho~

Have y'all seen that we've had to up the amount of reserved rooms cause what we had filled up our entire block!!!

This is gonna be HUGE!
 
:tink: Walt Disney World Fans Gather in Allentown, PA

What’s the best way to see Mickey Mouse? Where’s the best spot for watching the parade? Hey, have you ridden that new coaster, Expedition Everest, yet? Disney enthusiasts will have a lot to talk about this year at the third annual DisMeets.com Disney Fan Meet, to be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Allentown (PA) on Saturday, July 15, 2006. The meet will bring together members of an enormous worldwide family of Disney fans, many of whom only know each other through e-mail and the Internet. The event will take place from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and requires pre-registration to attend.

More than 170 men, women, and children from all over the country attended last year’s event, but meet organizer Fred Block, of New Jersey, expects a gathering of more than 200 this year. "It's so much fun to put faces to names,” notes Block, who, with wife Renee and daughters Julia and Hailey, visits Walt Disney World several times a year. “We sit at our computers and ‘talk’ to each other online almost daily, but this is the time and place where people can really get to know each other. It's all quite magical really."

This year’s Disney Fan Meet will feature a full day of activities, including special guest speakers, contests, breakout session seminars, a kids’ play area, door prizes, and pin trading, as well as plenty of time for conversation over a relaxing meal. In addition to their special presentations, each speaker will also be available for personal chats with attendees at tables set up in the main hall.

"The Crowne Plaza Allentown (located at 9th and Hamilton Streets in Center City Allentown) takes great pleasure in welcoming the third annual DisMeets.com Disney Fans Meet. We are pleased to have the opportunity to host this magical event for the second year in a row and look forward to it being another huge success!" said General Manager John Boas.

Guest speakers attending this year’s event include names immediately recognizable to those who follow Disney on the internet and in bookstores. Speaking in the main ballroom will be:

Steve Barrett, author of "Hidden Mickeys, a Field Guide to Disney's Best-Kept Secrets" and "The Hassle-Free Walt Disney World Vacation" guidebook. Barrett also manages www.hiddenmickeysguide.com, an online guide to showcase descriptions and photos of Hidden Mickeys, the small images of Mickey Mouse subtly woven into attractions and architecture by Disney’s Imagineers.

Mike Scopa, biweekly columnist for the website Mouseplanet.com. Scopa, who has written about Walt Disney World for the website for the past six years, also co-hosts a thrice-weekly internet “podcast” (an internet-based broadcast available for download to MP3 players) on WDWToday.com. "Whenever Disney fans get together they create their own special Disney magic,” says Scopa, “so I am thrilled to have been invited to attend this meet. I am looking forward to meeting many new Disney friends and finding out how Disney magic touches their lives."


Other presenters include:

Deb Wills, founder of the unofficial Walt Disney World information website known as AllEarsNet.com and co-author of PassPorter's Walt Disney World for Your Special Needs. Wills, who also publishes ALL EARS, a weekly electronic newsletter about Walt Disney World that reaches 70,000 subscribers, is widely recognized as an expert on Walt Disney World. This will be Wills’ second year attending the event.

Louis Mongello, author of the “Walt Disney World Trivia Book” (and soon to be released Volume II) and founder of the website DisneyWorldTrivia.com. Mongello, who has been fascinated by Walt Disney World throughout more than 60 visits, will also try to stump the guests throughout the day with randomly drawn questions from his book. He is also known as the Co-Host for the extremely popular MouseTunes.com Podcast. This will be Mongello’s third year attending the event.

Jennifer and Dave Marx, PassPorter Travel Press, authors of PassPorter Walt Disney World, PassPorter’s Disney Cruise Line and its Ports of Call, and the soon-to-be-released PassPorter Disneyland.

John Rick, founder of Central Jersey Disney Pin Traders. Rick, a Disney Fan Meet participant every year since its founding, will speak on the art and obsession of Disney pin trading, as well as host an extended pin trading session at the conclusion of the meet. This will be Rick’s third year attending the event.

