Disney Social Media Moms On The Road in Philly

I had the opportunity to attend Disney Social Media Moms On the Road event this past Thursday in Philadelphia. For me, Philly is about an hour away so I drove up that morning.

The day started out rough, waking up 15 min later than planned. I know, it’s only 15 minutes, but when you plan the morning out to be super tight- it makes a difference. I dropped Charlie off at daycare and boogied up the road. I pulled into the Crowne Plaza Hotel’s parking lot at 7:48! I just knew I was going to be the last person walking into a crowded room trying to find a place to sit, but there were ladies walking in right along with me. What I thought was really awesome was no one could go into the conference room until 8:00am! That meant we were all walking in to experience the magic together!

Once inside, everyone found a seat and scattered to chit chat, take in the magic, and get some photos!

We were served an awesome breakfast and had a yummy Disney treat already waiting for us on the table! I saved mine until I got home because I knew Charlie would think it was neat. The down side to that? It melted a little and I had to share.

 

We even traded pins. This is the one I ended up with, I thought Charlie would like it!

Jamie Langdon, Walt Disney World Public Relations and Social Media Manager, opened up the event and was followed by Gary Buchanan, Walt Disney World Social Media Managing Editor. Gary B. is hilarious and full of energy. He showed off some awesome new things going on at the Disney Parks.

I really enjoyed watching the Diaper Dans and Gary hanging out with some super cute kiddos (including Jamie’s daughter).

Jenn Fickley-Baker, Walt Disney World Social Media Manager, gave us a peek behind the scenes of the Disney Parks Blog. One big thing that Jenn said was CONTENT IS KING! Of course, most bloggers know that. But… she said that if you want great content, you just need to chase an idea. Sometimes the craziest ideas can turn into something amazing!

Next up was HP to show up all the fun stuff they have going on. Then Fadra Nally from All Things Fadra, who was sitting next to me at the table, popped up on screen demoing HP’s new features that will make Mom’s life a little easier. HP now has printers that will know when you are running low on ink and send it right to your door for cheaper than you’ll find it at the store! Check out HP Instant Ink and follow HPPrint to see what else HP is up to!

After a short break that included a cookie, Victoria Lim brought out her bag of mobile goodies. I don’t do videos right now, but it’s something I’d love to get started.

Some of her tips for creating videos using your phone:

• put your phone in airplane mode, so if someone calls you won’t be interrupted
• read your “script” as if you’re reading a bedtime story to your child
• don’t shoot like TMZ or MTV- keep it steady and don’t move around too much

I do wish some of the apps she showed were available for Windows Phones, but I can use Tommy’s iphone to play around with the ones she uses. After looking at all the awesome products Victoria had in her mobile bag, I want to go shopping!

Now it was time to hear from some awesome Mompreneurs: Amy Bradley (Toydozer), Kristi Gorinas (Dad Pack), and Jen Groover (Butler Bag). And of course it was moderated by Maria Bailey of MomTV.

I think the question of the day was “How do you shut it off?”, meaning how do you run your business and still be the Mom and wife you want to be? This was a hard one for everyone to answer, but one of the best solutions I heard was to set boundaries (anything past 9 pm will be responded to the following day or off on weekends, etc.). Maria Bailey said it best though when she said “Look at the whites of your child’s eyes when you’re talking to them. That’s how they’ll know you’re really there”. I know I have a rough time scheduling and dividing my time. I pretty much “blog/work” all day and get bits and pieces done throughout the whole day instead of just setting aside a certain time and focusing on it during that time.

We wrapped up the morning with The Mojo Coach, Debi Silber. Debi’s advice: get rid of toxic relationships and stop trying to be everything for everyone. This is something that every mom has a problem doing. We’re running ourselves ragged trying to do so much, that we can’t take care of ourselves, much less anyone else. And my favorite thing Debi said:

Our bodies are a billboard telling the world how we’re handling stress.

And then of course… there was a magical surprise before we left!

So what did I learn at my Disney Social Media Moms event?

1. Take a real camera and not just my phone because my phone takes poor quality pictures in different lighting.
2. Be more social! I’m a bit shy, so I definitely need to just jump in more and meet new people.
3. Actually pass out my business cards!
4. We’re all in the same place for the same reason. Don’t be intimidated.

I do hope I get invited to another On the Road event next year because it really was amazing. The speakers were all inspirational and informative, the surprises and swag were great, and with Disney- you can never go wrong.