Last week I had an incredible experience. I hopped on a plane with my very excited family and we headed off to Walt Disney World! I was one of 180 Bloggers from across the United States and Canada that had the incredible privilege of being invited to attend the Disney Social Media Moms Conference in Orlando Florida. An opportunity to connect with an amazing group of women, get the inside scoop on the newest initiatives at Disney, hear from the top speakers in social media, and of course take in all that Disney World had to offer.
The conference was held in an ideal setting, at the charming Disney’s Yacht Club Resort in the heart of Disney World. Just a short boat ride away from Hollywood Studios and walking distance to Epcot.
The conference itself offered an opportunity to hear from some powerful speakers. First up, those that could give us the inside scoop on Disney! Here’s what’s new and what we have to look forward to:
*Did you know more than 11 million Magic Bands have been worn since they were first introduced?
*Disney has recently doubled the size of Fantasy Land!
*Downtown Disney is undergoing a major transformation into Disney Springs. As part of the transformation, they will be adding three great dining venues.
**Photo credit todisneyworld.disney.go.com
*Animal Kingdom is undergoing a massive expansion and it will soon become both a Day and Night experience. The new night time spectacular will include “The Rivers Of Light” and an all new land based on AVATAR. All of this is set to open in 2017. Should I confess that I can’t wait? Not only will this take one of my favourite parks from a “daytime” only park to a day and night time park, but some of the artists renderings of this massive product have left me awe struck! They are re-creating an entire world for us to explore in a way that has never been done before. My prediction; AVATAR will sure to be crowd pleaser, especially for the teen and adult crowd.
Other big news was spilled to us as we were invited to an exclusive pre-screening of the delightful movie Inside Out! “Inside Out” ventures inside the mind of 11-year-old Riley and introduces us to the Emotions that guide her: Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger and Disgust. Based in Headquarters, the five Emotions are hard at work, led by lighthearted optimist Joy (voice of Amy Poehler), whose mission is to make sure Riley stays happy.”
I can’t give away any secrets at this time accept to say, you’re gonna love it!
While we were at the screening we also had the chance to see an extra long 12 minute trailer of Tomorrowland that my kiddos, okay me too, can’t wait to see. C’mon George Clooney and a futuristic Disney flick? Perfection.
Another sweet little bonus while we were at the exclusive screening; a short film by Disney; Lava. I didn’t just like this short film, I loved it. I promise if you see Lava in your local theatre, not only will you be humming the song for weeks to come, but you will never look at a volcano in the same way again. Cuteness overload! Warning, the theme song from this little film will stick in your head for days!
Following the inside scoop on Disney, we heard from Author, Motivational Speaker and Wide Receiver Donald Driver. He popped in to remind us to be true to ourselves, be kind and always remember why it was we started blogging in the first place.
Eva Smith spoke to us about how to harness the power of Pinterest. Her presentation was flawless as she regaled us with her expertise on “The Power of Pinfluencers”. Eva says pinterest is not a social network but rater a ME first network. She informed us that 1/3 of millennials are on Pinterest, and when people come to pinterest they are planning every aspect of their lives from beauty to taxes. What makes a Pinfluencer? A pinfluencer is someone who is a highly active pinner.
Here are your tips on how to be successful on Pinterest:
1. Start with a great image: Vertically oriented
2. Second helpful descriptions. Not necessarily short, be helpful, solve a problem, be longer if you need to.
3. Link to a useful destination. Does the url work.
*Use the analytics. Sign up for a business account. You will learn who your audience is. You will learn their gender, audience, other location. Eventually you will see a pattern and learn how the pin it button leads to traffic on your site.
All great takeaways from this informative day.
For me; perhaps the most impactful speaker of DisneySMMC was the smallest one of all, Ms Vivienne Harr. She spoke to an awe struck crowd about STAND. Vivienne, a whopping 11 years old, was inspired by a simple yet emotional trip to an art gallery with her family. It was there that she learned that there are still children of our world imprisoned in slavery. Vivienne set a goal for herself; she wanted to raise 150, 000 to free 500 children from slavery. A lofty goal for a little girl. How would she accomplish this task? She started with what she knew, she opened a lemonade stand. She then stood behind that lemonade stand for 365 days. At the end of her 365 days she had raised 101 000 dollars to end child slavery. Impressive, but she didn’t stop there.
Photo Credit:facebook.com/standwithmemovie
This success drove Vivienne to think bigger, she wondered; “Can we bottle the hope?” . Vivienne Harr became the first child in North America to have bottled the lemonade from her lemonade stand, and continues to raise awareness and monies to end child slavery. This little powerhouse has taken her story in New York to the United Nations, and says she didn’t let age get in her way. “You don’t have to be big or powerful to change the world. Each of us has more power than we know.” To learn more about STAND follow all the happenings on social media and #StandWithMe and @makeastandinc. A little girl, yet so inspiring.
This is but a glimpse of all I learned at an action packed, informative conference. Friends were made and experiences were had that created life long memories. The time I had with my family, this time is something I will cherish forever. Some of those memories included the chance to attend a private dessert party while Fireworks blasted over Epcot, riding the Rockin’ Roller Coaster while a film crew captured my every unattractive scream, taking countless steps through every Disney park, partying on the beach with all the Social Media Moms, enjoying an entertaining Mother’s Day Breakfast, and of course sneaking in a few hours sleep and a couple of swims at the Yacht Club, but I will have to leave those posts for another day! Thank you to all who had a hand in organizing this incredible event, I’m forever grateful for you taking me out of my comfort zone and throwing us all into the magical world of Disney!
Must have been a fun time the photo,s are amazing
Those are some great things to look forward to on our next trip!