I’m Baaa-ack!

And it was AMAZING.

Magical, even.

I was invited to attend a mom blogger mixer at Disney World last weekend, and it was SO COOL. I cannot even begin to describe the awesomeness that was this weekend, but I’m going to give it a shot.

After kissing my babies goodbye (and calling my sister to politely remind her to pick me up, ahem. Love you, Annie), I headed out for the Dayton airport. I immediately noticed how much more people-watching I’m able to do when I don’t have to pay attention to what weird thing my kids are licking doing, and let me tell there are some weirdos in airports. My first subject of observation was a pleasant-looking middle-aged couple who were apparently not taking any chances on the swine flu and were sporting their surgical masks. The man, though, kept lifting his up to take a sip of coffee, so I’m not sure how well his preventative measures were working for him.

Anyway, after a very uneventful flight (during which I read the whole blissful time), we landed safely in Orlando. I headed down to the Disney Welcome Center and immediately boarded the Magical Express, which is Disney’s fleet of charter buses.

The Magical Express service is one of the many, many benefits to staying on Disney property. We first used it when we went to Disney two years ago, and it was great. After checking our bags in Dayton, we didn’t see them again until we entered our hotel room, where they were waiting for us. Same deal on the way home. The Magical Express also means you don’t have to rent a car, which is a huge savings. The best part? It’s free when you book a Magic Your Way trip.

As I was boarding the Magical Express, I saw two women in line in front of me. Since we were the only three women as far as the eye could see without a kid or ten two underfoot, I figured they were probably on the blogger trip, so I introduced myself. It turns out that they, Margaret and Amber, were the representatives from the Disney Moms Panel, sent to be our resident experts. I made the most of our time together on the bus by quizzing them on every question I had about traveling to Disney with a family, and they couldn’t be stumped. They had great advice for me, and continued to have the answers to every question any of us had for the rest of the weekend.

When we arrived at our hotel, Margaret and Amber graciously invited me to tag along with them to the Magic Kingdom, where they were intent on getting a Dole Whip!

We rode a few rides and then headed back to the resort to get ready to meet our group.

Oh, the resort. We stayed at Disney’s Beach Club Resort, and it was so wonderful. It makes me sad to think about how great it was, because I wish I was there right now, sitting by the pool! Anyway, our group met in the lobby, and I was a little nervous so I was glad to see a familiar face – Andrea from MommySnacks. As the rest of the women came down, we all introduced ourselves and my nervousness vanished – it was such a friendly group of crazy bloggers! Our group – brought together by Maria Bailey from BSM Media – was made up of Lisa from Crazy Adventures in Parenting and her seven-month-old Grayson, Christine from From Dates to Diapers, Megan from Velveteen Mind, Amanda from Oh Amanda and her seven-month-old Asa, Marsha from Sweatpants Mom, Lindsay from Surburban Turmoil, and Beth from I Should Be Folding Laundry.

We headed to the first of many events our wonderful hosts, Leanne and Laura from Disney’s social media team (a job doing social media for Disney? Boggles my mind.) put together for us. It was a wine and cheese reception on the roof, overlooking the most beautiful pool I’ve ever seen.
(Picture taken by Lisa)

After that, we walked over to Epcot (that’s how close the Beach Club is to the action!), where Laura handed us the first of our many FastPasses. (FastPasses are tickets you can get at the most popular rides and attractions at each of the parks. They give you an assigned window of time during which you can come back to that ride and essentially go to the front of the line. Andy and I used them very strategically during our last trip, and they really saved us tons of time waiting in line.) We went to ride Soarin’, one of my very favorite rides at Disney. After that, we walked back to France, where we talked like old friends, ate a fantastic dinner drank lots of wine. At least I did. But I’m pretty sure I wasn’t the only one!

Another one of my very favorite Disney experiences is Illuminations, which is the end-of-the-night show at Epcot Center. I have so many good memories of that show from our previous Disney trips, and that night was no exception. Well, one exception – it was about a thousand times cooler because a Cast Member with a light saber led the way for our group, parting the crowds like water, to a private area right on the water. They had prepared a coffee bar, a bar bar (you can imagine that that’s where I was), and a buffet of amazing desserts.
(Picture taken by Lisa)

During this time, I had the most amazing conversation with Beth and Andrea. I won’t go into the details, but I just feel I have to mention it, because truly it was one of the most meaningful parts of the trip for me. Even if it made Andrea a little nervous, lol.

After the show, we went to put another FastPass to use at Test Track, and then made the trek back to our hotel. Being the genius I am, I had worn high heels on this adventure, and by the time I made it back to my room, my feet were a mess. In fact, unless blood stains come into style, I won’t be wearing those shoes again. Good thing there was copious wine to dull the pain.

What I found when I got back to my hotel room was one of the absolute highlights of the trip. “Mickey” had visited my room! The first thing I noticed were the Mylar balloons (how Sammy would have loved those!).. and everywhere I looked I saw something else. There was a picture frame with a message written to me by Mickey, a popcorn tub with Mickey-shaped rice krispy treats, a huge stuffed animal Mickey with an autograph book and pen (the first page already signed by the Mouse himself!), a banner on the wall, a blanket embroidered with my name, a picture album, a book about Hidden Mickeys, even Mickey’s footprints on the floor.

It was truly magical, and I cannot wait to do it for my kids when we go in August.(Surprises like this are one of ways you can customize your trip, whether you’re celebrating a birthday, a first trip, or just the fact that you’re at Disney!) In fact, I’m totally going to decorate my kids’ rooms when they’re sleeping the night before their birthdays (or Christmas, or the first day of school, or anything!) from here on out. It was just such a fantastic surprise.

To be continued….