When I was invited to the 2017 Disney Social Media Moms Celebration, I didn’t know what to expect. I knew two things:

1. It’s an honor to be asked to attend.
2. You can bring your family with you.

That’s it.

Check out this video to see how I documented the #DisneySMMC. Then, keep scrolling for more!

Disney Social Media Moms Celebration

The Disney Social Media Moms Celebration, or #DisneySMMC, is pretty secretive. I haven’t met anyone who really knows what the process is when it comes to choosing bloggers to attend.

In 2017, I was invited to the #DisneySMMC that was a new experience for everyone because it took place on land… and sea!

In this blog post, I’m going to break down most of the social media moms celebrations here. I’m sure I will miss a lot because every day was full of learning and fun, but I’ll do my best!

Port Orleans

Tuesday, February 7th: Before I headed off to the happiest place on Earth, I had some work to do. Luckily for me, I live in South Florida so I could swing by The Balancing Act on Lifetime TV and shoot a segment about wine. (What a great way to start the day, huh?!)

Right after, I drove home and broke the news to the kids. (If you’re my Facebook friend, you saw this happen live.) Minutes later, our pre-packed bags were in the car and we were on our way.

If you know me, you know I love a theme and Port Orleans Resort – Riverside has it. Imagine Tiana’s home in the Princess and the Frog. You feel like you are in the old south… with a cool pool and waterslide!

Walt Disney World

Before hitting the Walt Disney World Parks (all FOUR of them), my family and I enjoyed a Hanes Personal Shopping Experience. (Did you know you can customize college and high school apparel from Hanes?!)

Alright, let’s head to the parks!

Animal Kingdom

Tuesday, February 7th: At 6pm, the Disney Social Media Moms attendees bused to Animal Kingdom for a welcome reception. There, we heard from Director of Public Relations for Disney Parks, Leanne O’Regan. Her energy is so contagious. So is Mark Daniel’s. He’s all personality and makes a great host.

At the Animal Kingdom, we saw a model of Pandora – the world of AVATAR. In 2017, you can escape to Pandora through a flight simulator and boat ride. (Not too long ago, I actually auditioned to host something related to this new experience.)

After checking out the model of Pandora and mingling with other bloggers, our families met us in Harambe Village for dinner and an awesome dance party. It was sponsored by GoGo squeeZ – a healthy snack that is a hit with my kids. GoGo squeeZ even gave us a cookbook that will perfect for upcoming episodes of Baking with Bunny.

We ended the night getting a sneak peak of Rivers of Light. This was so cool, beautiful, and entertaining.

Epcot

Wednesday, February 8th: The morning started with a breakfast for social media moms at Epcot. Joffrey’s Coffee was there as a sponsor… and to fuel up the moms for a busy day.

There, bloggers hopped on Soarin’ – a hang gliding experience that takes around the world’s most beautiful sights. We also learned some more, met Moana, and saw some very cool behind the scenes props from Beauty and the Beast.

Magic Kingdom

Wednesday, February 8th: This is the park my kids are obsessed with. After a morning at Epcot, bloggers had some free time to explore other parks with their families. We went straight to the Magic Kingdom… and had a blast!

In addition to the three standard fast passes Disney offers, social media moms attending the celebration were given many media fast passes. Let me tell you, it doesn’t get any better than not waiting more than five minutes for a ride, show, or meet and greet at the Magic Kingdom.

Then, there’s the food. At Casey’s Corner, they put macaroni and cheese with bacon on a hot dog. I have no words.

Hollywood Studios

Wednesday, February 8th: A perfect way to end the night was with a family pizza party. Thanks to Alamo, another Disney Social Media Moms Celebration sponsor, bloggers and families sat down for dinner at Hollywood Studios PizzaRizzo.

After dinner, we hopped on Toy Story Mania! which is so much fun. If you’re competitive, you could spend all day getting on and off this one to get a higher score blasting moving targets in 3-D.

When the lights go down, you can’t miss Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular. Talk about a fireworks show! I can honestly say I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s unreal.

After the fireworks, the night ended with a family galactic dessert party. Yummy!

Disney Springs

Thursday, February 9th: So, can I just hang out here every day? Disney Springs is the coolest place ever. There are more than 150 spots for eating, shopping, and entertainment.

One stop is the AMC Theatre where social media moms got to enjoy an advanced screening of DisneyNature’s Born in China. At the end of the movie, we got to see a little behind the scenes of the photographers who shot the animals in China. As a former TV reporter, I have a big soft spot in my heart for photographers, so I found this to be very interesting.

Roy Conli, the movie’s producer spoke to a theater full of social media moms about the making of the movie. Born in China will be released on Earth Day, April 21st.

Disney Wonder

Thursday, February 9th: After a great morning at Disney Springs, we headed to Port Canaveral to board the Disney Wonder.

Disney Social Media Moms had a great lunch at Animator’s Palate. Here, we created a drawing that came to life on screens around the restaurant as an animation.

After a send-off that only Disney can do (with Mickey and the gang), we left Florida and headed for the Bahamas.

On our first night, we enjoyed dinner at my favorite restaurant on the ship – Tiana’s Place. I love the Princess and the Frog because Tiana is a waitress saving to open her own restaurant. (That was one of my many dreams as a former server and bartender.) At the end of the movie, she gets her restaurant… and this is it! The decor, the music, everything is spot on!

We finished the night with a show… an amazing show – The Golden Mickey’s. Just like it sounds, it’s an award show with a host, nominees, winners, and a red carpet with live interviews. Very cool!

Friday, February 10th: On this day, we were at sea. We enjoyed everything the ship had to offer, as well as the view from our veranda.

While my family enjoyed the pool, I joined other bloggers for a couple of general sessions. I learned so much about what goes into creating a Disney movie, the details involved in making an animated character, how the Disney Parks Blog is treated like a news operation (Thomas Smith was speaking my language), and got previews of soon to be released Disney movies, like Beauty and the Beast.

We also heard from Good Morning America’s meteorologist Ginger Zee and how she handles being a working mom who is also active on social media. Earlier in the day, she was on deck nine reporting live with attendees of the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration and their families.

After a day of learning, we ate dinner at Triton’s and headed to the Walt Disney Theatre for another great show, Disney Dreams.

Castaway Cay

Saturday, February 11th: What a great day this was! I love Castaway Cay. Just like you’d expect, it was super clean, beautiful, and with tons of entertainment.

We swam in the bright blue water, went down water slides, met some Disney characters, enjoyed a barbecue, and Julianna even got her hair braided.

After a great day at the beach, we enjoyed our last dinner aboard at Animator’s Palate. Then, we watched Disney’s Frozen. Watching Elsa go from her coronation dress to the blue sparkly gown in a second is amazing! The social media moms also got a behind the scenes look of this production. It was very cool!

Sunday, February 12th: My only complaint about the #DisneySMMC is it ended too soon. On this day, we left. But we left with memories of a great vacation… and I left with plenty of social media and blog material to last for months!

[bctt tweet=”If you search the #DisneySMMC, you can see more from other #bloggers across the US and Canada.” username=”MediaMaven_CN”]

If you search the hashtag #DisneySMMC, you can see more from other bloggers across the US and Canada.

I hope you were following along on Instagram and watching my Instastories. That’s where I shared all the fun in real time.

Stay tuned for a lot more from Disney!