Rebekah Mahnken, CTC-MCC, owner of Mouse Fan Travel™ (www.MouseFanTravel.com), the official travel agency sponsor of this year's event. Mahnken has been planning magical vacations for eight years and was named as Travel + Leisure Magazine's A-List Super Agent for Disney destinations. She will have special offers on Disney vacations available, as well as door prizes to give away.

“This event is designed in every way to sprinkle pixie dust on Disney fans,” Block says, “enough to hold them over until their next trip to their favorite destination, Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.”

For more information on the event visit: http://www.dismeets.com. To
register, visit http://www.dismeets.com/register and be sure to fill out all required fields.



For further information, contact:

Fred Block
DisMeets.com Disney Fan Meets Organizer
PHONE: 732-993-5FUN
EMAIL: support@dismeets.com
 
Woo hoo! Can't wait. Last year was great. We got our room for Friday and Saturday already but I still have to send in the registration money.


This is a DON"T MISSevent! :thumbsup2
 
In this message:

1) Meet date reminder...
2) Paid head count! WOW! Are you ready for this?
3) More prizes to announce! Rolling *********** style...
4) Even more prizes! Your ship may have just come in...
5) The Official Press Release! Pass it around!

*****

Let me first start by wishing my dear friend Deb Wills GOOD LUCK with
her walk this weekend in Washington, DC. Deb raised $24,000 dollars for
the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer!! She is a really magical person and I
am most honored to be considered her friend. You, and the many others
that are walking this weekend, will be in our thoughts!!

*****

()()()() Meet date reminder... ()()()()
====================================

Just a small reminder to everyone that the meet is on July 15th 2006
from 11am to 6pm. Checkin will begin "around" 10am on the morning of the
meet. There "may" be some extra curricular activities held in the hotel
bar that night. More on that later... :) (Maybe Lou Mongello may know
something??? Did I just start a rumor? heh!)


()()()() Head Count! May I have a drum roll please... ()()()()
=======================================

Ok...sit down. Take a break. Read on and hold on to your seat!

Last year the majority of the payments for the meet came in during the
last 3 weeks or so before the actual meet date. We had about 170 people
paid by then. Today, I am impressed and somewhat overwhelmed to tell
you all that we already have 173 paid attendees! Funny part is we still
have about two and a half months before the meet! This tells me that
more than likely, we will have to close out paid registrations at a point
well before the meet due to capacity issues! As I said in a previous
message, all indications are telling me that the meet might be slightly
larger than I had originally anticipated.

Here are a few more stats for you to absorb. As of right now, we have
439 Adults and 103 Children 12 and under pre-registered. That includes
paid and unpaid. These are people that registered and said they are or
may be coming to the meet. Not bad eh? Over 540 people! You'll have to
excuse me...I'm getting a bit light headed here...

Of the 249 total "master" registrations, 77 are paid. That leaves quite
a few people left that may or may not pay to attend the event.

I should also probably add that our entire room block at the hotel is
pretty much gone. That's 50 rooms Friday night, 50 rooms Saturday night,
and 30 rooms Sunday night.

What does this mean to you? Well, the Crowne Plaza has a really large
ballroom but it's not infinite. How large? Well, we can comfortably hold
about 350 people. Maybe a few more. I didn't think it would come to
this but I should warn that if the number of people gets to that point we
may have to close off registrations and additional meet payments.

I'm not 100% certain this is going to happen but I thought I would be
safe and mention it just in case.

One thing is for sure....it's going to be one hell of a party!!!


()()()() Prizes!! Take a ride on the *********** side... ()()()()
=======================================

I am happy to announce that *********** Tours (our exclusive
DisMeets.com transportation company) has graciously donated TWO Round Trip
Airport/Disney Town car trips! Two lucky guests will get to ride in
*********** style on their next trip to the world! These even include a grocery
stop!

Their drivers are the first personal contact you have when you arrive
in Orlando. With that in mind, the drivers are selected not only based
on their driving records, but also on friendliness, politeness, and
familiarity with the area. No other transportation company goes to the
lengths they do to ensure that your trip is exactly how you imagined it. At
***********, they truly believe there's no such thing as going "above
and beyond" for their clients.

