Blogging Conference | The Angel Forever

Category Archives Blogging Conference

Destination Disney Social Media Moms Celebration 2012

Posted on May 7, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Thursday, April 26th was a busy day in our house. We woke up before the sun was shining and packed the boys and suitcases into the car. By 7:30, this was the view from our Southwest Airline plane taking us away to Orlando, Florida for the 2012 Disney Social Media Moms Celebration.

At noon, the Magical Express taking us from the airport pulled up at Disney’s Yacht Club Resort. The excitement was in the air as we were Tweeting with a few other bloggers while on the bus. After we checked into our rooms and dropped things off, it was time to head down to find the Disney Social Media Moms check in for our park tickets and schedules. On the way down, I noticed some familiar faces. I saw Suzannah, Amanda, Jackie, and Leigh. I ran down to say hello, give hugs, and then went with TechyDad, the boys, and my parents to the convention center area.

NHL was so excited to see the sign and ran ahead to show us the way to get our items. We bumped into Mary and Amy from BSM Media and Maura from Disney. Then it was time to toss things back into our room, get park tickets, and head over to Epcot for lunch. Since you can walk to Epcot via the International Gateway, TechyDad and I suggested going to France for a quick lunch. On the walk over, we saw the beach getting set up for our Pirate Soiree that evening, watched the palm trees blowing in the breeze, and saw beautiful topiaries set up for the Epcot Flower and Garden Show.

Lunch was perfect to hold us over until later on and gave us some energy to tackle some more of Epcot. The boys asked to stop in Great Britain to play in the maze there after checking out the Winnie the Pooh topiary. Then we continued to walk around World Showcase and noticed that Duffy was outside for photos. We missed him on our last trip, so it was perfect timing with a short line.

Next, we decided to go to Mexico to do one ride before heading back to the Yacht Club. It was time to sing and ride in the boat while chasing Donald Duck around.

By this time JSL was really tired and we hoped to get him to rest before the party on the beach. NHL wanted to roam more of Epcot. I said that I would walk around with him to see Figment. We wandered to Journey into Imagination.

Since we still had more time, we walked by The Land and over to The Seas with Nemo & Friends.

We walked a lot in a short amount of time and decided to take the boat back to the Yacht Club. When I got back, TechyDad and I had about an hour to get ready to make it to the Cocktail Welcome.

So much more to share coming soon. Next up, the Welcome Cocktail party and Swashbucklers Soiree.

Categories:
Blogging Conference bloggy friends Conference Disney DisneySMMoms family jsl me moments nhl photos TechyDad travel vacation

Smartphone Charging Solution

Posted on May 6, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

As a blogger who just finally entered the world of Smartphone ownership, I knew that keeping my phone charged when out and about would be critical. I have often seen other bloggers at events running around to find an outlet to plug in their phone. With Disney Social Media Moms Celebrations, TechyDad and I knew that we would challenge our phones. The reality is that Violet, my Droid Bionic, does not keep her battery charged for a full day at home. I knew that I would be doomed at Walt Disney World.

Thanks to TechyDad doing a lot of research we finally ordered two Anker Astro 5600mAh Backup External Battery Packs and Chargers from Amazon. They arrived shortly before our trip. This gave us time to see how many times we could use them with our Bionics before we had to recharge the main unit. Here is a photo of Violet sitting on the passenger seat of my car charging while picking the kids up at school.

We quickly found out that we could get two recharges from about 15% to fully charged. What I liked was I could use the phone during the conference as it was gaining strength, it could go into my purse and gain power while waiting on lines. This is Violet on the table while waiting to hear author Ridley Pearson speak.

In a typical day, I do not have the photo opportunities that we saw in Disney World. While TechyDad had his regular camera with us, I was often busy snapping shots with my phone to send to Twitter and Facebook via Instagram. If my phone was not charged, I never would have captured these amazing memories and others.

The things we will do for our Techy Toys! All I can say is thank you, TechyDad, for finding this must have to keep my phone alive.

Disclosure: Although we paid for our own trip to Disney World to attend the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration, we were given an incredible deal from Disney. 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. We purchased the Anker Astro with our own money and wanted to share how it helped us while traveling.One Amazon affiliate link for the Anker Charger is included in this post. I will receive a percentage of money for the sale should you opt to buy this item.

