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I was invited to attend the 2015 Disney Social Media Moms Celebration. Although I was offered a discounted rate on elements of the trip, I paid the other portion. I was also provided gifts during the conference from conference sponsors.
We were all thrilled to be invited to the 2015 Disney Social Media Moms Celebration held at Walt Disney World.
We attended last years event when it was at Disneyland and we had an amazing time… but this years event was even more special since the girls and I had never been to Walt Disney World.
After a couple months planning we were on our way from San Diego to Orlando.
After doing quite a bit of travel over the past year we’ve learned a few tips that makes trips better for our family… and one of them is non-stop flights! Our plane took off at 1pm and we landed in Florida close to 10 pm local time. The airport was practically empty (which was awesome… no lines anywhere) and we made our way to Disney’s Magical Express, a really cool bus that takes you straight from the airport to your hotel, if you are staying on site.
I would highly recommend reserving a space on it to get to and from the airport.
A little after 11 pm we were settled into The Yacht Club and even though it was late at night, and we had traveled all day, we were full of energy and we decided to explore a bit.
The Yacht Club and The Beach Club are right next to each other.
We had the opportunity to see both of them and although we stayed at the Yacht Club we would have loved to stay at The Beach Club too. They both had a great feel to them. I’d say The Yacht Club was slightly more fancy, but the difference was minimal. We consider ourselves more of luxury family travelers and both resorts are on our list to return to. One note is that The Beach Club is going through a room remodel and the updated rooms are really nice.
We ended up walking to the entrance of Epcot and over to the Boardwalk where we had a very late dinner at ESPN Zone. They have veggie burgers and fries that are really good. Totally family friendly even late at night!
The next morning we were up early to explore some more.
We started by checking out the pool and water slide. Awesome doesn’t quite cover how great they are. The girls ended up spending early afternoons lounging in the shade by the pool.. and jumping in to cool off in between trips going down the huge slide. Even Pete got in on the slide action!
Before we knew it we were heading over to check in for the celebration!
I’m always asked how invites for this event work… and I honestly have no idea.
Logically I think in my head that it’s about getting on the radar of the people that host the event but I also know that there is much more to it than that. You also need to have a love of all things Disney, and of course have a strong social media presence. Beyond that I’m clueless as to how invites go out… but I will be forever grateful for the two years that we have been included in this amazing opportunity.
Disney really knows how to have a celebration.
I dare say they are the leaders in celebrations… from the halls all decked out for Social Media Mom’s, to the little touches while we were there. It really was an amazing experience.
While I was taking care of paperwork my little one was busy snapping selfies with Mickey! I about toppled over when I found these on my phone. The cuteness! Plus I love how Mickey was totally cool with it!
Later that evening we all had a great time at the evening celebration sponsored by Disney Citizenship at the World Show Place Pavilion!
And then we all moved over to watch the fireworks at a dessert party sponsored by Babble.
There were vegan donuts and special glasses that made each sparkle in the fireworks look like Mickey Mouse ears! Plus vegan donuts! Maddie was in heaven!
The next day was conference day in the convention center next to the Beach and Yacht Club.
We heard from some awesome speakers like Victoria Lim, Managing Editor of Walt Disney World Public Relations, Dr. Tanya R. Altmann of Disney Imagicademy, Vivienne Harr the 11-year-old Chief Inspiration Officer for STAND, Jonas Rivera the Producer of Inside Out and VP of Production at Pixar, Chris Brogan the New York Times Best Selling Author and CEO of Owner Media Group, Donald Driver ex football player, author and motivational speaker, Eva Smith sharing Pinterest Insights, Thomas Smith the Social Media Director of Disney Parks (he’s also in charge of the Disney Parks Blog) and Janice Balgemino the Director of Global Brand Marketing for Disney Infinity!
