Last month I received something truly fabulous in my inbox when I was invited to the Disney Social Media Moms on the Road in Portland. I was totally honored to be considered for the event and of course I wanted to go and see what this magical conference would be all about.
My hubby was away on business so my dad thankfully made the drive from Vancouver, BC to hang out with my guys before and after school while I headed to Portland for the day.
FOR THE DAY!
I’m not sure why I didn’t think to make it an overnight trip, but I think I was a little nervous about the whole event and the thought never entered my mind. I knew from what I’ve seen about it before that a lot of people who usually go to this conference are really knowledgeable about all things Disney; they have Disney-themed blogs or make amazing Disney crafts and snacks or they know how to save money or time at all the Disney Parks. My guys were scared of the rides the last time we went to Disneyland and they are still scared of movies-that’s just the way they are-so we’re a bit out of the loop, but I know that one of these days soon they’re really going to get into it again. So I had a 3 hour drive from Seattle to Portland ahead of me, and it was one of the first times I didn’t mind getting up at 3:30 in the morning.
When I got to the conference I was never once grilled on my Disney trivia, or asked how many times I’ve been to Disneyland or Disney World or Disney anything. Instead I got to see some really magical people talking about the amazing things they were doing; people like Marianne Richmond, the author of If I could Keep you Little and a zillion others, and Kathy and Maya Murillo, an amazingly adorable mother daughter blogging team. I saw some really compelling short movies about all the Disney magic that is happening all around the world RIGHT NOW. (I forgot how many Disney parks there are all around the world and I totally didn’t realize that they do a bunch of travel tours too.) And I realized that one of my little guys will one day probably want to be a Disney Imagineer more than anything and I’m glad I found out what that was! It was also fun to see other bloggers who I’ve met before or read online and it was neat to catch up on everyone’s adventures. It was also awesome to hear from people who worked for Disney Social Media and hear tips and techniques they use in their work too.
It might have been this mash-up with all these little kids singing about the amazing time they had at Disney World that made me realize that all the kids in the video were about the same age as my guys and this is probably the perfect age and time to bring them back to a Disney Park.
So I think there is Disney in our future soon. I was totally inspired just by being in a room full of amazing moms and entrepreneurs and it is so amazing to think it was all started by Walt Disney so many years ago. We are oh so lucky to have Disney magic in our lives. It does add a lot of sparkle to the world.
I came home with Disney Mom mouse ears and some lovely treats.
Do you see the donut box? I couldn’t stop in Portland without bringing home some Blue Star Donuts. (They have the most amazing donut flavors!)
And because I found the donut store, I ended up taking a wrong turn back to the highway which somehow landed me RIGHT in front of a tea store I have always wanted to visit without my kids. I am in LOVE with Steven Smith tea.
I first tried it at the Pink Door in Seattle and I’ve been in love with it ever since. This tea store is like a mini factory in the heart of Portland and I picked up some fabulous souvenirs for myself. I felt so empowered doing this all on my own and driving home I had a lot of time to reflect on the day’s adventures and it was such an inspiring and exhilarating day.
So I really enjoyed this solo journey to Portland because of Disney and I’ll let you know how our family Disney adventures progress later this year-I think my guys would really love Disney World because of the Disney Animal Kingdom. Has your family gone to Disney World? How old do you think is the perfect age to visit? And do you have any tips if we decide to go?
(PS. I received an invite to this Disney Social Media Moms event and some promotional items but the ideas here are my own and I was not required to post.)
(PPS. Thank you so much to the magical Disney people who invited me here. It was such an amazing day!)
(PPPS Dad, thank you for babysitting and for making your own solo drive from Vancouver to Seattle to help us out!)
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)
This sounds like such a great day (and I love the sound of the doughnuts!)