Any Dealer interested in sponsoring my event?

[Majestic]

I throw an annual gathering for Disney fanatics in PA each year. Last year, we had 350 people in attendance. This year I expect between 450 and 500. About 400 or so will be adults. Many who travel to Disney at least once or twice a year. The event is being held in Harrisburg, PA this year.

Anyway, I was wondering if any dealer might be interested in bringing a few segs down for the day and doing something fun with the fans. As a sponsor, you would also have access to a table for promotional material.

The reason I think this would be good is Disney does the Seg tour and many people have seen or heard of the segway but not everyone has seen them in person other than running around Epcot.

If interested, please contact me via email. I can pass on a press release and mailing list archives to give you some info.

[email protected]

Thanks everyone!

Fred

[wwhopper]

If they did, that would be great. They support their own Segway tours, but it seems that if you bring your own seg, you are out of luck.

Where are you located, and what is the event about? Does it have a website?

[Majestic]

Website is www.magicmeets.com.

Here is the press release. If this is too far off topic and needs to be moved or removed, I certainly understand. It's not my intention to break the rules here.

P.S. I plan to use my own Segway at the event.

Walt Disney World Fans to Gather in Camp Hill, PA,
July 14, 2007

Sayreville, NJ, December 5th, 2006 -- MagicMeets.com,
organizer of the largest annual get-together
of Walt Disney World fans in the United States'
Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, has announced that its
fourth annual Northeast Disney Fans Gathering will be held
Saturday, July 14, 2007, in a new location -- the recently
renovated Radisson Penn Harris Hotel and Convention Center
in Camp Hill, PA, just across the river from the state
capital, Harrisburg.

"Attendance at this event has grown rapidly in just three
years," notes Fred Block, organizer of the meet under the
auspices of MagicMeets.com (formerly DisMeets.com). "In
2004, the first get-together, held in Edison, NJ, was
attended by just 44 people. By last summer, we had a
capacity crowd of 350 at our Allentown, PA, location. We
actually had to turn away more than 100 people due to space
limitations. We don't want that to happen again."

This year's new location in Camp Hill offers more than twice
the convention space of last year's facility (over 30,000 total square feet),
so that even more Disney enthusiasts will be able to comfortably enjoy
a full day of activities. The agenda includes: special guest speakers,
contests, breakout session seminars, a children’s play area,
door prizes, pin trading, and much more. In addition, the new location
is conveniently situated just five minutes from downtown Harrisburg
and 15 minutes from the Harrisburg Airport. It is close to shopping,
golf courses, and a number of Harrisburg-area attractions, such as
Hershey Park (celebrating 100 years in 2007), Gettysburg Battlefields,
Dutch Wonderland, and Indian Echo Caverns. The Radisson Penn Harris Hotel
also offers an on-site full service restaurant (Bridges Café) and lounge
(Bridges Lounge), as well as room service, an outdoor
swimming pool, and a fitness center.

"The main goal of this gathering is to allow Disney
enthusiasts who may only know each other from email or the
Internet put faces to names," says Block, an avid Disney fan
who visits Walt Disney World several times a year with his wife
and two daughters. "This new location will provide an even greater
number of event attendees that opportunity, as well as the
chance to explore an interesting area with a number of
close-by attractions."

For more information on the fourth annual Northeast Disney
Fans Gathering, visit: http://www.magicmeets.com.

For more information on the Radisson Penn Harris Hotel &
Convention Center, visit their website at:
http://www.radisson.com/camphillpa

For further information, contact:
Fred Block
MagicMeets.com Founder and Senior Event Coordinator
PHONE: 888-77-MEETS
EMAIL: [email protected]

[Tarkus]

I wish you luck as you seem to be a nice guy, but Disney's only purpose with the Segway is their own financial gain.

Don't ever think that Disney will ever let any able bodied person bring their HT to the park. If you do I have a bridge for sale in Brooklyn if anyone is interested.

Here is a sample of how "Disney People" feel about the Segway.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread....ght=segway+ada

I'm sure you can find a dealer, the guy in Basking Ridge may be interested.

But as far as I'm concerned the Mouse talks out of both sides of it's mouth.

Just My .
02

[hellphish]

Maybe we should focus on the event that is being planned, not Disney. It's an event for disney fans, not on disney property. Disney does segway tours. It is reasonable to believe that a disney fan may have taken a tour and is interested in more segway goodness, right?

[wwhopper]

I have met them, and they are really nice people

Segway of Central Pennsylvania
1231 Ritner Highway
Carlisle PA 17013
Phone: 717-243-9978

http://www.segwayofcentralpa.com/

[Majestic]

Thanks hellphish. I agree. My experience with Segways at Disney was less than favorable. They actually shooed me away stating that my heavy weight does not belong on a seg. Had I let that stop me I wouldn't own one today.

So with that said, I will be gliding at the event. I know with at least 400 adults coming, many will be interested in learning more about our passion in a much more relaxed environment that is not disney sponsored or sanctioned.

I just thought it would be a good idea if anyone was interested.

I too am rather frustrated that I don't see a day where I can take a glide through the magic kingdom or epcot. It's sad but I don't let that stop me.

Anyway, Thanks for the posts everyone. Perhaps I'll make a good contact and get something going.

Fred

[plo]

If you do end up getting a dealer to sponsor your event and have segway demos (possibly with the opportunity to buy a segway after), I think you should clearly state that the person's new purchase cannot be used anywhere in any Disney property. And for complete disclosure, I think it's fair to add that this policy of Disney's is unlikely to change for a long long time.

With all that information in front of prospective buyers, then I'd say that you are not misleading them, and they'd be making an informed decision. Of course, you also may have a hard time finding a segway dealer who's willing to go through all the effort of sponsoring and demoing at your event even though all this information will be given to participants.

If a segway dealer does end up sponsoring your event, demos and successfully sells segways, I'd appreciate if you or that dealer then sent a letter to Disney showing them how successfully segways were integrated into your event and benefited everyone economically. I doubt it'd be enough to convince them to change their segway policy, but if you did then you'd be heralded as a great "facilitator" where no one else could succeed.

[wwhopper]

Originally Posted by Majestic

They actually shooed me away stating that my heavy weight does not belong on a seg. Fred

I am sure it was that one person's oppinion, but that is not something for them to say to anyone. Actually it is downright rude. But we are used to rude comments, like folks insisting that you tell them "How Much Is That?"

This sounds like it would be a fun event for area Segway Owners and Enthusiasts to attend as well, and bring their own segs. Will that be possible?

If you can't get a dealer out, getting a group of Segway Owners and Enthusiasts might be another way to show off the Segway too.

[Majestic]

Will, I agree. The comment and the way he made it was down right rude. I was in shock considering how you never really have anything nasty about anyone while at Disney.

As for the sponsors or having some locals come by, I am open for anything. See I just figured this was a great venue for getting the word out a bit more about our Segs. We will most likely sell out again this year like I did last year. (350 people last year...over 100 turned away...) I am trying to get press coverage and possibly television news. I am also alerting the statehouse of the fact that this will be our 3rd year holding the event in PA.

If no dealer is interested in sponsoring the event, I am more than happy to have some local seggers come on over but I can't do much with ticket costs as the budget for the event is very tight as it is. I need to think this over a bit more to see what kind of ideas I have.

I did try to email Segway of Central Pennsylvania but have not received a reply as of yet. There are many companies that have websites but don't answer emails in a timely fashion. I don't get it but....well.....they may be just ignoring me too.

Thanks for all of your help. I hope we can come up with something.

Fred