The 2014 Zonta International Convention will be held in Orlando, Florida USA - The home of Mrs. Banks at Walt Disney World. Marriott World Center, June 27 - July 1, 2014. Aussie Zontians will be at Walt Disney World June 20 - June 26.
Registration is very easy and fast. I had pre-registered on the website months ago, and so just entering my name and email address brought back all those details - pre-populated in the online form.
Then I just worked my way through each of the questions and chose the bits I was after. For example, the Closing Banquet is a separate ticket.
Convention now offers daily registration rates. Can only drop in for the weekend? Then you can register and pay for only 2 days @ USD $150/day.
You can also order the Taste of the World dinners - or the approximation mustered by an international chain brand name hotel. I do suggest that you may want to attend one or two - as it will be a pain the rear to secure transport and go for a drive to another restaurant every single night. AND ... you know you want to spend as much time as possible chatting with your international friends!! (geez I have the WHOLE of Facebook to meet in person!) I chose to attend Latin night.
I openly admit - the seafood stew was the draw card
I paid with a credit card and it was processed immediately. For non-USA Zontians, I recommend using a travel card style credit card to pay - or perhaps you have a card that does not charge a foreign processing fee? I used the world famous Travelex Cash Passport.
Extraordinarily easy and fast process. Go - DO IT NOW!
Hey Zontians - see how I care for you ... this post cost me $646. I hope it has been worth it.
So Zontians, you know I'm right. and even I'm wrong I'm frequently right too - this is the action to take: book your seat for the hottest* convention tickets on offer! *That's because it will be 35 degrees C everyday
I have a recommended day trip, Zonta have a recommended day trip - between us we can drain your wallet and your energy and leave you feeling like the over-excited 6 yr old who's had blue food colouring.
...and then we'll go on the segways, and then the horsies, and then go bass fishing, and then lunch at Chef Mickey's, and .....
Zonta International have released the Call to Convention - with all the fun options and boring stuff you have to know. Let's look at the FUN!
I have already given you multiple insights into the delights of Winter Park - what with the shopping and the little boat tour and the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum with the Tiffany Glass.This is a MUST - even if you do not do the Zonta tour - somehow get yourself to Winter Park. If you are reading this, then you'll want to come with me. Cause my visit to Winter Park will have an extra - The Wine Room - remember this post?
The other MUST DO on the day trip list is the Kennedy Space Centre. I am yet to do a post on KSC but it is one of the unique places in the world to visit.
oh .... dang ..... it is too late at night for me .... I am supposed to avoid saying something like ..."out of this world" or "I need my space" or "to infinity and beyond" - source = kennedyspacecentre facebook
Bargain shopping in Orlando is definitely worth checking out. Both destinations offered by Convention are great - among the best on offer. Strangely not mentioned, there is a Prime Outlet Mall under 10 minutes away at Vineland Ave rather than the International Drive location, which is a 30 minute drive. You have to drive past the Vineland location to get to the International Drive location. Go figure.
Red dot marks the Marriott, A = Vineland Dr and B = International Dr malls.
The airboat ride doesn't really take my fancy. I have to admit I much prefer the quiet sneakiness of the kayak tour. And coming from Australia where we have plenty of man eating salt-water crocodiles, I would much prefer to go out to the Gulf and snorkle with the manatees.
far less chompy
I have to admit I am without guidance for you with regard to the other tours on offer. The art classes, airboat ride, and chocolate apple dipping are outside of my experience.
I urge you to do some of these day trips - even if you go under your own steam (and frankly I will be for Winter Park and the shopping.) The selection on offer is a tiny fraction of all experiences and entertainment you can partake in Orlando. So if these don't take your fancy, do not fret, there will be plenty of other activities that will.
What buying a Convention trip gives you is ease of transport, meeting new people, and making new friends. There will be plenty of like-minded ladies around you to laugh and joke with as you hone your chocolate drizzling or chat on the bus ride.
What are your plans for day tripping? What sights would you like to see?
Cirque de Soleil have a permanent theatre at Downtown Disney with a show, La Nouba, they have been performing for years.
