If you have been following my Tweets recently, you may have noticed that @CutestKidEver and I are up to something. The two of us have been working on a big project for quite a while now. We figured that it was time to have a blogging conference in the Northeast. Sure, BlogHer is in NYC this year, but typically it moves from place to place. We wanted to offer something that would be easier for people that lived within our region of the country to have a chance at something in driving distance. In addition to this, Christina and I wanted it to be budget friendly for people further away to come.
We have visited a few venues for the event and are pretty close to making a final decision. Things have been hushed to this point because we are still ironing out the details. My question to you this week:
Would you be interested in a blogging conference in July? Let us know things you would like included in a conference.
At this point, we believe we are talking about July 9-11 and it would be in the area close to the Albany Airport in New York State. We are working on a package deal that would include lodging, meals and the conference itself. Transportation would be the only additional item you would need. Many items are in swing in this area during the summer, so you could even make a mini-family vacation to locations like Saratoga, Lake George and beyond! So excited to finally let the cat partially out of the bag. I hope to see you this summer!
Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the MckLinky there if you are participating.
Over the last few months I have been to two blogger events and hope to go to more in the future. As I mentioned Wednesday (before our websites went belly up again for 24+ hours), I went to a Cook’s Ham event held by Price Chopper Supermarkets on Tuesday. Going to something like this is exciting because I not only learn about new and exciting items, but I meet fabulous new people. I thought I would take some time to give some linky love to my fellow bloggers that were included in the event. Here is a photo of all of us courtesy of Sandra from Albany Kid.
Ladies, it was a pleasure meeting all of you and I hope we are able to connect again in the future. If you post more about the Cook’s Ham event please let me know and I will link up.
So my question to you this week:
Have you met other bloggers at a meet up/event? If you have who are they? Please feel free to do some shout outs and leave some linky love for them. I would love to meet new people online as well.
Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the MckLinky there if you are participating.
One of the items I learned to love about the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration was the element of surprise. Few details were given to us about most of the days of the conference. We knew about certain key note speakers and family events at night, but most details were mysteries to those of us that were attending this first ever event. As a first time conference goer, I did not know any different. Of course, it made me nervous, but by the end of Thursday I embraced them.
Thursday morning of Disney Social Media Moms Celebration, we had to be on the bus to Epcot at 7:30 in the morning. I met up with @CutestKidEver to go to the event. The buses took back entrances that dropped us off right at the are where the breakfast with Guy Kawasaki was taking place. Guy did a live Twitter presentation about how to use Twitter as a Marketing Weapon.
For more about the session, please head over to Christina’s Live Blog from the event (holy cow does she type fast). What I learned from Guy Kawasaki is that I can use Twitter more to reach my readers/followers. Rather than simply Tweeting about a new blog post, it is ok to do it a few times. Of course, the balance in my mind is not to get to the point that people think you are spamming up their Twitter feeds. I had done this with Tweets about my giveaways, but never thought to do it with my regular content. This is something that has been changed.
Now for a confession. During Guy’s talk, I received a text message from my husband. My heart sank because I knew he would not send one unless something was up. Sure he would Tweet, but a text was not good news. There I was sitting at a table right in front. The message was that my 2 yr old son fell and was hurt. Insert mommy guilt here. I sent a text back asking for more information. All I knew was that he fell out of the stroller and went forehead first into the marble floor at the Polynesian. Howls were heard and ice was received thanks to the cast memebers nearby. They decided to head to First Aid at Epcot and get checked and get more ice. Soon after, I received this picture message of the item bought to bribe JSL into putting ice on his head:
When the breakfast and session were over, we were told to walk to the next area in Epcot . These Volunteer Cans were all over the World Showcase area with tents for things going on throughout the day. Please note the details about the volunteers that Disney included on these decorations:
Soon we would see the new can structure World Record and celebrate volunteer families from each of the 50 states (well at least the ones that were not snowed out from getting there). The room was absolutely amazing. Press was there from all over. Check out the stage area and the balloon that were clearly hiding something.
Once again, Christina set up to Live Blog the session. Look at her work area that produced the great recap of the events as they unfolded before our eyes.
First, we saw the Rapping Janitors perform. Then we heard from special Disney VIPs about how, during the first six weeks of the Give a Day Get a Day program, over 600,000 people have volunteered toward the one million volunteer goal! Of course, they kept teasing with the World Record breaking can structure that was sitting behind the balloons. Eventually, Kermit the Frog came out (with the help of Sweetums) and he introduced special guest Ty Pennington who would do a reveal like on Extreme Home Makeovers. Sorry my camera is not the best, but here are a few pictures that I got from the event:
For amazing photos and information about the World Record breaking can structure, please head over to The Disney Food Blog. AJ was able to get a behind the scenes tour of the structure being built and has an amazing video on her blog.
