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Disney sprinkled me with Pixie Dust yesterday.

a badge and badge on a table

I just went to possibly the best conference of my life. #DisneySMMoms On The Road.

Hosted by Disney, it was all about moms and social media, and it was incredible.

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The event was information-packed. We actually started at 7:30 in the morning so that we could squeeze every moment out of the time we had. First we heard from Michele Himmelberg, Disneyland Public Relations Director, about what’s “new and next” at Disney Parks. I was interested to learn that she started her career as a sports writer; I’m always so inspired by people who continue to reinvent and transform themselves. Right on, Michele.

Up next was Erin Glover, lead Disney blogger and Disneyland Social Media Director. She talked about what it’s like “behind the scenes” in the Disneyland Social Media department. My favorite tip of hers: ask yourself how you can take your readers to the places they want to see. Personally, I loved watching Erin in a silly Disney video.
disney smmoms conf

We then heard tips and parenting solutions from Lori Lorenz of HP. Do you already know about TwoSmiles? If you don’t, check it out. It’s a way to create greeting cards at home, using an inexpensive paper kit and your home printer. I love this idea because I never have time to shop for greeting cards when stores are open.

Tracey Clark shared some simple, super helpful ways to shoot amazing photos with your phone. I was very happy to put her tips in my life toolkit and have already started using them. Hopefully you will notice the difference in my photos here on the blog. πŸ˜‰

The day was rounded out by a panel of mom business owners (Lisa Cash Hanson, Romy Taorima, and Allyson Phillips) and finally by very accomplished mama Nadine Bubeck, who all shared their lessons and experiences.

I filled several pages with notes, and my hand was cramping from writing so fast. However, the reason that the conference was over-the-top memorable was that we also got to play.

disney dress up items

Seriously, when was the last time you went to a conference where you got to dress up? (No, Comic-con does not count).

disney dress up

Every half hour or so, we got showered with prizes. There were literally bags filled with gifts, and big giveaways like suitcases.

disney conference prize suitcases

I won something: a 60-minute service of my choice from the Willow Stream spa at the Fairmont Scottsdale!

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The vibe was so friendly. People were super nice. I made some new friends.

disney smmoms friends

We ate treats.
mickey rice krispie

They were all very fancy.

disney cookies

We did a little pin trading. I started with Donald…

donald pin

And I ended up with Tinkerbell. Much more my style (which is, as you know, Seventies Glam).

tinkerbell pin

We were also treated to a few surprises from sponsors, such as these personalized printed cards from HP.

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And a special guest arrived at the end: Grumpy Cat! He hated me, but I didn’t care. I’m not a cat person anyway.

grumpy catSo that’s what I’ve been up to this week! I’m excited to use all of the tips and knowledge that I learned at the conference, and I’m excited to share it all with you, as well.

Here’s my first hot tip: did you know that Disneyland is turning 60 this summer? Watch the Disney twitter account (@DisneyParks) and use hashtag #Disneyland60 on July 17 at 10 am Pacific Time for some special surprises.

Stay tuned…

17 Comments

    1. Gene – Ugh. I’m kind of laughing too, because I really do not like cats. So Grumpy Cat and I felt the same way about each other.

    1. Lauren – That is a great way to phrase it…Disney does do everything first class. πŸ™‚

  1. It was so amazing and I had the best time! Bummer we didn’t get to officially meet (I was on the other side of the room, I think :)) but I definitely felt the awesome vibe of the room, too!

  2. Thank you so much such a great recap of the day! I meant to tell you but never had the chance that your hair style is the cutest I’ve ever seen! So pretty πŸ™‚

    Thanks for the mention and I know we all left inspired and ready to go after the impossible.

    Great pictures too!

  3. It was great meeting you! I wish we had more time to chat. I love your style! Hopefully we will see each other at another event soon.

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