MY 7 FAVORITE PARTS OF THE ENTIRE DISNEY SOCIAL MEDIA MOMS EXPERIENCE:
Have you ever had pixie dust sprinkled on you?
That’s exactly what it felt like when I recieved the email inviting me to attend the 2016 Disney Social Media Moms Conference in Florida. I’d heard so many great stories about this conference & when I mentioned it to my husband, he was 100% on board.
Honestly, we were planning a Disney cruise for our children later this year. When we got pixie dust sprinkled on us, we decided to take advantage of this great opportunity & experience. We will do the cruise another time.
Before the actual event, the build up was amazing. I joined a private Facebook group just for the attendees & that is where we chatted about our plans. Being that this was my first DSMM conference, I had a ton of questions.
I learned I was not alone and the women in the FB group were so forth coming with information and excitement.
My 7 Favorite Parts of the Entire DSMM Experience:
1. The Build Up. Before we stepped foot on Walt Disney World, we were treated like VIPs. We were able to customize our magic bands and they were even mailed to us. We were surprised with luggage for our trip and had our agenda laid out. We were regularly updated with news about what to expect and never felt out of the loop.
2. The Arrival. Disney was expecting “My Family”. When we pulled up to the hotel, the valet was ready to assist us. They had a welcome committee ready to do whatever we needed. We saw DSMM signage all over. We weren’t the only ones staying at the Yacht Club Resort, but it sure felt that way.
3. The Food. If I would have known how good the food would be, I would have signed up for that alone. As an attendee to this conference, they treated us to breakfast & dinner every night (except for Saturday). They actually charted busses for us and took us to different parks (Hollywood Studios, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, & Typoon Lagoon) each time with entertainment and swag for our children.
The event ended with a mother’s day brunch, I will never forget. I literally felted loved and appreciated when I walked into that room. It was truly magical. I even won a contest for a family picture I posted while at Disney. (below)
Here’s a quick 3 minute video of what my response was when I walked into the Mother’s Day Brunch! (below)
https://web.archive.org/web/20230204125946if_/https://www.facebook.com/v2.3/plugins/video.php?allowfullscreen=true&app_id=673920479308760&channel=https%3A%2F%2Fstaticxx.facebook.com%2Fx%2Fconnect%2Fxd_arbiter%2F%3Fversion%3D46%23cb%3Df215e40c1482126%26domain%3Dbernettastyle.com%26is_canvas%3Dfalse%26origin%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fbernettastyle.com%252Ff216cca8d731cba%26relation%3Dparent.parent&container_width=740&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FBernettaJK%2Fvideos%2Fvb.1639487445%2F10208149937979731%2F%3Ftype%3D3%26theater&locale=en_US&sdk=joey
4. The Magic Bands. The bands are pure magic! The technology behind these bands will truly spoil you. You really don’t need anything else while you’re at the park when you have these bands on.
Our Disney Magic Bands:
- Opened the hotel room door.
- Allowed us to get in and out of EVERY DISNEY PARK!
- Acted as Fast Passes and allowed us to SKIP THE LINE for ALL RIDES!
- Saved our family pictures around the park to one online account so we didn’t need a camera.
- Allowed us to charge food or other items to our room, so we didn’t need a wallet.
5. The Conference. What can I say about the conference? Friday was our conference day. That means that the actual Social Media Moms spent the entire day (8am – 4pm) together in sessions. Now that may sound like a drag, but Disney made it so memorable.
- We started out with breakfast at Hollywood Studios!
- We toured the new Star Wars showcase and met Chewbacca!
- We learned what’s new at Disney for 2016 & 2017, including the Star Wars exhibit, Disney Springs, a new Latina Princess, behind the scenes of Alice in Wonderland, Behind the Looking Glass, and a preview of Finding Dory.
- Hanes set up a pop-up store and we were able to shop (for free) for bras, t-shirts, socks & more for ourselves and loved ones. (I won a $500 gift card because of my social media post about this one!)
- We snacked throughout the day on gourmet sweets!
Before you knew it, it was 4pm and that part of the day was over. We then met up with our families and headed to the parks.
6. The Surprises. Every night we came in our room and it was something new on our bed. We were already too overwhelmed with the event, but it really felt like the gift that kept on giving.
7. My Take-aways. I left the Disney Social Media Mom Conference tired. My feet were tired, my legs were tired and even my head hurt (dehydrated). It was a good hurt though. I personally experienced new things and enjoyed the additional family time.
I also left feeling appreciated and the best mom ever in my children’s eyes. I was able to network with moms I follow online but have never met in person. I met new friends & so did my children.
My children were able to enjoy Disney World in a way, that I most likely wouldn’t have been able to let them experience.
Walt Disney World is Magical, pure and simple.
If you ever have the opportunity to attend a DSMM Conference, take it. You will experience Disney from a difference perspective. A VIP perspective and do it with hundreds of people that become like family!
Here’s my full first day at Disney! It’s a quick 5 minutes video compilation from snapchat! Enjoy!
