I love meeting Disney characters!  There is something magical about seeing the characters jump off the screen and into real life.  We all know that they are people in costume–even little kids know that–but when they are standing in front of us, they really do become that character.  One of my favorite things about the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration is the chance to meet Disney characters without crowds or lines.  It was even more fun to dance with them at a Disney Junior party!

My kids are big; it’s been a long time since I watched Handy Manny and I had never heard of Jake and the Neverland Pirates.  But since we were there with my 4 year old cousin, my kids and I quickly got into the spirit of Disney Junior; before long we were shouting the pirate password “Yo Ho Ho!” along with all the little kids.  We boogied all night with Donald Duck, Daisy, Jake (of the Neverland Pirates), Handy Manny, Special Agent Oso, Captain Hook and Mr. Smee .

And let me tell you, the Disney characters can really party!  I don’t know how Jake moved like he did in those big shoes!

Have you ever seen a duck do The Chicken Dance?

My favorite dancer was Handy Manny; he could really groove!  Make sure you watch until the end, when he really breaks it down.

I know you’re laughing, but can YOU shimmy like Handy Manny?  I don’t think I’ve seen shoulders shake like that on anyone!

© 2011, Funkidivagirl.com. All rights reserved. Republished only with permission.

There were 101 comments left on the blog post to win this Disney Dooney & Bourke 40th Anniversary Bag:

But, alas, there can only be one winner.  The following comment was randomly picked using the WordPress plug-in “And The Winner Is”:

Author: Heidi (reviewsbyheidi@embarqmail.com)
Website: http://heidi-strawser.blogspot.com
Comment: permalink

I would have loved to go to the Social Media Moms weekend (it was, after all, my birthday weekend). But, alas, I missed out. Winning this bag would be the next best thing – and a wonderful belated birthday gift!!! I liked you on FB, but it’s so hard to pick a favorite character – I love so many of them. I guess – like Walt Disney said – it all started with a MOUSE (so I’ll pick Mickey).

Congratulations Heidi and Happy Belated Birthday!  You have 24 hours to contact me at Funkidivagirl@funkidivagirl.com with your name and postal address.  If I don’t hear from you by then, another winner will be picked.

Thank you everyone for entering the giveaway.   I REALLY enjoyed reading about your favorite characters; there were some unusual and interesting choices!

Wishing everyone a magical day filled with pixie dust,

Funkidivagirl

© 2011, Funkidivagirl.com. All rights reserved. Republished only with permission.

Feeling lucky?  I have a Disney Dooney & Bourke 40th Anniversary “Small Bucket Bag” to give away!  It’s brand new, the tag is still on and it’s worth $250.  It could be yours!

To be eligible to win, you must do BOTH of these things:

1. Like Funkidivagirl.com on Facebook.

2. Leave a comment below telling me your favorite Disney character and why.

A winner will be selected randomly on Monday, March 28th by using the WordPress plug-in “And The Winner Is.”   I will announce the winner here on my blog and Facebook page.  If you leave your Twitter handle in the comments and follow me on Twitter, I’ll tweet it too.  At that time the winner will have 24 hours to contact me before the prize will go to someone else.

Good luck!

Full Disclosure: I won this purse during a raffle at Disney Social Media Moms Celebration and while I could keep it for myself, I thought it would be fun to give it away instead!  The shipping cost to the winner will be paid by me using the U.S. Postal Service.

© 2011, Funkidivagirl.com. All rights reserved. Republished only with permission.

This is the second time that I have attended the Disney Social Media Moms celebration and just like the first time, it was fantastic.  It was more than fantastic.

It was INSPIRATIONAL.

Our first event took place at Disney’s Wedding Pavilion where we learned about Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings & Honeymoons Platinum Soiree.  We were greeted with champagne, just like at a wedding cocktail reception.  Currently many brides are having a candy bar at their reception, so Disney laid out a candy bar for us to enjoy.  Champagne and candy?  That’s my kind of wedding!

Previously I had only seen the wedding pavilion from the monorail, but it is gorgeous.  I was surprised to see that the inside looked like a chapel, complete with pews.  The glass windows framed the lush gardens and Cinderella’s castle in the distance.

Photo courtesy of Disney Media

We even saw a real wedding, a renewal of vows by a couple who had gotten married at Disney World.  The ceremony concluded with fireworks, confetti and the happy couple being whisked away in Cinderella’s carriage.  How about this mode of transportation to make any bride feel like a princess?

Photo courtesy of Disney Media

Disney World is really romantic.  Although my husband and I didn’t get married there, we celebrated our engagement at Disneyland and we are INSPIRED to renewal our vows soon, perhaps at Disney World.  We already have the ears!

Photo by Christie Crowder using Instagram

The next day we listened to fantastic speakers like Chris Brogan, a social media author and consultant, and  Matt Jacobson, Head of Market Development for Facebook.  Chris spoke at the Social Media Moms Celebration last year, so he knew that it was a savvy crowd, but I think Matt Jacobson was a little surprised by the depth and breadth of the attendees’ questions.  We are social media mavens, Matt, we know what’s up.

Susan Egan and Georgia Stitt entertained us with stellar music and song.  The crowd couldn’t resist singing along with Susan (the voice of Meg) when she sang a few tunes from Hercules.  When they weren’t entertaining us, Susan and Georgia spoke about how they balanced motherhood and their careers.

