Love Disney and the beach/nautical theme? Then Disney’s Yacht Club is for you.  A beautiful sbeach, sand bottom pools and the magic of Disney all wrapped up together.  Disney Social Media Moms Conference was my first opportunity to stay at the Disney Yacht Club Resort. Let me show you around a bit.  As soon as you exit your vehicle the first thing you’ll hear is “Welcome Home” and the staff certainly made you feel as though you were.  The lobby was always filled with smiling face and more than ready to help cast members.

Our room was beautifully decorated. Every little detail reminded you, you were right in the middle of the Disney magic.  That little Mickey Mouse lamp was my favorite piece to look at. Looking at it just made me smile.

There was more than enough room for the four of us with two extremely comfortable queen beds and the day bed you see below.

The double vanity provided plenty of space for us to spread out our bath and health care essentials.

This was just one of the hotel pools. With sand on the bottom the kids felt like they were at the beach.  Even with Epcot only a 5 minute walk or so away or a ferry boat ride over we had the hardest time pulling the kids  away from the pool. They enjoyed it so much. The is also another pool just a bit further down with a water slide which was very popular.

And boy am I missing my view from the balcony.  Imagine waking up to this view.

The staff and service was no less than what you would expect from Disney, excellence, sheer excellence!

I paid a fee to attend the Social Media Moms Celebration at Walt Disney World. As an attendee I received discounted rates and additional perks enhancing the magical Disney experience. I was not asked to blog about my experience. As always all thoughts in this post are my own.

© 2012, Nanette Gomez. All rights reserved.

I’ve been sharing with you over the last few weeks about Disney Social Media Moms Celebration 2012.  Thank you first of all for allowing me share it with you. It was an amazing time from beginning to end.  I listened to speakers talk about going outside our comfort zone and how nothing exciting happens within it.  I heard speakers talk about facing our fears.  We hear all the words but do we take action on them? Sometimes we do, at other times we hear it, think to ourselves “yes, I need to do this” then we stay in our comfort zone and don’t do a thing.

But do you know what drove this point home for me? It wasn’t the speakers, it was was something totally unexpected. It was my son.  I saw him face his fears and the challenge he set for himself.  No he didn’t take on the thrill rides, he didn’t go on the scary rides or roller coasters.  It was much more subtle but amazing and poignant for me none the less.

At Magic Kingdom there is island called “Tom Sawyer Island” and so we took the ferry over to it to take a look and walk around.  There was a mine which was narrow and dark and this with it’s slight echo was trying for my Buggy but there was no going back and so he continued on.  Then as we walked further we noticed a barrel bridge.  It was wobbly and unsteady.  Daddy and sister immediately headed over.  Sister will try just about anything that girl.

Buggy and I stayed on the land by it and watched.  As a few others went behind Daddy and sister somewhere inside Buggy he made the decision to give it a try.  “Mommy, I want to go across. Just hold me.” I asked if he was sure and he said yes and started out. So we walked along the bridge slowly but surely and when he got to the end he looked back at me with the biggest smile and excitedly said, “I did it mom! I did it!”  He sure did. We celebrated as I tried to hold back tears. A fear faced, a challenge won!  Buggy 1 – fear 0

I thought this was it and we were both so proud then he surprised me and said, “mom I want to do it again but this time don’t hold me” again I asked if he was sure. Of course he said “yes, come with me but don’t hold me”.  So I quickly called over to my husband and told him to pull out the video camera, Buggy was going to do this on his own and I don’t want to miss it.  YES!  He did it! He got all the way across this barrel bridge on his own!  Buggy 2 – fear 0

He found the strength and courage to do what I’d heard. Step out of your comfort zone. He put it out there for me to see and learn from.  If my son can do it so can I. He has always been my inspiration and again he has proven why.

I paid a fee to attend the Social Media Moms Celebration at Walt Disney World. As an attendee I received discounted rates and additional perks enhancing the magical Disney experience. I was not asked to blog about my experience. As always all thoughts in this post are my own.

© 2012, Nanette Gomez. All rights reserved.

Saturday of the conference was day 3 and WOW what a wonderful day it was.  We were treated to something completely wonderful and totally unexpected.  Unfortunately, we were unable to take photos or video so I don’t have that to share with you.

