Update: Gaylord Palms responds!
One Mighty Party is getting one mighty big last-minute change.
The event was scheduled to happen in the Gaylord Palms, but this week, the venue switched to Buena Vista Palace.
An announcement on the One Mighty Weekend web site apologizes for the inconvenience: “This change is an added convenience for our guests here at the Buena Vista Palace and our other guest [sic] staying in the area. We realize it’s been a very challenging year with all the changes.”
“To tell you the truth, up until the last minute working with Gaylord, we weren’t entirely happy with the general attitude they developed toward our party,” said Ted McCrary, one of the event organizers. “It’s nothing I could say for certain, but given that we’ve done so many parties in so many places, we get a feel for how upper management feels about what we’re doing, and a few of [the Gaylord Palms’] last-minute demands felt slightly inappropriate, so we decided to make the change.”
When asked for specifics about those last-minute demands, McCrary said he doesn’t know all the details.
“My boss, Johnny Chisholm, did the negotiating, and I think it was parking issues, availability and charging for parking when we thought all that was included,” he said. “It’s one of those things that gets under people’s skin, and Johnny has a good feel for when he feels like someone is brushing him off or making things difficult at the last minute.”
McCrary said, “I’m not certain of all the ins and outs, I’m sure more will be revealed later, but for the confort and convenience of our guests, we decided to make the move.”
When emailed for a response, Keith Sawolski, public relations director for Gaylord Palms, replied: “As a matter of policy, we do not discuss the business details of our clients or contracted events.”
Sawolski called the portrayal of the situation “inaccurate,” and said, “Only [Mr. Chisholm] can accurately explain the exact reason his event was cancelled.”
They are alerting those guests to the venue change through the above-mentioned web site posting, an email blast to their entire contact list, including everyone who purchased tickets, signage at the Buena Vista Palace and word of mouth to guests from hotel staff.
McCary said they had already been getting input from customers wondering why they’d have to travel to the Gaylord Palms, another convention-type place, for One Mighty Party when similar space is available at the Buena Vista Palace.
“The guest feedback has been across-the-board positive so far, and we think it will work out better for all concerned,” he said.
In previous years, One Mighty Weekend was hosted at Disney’s MGM Studios, with the Buena Vista Palace serving as only the host hotel.
Previous to this week’s venue change, a Q&A was posted on the One Mighty Weekend web site explaining the original venue change, from MGM Studios to the Gaylord Palms. According to that posting: “No one expected the economy to become so bad this year. Near the end of venue negotiations, and prior to signing any contracts, we were made aware of price increases that required us to renegotiate our venues. We were able to continue the parties on Friday and Saturday night in a way that we felt would allow the party to continue without simply cancelling the events.”
The Q&A also stated that negotiations had continued until April 27, when the final venue for the One Mighty Weekend event was “contractually signed.” It also said, “The late changes were unforeseen and we announced our changes the moment the weekend’s venues were 100% confirmed. We have never had to renegotiate the terms at such a late date, but we were able to work out agreements which will offer you what we believe will be a fun, memorable choice for our attendees.”
Even so, the venue has changed again, the week of the event and weeks after final contracts were signed.
