I was honored to attend the Disney Social Media Moms On The Road Celebration in Phoenix on June 25, 2014.
The conference was held at the beautiful Fairmont Scottsdale Princess Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona. The magic took place in their huge conference center. I wore a black and white polka dot dress with a lightweight white cardigan and showed my DisneySide by wearing my ears from the D23 Unlocks Disney’s Maleficent event in Portland last spring. As soon as I walked in I was happy (and relieved!) to see some familiar faces of new friends I’d met through social media – Jennifer from Real Mom of SFV, Dawn from I am a Mommy Nerd, Carol from Fans of Mickey Mouse’s House (FaceBook page), and our keynote speaker Nadine Bubeck of ExpectingPerfect.com and All Things Mama (YouTube channel). They are such inspiring, hard working moms!
After some time to talk one on one with our fellow attendees and the speakers, it was time to take our seats. Leanne O’Regan, Disney Parks Director of Social Media, started things off by talking about Disney Social Media Moms and the Disney Parks Moms Panel. Next, Michelle Himmelberg, Disneyland Public Relations Director talked to us about the importance of play and said that “play really matters”. I couldn’t agree more. As a mom I have watched my son learn and grow so much through play. We also learned a fun fact about the song It’s a Small World – it has been played more times than any song in history! It has played millions and millions of times in the Disney Parks alone. We were also given a heads up to follow the hashtag #Disneyland60 on Twitter for details on Disneyland’s huge 60th birthday celebration in 2015.
Leanne O’Regan – Disney Parks Director of Social Media
Erin Glover, Social Media Director for Disneyland and Aulani was up next to talk about behind the scenes with Disneyland’s Social Media. She told us the Disney Parks Blog is the first stop for all Disney Parks news. She also said to create content on Social Media that encourages not only engagement, but sharing. She encouraged us to think about our own unique point of view. We all have a story to tell and you must “find that voice that makes you special”. It’s so true, many of us write on social media or in our blogs about similar topics. What makes us stand out is being ourselves, sharing our experiences in our own unique way.
We had the privilege of listening to and learning from amazing speakers. Tracey Clark of the Disney Sisters and author of Elevate the Everyday: A Photographic Guide to Picturing Motherhood talked to us about tips for taking more exciting pictures. A key piece of advice is to “snap out of snapshot mode”. Take the picture from a different angle, be spontaneous and ask your subject to jump as you take the picture. Lay on your stomach or stand up on a chair to get the shot from a different perspective. She said you don’t need fancy equipment to get great shots either. Most of the time she uses her iPhone and edits her pictures in Instagram.
Maria Bailey of BSM Media, Mom Talk Radio, and Disney Social Media Moms (among many other exciting ventures!) spoke to us about the importance of finding solutions. We heard from Lori Lorenz of HP who talked to us about using our DisneySide to solve difficult problems in a creative way. You can buy a gift card and add a personalized photo on TwoSmiles.com to give as a thoughtful gift, even last minute.
Huggies MomInspired grant winners panel with Maria Bailey
Our panel of mom entrepreneurs were absolutely inspiring. Lisa Cash Hanson from SnuggWugg, Allyson Phillips from Tilty Cup, and Romy Taormina from Psi Bands were all moms who each came up with an idea for a product to make the lives of parents easier. They were each awarded a Huggies MomInspired grant to get their newly developed products out in the marketplace. Check out the Huggies MomInspired website for more details and apply for a grant to make your own product idea become a reality.
Our keynote speaker was Nadine Bubeck from All Things Mama and author of Expecting Perfect. She has worked incredibly hard every step of the way through goal setting and determination to reach her goals, no matter how difficult the challenges were ahead of her. Here is a wonderful video she made at the conference that gives you an inside scoop on what we learned.
We all waited anxiously to find out who our secret special guest would be. Lots of people figured it would be our friend Mickey Mouse but surprise…it was Grumpy Cat! She was so tiny in person and oh, that cute little grumpy face! She’s just adorable 🙂
Meeting Grumpy Cat
The Disney Social Media Moms On The Road Celebration in Phoenix was absolutely AMAZING!
I learned so much and met some really fantastic women. If you ever get the chance to attend one of these invitation only conferences, do it! I sincerely appreciate the opportunity to attend this conference and would absolutely LOVE to attend more in the future.
Thank you so much to Maria Bailey and BSM Media, the Disney Parks Social Media team, our sponsors and everyone else who worked so hard to put together this magical event!
– Denise
For more details and information about Disney Social Media Moms, make sure to check out the Disney Social Media Moms website and follow on Twitter at @DisneySMMoms. My full conference recap is on my blog, Healthy Disney Family.
Hello, I’m Denise! I’m a work at home mom, blogger, bargain shopper, Disney fanatic, home cook, volunteer, and distance runner (26.2 x2, 13.1 x4, 10k x3, and lots of 5k’s). I also know a little about weight loss. My dream of running my first Half Marathon at Disneyland at my goal weight had a lot to do with the motivation to lose weight, as well as being a healthier and happier person, mom and wife. With sheer determination, cleaner eating and exercise, I lost 110 pounds after the birth of my son. It wasn’t easy but it sure was worth it! I’m currently training for the 2015 runDisney Dopey Challenge at Walt Disney World.
