Congrats Chicago! We landed the George Lucas museum!

Coming in 2018, Chicago will be home to the Lucas Narrative Arts Museum (pending today's vote on the name change).  Tentatively it will be built on the parking lots between Soldier Field and McCormick Place. In the Fall of this year we can look forward to seeing some of the architectural renderings of the museum.
According to the Chicago Tribune article the Museum will house a Norman Rockwell collection, examples of the special effects from Industrial Light and Magic, movie memorabilia and posters.
I noticed that this museum will be located very close to McCormick, Chicago's main convention center.  I wonder what type of cons this will lead too.  I would imagine the attendance at C2E2, my favorite pop culture and comic book convention, will increase.

I can't wait to see what the future holds!

Chicago's Disney Social Media Celebration

Disclosure: I participated in the Disney On-The-Road Social Media Moms conference, a free event. I have not been compensated for this review.  I did receive a bag of free (and awesome) Disney swag.  All opinions are my own..

On Tuesday I attended Disney's Social Media Mom's On the Road Celebration in Chicago.  It was an awesome experience to hear from the Disney Social Media team and writers of the Disney Park's Blog. It was a wealth of information about the behind the scenes of the their recent social media campaigns, like show your #DisneySide and Rocking your DisneySide 24 hour event. 

Disney just finished off New Fanastyland this year with the opening of the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, a new, literally, rocking roller coaster the features our favorite miners from Snow White.  Did you know you can currently apply to be the eighth miner? Check out this link.  Not only are there weekly giveaways, but Disney Bound fashion tips to show your miner DisneySide. Also Disney also has many new dining experiences to explore this year including the opening of Spice Road Table and the ticketed event, Harambe Nights at Animal Kingdom.

Gary Buchanan, Walt Disney World Manager Editor, introduced their new social media campaign #DisneyKids.  We saw the cutest clip, the younger version of the Dapper Dans, The Diaper Dans:

 Now we can look forward to sharing our children's Disney first experiences.  For instance many children get their first haircut while they visit the park, ride their first roller coaster, or meet their first princess.  I think my son's first crush happened, when he met Ariel for the first time.  Often our children might ride the same ride that us parents might have ridden with our parents. I am looking forward to riding Peter Pan's Flight for the first time with my son. I remember riding it so vividly with my mom when I was his age.  Luckly I was able to ride Peter Pan again with my Mom as an adult before she passed away.  Plus it is now easier to fulfill some of these goals as Disney focuses on multi-generational vacations.
As they stressed in their presentation about how to storytell, and engage an audience through social media, the Disney Parks blog have managed to create excitement and intrigue about what's next in the Disney parks. Some of their most popular posts have been about the creation of New Fantasyland.   What do we have to look forward to next? Avatar Land will be opening in 2017 in Animal Kingdom.

Lori Lorenz from HP Direct Print Services also presented about "The Solution Side of Motherhood."   Moms often get stuck in a bind, such as a needed last minute gift, an unexpected thank you card for a teacher, or activities to keep your little ones busy.  HP offers many solutions to this. My favorite go to is HP's TwoSmiles website.   I never know when I might need a card or a gift card on the fly.

We also heard from Moms,Lily Winnail of Padalily and Alicia Overby of Baby Elephant Ears, who have successful created their own product line.  As a Mom, how often are we inspired to invent a gadget because of the our little ones?  Often I find myself saying, "I should have invented that!"  These two woman are perfect examples of following through with their ideas by working hard.  Also they were recipients of the MomInspired Grant from Huggies.  It was inspiring to hear about how they put their ideas into motion and now have successful product lines carried in major retailers.

The morning was an awesome experience.  I walked away with a wealth of knowledge about blogging, and how to use social media effectively.  I feel like I was "sprinkled" with some Disney magic.  I am beyond inspired by the successful Moms out there through their personal experiences, blogs and other exciting adventures.  Sign me up for the next Disney Social Media Moms Celebration!

Disney Social Media Moms Chicago, here I come!

