From the Inside: Disney Social Media Moms Day 1

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Yes, the Disney Social Media Moms Conference ended about two weeks ago and I’m just getting my Day 1 post up to share with you all…so we’re going with the theme “Better late than never!”

But I didn’t want any more time to pass before I shared at least a piece of this incredible experience with you all. The road was a long one getting to this event (literally and figuratively) and throughout my time there, I kept thinking how blessed I was to have been chosen to be among such gracious, talented and influential women.

I was also thankful for a blog event that finally not only allowed my family to take part with me, but actually encouraged them to do so and included them in the activities!

Rather than talk too much about Day 1, I thought I’d give you the story in pictures:

I told you it was a long road…

We finally made it out of the car and checked in at the Grand Floridian. Being from Florida, it’s always been my husband’s dream to be able to stay at the Grand Floridian and embrace the old-world Florida charm the resort truly embodies. (Plus, it’s just fun to be able to hop over to the Magic Kingdom on the monorail!)

If you look hard, you can see Cinderella’s castle above their heads in the background!

The kids loved the “magic” touches in the hotel room

A Mickey made out of towels on their bed

And Ricky and I loved the view from our terrace

It doesn’t get prettier than this!

But I didn’t have much time to enjoy our view before I had to head over to the Grand Floridian Wedding Pavilion for our opening events. We were greeted with Minnie Bride Ear headbands and tables filled with brightly colored candy centerpieces.

Good enough to eat!

We were then welcomed by the Disney team and treated to insights from Carly Roney (founder of The Knot) and David Tutera (wedding planner extraordinaire). While I’ve been happily married for over seven years and didn’t need too much advice on upcoming wedding trends and colors, I was delighted to hear about the new line of Disney Princess inspired Wedding Dresses by Alfred Angelo (which only further fueled my desire to renew our vows at Disney World for our 10 year anniversary!)

The Cinderella Wedding Dress

After hearing about how Disney is letting the “memories begin” in 2011 and learning about their new Disney Vacation Club property in Hawaii opening in the coming year, I reconnected with my handsome husband and kiddos for a fabulous lawn party and carnival Disney style!

See the beautiful wedding pavilion behind my handsome men?

There was games, AMAZING food, and even a sand sculptor!

The sand sculpture of our Disney SM Moms logo was amazing!

And of course it wouldn’t be a true Disney event without a visit from our hosts, Mickey & Minnie themselves, dressed in their finest for the fair!

Cute as a mouse!

They even provided pails and shovels for the kids to play with on the Grand Floridian Beach!

Who knew there was a beach in Disney World?

But perhaps one of the sweetest treats on Day 1 of Disney Social Media Moms was getting to re-connect with my friends! (You’ll also notice my affinity for self-portraits!):

The fun and fabulous Amy from Moms Toolbox

Amy & me

The always fashionable and friendly Audrey from Mom Generations

Audrey & me

And of course the fantastic ladies of the Savvy Blogging team! Including my long lost sister Andrea of Savings Lifestyle, my Relevant bud Toni from The Happy Housewife, and new friend Crystal from The Thrifty Mama

Sami, Amy & (most of) the Savvy Blogging girls!

For the past year, everyone’s been telling me how similar Andrea and I are and after meeting her in person, I’m truly flattered! People continued to mistake me for her all weekend, with the one exception, she won a night in the castle suite and I didn’t (remember, I’m 99% excited for you and only 1% jealous 😉

Can you tell who’s who? 😉

All in all, it was truly a good time had by all on Day 1. I’ve always wondered what it would take to see one of these special events from the inside, and now I know. I’m so grateful to all the planning and hard work that went in to putting this event on and can’t wait to share more memories from the rest of my time at Disney Social Media Moms 2011!

P.S. A fellow Disney Social Media Mom just let me know that Amy and I made it into the Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings Platinum Soiree video! (Look for us about 33 seconds into it with our royal applause!)