The Wonder of Disney :: Part One

 

Our favorite mouse!

Image courtesy of Flickr

 

Last month I was invited to attend the Disney Social Media Moms Conference and stayed at the Disneyland Resort Hotel for three nights and four days. Talk about a dream come true!  My husband and daughter came along as well as it was geared towards mom bloggers and their families.  My daughter was so excited to stay at the hotel, especially when I showed her the amazing water slides and pools.   It really was a dream come true to be able to do this with my family and I will always hold dear the memories we made.  The conference was absolutely amazing and I have some newfound love for all things Disney.  One of the things I came away with was a new appreciation for all that Walt Disney created.  Imagine, one man had the determination and vision to create Disneyland.  The doors officially opened on July 17, 1955 and it is the only theme park designed and built under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. In the 1990’s, the name was changed from Disneyland to Disneyland Parks to distinguish it from the ever-growing complex in Downtown Disney.

 

Image courtesy of Flickr

 A True Visionary:

Walt Disney came up with the concept of Disneyland after visiting various amusement parks with his daughters in the 1930s and 1940s. He initially envisioned building a tourist attraction adjacent to his studios in Burbank to entertain fans who wished to visit; however, he soon realized that the proposed site was too small. After hiring a consultant to help him determine an appropriate site for his project, Walt bought a 160-acre (65 ha) site near Anaheim in 1953. Construction began in 1954 and the park was unveiled during a special televised press event on the ABC Television Network on July 17, 1955. (Source: Wikipedia.com). Growing up in Southern California we would visit Disneyland about once or twice a year.  This was back in the day of E-Ticket Rides and my brother and I were always excited when our parents would announce “Let’s Go To Disneyland?”  My favorite ride as a kid and is still one of my favorites is Pirates of the Caribbean.  What are some of your favorite rides?

But back to the conference, it started off with a welcome reception on the Magic Kingdom Lawn that was sponsored by Coppertone.  Several keynote speakers included Erin Glover, Social Media Director of Disneyland Resort, and Leanne Jakubowski, Director of Social Media welcomed us to the conference.  My husband and daughter were roaming the hotel lobby and checking out the awesome (my daughter’s words) pool area while I was at the opening reception party.  We then headed out to the Big Thunder Ranch Jamboree for a meal sponsored by the Magic of Healthy Living. I was really excited to learn about this new program that helps parents make healthy food choices. In 2012, Disney introduced the Mickey Check, a tool that makes it easier to identify nutritious choices in stores, online, and while on vacation at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. My daughter sampled some of the boxed snacks they offer and really enjoyed the Mickey Mouse shaped sandwiches.  We then headed out into the park to enjoy some late-night rides.  We went on Big Thunder Railroad 3 or 4 times in a row to the amusement of my daughter.  She probably could have gone on more times but my stomach could only handle a few times!  I would definitely recommend this ride though!  They have updated it recently and there are some really fun additions.

 

Image courtesy of Flickr

 

The next day we were treated to some goodies from Hanes at breakfast.  I love this brand and was able to deck out my mom, husband and daughter with some of their really soft cotton clothing.  Alamo sponsored the actual conference and Leanne Jakuboski and Gary Buchanan, the Social Media Manager for Disney Parks were the MC’s and boy did they keep up entertained throughout the day!  Some of the keynote speakers included Jay Ward, Creative Director of the Cars Franchise.  It was so excited to hear about their creative process.  He spoke about how they followed Steve Jobs (was head of Pixar) mindset “Only Make The Good Stuff, and Make Less of It.” Jay said those were they words they live by and they try to make only the best of the best.