You can call *********** at 1-888-468-6939 and (407) 299-1434 or you
can visit their website at www.**********************.

If you contact any of our sponsors for services or product, PLEASE make
sure you tell them that you read about them on the DisMeets.com mailing
list! Our sponsors are key to our current and future success. It's
important that they know it works. Call them today!


()()()() More Prizes!! Come sail away... ()()()()
=====================================

Can it get better? It sure can! Our official DisMeets.com vacation
planners, Mouse Fan Travel™, will donate a few Disney themed baskets and
gift certificates for our drawing. The gift certificates will be good
towards vacation packages or cruise travel of 3 nights or more nights
booked with MEI & Mouse Fan Travel and valid for travel through 2007.

The Vacation Planners at MEI & Mouse Fan Travel are destination experts
and graduates of the College of Disney Knowledge as well as other
cruise line and destination specialist training programs. Their extensive
knowledge can help make your vacation dreams come true for experiences
around the globe. They provide FREE premium services for a magical
vacation and are committed to handling your arrangements as if it were their
own.

For more information, to view their exclusive specials or to request a
quote for your next vacation adventure, just visit their website at:
www.MouseFanTravel.com

Again, If you contact any of our sponsors for services or product,
PLEASE make sure you tell them that you read about them on the DisMeets.com
mailing list! Our sponsors are key to our current and future success.
It's important that they know it works. Call them today!


---
 
I'll be there again. Had a great time last year and looking forward to a great time again. See ya in July!!
 
Update from the meet coordinator!

With the 50% refund deadline nearing (May 15th) I thought I would send
out a brief reminder of the registration system, payment info, refunds,
etc.

We're doing great so far. Paid attendees are up there! I'm busy as heck
getting plans together still. As always, any questions, just ask. :)

Also, there appears to be many of you that selected payment by Money
Order (we get notified when you click the button to pay by money order
and your registration gets marked with a pending money order payment
status.) but we have not received the payment as of yet. Please, if you
have mailed the money order in and your reservation is marked as pending
money order payment, let me know so we can research this further.


IMPORTANT REGISTRATION INFORMATION

This year there is a new registration system. I had a custom database
system created for meet attendees to use.

1) It allows you to pre-register. This tells us that you are very
interested in attending but are not committed as of yet. Please include
all members (and children's ages) when you pre-register. This is an
important step so that we can adequately prepare for the size of the group.
This will also help us plan for the children's area. If you need to,
the registration system also allows you to easily add and remove
additional attendees.

2) When you are ready, go back to the registration system, log in with
your username and password, and pay for your meet registration. You'll
then be given a page to print and use as your meet attendance
voucher/ticket.

The master record in the Registration System is the responsibility of
the person who signs up and creates a username and password for the
account. After creating the master record you are the only one that can
access it and you are the only one that can add and remove additional
attendees.

VERY IMPORTANT: Please be aware that the person creating the master
record in the registration system will be / is responsible for payment of
all added attendees. If you don't want that, have each person make
their own registration.

Please visit http://www.dismeets.com/register to access the
registration system and be sure to fill out all required fields. Your information
is only being used by the meet organizers for the 2006 Disney Fans Meet
in Allentown, PA and will not be sold or released for other purposes.

MEET VOUCHER / ATTENDANCE TICKET

Your admissions ticket to the event covers the Adult and/or Child lunch
buffet which includes the following:

ADULT MENU

Garden Fresh Salad Bar and one additional salad choice.
Boneless Chicken Breast with choice of sauces (Marsala or Piccata)
London Broil topped with Merlot sauce
Vegetable Lasagna
Roasted Red Potatoes
House Vegetables
Bakery Fresh Rolls and Butter
Desert: A piece of cake served at the table.
Freshly Brewed Coffee (Regular and DeCaf) and International Teas
Refreshment Table to include Unlimited Soda and Water throughout the
event.

