Disclosure: I was invited to the Disney Social Media Moms conference and paid for all conference and transportation fees for the family and myself. I was provided this information during the conference but was not forced to post just wanted to share.  As always my post is my unbiased opinions.

The family has just returned from the Disney Social Media Moms Conference and an extended stay where I was inspired, had magical family moments and Disney information. Check out my 2013 Disney Social Media Moms conference recap with my Top 6 moments here. I have so much information and pictures to sift before I can post but to share some BIG news for May 24^th and 25^th, 2013!

Check out this Monstrous announcement!

In celebration of Disney•Pixar’s latest release Monsters University (June 21, 2013) Disney Parks are getting into the fun by having a Monstrous Summer starting off with a Monstrous 24-Hour Event!

On May 24, 2013, for one day and one night only, Guests will have the chance to spend 24 whole hours inside select Disney parks!

From 6:00 AM, May 24 to 6:00 AM, May 25, 2013, on each coast, experience monster madness inside Magic Kingdom park at Walt Disney World Resort, as well as Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park* at the Disneyland Resort.

A Day and Night at Walt Disney World Resort

At Magic Kingdom park, enjoy the fun when Mike and Sulley take their turn as Grand Marshals of the Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade. Watch along and wave, or make your way to an after-dark screening of Disney•Pixar’sMonsters, Inc. in Tomorrowland. For a fun and fancy free Character encounter, join the delightful duo known as Chip ‘n’ Dale when they drop in to Town Square. Take some time to take some pictures, or head on inside Town Square Theater where you’ll find Mickey and Minnie. Haven’t quite had enough? Then fill this magical cup of fun all the way to the brim and boogie down at a late night dance party in and around the courtyard of Cinderella Castle!

24 Hours of Fun at the Disneyland Resort

Over at the Disneyland Resort, hit up the dance floor at Disneyland Park! Get your groove going in Tomorrowland—courtesy of the TLT “Monstrous” Dance Club—or make your way to Mickey’s Toontown, where you can party alongside some of your favorite Disney Characters. Looking for a more royal affair? Then enter the new Fantasy Faire Royal Theatre as it transforms into a late-night dance hall—complete with live music—or cross the Esplanade into Disney California Adventure Park*, where a variety of memory-making opportunities await! Hit the road to Hollywood Land where you’ll find the freshly built Monsters University ”dorms,” and check out the newMonsters University-themed float leading the always popular Pixar Play Parade. Don’t forget to stop by for a monstrous meet up where you can snap some photos with Mike and Sulley, and capture these magic moments for a lifetime! * While some “Monstrous Summer” activities will continue to take place at Disney California Adventure Park, portions of this theme park will be closed, including Cars Land, Paradise Pier, Pacific Wharf and The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™, from as early as 10:15 PM, May 24 until 3:30 AM, May 25, 2013, for a Grad Nite special event. Additionally, Radiator Springs Racers will be available to Disney California Adventure Park Guests from 9:00 AM until 10:15 PM on May 24, and “a bugs land” will be available from 6:00 AM until 10:15 PM on May 24.

Along with these special activities there will be Monsters-themed merchandise like Sulley Ear hat, “It’s Eye-Mazing” T-shirt and food like Monstrous cupcakes, cake pops and green and blue cotton candy!

So excited and I know the 24 hour event and summer will a monstrous great time!

About Divina Rodriguez

Divina is a wife, a Mami of 2 boys under the age of four and a full fledged social media butterfly with a Masters in Communications. She loves sharing the best of Disney on TheDisneyFiles.com whether its movies, video games, shopping or the themeparks. In addition to TheDisneyFiles, Divina writes about entertainment, technology and family products on www.DancingHotdogs.com and is a founding mother & partner at Trumpeting Media, a social media consulting company that is dedicated to using social media for social good.

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So a select few, including our very own Divina Rodriguez, is off to the amazing Disney Social Media Moms conference and I’ve got Disney on my mind. Remembering all the great memories from my trip last year, I found a GREAT way to keep those memories alive at Shutterfly!