When this was over, we went to meet up with the boys. They were waiting on line at Epcot to get photos taken with Mickey, Minnie, Pluto and Goofy. More about the rest of our time at Epcot, heading to the Magic Kingdom and a special evening including a Dinner Impossible, a song by a brother named Jonas and other surprises coming soon.
To read other posts about the DisneySMMoms Celebration please head over to giant lists that have been compiled by 5 Minutes For Mom –> here and Zannaland –> here.
Disclosure: Although we paid for our own trip to Disney World, we were given an incredible deal thanks to Disney. The $350 conference fee included 3 nights at the Polynesian, several meals for the entire family, 7 day park hoppers for everyone, conference/meals for me and some other items to take home. Also note that Disney never asked us to blog about this event. As a long time Disney fan it is my pleasure to share my experiences from the event.
After a morning full of fun and adventures, we finally checked into the Polynesian at about 4:00. From there, we quickly went to the hospitality sweet where I literally bumped into Amanda Tinney from Disney Every Day. This is where we were given a large bag filled with goodies for the entire family, credentials, agenda for the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration and park passes. Then we rushed to drop things off at our room and change a diaper.
As you can see, the rooms at the Polynesian are huge! The decor is amazing and works perfectly with the theme. There was no need to crowd in the room and stuff the double stroller from Orlando Stroller Rentals into the corner. We were now able to leave the stroller by the sliding glass door where the balcony was with the pretty garden view. For a fabulous walking tour of the room at the Polynesian head on over to see Carolyn’s vlog tour – I love it!
With time ticking, we quickly packed the boys back up and were off to meet Christina (@CutestKidEver) and her family to go to ESPN for the first official event. The chartered buses to the event were fabulous. We did not have to fold up the stroller. The cast members helped us to put it right under the bus and it was waiting for us when we stepped off and at our new destination. At first, we tried to stuff into a bus that was filled. The nice part was I was able to quickly meet and say hello to Monica Brady of Mommy Brain Reports (@MommyBrain). Wish I had had more time to chat, but the bus was filled and we had to move. When we arrived at ESPN, we walked in the cold to our destinations. Christina and I went to the press conference while the five boys went to play out on the fields.
Thanks to coming a little late, we walked into the session as they were finishing up the talk about the new plans for Fantasyland. As a long time Disney World visitor, it is hard to imagine such change. Of course, all of that went out the window when they explained how the new Dumbo ride would work. Rather than just have one set of Flying Dumbos for everyone to enjoy, there will eventually be two. The new waiting areas will be intereactive. No more waiting on boring lines, families will be able to participate in carnival games as they wait to fly with Dumbo. Once again, Disney shows that they understand how to get guests to wait patiently for a ride while keeping them busy.
In addition to this, we also heard news about the changes to the Disney Cruises. My extended family has always talked about taking a Disney Cruise together once our children are older. Now, there will be even more options for us to consider. The one that I am most excited about is the excursions to Alaska. My dream has always been to go on an Alaskan cruise, so Disney Cruise + Alaska = a Magical adventure at sea! We also saw the makeover plans for Disney’s Castaway Cay and the debut of the new Disney Dream Cruise ship. This new ship will have a water coaster called the AquaDuck and virtual port holes inside every cabin. You can check out video about the Disney Dream here:
Before concluding, it was time to explain the new ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. As visitors that evening, we were getting a sneak peak of the digs before they officially reopen later this month. For more details about the ESPN press conference, please check out some blog posts from other DisneySMMoms attendees:
Please let me know if you have another post you would like me to add here.
Meanwhile, the boys were out and about running on the fields. They seemed to enjoy the time running around. While listening to the press conference I received a Tweet from TechyDad that he had fallen while trying to catch a football or something. LOL! Apparently he was more worried about my reaction to a possible grass stain on his jeans than about being hurt. Oy! Here are some photos of NHL and JSL romping around outside with their friend TJ:
Once the press conference was over, Christina and I followed the crowd over to where the Tailgate style dinner/party was taking place. We grabbed a drink and went to the tables where peanuts and Cracker Jacks were on each of the table.
After a while, the boys met up with us and we had some dinner and met a few characters along the way.