Categories:
Blogging Conference bloggy friends Conference Disney DisneySMMoms me moments photos Product review TechyDad travel vacation

Moving to Disney World

Posted on April 29, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Dreams, we all have them. Sometimes, we may not even realize they exist until you have an opportunity in front of you. I seem to be living this. First, it was walking in Norway at Epcot with this amazing man:

That is the head Kingdom Keeper – Ridley Pearson showing some of us places that inspired parts of his book series that I have written about before.

Then, when walking back to Yacht Club alone, this view made me know that I was on my way home.

Yes, I feel so comfortable at Walt Disney World that it is my home when I am lucky enough to be there. I can visualize the memories that we will have with our family for a lifetime and I know they will be magical.

We will forever remember these times that we enjoyed together.

Categories:
Blogging Conference Disney DisneySMMoms dreams family fun photos travel vacation

Hello from Disney Social Media Moms Celebration 2012

Posted on April 27, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

This year, TechyDad and I were both lucky enough to be invited back to the 2012 Disney Social Media Moms Celebration at Walt Disney World. The memories that we have from the past and the ones we are making right now will last a life time.

Last year at DisneySMMoms, the speakers were amazing, inspiring, and truly taught me a lot that I have used in life and the Social Media World. In 2011, I listened to these magical individuals:

This year the line up is:

Amy Jo Martin, Digital Royalty @DigitalRoyalty
Ramon DeLeon, Domino’s Pizza @Ramon_Deleon
Peter Shankman, The Geek Factory @PeterShankman
Lisa Druxman, Stroller Strides @LisaDruxman
Chris Brogan, Human Business Works @ChrisBrogan
The conference Host will be comedian Maryellen Hooper @MaryellenHooper

While at SheStreams in September, I was able to snap this photo of Rene Syler and Lisa Druxman after they spoke to us there.

So my question to you this week:

Who would you love to hear talk at a conference and why? It does not have to be about social media, it could be about any topic of interest to you.

___________________________________________________________________________

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 linky there if you are participating.

Aloha #200

Categories:
Aloha Friday Blogging Conference Disney DisneySMMoms fun looking back me moments photos social media travel

Some Favorite Disney Adventures

Posted on April 2, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Growing up at Disney world and then going there on my honeymoon with TechyDad means that I have a lot of memorable adventures. While in high school, we had the Food and Fun plan that included things like parasailing. Yes, I went parasailing at Walt Disney World. We got onto the boat at The Contemporary Resort and traveled around the Seven Seas Lagoon. While up in the seat next to my brother, we listened to music and could see The Magic Kingdom. I need to find these old photos one day soon.

On our honeymoon, TechyDad and I had another amazing plan that also included extras. We were able to do behind the scenes tours, boat, do a fireworks cruise, and more. This was also the trip that we had our first Cirque du Soleill adventure. La Nouba was new in Downtown Disney and we made sure to snag tickets to see the show.

Of course, last year while at Disney Social Media Moms I was able to go on an even bigger Disney inspired adventure. I signed up for the African Trek at The Animal Kingdom.

This tour takes you behind the scenes where you can see the animals even closer, cross over rope bridges, and eat at a beautiful Boma. Here is the group of bloggers that I went on the trek with.

Once we were set up with equipment, it was time to see some amazing animals, cross some bridges, face fears, and live out a magical dream.

One of the last items on the trek is time to sit, relax, have a meal, and watch the animals on the gorgeous Boma.

Of course, this also meant spending some time with some old friends and getting to know new ones.

Before we knew it, the time was up and we were heading back to get our things and go back to our families. Of course, we stopped for one last group photo.

What Disney adventure have you been on that was beyond magical? Please share below or share your link with me to read.

For more on my Wild African Trek adventure, check out these posts:

P.S. A huge thank you to Mariana from The Domestic Buzz for creating this magical Blog Hop! The link will be within this post the day after it is published.

Disclosure: Although we paid for our own trip to Disney World, we were given an incredible deal thanks to Disney. 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.