CHILD MENU

Chicken Fingers with Marinara sauce
All American Hamburgers, Cheeseburgers & Hot Dogs
Served with Fries and condiments
Dessert: Jello and Pudding
Refreshment Table to include Unlimited Soda and Chips and Pretzels
throughout the event.

Refreshment Tables will be provided with “Unlimited Soda and Water”
throughout the event.

It also covers rental of the ballroom and seminar rooms and all of the
other
things we needed to create a magical day of Disney Fun!

Adults: $39.00 per person (13 and older)

Children 12 and Under: $19.00 per child.

Children under 3 will be admitted free of charge.

**Note: If you wish to have a regular sit down lunch for a child, (as
in having them partake in the Adult Buffet instead of the Children's
Buffet) please pay for them as an adult.

**Those of you who attended last year will note the immediate savings
from last year's adult price! If you paid via PayPal last year, you paid
$46 per adult!

Parking for Disney Fan Meet participants “not” staying at the hotel
overnight: Please be aware that there is a parking garage that is run by
the local municipality NOT the host hotel. The normal rate for parking
in the garage is $1 per hour (meet is 6 hours long = $6) but the
municipality offers hotel guests that are attending a banquet function a
discounted rate of $3 for the day. You MUST present your slip at the “Meet”
check-in table (not the hotel front desk) for it to be stamped so you
can receive the discounted banquet function rate. Guests are responsible
for making sure their parking pass gets stamped.

PAYMENT:

Payment can be made via Paypal or Money Order "ONLY".

No checks. No cash.

PayPal payments will be done via an option in the registration system.
Please, do not send payments directly to me this year. Some of you may
recall that last year there was a surcharge for PayPal payments. This
year, there is no surcharge for PayPal payments.

All payments must be received "no later" than June 1st 2006.

Please mail money orders payable to Fred Block to:

Fred Block
Re: 2006 Disney Fans Meet!
PO Box 253
Sayreville, NJ 08872

REFUND POLICY:

Again, based on your feedback from last year, we now have a refund
policy.

Last year there were no refunds at all. This year we will allow a 50%
refund for any person that has already paid and needs to cancel prior to
May 15th 2006.

After that, be aware that there will be no refunds. I still pay for the
headcount whether you attend or not. If for some reason you can't
attend, you may apply/sell/donate your admission fee to someone else but I
can't give your money back. If you register and commit for the meet you
will be listed towards the event minimum head count which of course I
am responsible for.

Any questions please email: support@dismeets.com

FOR THOSE WANTING A ROOM:

For those wanting a room at our Host Hotel, the Crowne Plaza in
Allentown, PA.

Disney Fan Meet participants can use the webpage that was specially
created specifically for the meet to make your reservation online. This of
course is the easiest way to go.

Please visit: http://www.allentownpahotel.com/disneyfans/

Also be sure to visit the main website for additional updates.
http://www.dismeets.com

Disney Fan Meet participants may also call the hotel for reservations
at (610) 433-2221 and must mention the “DISNEY FANS GATHERING” to get
the group rate of $83 plus tax per night.

Check-in time for all rooms is 4:00 p.m. and check-out time is 12:00
noon.

Every attempt will be made to accommodate special requests for room
types, smoking preferences and location; however, due to the arrival and
departure patterns not all requests may be able to be fulfilled.

Handicap accessible rooms are available on a first come, first serve
basis.

Reservations must be received by 05/08/2006. After this date
reservations will be accepted on a space and rate available basis only. After
05/08/2006 all reservations must be made thru the Group Sales Office,
during normal business hours and availability and rate are not guaranteed.

Please be aware that there is a parking garage that is run by the local
municipality NOT the host hotel. The normal rate is $8 per 24 hour
period. The hotel has arranged for a discounted rate of $6 which can be
billed to your room charge. Please present the front desk with your
parking slip when you check in. DisMeets.com check-in personnel will NOT be
able to stamp your ticket for this discount. It MUST be done at the
hotel front desk at check-in.

