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Cocktail Reception – Passport to the World

Posted on May 10, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

After arriving in Orlando for Disney Social Media Moms Celebration, we checked into the Yacht Club, registered, and immediately took advantage to the close proximity of Epcot. NHL and I stayed at Epcot a little while longer to have some special time together. In just a few short hours, I noted over 8,000 new steps on my pedometer. Yes, there is a lot of walking all over Walt Disney World.

As NHL and I walked and then hitched a ride on a boat back to the Yacht Club, we chatted about the resorts and places we were passing by. I pointed out where TechyDad and I stayed for our honeymoon. NHL was fascinated with the Boardwalk. We also noticed more things unfolding on the beach where we would be gathering in a little while.

When we got back to the room, TechyDad and I quickly got ready to head out to the welcome reception in the convention center. Nana and Papa were in charge of getting the boys into their pirate party best and meeting us there later on.

TechyDad and I walked over with Shannan and a few other people. We were among the first to arrive as they opened the doors. We were immediately greeted by a ukulele player and room that transported us to Hawaii. It was like we were at Aulani – a Disney Resort and Spa in Hawaii. As people arrived we walked around and saw many old friends and finally got to meet some new ones. There are too many people to name. My one regret – I hardly took photos of any people.

During this time another special event took place. Ellen presented Kelby with her new book – Pinterest For Dummies . Disney was a magical destination to celebrate our friend the author! Be sure to check out the video of this fun moment that I am bummed I missed (walked over after it was finished).

Soon after this, Leanne took the stage to officially welcome everyone to the 2012 Disney Social Media Moms Celebration. From here, we learned more about the Aulani Resort and Spa in Hawaii. In addition to this, they shared that with Disney you may need a passport for other reasons than going to their resort in Paris, cruising, and beyond. Thanks to Adventures by Disney, you can experience locations throughout the world with a special Disney touch.

Adventures by Disney Brings History to Life with New Privately Guided Itineraries in 2012 — Launched in 2005, Adventures by Disney provides immersive, hassle-free and exhilarating guided family vacation experiences in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and Australia. In 2012 guests will journey through Greece, Egypt and Northern France in an award-winning lineup of family-friendly group adventures.

Yes, one day I would love to go on an adventure with Disney that would require a passport and take me beyond World Showcase in Epcot. It would also be nice to head back to Hawaii again, to go on the Menehune Adventure Trail.

Before we knew it , it was time to head out to the beach and meet our families for a night on the sand and under the stars with our pirate pals.

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. One Amazon Affiliate link is included in this post for Pinterest for Dummies by Kelby Carr. I will receive a percentage of money for the sale should you opt to buy any of the books through my links.

Categories:
Blogging Conference bloggy friends books Conference Disney DisneySMMoms friends fun photos TechyDad travel vacation

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

Saying Goodbye to the Magic

Posted on May 3, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Each trip to Walt Disney World is filled with moments we will never forget. This trip has been no different. We all saw
Fantasmic for the first time together. We stayed out late another night to see the Main Street Electric Parade.

Just hearing the music brought me back to my childhood. The smiles on the boys faces as the lights and characters went by was priceless.

My father and I took TechyDad and NHL on the Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster. This was their first time on a coaster that has a loop.

They skipped it a second time while Papa and I ran back on for another spin.

It really is hard to say goodbye to the magical memories at the end of a Disney vacation.

Thank goodness we have a lot of photos to remember all of the details. So much more to share soon.

Categories:
Disney family fun looking back me moments nhl photos TechyDad vacation

Fantasmic Memories

Posted on April 30, 2012 12:30 am by TheAngelForever

Adventures to Walt Disney World continue to change as the boys get older. Each year, they grow bigger and taller for new rides. In addition to this, they get more adventurous and can stay up later.

For years, we would skip a lot of the late evening shows, parades, and fireworks since the boys were tired.

During this trip, we experienced a first together. We finally got to see Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios. TechyDad and I missed it on our honeymoon because I had sun poisoning the night it was playing.

The timing was right and we got to Hollywood Studios later in the day. We did a few things, had a quick dinner, then walked to get on line. The time in the beautiful arena went quickly. The kids were nervous, but that changed.