Thursday, April 24, 2008

Who I met at Disney



So I know I told you that I was at a Disney retreat last weekend, but I wanted to recap what I did and who I met. The group of lovely ladies really was lovely. I hadn't met a single one before I went — hadn't really even gotten to know their blogs or websites. And this was true for all of us. So it was kind of a gamble on what the group dynamic would be like. Happily the dynamic was fantastic. It was a super-positive group that basically put out one billion kilowatts of happy vibes wherever we went.

Meet the Disney Bunch:
Amy of The Lady Bug And Her Blogging Mama & Mums The Wurd!
Amy of LIParentSource.com
Christine of Boston Mamas
Cooper of The Motherhood & Been There
Darcie of The Walt Disney World Moms Panel & Such The Spot
Elizabeth of Table For Five
Erin of Manic Mommies
Jennifer of Snapshot & 5 Minutes For Mom
Jennifer of The Mom Salon
Jo-Lynne of Musings Of A Housewife
Kim of The Walt Disney World Moms Panel & Stop A Moment
Kris of Clever Parents
Lori Seaborg of Just Pure Lovely
Mary Beth of Cheaper By The Half Dozen
Mia Cronan of Main Street Mom
Stephanie of Adventures in Babywearing
Tracey of Suburban Diva


Who had the foresight to put these fantastic group together? The brilliant Maria Bailey of BSM Media.


With Stephanie at the opening reception.

What did we do? Well basically, we experienced the DisneyWorld parks. But as VIPs. And with a camera man in tow. And someone else picking up the tab. Which was delightful.

There were no lectures or classes, but wherever we went we had access to different Disney experts, so we could ask them every possible Disney question under the sun. One day it was the staff member that covers food allergies and special needs diets. Another time it was the contact for budget trips at Disney. Another time it was a horticulture expert that told us about the grounds. And there were others. I loved having in-the-know staff members at my disposal, and it made for great conversations over dinner or dessert. (I should mention here there was a lot of food. A lot.)

Darcie, Me, Goofy, Jo-Lynne and Amy at Breakfast.

My personal highlights (besides meeting the wonderful women): riding Space Mountain and Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Carribbean and that perfect retro specimen It's a Small World.


Also, they took us to Cirque du Soleil, La Nouba, on Saturday night. I knew I would like it, but I couldn't believe how much I liked it! During the show Maria and I were making guesses as to what it meant or what the story line was, and at some point we gave up and just tried to take in how fantastic and gorgeous the whole thing was. I love that there are minds out there that can conceive of such a show.

Last highlight — I love how women dress up for other women. Everyone was so glamorous!

In the limo with Maria and Elizabeth on the way to Cirque.

Most useful thing I learned: when planning a trip to DisneyWorld take advantage of the Disney Moms Panel. It's a totally free service staffed by Volunteer Mom Experts that have been to the parks one gagillion times. Two of them joined us on our retreat and their knowledge of DisneyWorld was encyclopedic. Anyone can go to the Disney Moms Panel site and submit a question and they'll get a real answer from a real person right away. Brilliant.

add to kirtsy

20 Comments:

Blogger Denise said...

Looks like it was such a fun trip. And for the record, I also OFTEN have breakfast with Goofy.

Thursday, April 24, 2008 at 11:39:00 AM EDT  
Blogger mod*mom said...

i have disney mom blogger envy :)

what a great bunch of moms!!!

Thursday, April 24, 2008 at 11:57:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Stephanie Wilson she/her @babysteph said...

I have learned from seeing all the fabulous pictures that I don't think I ever stopped talking. Gah!

Steph

Thursday, April 24, 2008 at 12:13:00 PM EDT  
Blogger liz said...

Gabby! You are so adorable!!! I think you are aging backwards, you are so 21 in thes shots. love it.

Thursday, April 24, 2008 at 12:29:00 PM EDT  
Blogger BlondeMomBlog (Jamie) said...

What a fabulous trip! :)

And thank you for the link to the moms panel. My neighbors are taking their daughter next month and I shared the link with her.

Thursday, April 24, 2008 at 1:01:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Lauren said...

Um...you are the cutest one ever.

I'm also coveting those khaki pants.

Thursday, April 24, 2008 at 1:06:00 PM EDT  
Blogger mamacita said...

You always look so pulled-together. You need to do a fashion week where you talk about your methods and thought processes for buying clothes. Except you would actually make it sound interesting, I'm sure.

Thursday, April 24, 2008 at 1:06:00 PM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Look at you, tall, leggy one! I love that sk*rt and red belt!

Thursday, April 24, 2008 at 3:14:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Rachel H said...

What a fantastic experience you are having as a blogger! I bet you never could have imagined all the interesting things that would come of it since you began! Good for you!

I too LOVE cirque! They are probably one of my all time live performaces to watch- just so artistic...the makeup and costumes, choreography and live music are just phenomenal!

Thursday, April 24, 2008 at 3:16:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Stephanie said...

Thanks for the nice re-cap and photos. It sounds like the trip was absolutely magical (why I am I not surprised? Disney is just like that...).

Quick Question about the Disney Moms Panel: Do questions about DisneyLAND apply?

Thursday, April 24, 2008 at 5:28:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Stephanie said...

Oh, and I want to echo everyone else's sentiments. You are SO fashionable.

Thursday, April 24, 2008 at 5:30:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Kris said...

Hello, fabulous! Thanks for helping me relive the trip for a moment. And everyone is right, you do look like a fashionista (on camera and in person). If they knew what a conversationalist you are, they'd be even more green with envy! Can't wait to see you again!

:-) kris

Thursday, April 24, 2008 at 6:44:00 PM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wow! Thanks for the Youtube clip. That was amazing! I should be fixing dinner, but I could not stop watching.

Thursday, April 24, 2008 at 9:08:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Unknown said...

So fun!

You're right, the dynamic was nice. We were all pretty relaxed, but on the same page as well.

It was wonderful getting to know you (also I see that your knee is bent a little, but I look taller than you in that top picture, and that baffles me, because you are tall and glamorous). Hmmmm.

Thursday, April 24, 2008 at 9:18:00 PM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The next time you are on holiday, don't forget to take this folding cart with you, which can easily fit your luggage.

http://www.versacart.us

Thursday, April 24, 2008 at 9:25:00 PM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh, you were the glam one! I loved your orange shawl. Loved it.

Send your readers to our Flickr page for more photos of the Design Mom! I love that shot I got of you laughing.

Friday, April 25, 2008 at 12:14:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Musings of a Housewife said...

I love reading about the trip through everyone else's eyes. Great recap! And you're right -- what a fun, positive group of women.

Friday, April 25, 2008 at 9:40:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Kate The Great said...

*poke, poke* Can't see your first pic on this post. Looks like a bandwidth error message, but I can't be sure.

Friday, April 25, 2008 at 10:02:00 PM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You looked amazing in every outfit you wore that weekend! Do you do personal shopping?? lol

Monday, April 28, 2008 at 12:46:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Lisa said...

you look so great Gabby! how fun!

Tuesday, April 29, 2008 at 3:41:00 PM EDT  

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