Tomorrow morning I will be attending the On the Road Disney Social Media Mom Celebration in Chicago. This is my first time attending anything like this but hopefully it won't be my last. When I started this blog I just wanted to share my love of Disney and demonstrate how I can work Disney into my family life even if we can't make it to the park.  For me Disney means quality family time, a shared family interest and something that sparks my 3 year old son's imagination.

I can't wait to hear from the interesting line-up of speakers.  I hope to walk away with inspiration about how to grow my blog and to meet other Mom bloggers!

 Plus my ears will definitely be in tuned to any Disney park information that I hope to share with you. I love any behind the Disney scenes information I can get my hands on. I promise to share anything juicy with my readers. 

In the meantime I think I will have a Disney Geek-Out night once I get home from work. I am ready to "Let it go" and embrace my Disney Side!

Radio Disney Junior came to town!

Last weekend we went to our town's Taste of event.  Radio Disney Jr. made an appearance with Doc McStuffins Toy Check Up Clinic.  It was a very cute event where you could bring your toy in for a check up (or use the ones provided), sponsored by our local medical group and hospital.  Doc McStuffins did not make an appearance but her helpers were on call to assist with the check ups. 

The check-up included this free cardboard medical kit and stickers, which are always a big hit with David.

We also participated in few activities.  The first one was a Disner Junior version of Simon Says. 

We received this magnetic frame as a prize

 

Afterwards David and I participated in a relay race to get the toy doctor supplies in the medical bag. Which was so much fun especially for David who is 3 is finally starting to understand directional games. 

Of course both teams were winners! 

We won this Doc McStuffins reusable bag.  I know it will come in handy for our trips to the library this summer.

If Radio Disney or Radio Disney Junior stops by your town be sure to check them out.  It was a perfect way to incorporate Disney themed activities into your summer without traveling too far, especially when you have a child who asks everyday, "When are we going to Disney?"

Where in the World is Donald Duck?

Happy 80th Birthday Donald!

One of our family's favorite characters! We enjoyed the one on one time with Donald at Chef Mickeys on our trip last year

Donald can be found at many locations at Disney World:

Silly Sideshow in Magic Kingdom

Mexico Pavilion in EPCOT

Discovery Island in Animal Kingdom

Near the Sorcerer's hat in Hollywood Studios

Don't forget about Dining with Donald!

Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary

Tusker House at Animal Kingdom

Cape May Cafe at the Beach Club

A personal side note:  Donald is only 5 years older then my Dad who will be turning 75 in a few days!

A May the 4th update: the lightsaber is broken!

I wrote about the Disney Store's May the 4th event about a month ago.  David had so much fun there and he continued to use the free blow up lightsaber until last night.  It popped and deflated.  He had also worn of most of the color from it.  Truly this was one of his favorite toys for the last month. 

Before

After

Instead I told him to use this:

A used towel paper tube

I know when we go to Disney in November, we will probably end up building our own lightsaber here:

Until then May the Force be with him.  I hope he doesn't notice that I throw it out this morning. 

Review of D23 Presents: Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives

Back in April, my husband and I had a date day at the Museum of Science of Industry in Chicago. Finally we were able to visit Treasures of The Walt Disney of Archives, which we thought was ending soon but has now been extended through August 3.

I highly recommend this exhibit to any Disney fan.  It encompasses the 9 decades of Disney history from Snow White to Jack Sparrow.  Not too heavy in Disney archival history for children to understand, there are a few fun stations for kids to enjoy including a quick Mickey Mouse drawing lesson, a build your own castle with window clings and a listening station of select Disney songs. 

My favorite part was seeing the storybooks used in the production of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White. Seeing these items up close brought the magic to life.

My husband loved seeing the Former Hitchhiking Ghosts, which are now replaced with the CGI versions.  He said it was like visiting with old friends. 

Perhaps they really did follow us home. ☺

An example of the some of the costumes there: The Rocketeer, another family favorite:

If you are in the Chicago area, I consider this a Disney must do, especially if you are in town for the Disney Social Media Moms On the Road event. If you are a D23 member (we are Day 1 Charter Members) you can save $5 off of your admission.