I’ve always thought very highly of Walt Disney and his dreams. In fact, as a child I wanted to grow up and work as a cartoonist for Walt Disney.  It was a dream of mine to work with such talented people.  Well, that dream never became a reality and my artwork sits stuffed in a drawer somewhere now.

But there were some very talented kids who had the pleasure of working for Walt Disney – The Mouseketeers.  One of those Mousketeers was a little boy named Cubby O’Brien.  He played drums back then and still does.  We were privileged to have him perform for us that Saturday morning.

He and fellow Mouseketeer, the lovely Sherry Alberoni spent some time talking to us and sharing their memories of Walt Disney and being a Mouseketeer.  They were Mouseketeers at a time before I was watching The Mickey Mouse Club but that didn’t stop me from listening to every word.

I had a lump in my throat and did my best to hold back tears.  I’m not sure why this was such an emotional part of the conference for me but it was.  Maybe because it gave me the opportunity to listen to Cubby and Sherrie share those memories that are so obviously important parts of their childhood and their lives.  Their love and respect for a man and his dream were evident.

You could see the joy on their faces and in their hearts as they shared their stories and memories with us. I am so grateful to have had this opportunity to hear from them both.

I was overwhelmed and thrilled as soon as this portion of the conference was over I just had to call and share it with my mom and dad. They probably thought I was crazy but they were excited too. I could hear their smiles through the phone. How wonderful that just the thought of the Mouseketeers can still bring such joy and happiness to those that grew up with them. What wonderful memory makers.

I paid a fee to attend the Social Media Moms Celebration at Walt Disney World. As an attendee I received discounted rates and additional perks enhancing the magical Disney experience.I was not asked to blog about my experience. As always all thoughts in this post are my own.

© 2012, Nanette Gomez. All rights reserved.

I wanted to share with you my sneak peek at phase one of Disney’s newest value resort – Art of Animation.  Be prepared for lots of photos.   Just driving up to this resort you are just pulled into the films, into the artwork. It’s an artists’ dream resort. It’s every child’s dream resort. It’s every budget minded family’s resort.  These photos won’t do the resort justice but it will give you an idea of how amazingly breath-taking it is.

Then as you walk in this is what you will see.  You’ll be greeted with colors, art work and displays of creativity all around you.

And probably my most favorite accent to this resort is this:

I just couldn’t stop looking at it and the artwork and creativity it took to create it.  Then of course as you walk a little further you find a different kind of fun!

You just could not tear the kids away from the arcade both the big ones (hubbies) and the little ones of course.  But if you can believe it, there’s even more when you head out to the pool area which includes a pool of course, a children’s play area and water spouts. The fences look like waves, the greenery looks as though you were on the ocean floor. Every detail takes you into Nemo’s world.

Incredible isn’t it?  And I haven’t even shown you the rooms in this value resort yet?  I know you are probably tired from all that excitement so why not take a few moments, relax and watch this quick video showing you the resort. accommodations.

In phase one The Finding Nemo wings of the resort will open May 31. These are family suites that have 2 full bathrooms and can sleep up to 6. Then the Cars wing will follow opening on June 18, and The Lion King will open on August 10. The value rooms at The Little Mermaid wings will open on September 15. Just an FYI they are already taking reservations.

I paid a fee to attend the Social Media Moms Celebration at Walt Disney World. As an attendee I received discounted rates and additional perks enhancing the magical Disney experience.I was not asked to blog about my experience. As always all thoughts in this post are my own.

© 2012, Nanette Gomez. All rights reserved.

Our host, comedienne Maryellen Hooper kicked off the conference and kept us laughing between speakers with jokes and stories we moms could relate to.  She was just hilarious.
We heard from speakers such as:

Amy Jo Martin – Digital Royalty who shared her story of how she maintains Work – Family – Self successfully and asked us to ask ourselves “WHY” we are doing what we are doing. She encouraged us to do more of what makes us happy in our day. Her Ready, set, pause logic is one I hope to continue to do.  Take 8 minutes out of the day to just relax. Take a walk, listen to a couple of songs – no email, no phone calls, no distractions – just 8 minutes for you.

Ramon DeLeon – Domino’s Pizza – explained his #RamonWOW hashtag. Urged us to train, educate and inspire. To trust our instincts and to not be boring. He asked us to think – How will I stick out? Ramon obviously puts a great importance on family and the thought that stuck out most in my mind was this: “We need to be the ones that inspire our kids not someone else. Challenge yourself to create your inspiration.”