TERMS OF PAYMENT FOR ROOMS:

A credit card must be used with the hotel to guarantee each room for
arrival. Guests are responsible for all charges. If you decide to book a
room at our host hotel, all arrangements are between you and the hotel.


--
Please note that DisMeets.com is in no way affiliated with or endorsed
by Walt Disney World
or the Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney World is copyright The Walt
Disney Company.
For official Disney information please visit http://www.disney.com
Please also note that DisMeets.com is in no way affiliated with or
endorsed by
Disney Information Station (disboards.com), Werner Technologies, or
wdwinfo.com.
For disboards.com information please visit http://www.disboards.com
 
I can't wait! Just paid for and printed out our tickets :teeth: . I would love to meet other DISers there as well. See you all soon :Pinkbounc

GraysMom
 
we just print out the confirmation that we get in email when we pay for our tickets ,correct? and bring that to the meet?
 
Hi Jen,
To print tickets after paying, you go to the registration page and under the "Payment Information" section the "Print Tickets" button will be highlighted (if they've processed your payment already). Simply click the button and you'll be directed to the page you print to use as your "tickets". HTH.

GraysMom
 
I received the update email today on the Dis meet and it said over 250 were paid and registered. I am starting to get concerned over the number of people that will be there. I am usually of the mind the more the merrier, but I am not so sure that the more the merrier in this type of scenario.

We decided to attend this event because it sounded like it would be fun and informative. However, I am not sure there will be enough room for the number registered so far. At least that is the feeling I got from the email updates so far. Plus they keep stating that it registrations may be cut off, but have given no definate cut off. I wish they would determine how many the place can comfortably hold and make it a point to cut it off at that point.

I wasn't there last year so I do not know how much room there is. Can anyone reassure me on this? or does anyone else have the same concerns that I am having?

Thanks.
 
NJOYURLIFE said:
I am usually of the mind the more the merrier, but I am not so sure that the more the merrier in this type of scenario.
Click to expand...

The more the merrier is good! This IS a party! :) The hall should be able to hold at least 350 people with no problem. (I did put that in the newsletter that was just sent out today) I am getting updated info on that from the hotel. When I know for certain, you will as well.

NJOYURLIFE said:
We decided to attend this event because it sounded like it would be fun and informative. However, I am not sure there will be enough room for the number registered so far. At least that is the feeling I got from the email updates so far.
Click to expand...

It will be fun and informative. There will just be more people there than we initially expected. The word really got out this year about the success of last year's event. I am doing everything in my power to make sure that there will be enough room. That's why I am warning people that we may end up shutting of registrations and payments if I we have to to control the size of the crowd.

The one real concern I have is that the breakout rooms will fill up fast but there is nothing I can do about that. It depends on who wants to see/hear who and who just wants to hang out and relax in the main ballroom. I've been up front with all info from the start because I believe that having everyone well informed sets proper expectations.

NJOYURLIFE said:
Plus they keep stating that it registrations may be cut off, but have given no definate cut off. I wish they would determine how many the place can comfortably hold and make it a point to cut it off at that point.
Click to expand...

I wish I could give you a date but how can I? It depends on how fast we add the next 75 to 100 paid people. There's no way I can put a date on when people will decide to pay. I hope you understand.

NJOYURLIFE said:
I wasn't there last year so I do not know how much room there is. Can anyone reassure me on this? or does anyone else have the same concerns that I am having?
Click to expand...

Please go to the www.dismeets.com website and click on the link for photos from last year's event. That should give you some type of indication.

I hope this helps to alleviate some or all of your concerns. If not, feel free to contact me via email. I'll do whatever I can. support@dismeets.com

Fred

P.S. Your location says you are in NE PA. Why not swing by the Allentown Crowne Plaza and take a look at the grand ballroom to see what it's like. I can arrange a tour if you'd like.
 
Just read this on dismeets.com.......

'We're sorry but due to overwhelming response,
we can no longer accept registrations
for this year's event'

Looks like it's gonna be a 'grand gathering'!!
 
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