There was music playing, activities on stage for the older kids and tons of people. Eventually, we spotted desserts. The Mickey ice cream bars were too much for us to say no to. The boys certainly enjoyed their treats.
We decided that the boys were getting really tired and packed our items up to head back. On the way out, we were given ESPN hats and then boarded the buses back to the Polynesian. During that ride, we also met up with @MorethanMommy (she writes at Quirky Fusion and More Than Mommy). We had been Tweeting with her while planning the Disney trip since she was also staying at Pop Century the night before moving to the Polynesian. Loved chatting with her and hope to do so again soon.
As we left the bus, we were able to see the Wishes fireworks from the Magic Kingdom over the Lagoon at the Polynesian. We went back to the room to settle the boys. The next morning, I had to be at the bus by 7:30 to be to Epcot for a busy morning.
More coming soon!
Disclosure: Although we paid for our own trip to Disney World, we were given an incredible deal thanks to Disney. The $350 conference fee included 3 nights at the Polynesian, several meals for the entire family, 7 day park hoppers for everyone, conference/meals for me and some other items to take home.
We arrived in Orlando the Saturday before the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration. This gave our family time to enjoy the parks together. We stayed at the Pop Century Resort during this time. On Wednesday, we had breakfast reservations at 8:50 at Cape May Cafe in the Beach Club Resort. We figured we would go to Disney Hollywood Studios, walk to the Beach Club Resort and then go the back way into Epcot for a while before heading to Pop Century and making the switch for the conference to the Polynesian Resort.
Wednesday morning, the temperature was freezing for Florida. The wind was gusting and it made an otherwise nice walk from Hollywood Studios by the Boardwalk, Swan/Dolphin a painful one. We had done this walk many times on our honeymoon almost nine years ago. Perhaps age, hauling two kids, and pushing a double stroller in freezing temperatures changed the situation some.
After a 36 minute walk in the cold, we finally made it to the Beach Club Resort. I have to admit, this is still my absolute favorite place on Disney grounds to visit/stay. There is just something so beautiful and wonderful about the resort. One day, I hope to be able to stay here with the boys. We checked in for our reservations and were seated soon after.
This is a character meal. Goofy, Donald and Minnie are all there wearing their beach wear. Thank goodness this time around, both of the boys were accepting to the characters. JSL (2) was not in love with them, but he tolerated it and liked when they gave him a high five or gave him a tickle. Here are some photos of all of us with the Disney characters:
The food here was very good. We especially liked the French Toast bake along with Bagel, lox and cream cheese! Some shots of our plates of food:
When breakfast was over, we decided to head into Epcot via the back entrance. We did this a lot on our honeymoon. We walked toward the area that was open. TechyDad went to get Fast Passes for Soarin’ while the boys and I went toward The Living Seas with Nemo and Friends. We did Nemo, Turtle Time with Crush (where NHL asked Crush a question), and went to see Figment (my history with him here).
Then it was time to head to The Land for Soarin’. On the way, we saw Mary Poppins and stopped for some photos and an autograph from her.
When we arrived in The Land, TechyDad went on Soarin’ with NHL, while JSL and I waited. When they were finished we were going to go, but the line for The Land was really short (less than 10 minute wait). We did this and then did the Lion King movie. NHL really liked seeing all of the fruits and vegetables growing.
At this point, it was lunch time and we were going to head back to Pop Century to switch resorts. Plans changed when we realized that we had forgotten JSL’s Nalgene water bottle at the Beach Club Resort. We went back there and thanks to Heather (who saves everything) they had it for us. We hoped onto the boat to Hollywood Studios and took a bus back to Pop Century. We stopped for lunch before going to our room.
Of course, we had to have one more serving of Tie-Dye Cheesecake before hitting the road. The gentlemen at luggage told us to call when we were ready and someone would whisk our bags away to Polynesian and they would be in our room there later in the day. We did that and went toward the Magic Kingdom to the Polynesian. As we left the monorail, TechyDad and I realized we had been riding along with LastMinuteMandy and her family (her blog is I’d Rather Be Crafting) . We had been Tweeting with them while enjoying the time before DisneySMMoms.
More to come about the rest of our evening and special events at ESPN soon.
Disclosure: Although we paid for our own trip to Disney World, we were given an incredible deal thanks to Disney. The $350 conference fee included 3 nights at the Polynesian, several meals for the entire family, 7 day park hoppers for everyone, conference/meals for me and some other items to take home.