Photo courtesy of 5MintuesforMom.com

Peter Shankman – The Geek Factory urged us to be weeds. Yes, weeds. A weed is different, it sticks around and has the ability survive no matter what. There were so many good quotes I took from this session. These are some of them: I loved it when he said “Being different is good. Being different ROCKS”!  He reminded us too that nothing exciting ever happens in our comfort zone.We are our biggest critic. If you don’t take care of yourself nothing matters. If you’re not having fun, you’re doing it wrong. And “There is no pain that I cannot and will not fight through”.

Lisa Druxman – Stroller Strides offered some points I will try to put into practice. That gremlin on your shoulder telling you, you can’t do this or you can’t do that. Knock him/her off your shoulder. Life Life the way you want your kids to live life. We are our kids role models. The one thing that keeps us from achieving our goal is our brain. Break goals down to be reachable and successful. Give yourself quick rewards. Remember a burned out brain will not start. Take 10 minutes to recharge yourself – read, lie down, anything to give yourself that recharge your brain needs. As moms we don’t give ourselves credit for all we do in a day.

Each and every speaker provided information we could take to heart, relate to and be inspired by. I think my two personal favorites were Peter Shankman and Ramon DeLeon.   One was more reserved and spoke brilliantly, the other more outgoing and personable. Both inspiring to listen to.

I paid a fee to attend the Social Media Moms Celebration at Walt Disney World. As an attendee I received discounted rates and additional perks enhancing the magical Disney experience.I was not asked to blog about my experience. As always all thoughts in this post are my own.

© 2012, Nanette Gomez. All rights reserved.

Day 2 of the Social Media Moms Celebration was conference day and wow what a day full of surprises, inspirational speakers and lessons to take to heart and implement in our lives and businesses. My day started off early as I was able to be a part of a small group of attendees that were able to take a sneak peek behind the construction walls at the largest Fantasyland expansion ever.  I got a little excited and wrote about it a few days ago. You can find that post here if you missed it. Go ahead, read it. I’ll wait.

Oh good you’re back!  Well once we returned to the conference center the sessions began.  I wanted to tell you about all the great speakers in one post but it’s just too much. So first let me tell you about what those from Disney had to say and why they do the amazing job they do. I think Amy Foster put it best.

Meg Crofton – President of Walt Disney World Resort and Parks – shared with us some information regarding the newest value resort to open soon – The Art of Animation Resort. The Nemo wing will be the first phase to open. This resort is scaled to make you feel as though you are there in the ocean with Nemo and his friends. I’ll have a special post with lots of pics for you on this one as we got to have a wonderful dinner out by the amazing pool.

Gary Buchanan – Disney’s Social Media Managing Editor Star Wars Weekends coming up this summer with over 60 Star Wars characters in the park and of course Goofy, Donald, Minnie and Mickey get into the fun as well. And yes of course there will be princesses – Princess Amidala and Princess Leia. Loads of fun with parades, Jedi Training, Storm trooper parade, Star Tours with more than 50 story combinations so every time you ride you get to experience a new adventure and Star Wars Hoopla which sounds like so much fun.

*I think we did Star Tours about 6 or 7 times while visiting Hollywood Studios. We just love that ride.

Amy Foster – Disney Destinations Disney is all about the experiences. Escape – Share Fun – Growth. Escaping the everyday stress, sharing the fun with your children on their level and allowing them to grow and take the lead in planning their vacation.  When entering a Disney destination the hope is that you will disconnect with the outside world and emerse yourself in the “disney bubble”. Be free, less stressed so you can just be in the present and have fun. Fun you share with your children. Disney gives you the opportunity to level the playing field. Parents can feel and enjoy Disney just as their kids do. Parents get to be kids again alongside their kids. As Amy pointed out we only have 18 summers with our kids. That was a bit of a wake up call for me. Disney gives us the opportunity to make memories with our kids. Memories which are like glue that keeps us together. Visiting Disney parks empowers our kids. It gives the opportunity to take the lead, to plan the day to choose how they want to make those memories with us.

*We certainly emersed ourselves in that Disney bubble and my husband was so relaxed for a change and has already asked me when we’ll be going back. He said it was the “best vacation ever!” Even though I know handling the kids alone for hours upon hours while I enjoyed the conference was more than he was used to. He loved being able to laugh and play and enjoy life with the kids without the everyday stresses getting in the way.

