Disney Helps Moms (and a couple of Dads) Get Social in Philly

We were invited to attend the 2014 Disney Social Media Moms “On The Road” conference in Philadelphia, PA.  While the event was free to attend and we paid our own transportation and lodging, we did receive some gifts from Disney and the various sponsors of the conference while attending.  We were not obligated to write about the conference.  Our views and opinions are our own.

In the short time we’ve been blogging, there have been a number of great moments and milestones.  This summer, we added yet another experience to this amazing journey, when we attended the Disney Social Media Moms “On The Road” conference in Philadelphia.

Even if you don’t write a blog, the conference was full of great tips for making the most of social media, balancing work and family, and chasing your dreams.  And of course, it was Disney, so it was lots of fun!

What is Disney Social Media Moms “On The Road”?

This one-day conference brought the Magic of the annual Disney Social Media Moms Celebration to select cities this year.  The conference offered to:

• Highlight a dynamic line-up of motivational speakers, who will empower you to take your business to the next level
• Deliver educational content focused on business growth
• Create an exciting networking forum with influencers in your community

Click Here to learn more about Disney Social Media Moms On The Road

Getting Invited

Many bloggers view the “On The Road” conferences as a stepping stone to getting an invite to the big multi-day “Disney Social Media Moms Celebration” held on location in either Disneyland or Walt Disney World resort.  But the “On The Road” series has a lot to offer on its own.

The Disney Social Media Moms accepted applications leading up to the “On The Road” conferences.  From that pool of applicants, a certain number of attendees were invited to each location. We were both thrilled to be invited to attend in Philadelphia.  We saw this as a great opportunity to network with other Disney bloggers, to meet some of the most influential people in social media, and to soak up as much knowledge as possible.

Preparing

Since this was our first blogging/social media conference, we were at a loss in terms of what to expect.  Thankfully, there are some great reviews from bloggers who attended the conferences in previous years that we were able to read to help us out.

We also belong to a small network of bloggers in our niche, some of whom had attended before and quite a few of them were invited this year as well.  This made for a great support group.

But the thing that really stood out to us was the fact that this would be the first time that we would be representing our blog and social media channels in person, and not the other way around. That thought was a bit unnerving for the two of us since we both tend to be very reserved.

We did make sure we had some business cards to hand out, and we tried to practice summing up our blog and what it is all about in a few phrases.  That was probably the hardest thing.  How do you sum up yourself in so few words?

The Conference

We drove three hours the night before, and woke early to make sure we were on time for the conference.  Being at the hotel right next door helped.  The lobby and registration area were full of friendly faces.

Gift bags were given to each attendee as they checked in.

A Lanyard with your name, twitter handle, and website helped identify you.

The lovely ladies who worked hard and got everyone checked in for the conference

After mingling outside, it was time to enter the conference and take our seats.  The room was decked out in Disney style.

The large banner behind the dais told everyone attending to Rock their Disney Side.

There were also some photo opportunities around the room, with accessories to help attendees show their Disney Side.

Lisa poses with a Cinderella Castle backdrop

Our centerpiece, a play on Twitter’s 140 character limit

Snow White hanging out on Twitter Trail

There’s nothing like a Mickey Rice Krispie Treat first thing in the morning.

Breakfast

Before the conference got underway, we had an opportunity to meet Gary Buchanan, Managing Editor for Walt Disney World Social Media.  Gary is a quite the celebrity to us Disney fans, and a line had actually formed to have a “meet and greet” with Gary within minutes of the doors opening.

James and Gary Buchanan

Lisa and Gary Buchanan

Wouldn’t it be great to have a job where you can go to work dressed in Jedi robes, complete with Donald Duck ear hat and duck bill?

Jamie Langdon, WDW Public Relations and Social Media Manager Speaking at Disney Social Media Moms “On The Road” in  Philadelphia

Jamie introduced Gary Buchanan @gary_jerry, Walt Disney World Social Media Managing Editor who got things started by talking about what’s new and next at Disney Parks, and sharing some great stories behind some of the ideas the Disney Parks team has put together recently to promote those things.

Gary Buchanan, WDW Social Media Managing Editor Speaking at Disney Social Media Moms “On The Road” in  Philadelphia

Gary passed the baton to Jenn Fickley-Baker, @DisneyParksJenn, Walt Disney World Social Media Manager, who spoke about what goes on behind the scenes at the Disney Parks Blog and Disney Social Media.

Jenn Fickley-Baker, WDW Social Media Manager Speaking at Disney Social Media Moms “On The Road” in  Philadelphia

Following the Disney Folks, the conference turned more to the business side, with Maria Bailey @MomTalkRadio taking the stage.

Maria Bailey, Founder and CEO of BSM Media Speaking at Disney Social Media Moms “On The Road” in  Philadelphia

From HP, Noah Lomax talked about the “Solution Side of Motherhood”.  He discussed how HP has been looking to create solutions for busy moms to help them be more productive.

Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade Cookie

Victoria Lim, Managing Editor, WDW Public Relations, Speaking at Disney Social Media Moms “On the Road” in Philadelphia

Next up was a panel of “Mom-trepreneurs”:  Amy Bradley  @toydozer, Kristi Gorinas @KristiGCompany, and Jen Groover @jengroover shared their experiences and lessons learned from the journey from having an idea for a product to developing that product and becoming successful business women.

Amy Bradley, Kristi Gorinas, and Jen Groover share their business experiences at Disney Social Media Moms “On the Road” in Philadelphia

Last, but not least, we were inspired by “The Mojo Coach”, Debi Silber @TheMojoCoach. She shared some of her views on balancing the important things in your life and getting your “mojo” back.

The conference was wrapped up by Jamie Langdon, who had one last surprise for us, introducing the one and only Mickey Mouse!

Posing with Mickey, Didi “DisTherapy“, Linda “The Disney Tip Curator”, Amy “Mouse Ears Mom”, and Deb “Focused on the Magic”

Final Thoughts:

The whole day went so fast.  It was similar to our wedding day, with the same excitement and nervousness leading up to it.  We had that feeling of not wanting to miss anything, but also being unable to slow things down.

We saw a lot of people actively tweeting and sharing pics or thoughts on social media while the speakers were talking to us.  Frankly, we’re not sure how they managed to do that and soak it all in.  Even with two of us there representing the same blog, it was hard to keep up if we stopped to share something.

We’re so grateful to Disney, BSM Media, HP, Huggies, Mega Puzzles, and other sponsors of the conference for giving us the opportunity to attend.  We learned a lot, and got a chance to network with some other great bloggers in the process.

Stay tuned for part two of our recap, where Lisa will share our favorite Disney Social Media Moms “On The Road” takeaways.

Disclosure:

We were invited to attend the 2014 Disney Social Media Moms “On The Road” conference in Philadelphia, PA.  While the event was free to attend and we paid our own transportation and lodging, we did receive some gifts from Disney and the various sponsors of the conference while attending.  We were not obligated to write about the conference.  Our views and opinions are our own.

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