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I’ve been home for two weeks now, but I’m still recovering from the excitement of the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida! (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome will do that to you.) But so much happened, and I know I can’t possibly do justice to the entire experience in a single blog post… but I have to try!
I’ve already liveblogged about the conference sessions. Here are some links to my liveblogging coverage:
The sessions were highly educational for me, and I’ve been inspired to work on how I market my blog. I didn’t know Maxine Clark or Marissa Jaret Winokur by name before I heard them speak, but I follow them both on Twitter now because they’re lovely, inspiring women. I got up the nerve to introduce myself to Chris Brogan after he spoke. He’s a nice guy, and I hope I didn’t come off as an annoying fangirl or something.
But there was so much more to the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration than just the speakers. There was the “Moms” part and the “Celebration” part.
Our first night there, on Wednesday 2/10, the moms headed to a press event to learn about new things coming to Disney – including a larger Dumbo ride and the launch of the newest Disney Cruise ship, the Disney Dream – while our families got to enjoy the sports fields at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Then we converged for dinner. Burgers, hot dogs, nachos… My only complaint was how loud the music was, because we couldn’t even talk to the person sitting next us, let alone meet other moms at other tables.
On Thursday morning, I got on the monorail with @TheAngelForever to head to EPCOT for the breakfast session with Guy Kawasaki. I may have my differences in opinion with him, but I do applaud his transparency. Then we shifted to another building for the Celebrate Volunteers reveal with Ty Pennington. Families were invited, but we were glad our husbands and kids were wandering around EPCOT on their own. At least for @TheAngelForever and me, our boys were too young to appreciate the ceremony.
We met up with our boys in EPCOT from there. They were in line at the Character Spot to take pictures with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto, so we joined them. The kids had a great time posing for pictures with the characters. Then we headed to Ellen’s Universe of Energy, because I thought TJ would love to see the dinosaurs. I made a miscalculation, because it was a really long ride, and it was very dark. After the dinosaurs were gone, TJ was in tears because he didn’t think we’d ever get out of there. He sat on my lap until it was over. I felt awful. We grabbed a quick service lunch before heading over to the Magic Kingdom.
Walking into the Magic Kingdom with TJ for the first time was awesome. We hit the Dumbo ride and Pooh’s Playful Spot before Pirate of the Caribbean. TJ had been so excited about the pirate ride ahead of time; we’d had him watch the movie at home ahead of time. But it was too dark for him again, and he cried through the whole ride. Later on, he decided that he liked it, but I felt like the worst mom in the world for a while. We took him on It’s a Small World to cheer him up, and that did the trick. He loved it. The look on his face – pure awe – was amazing. I wish I could just freeze that moment in time. That is what Disney magic is all about.
From there, we had to head back to EPCOT for dinner. Sure, it was about 40 degrees, but dinner was outside. (Thank God for the outdoor portable heaters! Our table was right next to one.) The coolest part? Nope, not the fact that Joe Jonas performed live on stage with a new song for us (although Tamara and I stayed after our families left to watch that) – it was the fact that dinner was prepared for us by Robert Irvine for the Food Network’s Dinner: Impossible. Tom and I are huge Food Network fans, and we love Dinner: Impossible. I cannot wait until that episode airs.
TJ didn’t want to eat anything but the mini corn muffins and the vanilla ice cream cone that Tom left the party to hunt down for him, but the rest of us enjoyed our meals. The hot fudge brownie for dessert was to die for! But again, it was nearly impossible to talk to people when the music was playing, and it wasn’t very conducive to mingling with the other moms. The music wasn’t constant, however, so we did get some good chatting time in. And after we left and headed back to the Polynesian, we headed upstairs to the bar where Maria Bailey ( @MomTalkRadio) was buying everyone blue drinks. Fun times, blue drinks!
And we’re already at 850 words, so it’s time to wrap this up and start writing Part 2!
Photos on this page courtesy of @TheAngelForever and @TechyDad.
Disclosure: I paid $350 to attend the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration in Walt Disney World. Included in my conference fee: our room at the Polynesian Resort, Park Hopper tickets, the conference sessions, most of our meals, and a few little extra surprises. That being said, my opinions are my own, and my blogs posts about the experience are my honest opinion.
That’s me: Christina Gleason. I’m a writer, editor, and disability advocate. I'm a multiply disabled autistic lady doing my best in this world built for abled people. I’m a geek for grammar, fantasy, and casual gaming. I hate vegetables. I cannot reliably speak, so I’ll happily conduct business over email or messaging instead.
[…] more details? Head on over to the Cutest Kid Ever – she did a fabulous job of liveblogging the sessions. I am a pitiful liveblogger. I can’t […]