2011 Disney Social Media Moms – Day 1

This was the sand art displayed at the Day 1 Family Dinner

The anticipation had been building for months, but on St. Patrick’s Day, we were finally off to the airport.  Destination, Orlando.  I hadn’t flown in about 6 years; it was hard to tell if I was nauseous from the nerves or if it was the stomach virus I came down with earlier that week.

Emma’s first flight ever went really well, and thankfully it was nice and smooth all the way down.  We arrived around 2:00pm, and the Disney Magical Express bus whisked us off to the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa.

We just loved the Victorian-style elegance of the Grand Floridian.

One of the perks of the Magical Express is that you don’t have to worry about picking up your checked bags and hauling them to your Disney hotel.  You can also choose to get them from baggage claim yourself, but I decided to try the service.

Big mistake.  We waited four hours for our bags to be delivered to the hotel room, all of us still wearing our winter clothes. I was really disappointed because I ended up missing the cocktail-and-candy reception at 4:00.  I longingly read all of the tweets about champagne, candy and then the vow renewal and performances at the Wedding Pavilion.

We just barely made it to the family dinner at 6.  It was buffet style barbeque food–along with carnival games, and special guests (see above).  All along the beachfront setting at the Grand Floridian.  It made for a fun and relaxing evening after a long travel day.

By the end of the dinner we were all ready for bed, fat and happy.  Read about Day 2.

As a Disney Social Media Moms conference attendee, I received a special rate which included the conference fee, hotel room, meals, park passes and gifts.  I was not required to blog about the experience, but I wanted to share.  All opinions above are my own.