My family and I were invited to the 2016 Disney Social Media Moms Celebration at Walt Disney World in Florida. No one in my family had ever been to Disney World before so this trip was a first for all of us! As part of this event, I received complimentary items, discounted rates, special behind-the-scenes access, and other exciting benefits, such as food and entertainment.

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What is the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration?

Lately I’ve had a bunch of people tell me how “lucky” I am because I get free stuff. They all want to know how they can start a blog and get free stuff, too. Truth is, I’ve poured my blood, sweat, and tears into this blog. I have been working to build my own little piece of the web for 6 years! I’m not lucky, I WORKED for it.

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This Disney Social Media Moms Celebration is an invitation-only professional conference for social media-minded people, just like me! Disney Parks knows how hard we work, and they think we deserve to make some magical memories together with our families!

The Disney Social Media Moms Celebration continues to be one of the most sought after conferences and one of the few family-friendly events for social media influencers and opinion leaders. Disney Parks presented a dynamic line-up of speakers and one-of-a-kind events to empower and energize us in both our professional endeavors and family life.

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Thursday, May 5th – Arrival

We drove down from Georgia on Wednesday night and stayed in a hotel right off the highway. Then on Thursday morning we drove the remaining hour or so to Disney World!

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We arrived at Disney’s Yacht Club for check-in about noon. After we signed in, received our conference badges, and met Mickey Mouse, we went to check out our room!

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We had the most beautiful room and an amazing view of the lagoon and Disney’s Boardwalk!

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We had a few hours to kill before our “Wild Welcome” family dinner, so we headed over to Disney’s Animal Kingdom first.

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Kilimanjaro Safaris

The Kilimanjaro Safaris at Disney’s Animal Kingdom was the first attraction we did after we arrived — and it’s still one of my favorites! I wanted to go again before we left but ran out of time.

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It was like a REAL African Safari! We took a tour through the lush African savanna with real-live exotic animals in an open-air vehicle.

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The animals are literally roaming right next to you! Seriously mind-blowing, it was a great way to start our trip!

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Next we went to check out DinoLand, and another must-see on my list, Expedition Everest. We spent about 5 hours at the Animal Kingdom on our own exploring before we headed back for the main welcome meet-and-greet event. Kali River Rapids is definitely on my list for next time!

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“Wild Welcome” Family Dinner at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

That evening for dinner, we were all transported to Disney’s Animal Kingdom AFTER hours. The park completely transforms at night, and we had the entire place to ourselves!

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First we headed to Africa for a buffet-style dinner, complete with African dancing, gifts from The Lion Guard, and we got to meet some characters from Zootopia.

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Then we traveled to Asia in the village of “Anandapur” (which means “place of delight”) for Mickey Mouse ice cream, cream puffs, and tons of other desserts.

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Huge thank you to Karen‘s husband for watching the girls for us, so my husband and I could ride Expedition Everest in the dark through the Himalayan mountains, avoiding the clutches of the Abominable Snowman… over and over! Haley wanted to ride it, but she was an inch too short, and Natalie was tall enough to ride but too terrified to try it because of the Yeti!

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Starting Memorial Day weekend, you will be able to get tickets for “Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park At Night” to experience new shows like the River of Lights, music-filled water and light show…

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…and the Tree of Life, as animal spirits within the great tree come alive at night! We got to see a preview of the mesmerizing color and light while we were there!

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The day was full of amazing surprises and the magic continued even when we arrived back at our hotel room. There was a new bag full of goodies and two adorable Mickey Mouse stuffed animals.

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The entire first day was magical! I can see why they call it the happiest place on Earth. I was blown away by the friendly cast members, the gorgeous sand-filled pool, and the awesome Magic Bands that control everything from our hotel room to park tickets.

Disney knows how to throw a party! I’ll be walking you through our entire first trip to Walt Disney World so stay tuned for a lot more pictures!

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