A Magical Disney Adventure Begins

Our Emma (age 8) loves math code puzzles. But there’s something she loves more….

How about math code puzzles that lead you to Disney World!? There were some happy tears right after I shut the camera off. See, she never thought she’d be going to Disney World. Neither did we.

Until THIS showed up in my inbox.

Did I want to come to Disney World as part of the Disney Social Media Mom’s Celebration? After I picked my chin up off the floor, my husband and I started working through the details. Could we? Should we? How could we make it happen?

How could we not?

Disney was offering us an unbelievable opportunity to explore their parks and be part of a magical business-growing conference like no other. And they were doing it at steeply discounted rates. We stewed over it for a few days.

We had almost made our decision (Yes! We want to go!) when we received an anonymous note from a church member. The note was thanking my husband for everything he does as a volunteer to make our Saturday evening service possible. And tucked inside was almost enough cash to cover the conference registration fee.

Well then. I don’t need flashing lights in the sky, folks.

Guess who was online in a heartbeat signing up for the conference? 😉

Leaving on a Jet Plane

We ended up leaving home at 5 a.m. to fly out of Pittsburgh. (yawn) Emma was a rockstar passenger. She’s learned that wearing headphones (even without music on) and chewing gum help a lot with the takeoff and landing times. So does a trusty stuffed bear.

We opted to take advantage of Disney’s Magical Express service. That meant we could check our non-carry-on bags in Pittsburgh and not worry about them again. Disney would pick them up at the Orlando airport, shuttle them to the resort, and deliver them to our room. Not having to deal with baggage claim? Now THAT’S what I call magical. Oh, and did I mention that it’s free?

We arrived in Orlando and checked in at our resort, The Contemporary. Oh my swoon. We probably could’ve spent the afternoon gawking at the monorail (that ran right through the resort!), the shops, the restaurants, and the amazing view from our room. But instead we headed for The Magic Kingdom.

And that’s where the magic really started.

This is Emma. She just spotted Cinderella’s Castle for the first time. {Let me get rid of this lump in my throat & grab a tissue before we move on.}

Her reaction was priceless. I was so excited that one of the Disney PhotoPass photographers was right there to capture it. I didn’t even realize that they had taken the shot (They must’ve given the card to my husband without me seeing it?) until I logged on to see our photos after the trip. Wow. Just wow.

And the magic was only beginning….

I’ll be back soon to share more about our trip and some awesome new Disney projects.

Disclosure: We received discounted Disney World tickets and accommodations as part of our conference fee for the Disney Social Media Moms Conference, but – as always – all opinions are 100% honest and all mine.