As a Miami local, Disney World is often on the mind. Being four hours away and having the Florida resident ticket discounts makes it an accessible vacation for our family. I know when I go to the Disney parks, we'll have a good time.
I have been blogging since 2008 and when I changed over to this new website, I saved my previous Disney posts as drafts here to revamp and share again. Here is one of those posts that has a personal story attached, related back to my husband's cancer journey.
Getting invited to this Disney event in 2018 was one of the highlights of my blog career. This initial event took place to promote Toy Story Land before it was premiered at the parks.
I visited Toy Story Land in 2019 and 2021 and loved the theming just as much both times. Since this part of the park is right next to Galaxie's Edge, it is a good break spot after all the Star Wars excitement.
It is so gorgeous at sunset with all the reds and oranges on the life-size toy sets.
{See also - My experience at the Glactic Starcruiser, the now closed Disney roleplaying hotel}
Original 2018 Disney Mom post:
Before my son, Jack Douglas, was born I was already beginning my Disney Mom habits. I was envisioning family trips, making fake itineraries and deciding what hotel my child would want to visit to get the most access to fun themes. Of course, when the baby actually came into our lives all those ideas completely changed. I could not have anticipated how much this child would LOVE everything related to Cars.
It was around this time last year that we were actually planning out our son's first Disney trip. Just the thought of the trip that would have been brings tears to my eyes because within two weeks of booking our hotel my husband was diagnosed with cancer.
Becoming an official Disney Mom was on hold. In fact, a lot of our life was put on hold. With this part of our journey coming to a close soon, we can't wait to pick up where we left off and get back to the fun. We are so grateful!
When Disney themselves popped into my inbox to invite me to their Disney Social Media Moms Celebration "On-The-Road" tour in Miami last month, I was over the moon. Here it was! My official Disney Mom badge and embroidered hat. It was a sign from the universe, affirming our difficult time was almost over.
While we, of course, let the fun in whenever we could this past year - knowing that after this summer it won't have to be coordinated around doctor's visits and chemotherapy sessions has been such a blessing. We'll get our wish soon, to see our son's eyes light up when he sees Mickey Mouse in person for the first time. Also, to play in Toy Story Land! And everything related to Cars! His favorite characters will all be right in front of him and we can't wait to soak that in.
If you'd like to learn a bit more about Toy Story Land, take a look at Meg's post filled with sneak peeks. She has ALL the details!
All about Social Media Moms Celebration "On-The-Road"
The Disney Social Media Moms Celebration "On-The-Road" Miami stop was held at the InterContinential Hotel. I had never been there before and the second I walked in my eyes went completely into heart-eyed-emoji-status. I would love to have a staycation there sometime soon. This conference is a mini version of the big epic Social Media Moms Celebration they hold each year, where hundreds of parenting bloggers and influencers come together to learn about what's new in the parks.
We heard from a great group of speakers and a pretty good majority of them made me cry. I loved hearing about how Disney creates video for the Disney blog and more with Robert Hitchcock, learning about the Babble team, and how they pick content that works from Megan Sayers Chapman. How Disney's mom panel helps travelers with Prissy from Social Parenting and the emphasis on Disney Familia. Then, the lovely Anabelle Blum sharing how she grew her career in Miami. I enjoyed all the panels so much!
{Some of the links above now redirect with names changing and companies being acquired or moving since 2018.}
I hope to be given an invite to attend the conference next year as well. By then, I'll have that fresh just-went-to-Disney glow! And hopefully will be less embarrassing. I cried a little too much when they shared their emotion-grabbing videos.
See you soon Disney! Jack is ready to go!
This article has been repurposed from my original blog after I changed website providers, so all previous comments and shares have been lost. If you liked this post, I'd appreciate if you shared it on your favorite social media site.
Don't forget to tag me! You can find our accounts @RebeccaKSampson.
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