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Checking into the Polynesian Resort & ESPN time

Posted on February 18, 2010 12:41 pm by TheAngelForever

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:

@FreeIsMyLife – Disney Social Media Moms Conference Part 2 (Great summary of the announcements made at the conference)
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.

Categories:
Blogging Conference bloggy friends Disney DisneySMMoms fun jsl nhl photos TechyDad video yummy

Making our way to the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration

Posted on February 16, 2010 1:24 pm by TheAngelForever

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.

Categories:
Blogging Conference bloggy friends Disney DisneySMMoms flowers and plants food glorious food fun jl jsl nhl photos TechyDad vacation yummy

Thank you Disney Social Media Moms – Live Blogging links from CutestKidEver

Posted on February 13, 2010 12:05 pm by TheAngelForever

As I sit here in my room at the Polynesian Resort, it is hard to believe that the week at Disney World is over. My family and I had a wonderful vacation and we had a magical experience at the Disney Social Media Celebration. I learned a lot at the event and met so many amazing people. My only regreat was I was not able to connect with more of the people that I have been chatting with online over the years. Hopefully I will see all of you at BlogHer in August.

Since this was my first conference, I was not ambitious enough to try live blogging. Luckily my fabulous friend Christina Gleason (@CutestKidEver) did. Here are the posts that she wrote about the events as they were unfolding in front of us:

Thank you again Christina. You did another outstanding job at live blogging for those of us there and others that want to follow along.

Once we get back home and settle in I will be writing more about our experience at this event. There is so much to share about the amazing speakers and family events that were held each evening. A big thank you to all of the Disney Cast Memebers and others that helped to make this magical event happen. I hope that this becomes a yearly tradition and we are invited back again. As big Disney fans, it made this conference even more special since it was for the entire family.

On that note I am off to finish packing up and check my sick little guy. My two year old son is not doing well and I hope he will be well enough for the flight.

Categories:
bloggy friends Disney looking back

Going to a blogging/social media conference

Posted on February 12, 2010 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

As I sit here typing this, we are a week away from when this will publish. I am scrambling to get everything together to head to my first ever blogging/social media conference. By the time you read this, I will be at Disney.

Disney Social Media Moms Celebration is from February 10-13 at Walt Disney World. Today I will be at the Contemporary Resort listening to some amazing people speak to those of us in attendance. Meanwhile, the boys will be out and about at Disney World taking it all in.

So my question to you this week:

Have you ever been to a blogging/social media conference? If you have which ones and what did you learn from the experience.

Hoping to meet more people at BlogHer ’10 in NYC this August.

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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.

Aloha #86

Categories:
Aloha Friday bloggy friends Disney

My angel forever – Cora’s Story in honor of congenital heart disease awareness week

Posted on February 11, 2010 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

I have an Angel Forever.

Her arrival was a surprise. Found out Easter Sunday 2009 that she was on her way.

Her departure from this Earth was even more of surprise.

My daughter, Cora, died instantly.

She felt no pain.

Only my love.

As she nursed one moment.

Gone the next.

She’s done more in her five short days than anyone I know.

She is saving lives.

Cora McCormick passed away from congenital heart disease, or CHD, on December 6, 2009. Her heart defect went undetected in utero and after she was born. Cora, unfortunately isn’t alone, an estimated 1 in 100 babies are born with CHD each year. And, CHD is said to be the number one cause of infant death.

This week marks Congenital Heart Disease Awareness Week (February 7 to 14). Why is awareness important?

I had never heard of CHD until the coroner called. I spent my entire pregnancy researching, reading, and making sure my baby was born at her healthiest. I still can’t believe her heart wasn’t tested more.

There is no cure for CHD. In fact, not all CHDs can be detected, but I learned a simple test might have saved Cora. Something called a pulse oximetry test can screen for many CHDs when conducted at between 24 to 48 hours of age on a newborn.

Now, other mothers know about pulse oximetry. Now, every mother and father reading this post will know about CHD.

Cora does save lives. She could use your help.

Kristine Brite McCormick writes about Cora (almost) daily on her blog http://www.corasstory.org. If not on her blog, she can be found on Twitter, @kristinebrite or Cora’s Facebook Fan page, telling Cora’s Story. Follow Kristine for more information about congenital heart disease or to learn more about the acts of compassion and kindness Cora has inspired.

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Note from Moi: A big hug and thank you to Kristine Brite McCormick for this absolutely beautiful tribute to her sweet angel Cora. Kristine is a hero, although she will not admit it. When faced with a parent’s worst nightmare, Kristine decided to lead a crusade in honor of her angel Cora. Together they help and educate more people about the hidden dangers of CHD.