So many amazing speakers! Here are some of my favorite moments:
Love listening to @thomassmith speak about how Disney utilizes social media. Opened my eyes to so many other ideas. #DisneySMMC
— Heather DelaneyReese (@itisalovelylife) May 8, 2015
Meet-ups offer special activities you can’t normally do in the parks! We love going to them! #DisneySMMC — Heather DelaneyReese (@itisalovelylife) May 8, 2015
One of my favorite speakers. He is an inspiration and really funny too! @Donald_Driver80 #DisneySMMC pic.twitter.com/WK91XAIl7e
— Heather DelaneyReese (@itisalovelylife) May 8, 2015
So excited to share @Imagicademy w/ my daughter. She’s going to love it÷ #DisneySMMC pic.twitter.com/Ck1uRcZrXX — Heather DelaneyReese (@itisalovelylife) May 8, 2015
Talking w/ @DisneyD23 now! Can’t wait to hear some cool insider info from the official Disney fan club! #DisneySMMC pic.twitter.com/GyeJlQlv4t
— Heather DelaneyReese (@itisalovelylife) May 8, 2015
Love learning Pinterest tips with Eva Smith! Mobil is king, and guys are joining the party more & more! #DisneySMMC pic.twitter.com/vVMqdNfQkQ — Heather DelaneyReese (@itisalovelylife) May 8, 2015
Chef Gary is talking all about healthy food options available in the parks! My vegan kid appreciates it! #DisneySMMC pic.twitter.com/wKNFeEWLpB
— Heather DelaneyReese (@itisalovelylife) May 8, 2015
Freshest and cutest lunch!
On Friday evening, we had a special party on the beach at the Yacht and Beach Club Resorts. It was hosted by Mylan, makers of EpiPen auto-injectors.
On Saturday morning, all of the attendees and families were whisked away bright and early for a screening of Inside Out. We only got to see the first two-thirds (see my full review here) and we loved every moment! Before that we rode the Rock-N-Roll roller coaster before the parks even opened! The rest of the day was spent eating our way through Epcot! (I’ve got a whole story to tell you about that).
Sunday was Mother’s Day and we were up bright and early for breakfast.
And then the celebration was officially over. It was the perfect way to end an amazing experience… but our own adventure didn’t stop there. We stayed at Disney World for 4 more days and I have so much to share! I’ll be back soon with more!
I felt like I was there! Disney means family, all the time.
How fun and exciting. I’d love to go to a social media moms meet esp at Walt Disney World.
I am so jealous! My family and I love anything Disney! It looks like you had a ton of fun! I can’t wait to go to Disneyland in the fall!
Wow… attending that, and going to Disney World would be a dream come true. Looks like it was an excellent conference. Looking forward to the rest of your posts about what you guys did there.
Looks like such a fun time! Jealous! lol
This looks like a wonderful time. I’m sure you learned a lot too while you were there. Thanks for sharing this event with us.
What a fun trip!
That looked like it was a fantastic event. What a great trip! Thank you for posting.
That looks like such a fun time. I’m sure your kids had a blast
This is awesome 🙂 Disney is always magical and a different vibe every time! Loved your photos too!!
I’m jealous I grew up in Orlando, I’ve been to Disney a million times but never have had an experience quiet like this! We are not an hour or so away from Disney, I’m looking forward to planning a trip with our kids soon!
I’m impressed you had energy to explore after traveling. I usually don’t! Then again, it’s Disney!
being from the midwest we have been to disneyworld so many times. It is just easier than traveling to CA. That said, we would LOVE to visit Disney land come day!
Looks like you had a blast congrats Disney is always fun =)
This looks like an AMAZING event! Very cool!
Wow! Looks like you had an amazing time!
I bet it was too fun! I wish I could participate in an event like this.
Oh wow, what a great event! How nice that you were able to bring your family along. I enjoyed looking at your photos.
Looks like you had a blast with your kids!
This looks like you guys had an awesome time! We are going in November and I can’t wait!
Disney events are always so fun. The hotel looks really nice too.
This looks like it was a blast. I hope to be able to attend some day.
If I could wave a magic wand, I’d somehow infiltrate the Disney Social Media Moms! I love Disney World, dying to go back! 🙂
Such fun. What a great experience.
Looks like you had a great time. I would love to be a Disney Mom.
Wow! your family is so lucky to be part of this amazing event. Florida is still on top of my bucket list to visit. I LOVE all your pictures. It looked like your family had a blast.