I am loving the personalized plates and cups in Cars, Toy Story, Disney Princesses and Mickey & Minnie themes. Check out some of our creations. Both products are made from high-quality BPA-free, food-safe, dishwasher-safe plastic. The cup holds a generous 12 ounces and retails for $18.99 and the plate measures 10×10 inches, retailing for $24.99. In just a few clicks you will have beautiful custom piece your child will go GAGA over!

What I love about Shutterfly is their amazing quality. I have made photo books yearly for each child and recently ventured into their photo gifts including their nifty mouse pad. My husband just loves his mouse pad with the Little Man in a Star Wars action scene. Making Shutterfly even more awesome is that you can always find a coupon simply by googling, not to mention they are constantly running promotions. Ie. Right now the personalized cups are $15.19 and the plates are only $19.99 making them perfect birthday gifts for your favorite little Disney fan!

Breakfast is gonna be fun at our house!

{ disclaimer: Shutterfly provided us with a code for a free plate and cup.  All other projects were created and paid for by ourselves. }

Disney Princesses 10×10 Plate

Modern greeting cards and party invitations by Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

About Suzanne Chan

Suzanne Chan, one of the Trumpeting Media founders, is a former marketing/PR executive whose life was dramatically changed by parenthood. Still channeling the energy of her former life, she wears many hats – student, daughter, wife, registered nurse, certified lactation counselor, friend and blogger – but the job she’s most proud of is mother… Read all about her life, her loves and all the bumps along the way at MomConfessionals.com.

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Yes, it happened again.  My darling boy, not even an hour after arriving at our resort, the colorful Art of Animation, had an anaphylatic reaction despite discussing allergy concerns with the chef at the Landscape of Flavors.  Despite their best efforts their seemed to be some sort of cross contamination and Marcus wound up with an Epi-pen Jr to the outer thigh and bought himself a trip to the local ER.  While my husband tended to our now stable son, I engaged in a discussion with the management at the resort.

Completely apologetic for the accident and ever eager to make our stay as enjoyable as possible, the team at the Art of Animation really rose to the challenge of accommodating my severely allergic son and calming the nerves of two now very anxious parents.  We couldn’t believe this was the start to our vacation and needless to say we seriously contemplated that we may never be able to take our son anywhere again.

I was still hopeful.  I had heard time and time again how wonderfully proactive the team at Disney is about Allergies.  Aside from the usual table-side consult, I wasn’t aware of any other accommodations they could make and before his allergies were this severe, that was all we needed.  In typical Asian fashion, before getting too crazy with accommodations  we wanted to see if this was something we could handle on our own and attempted to step back and re-attempt the Kosher paerve diet for M.  Unfortunately that did not go over well with the little man who wanted his chicken nuggets and fries just like his siblings.  The kosher paerve and kosher meat options were really more geared towards the adult palate with potato croquettes and stuff corn beef hash sandwiches.  We were in despair.  I tried to remain positive for the other children, I really wanted all of them to have a magical time at Disney and this was just not turning out the way I had envisioned.

The wonderful dietary team at Disney’s Art of Animation really stepped up to the plate.  They followed up post ER visit to make sure he was doing better and asked how they could make our stay more enjoyable.  We voiced our continued concern over his dietary needs and our disappointment in not more kid-friendly kosher paerve and kosher meat meals.  Manager Brett, Chef Pete, Chef Elizabeth and Chef Julie came up with a game plan.  The had a lovely little pad filled out with all of M’s allergies and accommodations.   They asked me what were M’s favorite meals and they came up with dairy free, nut free recipes that they would personally oversee and prepare in a separate area.   M was over the moon the next day.  For breakfast, they made him identical waffles to his siblings  that were dairy free, nut free and gluten free.  He was none the wiser.  He had freshly prepared chicken fingers and fries and fried fish and chips as his meals for the rest of the day. They were ordered to be made each day at a certain time and were ready for prompt pick up.  The dietary team at the Art of Animation worked seamlessly to ensure that we were comfortable and M’s food was safe.  There was never a lapse in communication, each shift knew about M and were always so kind and accommodating.   We continued to feel that Asian guilt for putting them out, but we were reassured time and time again that they were happy to accommodate   Both my husband and I were so relieved.  The black cloud that was hanging over our trip was now gone and the sheer joy on M’s face during our stay was priceless.  So many memories were created here thanks to the dietary team at Art of Animation.