The most INSPIRATIONAL speaker of the day was Rene Syler,  journalist, author and former co-host of CBS News The Early Show.  She blogs at Good Enough Mother.  Wow, I can’t even begin to tell her story like she did, but in a short amount of time she had a double mastectomy and lost her job at CBS.   During those years she learned so much about herself and just how strong she really was.  Now she is inspiring other women to reinvent themselves and begin their life anew–it’s never too late.   She was funny, authentic and engaging; our crowd gave her a standing ovation.

The last event of the weekend was centered around Disney’s Magic of Healthy Living initiative.  Perhaps you have seen First Lady Michelle Obama in this campaign?  My daughter thinks it is so cool that the First Lady is on the Disney Channel!

Photo courtesy of Disney Media

In October 2010 Disney launched Magic of Healthy Living — an initiative designed to partner with parents and inspire kids to choose healthy lifestyles, feel great, and live life to the fullest. Disney Magic of Healthy Living leverages Disney’s unique ability to reach kids and families with entertaining media, useful tools, and engaging experiences that reinforce parents ‘efforts, inspire kids, and make healthy change simple and fun! The program builds on nutritional guidelines Disney introduced in 2006 associating Disney brands and characters with a more nutritionally balanced range of foods. To start discovering the Magic of Healthy Living, please visit: www.disney.com/healthyfun (for kids) or family.com/healthymagic (for parents or caregivers).  –courtesy of Disney Media.

At the Magic of Healthy Living dinner several Disney Channel stars were present, including Jennifer Stone from Wizards of Waverly Place; that is one of my daughter’s favorite shows, so she was pretty excited about that.

Photo courtesy of Disney Media

I was excited to see Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters dance to hip hop!  What?!  Mickey was keeping it old school–cabbage patching and breakdancing.  That was funny!   Along with our entertainment, we had a healthy and INSPIRATIONAL dinner, followed by a healthy dessert buffet while we watched Illuminations at Epcot’s World Showcase.   Some family members were grumbling about the lack of hamburgers and decadent desserts that they normally enjoy during a Disney vacation (my husband: “I can eat like this at home”), but I loved dinner.  It’s how I eat every day and after a few days of eating out of my norm, my body starts to rebel.  It was nice to see the healthy options that are part of Disney’s menu.  I was very impressed that the greens were grown in The Land pavilion right there at Epcot.

It was an inspirational weekend, full of knowledge and fun.  I didn’t expect anything less; a trip to Disney World–either for fun or business (or in this case, both)–is always a first class experience.

Here are a few favorite photos from the weekend:

Dessert at one of the dinner events.

Watching Magic Kingdom Wishes fireworks from my hotel balcony.

(photo taken using an Instagram filter)

My family at Magic Kingdom.

Me & Pooh Bear at Crystal Palace breakfast.

We never leave Magic Kingdom without eating a Dole Whip!

(photo taken using an Instagram filter)

Oooo, but I’m not done!  Check back soon for a FANTASTIC give-away! You don’t want to miss this!

*Full Disclosure: I was an attendee at Disney’s Social Media Moms Celebration.  While I paid for myself and my family to attend this event, it was at a greatly reduced rate.  The event included a hotel room, some meals, park passes and special events. As usual, all opinions expressed are mine alone.

© 2011, Funkidivagirl.com. All rights reserved. Republished only with permission.

Funki and oh-so-helpful organizing & life-hacking tips by yours truly.  Like McGyver, who could dismantle a bomb with a roll of duct tape, a toothpick and a nail file, I am Ma-Gyver, organizer of everything and life-hacker extraordinaire.  From time to time I will be bringing you my tips and tricks for keeping an orderly house and mind.

It’s officially just 1 WEEK until the Disney Social Media Moms Conference at Walt Disney World and the excitement is palatable in my house.  As the person who makes sure that we get there with toothbrushes, underwear and socks, I’m channeling my excitement into planning and packing.   I’m also a little anxious that I have 2 more trips to Florida planned right after this one.  If I’m not organized something will get left behind.

Thank God that I am usually very organized.  I have been making packing lists in Word for years.  I worked from a master list and cut, paste and added items as I needed for each trip.   Then I printed them out and crossed them off as I packed.  It was a good system.  It worked.

But when I got an iPad, my world changed.  Pen and paper lists seemed clunky and outdated, so 2009.  I had learned to use my iPad for so many other tasks, surely I could figure out how to put packing lists on there.  Maybe there’s an app for that! I thought. There is; the people at QuinnScape certainly had me in mind when they created the Packing Pro app.

It seems a little daunting at first, but it’s really simple to use and customize.  There is a huge Master Catalog on Packing Pro that I used to make general packing lists for myself and each of my kids.  These are the lists that I will use as a foundation for each trip.  So far I have custom packing lists made for 2 of my upcoming trips.

While I use Packing Pro on my iPad because it’s bigger, I also have the app on my iPhone and I was able to export my packing lists between the devices.  First I exported the lists from my iPad and they were stored in Contacts.   Then I synced to iTunes and imported the lists to my iPhone.  Easy.

The photo below is a part of my packing list, the gadgets section, for the Disney Social Media Moms Conference.  (This is a screen shot from my iPhone; obviously the screen on the iPad would show more items.)   It’s a paid app, but worth every penny–and another reason to love my iPad.

© 2011, Funkidivagirl.com. All rights reserved. Republished only with permission.