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!