As per the wonderful gracious manager, Brett, he passed along some tips for future worry-free visits.

Guests with requests associated with the list below should contact the Walt Disney World Resort at Special.Diets@DisneyWorld.com at least 14 days prior to arrival and after booking all dining arrangements for the entire visit:

• Allergy or intolerance not listed above under Common Food Allergies (gluten or wheat, shellfish, soy, lactose or dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, eggs, corn)
• or a guest with multiple allergies/intolerances or multiple guests with allergies/intolerances within the same party
• PKU
• Metabolic disorders

The restaurants will do their best to accommodate guest dietary requirements, but cannot guarantee they will be able to meet all requests.

For more information on Disney and their amazing dietary team, please visit: http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/special-dietary-requests/

About Suzanne Chan

Suzanne Chan, one of the Trumpeting Media founders, is a former marketing/PR executive whose life was dramatically changed by parenthood. Still channeling the energy of her former life, she wears many hats – student, daughter, wife, registered nurse, certified lactation counselor, friend and blogger – but the job she’s most proud of is mother… Read all about her life, her loves and all the bumps along the way at MomConfessionals.com.

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One of the most magical of moments, meeting a Disney princess, becomes even more magical in Enchanted Tales with Belle, our absolute favorite attraction at New Fantasyland.  This is truly one of the most unique and innovative attractions yet.  My husband and I want to applaud the imagineers for their sheer brilliance.  It is unlike any other attraction yet.  The animatronics are truly state of the art and their most innovative yet to date.

Guests are immersed into the enchanting “Beauty and the Beast” story as they enter Belle’s world through the provincial cottage of her father, Maurice, and are transported to Beast’s Castle through the Enchanted Mirror.  Guests are transfixed by a magic mirror portal and furniture that springs to life in true “Beauty and the Beast” fashion.

Madame Wardrobe engages all the children to gather and help plan a surprise for Belle. Using props in this reenactment, the children become part of the storytelling experience by playing the characters from “Beauty and the Beast,” including Maurice, Phillipe his horse and Beast’s whimsical household sidekicks Chip the teacup, Mrs. Potts the teapot, “A” as one of the laughing portraits, “J” as a knight and my darling “M” as the Beast.  I admit I was a little nervous with the casting, “M” was the youngest of the group with big shoes to fill, but I went with it and it was amazing.  I couldn’t help but tear.

All dressed in character, the children enter the library where Lumiere calls to Belle, who is preparing for her dinner with the Beast.  As Lumiere narrates, Belle and her surprise guests share in a fun-filled, interactive storytelling adventure – the “tale as old as time” — before she dashes off to see the Beast.  All the children were on cue, and the story was seamless.  It was priceless memory I will treasure forever.

When you head over to the magic kingdom, make sure to make time for Enchanted Tales with Belle.  While there is no FASTPASS access for this attraction, it is well worth the wait.  Even the shyest of children will be enchanted by the magic of Disney and Belle.

About Suzanne Chan

Suzanne Chan, one of the Trumpeting Media founders, is a former marketing/PR executive whose life was dramatically changed by parenthood. Still channeling the energy of her former life, she wears many hats – student, daughter, wife, registered nurse, certified lactation counselor, friend and blogger – but the job she’s most proud of is mother… Read all about her life, her loves and all the bumps along the way at MomConfessionals.com.

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By Divina

My first Disney Social Media Moms Celebration was a truly magical weekend with so many wonderful opportunities.  I met wonderful new friends, caught up with fabulous friends and had once in a lifetime experiences.

The conference had a full agenda with top speakers like;

Meg Crofton, President of Walt Disney Resorts

Matt Jacobson, Head of Market Development for Facebook

Rene Syler, Good Enough Mother Continue Reading

About Divina Rodriguez

Divina is a wife, a Mami of 2 boys under the age of four and a full fledged social media butterfly with a Masters in Communications. She loves sharing the best of Disney on TheDisneyFiles.com whether its movies, video games, shopping or the themeparks. In addition to TheDisneyFiles, Divina writes about entertainment, technology and family products on www.DancingHotdogs.com and is a founding mother & partner at Trumpeting Media, a social media consulting company that is dedicated to using social media for social good.

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