Bendy Wendy - more flexible than the ethics of a Wall St. Banker
Tickets for La Nouba can be purchased from 6 months in advance, and currently sell from USD $61 to $144 (plus tax). Tickets for the Closing Banquet are not yet on sale.
Most people have come across a Cirque show and understand the combination of abstract, obscure, eye catching, athletic, gymnastic, and basically astonishing feats of physical daring! I visited La Nouba in 2011 and did a short review. Go! Now! Look!
...and then look at the acts listed in the Zonta Closing Banquet advertisement.
Did you spot the difference?
La Nouba does not contain Spinning Cube, Rola Bola and Power Skips. This means these acts will be exclusively for our banquet - you will not be able to see this performance otherwise.
Closing Banquet is also were we acknowledge the generosity and contributions Zontians from around the world have made at International and District levels, with the Change over Ceremony.
Start saving now. Attend Closing Banquet for a spectacular time with your friends and enjoy spectacular entertainment.
You might not believe this, but there are only so many times I can go onit's a small world. Even with its green and purple koalas.
I'll let Larry and Chuckie explain.
Originally commissioned to celebrate UNICEF, it has a classic history and is now part of America's art scene with classic stylings by Mary Blair.
It is a great example of what this post is about - everything at Disneyworld has a story behind it.
Walt didn't just whack up a bunch of amusement rides. He created backstories for every little detail in the parks and resorts. Every hotel has a story, every ride and show, even the entry gates are part of a story.
And the easiest way to discover all these stories are to take a backstage tour.
(source: waltdisneycompany.com)
Disney run a pile of them and they are changing all the time. A tour makes for a very different experience of the resort. Always full of background stories, hints, information, some give you unique experiences or some make it easier to experience to experience a park.
These babies are expensive. You can score discounts using Disney Visa Cards, Disney Annual Passes or purchasing a special "My Way" dining plan which can include the tours among all the offerings.
I've done a number of tours now, and for first timers let me recommend the one not to bother with: Backstage Magic.
Expensive at about $250+ p.p., 8 hours, and you see lots of this:
Magic Kingdom parking lot - I suppose I could have guessed. What else would be backstage! (source: disneytourreviews.com)
This tour is TOTALLY backstage - so no free rides in the parks. In hindsight it isn't that bad. We saw:
the topiary work area at the nursery
Minnie's let herself go in her older age. What?
... and a whole lot of other places in which photography was banned! Like one of the sewing/costuming rooms; a machinery shed (where they paint and repair signs and ride vehicles); the parade float holding sheds; and the back door to the Tower of Terror ride.
We did see backstage at The American Adventure at the huge mechanical rotating stage sets; and the water holding pond for Splash Mountain!
Back of Frontier Land in Magic Kingdom - kind of what you'd expect really. (source: disneypix.com)
Lunch was pretty good - Whispering Canyon Cafe at the Squirrel Wilderness Lodge. An all you can eat BBQ skillet affair with tin plates, mason jars and YEE-HAH entertainment! Whispering is really the last thing happening here.
Umm ... yeah .... don't ask for the ketchup.
Disney has heaps of other tours - long and short - to suit all interests.
Train fanatic? You're accommodated, but get up very early.
At least this is more credible than the creepy bus spotters. (source: waltdisneycompany.com)
African Safari Trek? Wander through the back of the Animal Kingdom Zoo and visit the hippos and crocodiles, then enjoy some refreshing snacks looking out over the savanna - all without the danger, smells or tsetse fly.
For the keen gardeners, you can go Behind the Seeds at Epcot to learn how 1981 saw futuristic hydroponic gardening.
space age brussell sprouts taste just as bad. which must be why they are grown in such low density. (source: flickr.com)
If you think Disneyworld is just kiddie rides and amusement attractions - well - maybe one of these tours can show a different side to the resort.
I do have one tour I enthusiastically recommend for all first time visitors. But in the true spirit of any reality programming, you have to wait for next week for the big reveal.
What do you think? Would you like to see backstage? or would that break the magical illusion for you?
