Dear Diary: My Disney Incentive Trip

At this time last week, I was still enjoying the luxury of our incredible stay at the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa at Disney World in Orlando. Hundreds of Stampin’ Up! demonstrators and their families were in Orlando for Stampin’ Up!’s 2025 Incentive Trip. We were pampered and cared for and also given space to enjoy personal time with friends and family.

Necessary disclaimer: The claims published here are not representative of typical Stampin’ Up! demonstrators. The level of sales to achieve this result requires significant work and is accomplished by a substantially small percent of Stampin’ Up! demonstrators. 

Today I’m sharing a bit of my adventure with a load of pictures I took. Before I start, I want to let you know that I don’t take a lot of pictures – I tend to snap the big events and try to stay in the moment. Still, I managed to get some good pictures to share with you. I hope these convey my love for this trip.

The resort is themed after Mary Poppins – it was elegant and comfortable. Pure luxury. Here’s a shot of the Grand Floridian resort I snapped from the monorail:

We arrived on Tuesday morning (Jeremiah and I were on an early flight that morning). We chatted with Sara and Shelli and reconnected with several friends who were already there. One of the options at check-in was to decorate your Mickey Mouse/Minnie Mouse ears. Jeremiah bejeweled his with a hot glue gun:

After we said our hellos, Jeremiah and I changed into our swimsuits and headed to the Typhoon Lagoon Water Park (one of the Disney parks). We had a blast at the park and experienced a variety of rides.

That night, Stampin’ Up! gifted us with a huge bag of snacks that were tailored to our individual snacking preferences. They surveyed us months ago with lots of questions, and they worked hard to give us exactly what we had asked for (even though we didn’t realize we were asking for it). Jeremiah and I got lots of chips and popcorn, but this collapsible bin is filled with bottled waters, sparkling waters, Diet Cokes, chips , crackers and Oreos.

The bin is made with thick felt and is easily collapsed (it fit in our big suitcase). We ate all the snacks and now have a big bin for events or classes. The bin of goodies also included a sweet card that must be a sneak peek at products to come (maybe?). Here’s a look at the card that accompanied our snacks:

On Wednesday morning, Stampin’ Up! gathered us all together for an INCREDIBLE breakfast (the potatoes were a hit with everyone at our table). Here’s a fun picture with Susan Campfield and Julie DiMatteo from that morning:

After breakfast, Stampin’ Up! hosted the opening session for the incentive trip. The leadership team covered annual results and discussed the health of the company. It’s always great to hear from this team.

The session also featured some sneak peeks at upcoming products, along with some new stamping demonstrations. The company announced the 2027 Incentive Trip – COSTA RICA!!!. I couldn’t be more excited by that option. There was also time for giveaways (all attendees received a scrapbooking kit that will be available in June:

Following the opening session, Jeremiah and I darted to The Magic Kingdom. What an adventure! We rode all the rides (that weren’t designed to spin us in circles) and had a great time – suspension of disbelief can be fun sometimes. Here’s Cinderella’s castle as we walked into the park (the castle is also visible from our hotel):

The Jungle Cruise has to be the same ride I enjoyed as a kid – but everything was fresh and fun.

And we thoroughly enjoyed Tiana’s Bayou Adventure even though we were convinced we wouldn’t get wet (in case you can’t tell, we were soaked):

We really got the most of that day at the Magic Kingdom – we rode nearly everything, including the Haunted Mansion (fun), Space Mountain (just after lunch…) and Tron (almost didn’t happen).

Jeremiah and I also spent a day at Hollywood Studios – lots of rides and exciting shows there. We thoroughly enjoyed all of the Star Wars rides and Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway – such fun!

The most exciting part of our day at Hollywood Studios was that we met Laura (my long-time boss who left two years ago) and Jerry (her husband) for lunch at the 50’s Primetime cafe. The 50’s-themed restaurant was really kitschy and served delicious comfort foods. The servers also played along with the kitschy theme. When I didn’t finish the green beans on my meatloaf plate, our server airplaned them into my mouth with my fork while blowing a whistle to call attention to my misdeed. Here’s Jerry and Laura (my former boss), serving their best retiree looks:

We spent much of our free time with Mary and Scott Fish. We thoroughly enjoy both of them and hang out well together. One day we hopped on the monorail with Jennifer Roque (who took this picture) and popped over to the Polynesian Resort for Dole Whips. What a treat!

I wasn’t initially excited about Disney, but we had a GRAND time. I’m grateful for every memory (whether captured in pictures or not) and every moment spent with friends.

We also received loads of upcoming products. I will share some of those with you next week. ♥

Thanks for stopping by today!

Brian

Check out the New Catalog

Stampin’ Up!’s 2025 Annual Catalog was released on Tuesday. What fun! Click on one of the below links to learn more:

• It’s Here! Introducing Stampin’ Up!’s 2025 Annual Catalog
• Covering Stampin’ Up!’s 2025 Annual Catalog
• Introducing Stampin’ Up!’s 2025-2027 In Colors

Online Exclusives

Don’t forget about the incredible collection of Online Exclusives that were also launched this week. To see those products. CLICK HERE.