Disney Social Media Moms {Day 1}

I think it’s time for a good old fashioned trip report. Sometimes I get so excited about the bajillion things I want to tell you about a trip and then I try to put it in bite-sized pieces and then more often than not I end up not telling you half of the stuff I want to. (Case in point=it took me 9 months to recap my Disney World Moms Panel Training)

But let’s get back to the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration. (Isn’t that a fun title?) My husband and I dropped off the kids at my parents’ house around 10am. (I won’t mention the 2 times we had to turn around because we forgot something.) The kids could have cared LESS that we were leaving as they shoved us out the door.

Then I broke the cardinal rule of “I’m about to go to a big event”—I got my haircut. I had been trying to grow out one side…but…blech, I decided I don’t want any kind of long hair. So. I went back to super short. And I likey.

ANYWHOO.

Then we were off! FIVE WHOLE DAYS without our kids! And you know what I wanted to do most? Sit in the car in complete silence. Ahhhhh! But that didn’t happen. We listened to music, Radical (not the best book to read on the way to Disney World) and I even found a karaoke version of Drops of Jupiter on youtube so Les could practice for his next American Idol audition.

We finally got to Orlando around 9pm and checked into the Omni Resort at ChampionsGate. Woweee! It was splendid. The room was supposedly like $800 per night. But we got it for like 85% off via priceline.com. Seriously. If you do not use priceline to book hotel rooms you are WASTING MONEY.

Now here is where I would enter a picture of our swanky room and the 15 acre heated pool. Alas, I took no pictures of the hotel. I don’t even think I took a picture of ONE meal! What is wrong with me?!

I awoke at the crack of dawn the next morning, donned my sunscreen (oh, wait, we had to stop and buy that at Walgreen’s) and Keens, then we were off to Disney’s Grand Floridian! We checked in and then headed over to the conference check-in where I got to see Leanne (my Disney Mom’s head-fred) and Jennifer (another 24/7 Disney Mom). I walked in the room and we all screamed at each other. Typical happy Disney internet friend stuff. Loved it!

After stashing our swag in the car we jumped on the monorail and headed for THE MAGIC KINGDOM! In September I took a tip from The Disney Food Blog and bought a cinnamon roll from the bakery on Main Street. I decided I wanted another one for breakfast this time, too! The line to the bakery was out the door so we wandered around a bit (fighting the Spring Break crowd, *whew*) and then walked back to the bakery.

But LO and BEHOLD who do we see? Kathy from House of Hills! Kathy my IRL friend! Kathy and her family! I don’t know, there is just something fun about seeing someone you know at Disney.

{My eyes look insane because they are about to water from the Florida sun bearing into them. A model, I’m not.}

After the cinnamon roll, we decided to take the monorail to Epcot! Just a leisurely little ride and there we were at the Flower and Garden Festival! This is my absolute FAVE. The whole park is adorned with extra GORGEOUS flowers, character topiaries and specialty gardens. It is divine.

Lotso welcomes us to the Food & Garden Festival.

How gorgeous is that?!!

There was a whole section of Tinkerbell & friends topiaries! I guess there’s a new show coming out soon called The Fairy Games. I’ll probably know it by heart soon.

And yes, there was even Rapunzel’s tower! Wish Lydia could have posed with this for her Tangled Party!

We did lots of oohing and aahing over flowers, then headed to Mexico for lunch {the tacos de pollo are quite tasty} followed by Karamell Küche for dessert. OMGOODLORD at the caramel corn. You would not believe the deliciousness. I’m bummed I didn’t buy some the next day. And the next. I will be craving it until I go to Disney again. YUM. (Yeah, no picture.)

Then it was back to the hotel to prepare for our fabulous evening with the Social Media Moms (I almost forgot why I was there!). Les took the opportunity to take a nap, of course. We were to meet at Disney’s Wedding Pavilion which from my vantage point on the monorail looked like a good ten minute walk. I set out and met Audrey, Vera and some other fun bloggers on the way. We kept walking until we saw this…

EEK! And a table filled with Minnie wedding ears for us and Mickey top hats for the guys. HOW CUTE IS THAT? We made our way to the pavilion and encountered this deliciousness…

Yup. It was like a real wedding! I filled my little pink box to the brim with candy. Mainly taffy. Because taffy isn’t one of those candies you buy off the shelf at WalMart. It seems like something special, you know?

So, after stuffing myself with candy–and hugging the necks of so many friends (Suzannah! Jen! Andrea! Christine! Sami!) we walked to the Wedding Pavilion. And you know, I love weddings. I used to work in a bridal salon. And I love planning parties. But after my wedding debacle, I just have to close my eyes to beautiful weddings. It hurts too much.

But I kept my eyes open this entire night because it was breathtaking! The view overlooks Cinderella’s Castle! We met Franck (you know, from Father of the Bride), David Tutera, the founder of The Knot.com and we even saw a dancing-wedding-party-on-youtube type vow renewal ceremony. How fun is that?!

Franck and his assistant…who is she? The girl from Incredibles? Or what?

A Cinderella inspired wedding dress by Alfred Angelo.

David Tutera. Don’t tell but I have never even heard of his show!

youtube-dancing-wedding party? check! {and how cute is that redhead?}

Aaannnnd Cinderella’s pumpkin coach. *swoon*

And all this time I’m happily snacking away on my box of candy. And suddenly, when it’s time to stand for the bride, I can’t. Why? Because MY LEGS ARE STUCK TOGETHER. Somehow a piece of taffy got stuck between my crossed legs and melted. So, I sported two giant pieces of pink taffy on my pants the rest of the night! If you ever thought I was poised, famous or awesome, you can feel free to put that to rest now.

{again. no picture. thank God.}

Finally it was time for dinner! Private dinner! Private dinner at Disney’s Grand Floridian! Private dinner at Disney’s Grand Floridian beach! Private dinner at Disney’s Grand Floridian beach with special guests like MICKEY MOUSE!

All I can say is Disney knows how to do a family dinner–there was a kid-sized buffet table, sand buckets for the kids, balloon animals, popcorn, carnival games, a live band and even roaming actors. I could have lived at that dinner for the rest of my life.

Look at that kids’ buffet: milk cartons, cookies, grilled cheese & more!

Oh, this was so fun! I was chasing the characters down. And when Minnie saw Les, she kissed him. Well, Mickey got jealous and motioned to Les that he had his eyes on him! Then he pulled me away and gave me a big kiss on the cheek. SO FUN!

SRSLY? A sand sculpture?!

My fave picture. Me, Suzannah & some crazy Disney actors walking around & chatting.

And you’d think that day would stop there. But those Extra Magic Hours were calling our name. So, Les and I hit up Magic Kingdom again–we did Mickey’s Philharmagic, Pirates of the Caribbean, Space Mountain and probably something else but I can’t remember because then it was like midnight. I just wanted to do my Disney Moms proud and close the park down!

*whew*

And that was just DAY ONE! Ready for Day Two? Well, let me just say if you thought Day 1 was magical, you ain’t seen NOTHIN’ yet!

I am not a Disney employee. All thoughts and posts are my own and may not reflect the opinions of the Walt Disney Company. I paid for my ticket & my husband’s to The Disney Social Media Moms Celebration.