 I paid a fee to attend the Social Media Moms Celebration at Walt Disney World. As an attendee I received discounted rates and additional perks enhancing the magical Disney experience.I was not asked to blog about my experience. As always all thoughts in this post are my own.

© 2012, Nanette Gomez. All rights reserved.

I was first of all so thrilled and so very surprised to be invited to the Disney Social Media Moms Conference this year. So many reasons why I was thrilled and honestly in tears when I got the email. For one, I’ve always loved Disney and what it stands for. Plus we’ve never been to Walt Disney World and a conference where my family was more than welcome was certainly something I couldn’t turn down. We arrived very late on Wednesday night so we got a room at the Disney Pop Century Resort for a few hours sleep at the recommendation of several online friends. Don’t you just love the design?

We were up bright and early and off to our first visit to Walt Disney World before the official conference began. We headed over to Disney’s Yacht Club resort, the host resort for the conference, got checked in and headed straight for our character breakfast at the Cape May Cafe with Minnie, Donald and Goofy.

After a filling buffet breakfast we headed over to Epcot for some fun with Nemo and Friends, giggled our heads off with Crush (Turtle Talk with Crush), flew through the skies on Soarin’ and enjoyed the beautiful topiaries throughout the park.

While headed off to the Passport to the World Cocktail Reception to learn about the many other Disney experiences available including Adventures by Disney and Aulani,  my family headed back to the room to get ready for the night’s festivities at the Swashbuckler Soiree and dinner on the beach.  And look who decided to stop and pay a visit.

Family, friends, fun and food along the sandy beaches of the Disney Yacht Club. What a lovely way to end the day.

I paid a fee to attend the Social Media Moms Celebration at Walt Disney World. As an attendee I received discounted rates and additional perks enhancing the magical Disney experience.I was not asked to blog about my experience. As always all thoughts in this post are my own.

© 2012, Nanette Gomez. All rights reserved.

On the first day of the Disney Social Media Moms Conference (Celebration) a small group of us were given the opportunity to go back behind the walls before the parks opened and get a sneak-peek at the Fantasyland expansion currently taking place.  It is the largest expansion in Magic Kingdom history.  Thanks to our host, Disney Imagineer Tim Warzecha for telling us all about what’s underway.

As you can see Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs will be a part of the expansion but there’s more including the  Be Our Guest Restaurant, Gaston’s Tavern, Enchanted Tales with Belle, Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid and the Seven Dwarfs Mine Coaster. The Beast’s castle will be the setting for “Be Our Guest Restaurant” wing and the West Wing of the castle which will look just as though you were walking through the doors of the actual castle in the movie. The restaurant will seat 550 guests.  During hte day it will offer “great food fast” service and in the evening full table service dining. I can’t wait to see this myself! Oh the magic there will be!  In fact if you want just a sneak-peek you can check out this video that the Disney Parks Blog just posted.

Disney is all about telling the story from top to bottom and want you to be totally and completely immersed in the Disney magic and storytelling the moment you walk through the gates. Their “eyes up, jaw down” way of thinking is certainly evident in everything they do. One of the things that Imagineer Tim pointed out was over by their most favorite ride – Dumbo the Flying Elephant.  While the ride itself is beautiful to look at and one every child wants to ride next time you are there take a look around.  Look up, look down take in the complete story.  When you look down you notice the story is even being told on the ground you walk on. I hadn’t noticed myself until it was pointed out to us that there are peanuts in the pavement.  Don’t panic for those of you with children or are adults with peanut allergies.  Disney would never endanger any visitor’s health.  There are man made peanuts embedded into the path. Sorry my photo isn’t the best but you get the idea.

The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train will take you on a musical ride into the mine “where a million diamonds shine.” The coaster is a first of it’s kind ride system which will have a train of ride vehicles that swing back and forth, responding to twists and turns of the track. Doesn’t that sound like fun?

They think of everything don’t they?  I have always been impressed by what these Imagineers do but this has just taken it to a new level.

I paid a fee to attend the Social Media Moms Celebration at Walt Disney World. As an attendee I received discounted rates and additional perks enhancing the magical Disney experience.I was not asked to blog about my experience. As always all thoughts in this post are my own.

© 2012, Nanette Gomez. All rights reserved.