 

 Image courtesy of Flickr

 

Cars Land:

Kathy Mangum, Executive Producer and Vice President of Walt Disney Imagineering, spoke about how it took 5 years and thousands of hours to create Cars Land.  It was originally going to be called Car Land and focus on the popular car culture of Southern California, but with the release of the movie Cars, they changed their focus and name.  Tom Smith, the Social Media Director of Disney Parks talked about how they are using social media platforms now more than ever to connect with Disney fans. It really is amazing that we can check their website and they have updates daily on what is happening in the park, new rides and shows coming up, etc.  This coming May 23rd is Rock My Disney Side and they will be open from 6am to 6am – all night long!  You might want to check it out!  Speaking of using social media to change your world – Jorge Narvaez of Reality Changers, spoke to us about he started his YouTube Channel: Reality Changers with the intention to share songs, stories, skits and more – all with a focus on family, community, art and music.  He now has over 150 million views and continues to chronicle his daily life with daughters Alexa and Eliana.  Talk about how social media can change someone’s life!

 

Image courtesy of Flickr

 

Donald Driver Inspires:

We also heard from Donald Driver, former NFL Player and Author of Driven.  He was super supportive of the audience of mom bloggers and told us that “Your blogs are changing people’s lives.”  I think that words do have power and that is why we support and offer encouragement to our lovely dandelion moms! He was absolutely amazing and gave us such a heartfelt talk about going after one’s dreams. After lunch we were treated to a wonderful presentation by Maxine Clark, the wonder woman behind Build-A-Bear.  Yes, the genius who came up with that idea was inspiring us to never givie up on our dreams.  She said that “If you can live your imagination, your dreams can come true.”  She also said to learn from your mistakes and to write from your heart.  I found her story truly inspirational because she created this empire at the young age of 49.  Just goes to show that if you believe – things can happen.  Her company invests in women entrepreneurs which I love to hear.  We also heard about the ESPN complex and the upcoming All-Girls Soccer Event this fall.  To read more about this event go to www.wwos.com/disneyprincesscup.

 

The Power of Twitter:

Doug Bowman, Creative Director of Twitter also gave a great talk about the wonder of Twitter and how it has brought people together of all ages, races and locations.  I hadn’t really thought of Twitter in this way and after his talk it gave me some food for thought – here we could “talk” to whomever we wanted (as long as they have a Twitter account and want to reply back).  Just the other day I tweeted to Rob Lowe and wished him a Happy 50th!  And mentioned in my text that I saw him (as in from afar) in college when he was campaigning for a political leader.  Of course I can’t tell you who the politician was, but I do remember thinking how dreamy Rob was.  Oh, sorry, back to my Disneyland update (but still checking my Twitter account to see if he responded).   Doug mentioned that in 2014  so far, there has been over 500 million tweets a day in comparison to 2009, where we saw 2 million tweets a day.  That is a 25,000 % increase.  Remember Ellen’s famous Oscar Selfie with the gorgeous crew?  Well that tweet had over 33 million views.  Pretty amazing how Twitter has brought people together on one platform.

Gary Buchanan, Social Media Manager, was really upbeat the entire conference and kept us laughing all day.  He mentioned (in a tweet) that his highlight of the day was throwing a football to Donald Driver.  He quoted Jean Lou Godard and said “It’s not where you take things from, it’s where you take them to.”  This fits in with what Walt Disney created with his vision and determination.  Plus he was a master storyteller.  It is what makes Disney – Disney.  We were also treated to a short clip of the anticipated Maleficent by Chris Ostrander.   I can’t wait until this movie comes out on May 30th.   So this sums up days one and two of our trip.  Part Two coming up next week!

 

Disney Giveaway:

Throughout the conference we were treated to wonderful goodies from the sponsors.  To show how much we appreciate our lovely dandelion moms, we have a goodie basket to hand out that includes:

 

It’s A Small World Doll – from Mexico- sings It’s a small world in Spanish and English!

Disney Try It Recipe Book

Disney Try It Apron

Be Inspired Water Bottle and Cup

The Pirate Fairy Stickers

The Muppets Seeds and puzzle

Frozen Olaf Magnets

Good luck!

 

UPDATE:  Congratulations to our winner!  Thanks everyone for participating!

 

• Tuesday, May 13 @ 05:03 pm
• Liked Penelope-the-Purple-Pirate on Facebooknull
• Loading…(70.195.196.130)Location is approximate.

 

 

 

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

0