Worked a meeting at ‘the happiest place on earth’ last week, aka Walt Disney World here in Orlando, and yes, I couldn’t resist snapping a few photos of the not-so-hidden Mickey’s you see everywhere. And by everywhere I do mean, well, see for yourself. Here he was at breakfast:

Then my lunch. . .(please don’t judge)

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And most importantly, happy hour!

But, because the Mickey fun never ends, then you get back to your room and find this:

So by now I’m sure you get the point. There is no escaping that adorable little rascal when you’re actually staying in the Kingdom. But just to prove he wasn’t the only animal around, here’s a photo I took of a ‘friend’ that hung around my patio. . .

And here’s a few other fun things you can see and do while working a conference program at WDW that you most likely can’t do anywhere else – hop a boat, monorail, or free (and clean!) bus to actually get you somewhere else you need to be like meeting client groups to manage their off site meal functions, escorting a group for an outside activity, or managing a special event in a venue other than the hotel you are staying at and yes, I did all those and more.

Yep, still working. Weird, I know, but this is the nature of what I do as a meeting planner. And lest you think it’s all fun let me assure you there’s plenty of hard work and very long hours involved not to mention a million details. Sometimes things come together like magic – not just here in Disney – but, other times one small detail goes by the wayside and voila! Just like that the 400 attendees whose name tags were spelled correctly get pushed aside by that one irritable VIP who spews fumes because his tag doesn’t have a VIP ribbon hanging on it (as if he needs to advertise that he’s a Very Irritable Person. Sayin’. . .)

Anyway, I digress with that meeting memory so let’s refocus on some other fun photos I took of objects you just don’t see at other travel destinations. Here’s what I looked at in the hallway every morning when I left my room. No less than 4-7 baby strollers parked outside their sleeping rooms, waiting like Cinderella’s carriage to take those little darlings to the park.

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And there you have it – a few of my random notes and fun pix from a recently completed meeting in ‘The Kingdom.’

Oh, and by the way, it was more than just ‘a meeting in the kingdom’  for me as it was also a trip down memory lane taking me back to my first job out of college where I worked at, you guessed it, Walt Disney World.   Much has changed in the Kingdom (and most certainly my life) in the years that followed, but I sure came full circle while working that client program in the place that started my career in this industry.

Mickey and I have both done good, but I’m pretty sure he beat me financially.