Why am I the same size as my daughter?
It’s very hard for me to spend money. I don’t like it. Since I’ve had my kids and also since I’ve become self-employed, I know the value of every penny and I don’t like parting with my hard-earned money.
But as a whole, our family was struggling. We had gotten out of the habit of our twice-monthly movie nights. My husband and I have been quite busy with work, with my husband traveling so frequently that I couldn’t tell when he was coming or going. We needed a family vacation in the worst way!
A few months ago, I got a late-night email invitation to the fifth annual Disney Social Media Moms Conference. I was geeked, especially since this was my second time receiving an invitation! These invites are hard to come by, so I felt honored to receive one!
The way the conference works is this: You (and your family) fly out for four days of Disney fun, with one day dedicated to workshops and fun activities with the other bloggers. Fortunately, I had enough money to cover the conference fee ($500, which covered our five-day park passes, hotel for three nights and certain meals and freebies!) and quickly booked the flights.
I’m going to start with the last day first and here’s why: Disney knows how to treat its guests special. On Sunday, we enjoyed early access to Cars Land in Disney’s California Adventure park. Put another way: WE WERE THE ONLY ONES IN THE PARK. No lines on anything. Just walk up and get on. Surreal.
These kids don’t even know how good they have it with a mom who’s a blogger.
Again. It was JUST US. Is this how celebrities’ kids feel?
They had an early morning fun run for attendees that morning, but um, I did not participate. (In my defense, I probably walked about 20 miles during the whole trip so I got my calorie burn for the week.) Instead we got there in time for breakfast and for unlimited access to Radiator Springs Racers, Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree, and Luigi’s Flying Tires. My kids rode Radiator Springs Racers probably 10 times, which wouldn’t have been possible without our early access to the park. Thank you, Disney!! Here’s a POV video through the ride:
Love, love, loved the variety of snack foods available throughout the park. Fresh fruit, veggies and hummus!
Of course, when you have people from the movie working on the theme park component, you expect it to look similar, but the Imagineers nailed it.
Mater!!
The amount of work that went into building this mountain landscape blew my mind.
The highlight of our trip HAD to be Cars Land. When we walked up, my son asked me if this is where they shot Cars, which is exactly what the Imagineers intended for visitors’ reactions to be.
We didn’t see as much of the parks as I had hoped, but because we spent a good chunk of time with Lightning and Mater, my kids were happy! I honestly forgot about how much money we spent to get out there and just focused on my kids. We heard from the chairman of the Disney resorts while we were there and he talked about how Disney was “heads up” time for his family — not focused on their Kindle or iPad or Galaxy, but together, laughing and having fun without screens. That’s just what we needed and I’m glad we had a chance to do it at Disney.
So happy to hear you guys had a great time! Doesn’t it feel great when you FINALLY get to enjoy a much-needed vacation?!