My Magical Disney Week | Day One | Disney Social Media Moms Celebration

First let me say a HUGE thank you to @leannej @lauraspencerone @momtalkradio @mombloggersclub @5minutesformom @resourcefulmom and Disney for giving my family and I a memory that will last forever! You all truly gave your all to make the magic spectacular and I can never thank you all enough for that.

So, being a local I didn’t have a very long drive to get to the Polynesian Resort, but the ride was full of nervousness from me, seeing my blogging idols and meeting new bloggers is nervewracking , and massive excitement from my kids. Even my 17 year old had a goofy grin while driving there.

When we arrived we checked in, our room was not ready yet, but that was expected since we got there at 8:30 am. So we wandered over to the hospitality suite to check in there and get our itinerary and all our goodies. I was in awe of all the special Disney things we received. After coming out of the suite we started to make our way to the monorail to start our Disney day and ran into @ConnieFoggles and her wonderful family (little did I know at that time just how much they would come to mean to my family, more on that later). We chatted a few minutes and then went our separate ways.

Now this was my toddlers first time at Disney so I didn’t know how she would react to all the sights, sounds and characters. But she quickly made my anxiety over that disappear as she jumped for joy in getting to ride the monorail and her face just lit up when she saw the castle for the first time.

She took in the sights and sounds with the awe that only a young child could have, no that’s not right, because I was right there with her, just as excited and so thrilled to be at Disney with those excitement butterflies in my tummy. But she was so excited and was all over the place wanting to see this or that and racing to wait in line to see her very first character.

She was not afraid of them at all, in fact she behaved quite the opposite way than I expected. She ran up to them, threw her arms around them and held on tight. I was shocked. She is so outgoing until she sees a new person and then she clams up until they are around for awhile, but that all went out the window when she saw Goofy and Donald in Frontierland. She squealed with delight and was jumping up and down in line until it was her turn and she ran to them with arms wide open, it brought tears to my eyes to see her so excited.

Now my older two got a small chance to go off on their own to ride a few rides before I got the text that our room was ready (how convenient is that?!?) and I had to round them up to head back to the hotel. Before we left the area I snapped a picture of them playing around. Big props to the Media Fast Pass, we saw Disney in a totally new way and we couldn’t have been happier!

We got back to the hotel for a few minutes of rest and relaxation and getting cleaned up and changed for an evening that was to be a new experience for all of us. We were soon on our way to the ESPN Wide World of Sports for a media event while our families had fun playing games and running around outside. I had a slight problem with my toddler wanting to come with me but she soon saw that there was much fun to be had without me so she went on her merry little way.

I got into the auditorium where everyone was gathering and was pleased to meet @Linda_Sellers and Janine Nickel @twincident, two women I was looking forward to actually meeting in person. At the Disney What’s New, What’s Next presentation we learned some pretty exciting things on Disney’s horizon. Like the Main Street Electrical Parade is coming back, you don’t know how happy that makes me, I so miss the music, the sounds and of course all the magic that goes into that parade, when I was young that parade was Disney to me. Great things in store for all the Disney parks as well as a Fantasyland Expansion where guests will be able to step into their favorite princesses land and have immersive encounters with them. A Magical Makeover for Castaway Cay, Disney’s very own private island, with the addition of a floating water platform with twisty water slides, an expanded family beach, a new teen retreat and new rental cabanas. And with the expansion of the Disney Cruise Line Fleet, adding both the Disney Dream and the Disney Fantasy ships families will have magical experiences both on land and on the sea. As a matter of fact the Disney Magic will be sailing to Europe for an unprecedented five-month season of Northern European and Mediterranean cruises. And the Disney Wonder will sail for the first time ever to Alaska in 2011. And with the relaunching of the ESPN World Wide of Sports Complex there are just so many new and great things coming up for Disney that it makes me giddy with excitement.

After all that exciting news we were able to meet up with our families again and go inside for a Tailgate style dinner complete with a DJ, dancing and the special arrival of some Disney Characters. We got in a little too late and there weren’t enough tables on the lower floor so we were seated up top away from most of the action, which was a tad bit disappointing but after we ate we made our way downstairs to join in on the fun and my girls had so much fun dancing on the stage, especially my toddler, who once again proved me wrong in being shy. She was dancing like crazy, trying out all the smooth moves her sister and those around her were doing. I was impressed!

I want to take a minute right here and say that the Disney staff, from the bus drivers to the wait staff were absolutely wonderful in everything that they did for us. They were extremely helpful, polite and fun and I want to give them all a standing ovation (I am standing up and clapping right now!).

After a few pictures of the characters and the kids and a special High School Musical number we were headed back to the hotel for some much needed sleep and a new, magical day on Thursday.

Was so happy to run into @acowboyswife and her adorable son and @erikalehmann who I was so happy to have had the chance to chat with this time around as we just met in passing a few months back.

Stay tuned for more exciting news and in depth look at the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration.

I paid for my conference ticket to attend the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration and in doing so I received complimentary items, special discounts, food and entertainment as part of the conference ticket.