Appreciating the 2015 Disney Social Media Moms Celebration

Many would be surprised to know there is so much anticipation over being invited to a conference that you still have to pay for. What makes Disney Social Media Moms Celebration so special? The draw lies in the experience offers to your family as a whole and the support you gain, not just as social influencers, but also as bloggers with spouses and children. There’s a camaraderie that you can’t quite find elsewhere.

Disney Social Media Moms Celebration – Day 1

Our plane landed quite early in the morning but, fortunately, we were able to check into our room at the Beach Club early to rest up a bit. Then we took a short boat ride to Disney’s Hollywood Studios to get our Walt Disney World trip started. Visiting the park is so much nicer when you have almost unlimited Fast Pass entry on your Magic Bands (for conference attendees and families during the trip).

On the first night of our arrival, there was a huge welcome party. After a few introductory comments for the conference attendees, our families later joined us for food, fun, and dancing. The atmosphere was so light that, amazingly, I was even able to get my normally shy-in-public daughter to join me on the dance floor. Never would I imagine she’d get the nerve to dance in front of hundreds of strangers. But she did.

The Disney magic was there with characters being present right at the event. We didn’t have to stand in a 3-hour line in the blazing heat to get a photo with Baymax and Hiro. Been there, done that with other characters when my daughter was young and it’s no fun! Desserts during the Illuminations fireworks show and special glasses that made all the lights into Mickey heads rounded off the day perfectly.

Disney Social Media Moms Celebration – Day 2

Day two was our formal conference. The day started off on a high note with Mickey kicking the energy into high gear.

Then, I gleaned some tips in reevaluating why I blog and ways of improving the content I produced. We also received some insight on upcoming products and events. I loved listening to Lee Kitchen of Disney Creativity who helped jumpstart the creative juices that often run dry.

Our line up of speakers also included:

• George A. Kalogridis, President, Walt Disney World Resort (Current and upcoming)
• Eva Smith, Pinterest (Understanding it to better use it)
• Jonas Rivera, Disney Pixar Animator (Inside Out)
• Janice Belgemino, Disney Infinity (Disney Infinity 3.0)
• Vivienne Harr, STAND (Inspiration to help others)
• Chris Brogan, Author (Reaccess blogging basics)
• Jeffry Epstein, Disney D23 (Events and benefits of membership)
• Jessica Shyba, MommasGoneCity and Author (Story of success and balance)
• Dr. Tanya Altmann, Disney Imagicademy (Appreciating purpose of the mobil apps)
• Donald Driver, Author and Former NFL player (Motivational)
• Chef Gary, Disney Magic of Healthy Living (WDW’s attention to allergens)

While I worked, Frans and Munchkin played at Epcot. We met up for Mickey’s Beach Bash in the evening. The area was so beautiful at sunset!

Disney Social Media Moms Celebration – Day 3

We got up early the next morning for our Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster video shoot. I’m so appreciate that the DisneySMMoms team put this together. What a great way to capture the memory of this trip. We then skipped the movie preview (I know, bad right?) so we could head out to enjoy Magic Kingdom.

Unfortunately, Munchkin got sick and we headed back to relax the rest of the day. In the evening we went to Downtown Disney for some good Irish eats at Raglan Road and Frans had gluten-free Fish and Chips. Yay!

Disney Social Media Moms Celebration – Day 4

After closing remarks, some musical entertainment by Voice Play, and food, we used our last full day to head to Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The safari is always a highlight. The night finished with dinner at Ohana and watching the fireworks from our table. So.much.food.

Disney Social Media Moms Celebration – Day 5

Since we had a 5-hour flight ahead of us and it was more expensive to fly out on a Sunday, we opted for one extra day. This worked out just right as we did a few last minute things in Epcot, got some extra photos, and picked up the one souvenir my daughter wanted – a Baymax Tsum Tsum – from Downtown Disney.

Remembering 2015 Disney SMMC

Overall we just had such fantastic time together as a family. It definitely wasn’t a cheap vacation but we couldn’t have afforded it at all if it wasn’t for the special conference arrangements. We saved a ton on food, lodging, and park admission. Florida humidity was tough for us fair-weathered Californians but we’re so glad to have been a part of this unique Celebration.

Disclosure: I was invited to attend the 2015 Disney Social Media Moms Celebration. As part of this, we received hefty discounts on our lodging, food, and park admission and enjoyed special programming for attendees. We were also gifted with a Memory Maker package. All opinions are my own.