My thoughts on Disney on the Road with Disney Social Media Moms Celebration

Did you ever attend something that you just wish could last forever? This was the case, this past Friday, September 14, 2012, in Charlotte, NC.  I was fortunate enough  to attend this amazing gathering of Social Media Moms, Mompreneurs and the wonderful people of Mom Talk Radio.  They, along with Disney Parks, decided to take the show on the road for a few weeks to Houston, Charlotte and Long Island, NY.

When I got the email about being invited, I was so excited and immediately contacted my friend, Ami Brundick Eller from VA  and also Bob Aycock, who happens to live in Charlotte!  Ami and I made plans to stay in the hotel where the conference was being held. We knew we would see Bob at check in on the morning of the presentations.  We were so excited and like two giddy girls as we checked in to the hotel  and started recognizing faces here and there. Tomorrow would bring SO MUCH MORE!

Registration/check in would begin at 8:00.  Ami and I headed down around 7:40 and you could hear the chattering and laughing as we rounded the bend to the conference room, which was just off the lobby. We picked up our lanyard that stated our name and our business/blog. I was so excited to see mine!

Then we were given our swag bag filled with all kinds of goodies!  This was a great chance to meet so many of my Disney friends that I have virtually enjoyed over the years.  Great to get hugs for the first time and see them in person instead of on a screen. I even got to meet some new ones.  Bob had been texting that he was on his way and I texted back, turn right and there we are! It was great to meet Bob and we had fun going through our swag bag!

The first thing we noticed as we entered the room were the adorable DISNEY centerpieces. They were almost all different and unique and they contained some beautiful fall mums. Our was themed to CARS.

After a delicious breakfast of rolls, bacon and breakfast quiche, the conference began. First up was Maria Bailey of Mom Talk Radio; she welcomed us and threw out some mom statistics that amazed all of us. I had no idea that moms were the largest group of consumers contributing an estimated 1.7 billion to the economy each year!  Also women-owned businesses have grown by 54%  in the past 15 years! What I got out of her words were how demonstrating hard work through your actions as a mom can show your children that loving what you do can give you wings and make your dreams come true! What a great example we are!

Our first speaker of the conference was 7-time Olympic medalist, health & fitness advocate, cancer survivor, wife and mom, Shannon Miller! She is such a petite little thing but she had a BIG message! Always be passionate about what you do, you just do not stumble upon success....you must work hard. She said something that I have always believed, when you love what you do, it does not feel like work.  If you believe this and work hard and pour your passion in to your work, you cannot help but be successful!  She spoke with such passion and emotion, there were times I didn't know if she'd get those words out. You could feel her strength as she spoke and it truly inspired all of us in the room, you could have heard a pin drop as she discussed her cancer diagnosis. It made me want to go out and tackle anything!  Her final and lasting remarks left an impression on me: Life is like a balance beam, you are going to fall, just get back up and keep going! She surely has done that.

Next up was Laura Spencer, the Social Media Manager for Disney Destinations. What a hoot she is! She had us laughing or LOLing, as we say in the social media world!  Somehow, girdles and corsets made their way in to her talk and we all laughed, probably cause most of us can relate! LOL!  When she started talking about her grandmother, I could fill my eyes welling up. Even as I type this, they well up. We can always learn SOMETHING, even back from the old days of our grandparents. 

Our next session was a panel of 3 mompreneurs who talked to us about how they turned their ideas and passions into successful businesses. They brought some samples of some of their inventions which left me thinking "why didn't *I* think of that"!  They shared how they had an idea, how it came to be...their drive and determination is what has made them successful.... again, all moms!

Our final speaker of the session was Tiffany Krumins, inventor of Ava the Elephant; a medicine dispenser for children. She appeared on ABC's Shark Tank last year and even though she had no sales and only a clay prototype of her idea, she still made a deal with Barbara Corcoran during that first season. At the age of 28, was to become a millionaire because she had an idea, she pursued her dream. She put one of the actual product on everyone's table! Absolutely ingenious and wonderful idea!

After talking about her products (another one is a forehead sticker thermometer), she talked to us about her  courageous battle with cancer. This is where I had a huge lump in my throat, tears in my eyes..it just seemed like the room froze in time. She talked about how she worried about not seeing her daughter grow up and she was so young to get this type of cancer.  She challenged us to face our fears. Write it down and face it. She even tweeted later on to ask if we had faced our fears!  I will....I promise!

At this point, the conference came to a close. Hard to believe 4 hours had passed! We all mingled and took pictures of the speakers and each other. Here is one of us with Laura Spencer. From Left to Right, Ami, Laura, Sherry, myself.

More pictures of  items in our swag bag:

Since none of us wanted the magic and fun to end, a bunch of us decided to go to lunch so we could continue chatting about what we all got out of this wonderful experience. It was a great chance to mingle and share our thoughts with old and new friends! Here is a picture of us at our table. From left to right, me, Sherry, Jackie, Janice, Ami, Kathie, Faith and Bob.

We left each other after toasting to our future successes, future Disney Social Media Moms Celebrations and to each other!  This was an amazing event that will last in my mind forever. It was inspirational, emotional, unforgettable,  not just for the words that were spoken to us but because of the great friendships that were formed. To think the very reason we were all there is what brought us together in the first place: SOCIAL MEDIA!!

Disclosure: The Disney Social Media Moms Celebration "on the road" event was free of charge. I was not asked to blog about it and all of the above opinions are my own!