They call it being “in the bubble.” As a guest at Walt Disney World resorts, you are “in the bubble” from the moment you step into the line for your Magical Express ride from the airport to your resort, through the landscaping on the property, to the smell of the dungeons of the Pirates of the Caribbean, right on to the moment you step back onto your plane to make your way home.
It’s those special touches. The “We’ve got it covered” approach that meets you at every turn. The extra dose of magic that finds its way into everything from the towels to the soap to the carpet in the hallways.
It’s the Mickey.
Yikes, that’s a scary still frame after a long day. The video above was shot in my room at the Walt Disney World Beach Club Resort. By the way, that “towel” was actually a blanket.
Thank my lucky stars, I was fortunate enough to have spent the weekend at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, as part of the Spring Mom Blogger Mixer. Well, thank my lucky stars whose names happen to be Maria Bailey from BSM Media and the Social Media department of Walt Disney World.
For my having been singled out as a mom blogger, well, some pixie dust must have been involved.
I haven’t been to Disney World since I was 12, having grown up going to either Epcot or the Magic Kingdom every year prior as part of our annual trip to St. Pete’s Beach. Back then, Disney was a one day trip, where you chose one park or the other to tear through before heading back to your own hotel hours away.
My, how things have changed.
The resort culture that exists at Walt Disney World today is extraordinary. As a mom of pre-school age children, it is now the only way to do Disney, in my opinion. The benefits of spending your Disney vacation “in the bubble” (or on Disney property, from the resorts to the parks) for the duration of your stay, are immeasurable.
Our group was referred to as the “Magical Moms.” If that means that we were magically transformed into 9 year olds, then the term is spot on. Even the model-esque Lindsay Ferrier of Suburban Turmoil was reduced to a wide-eyed awe-struck babe. I assure you, it is difficult to be intimidated by even the most “successful” bloggers when they become a puddle of emotion and sparkles in the face of the world that Walt built.
The video above was shot during the Reflections of Earth presentation in Epcot’s World Showcase Lagoon. The mom bloggers you see are Lindsay from Suburban Turmoil, Beth (the one with the camera) from I Should Be Folding Laundry, Andrea from Mommy Snacks, and Emily from Mommin’ It Up.
There is so much more to tell you about the trip, not the least important of which being how I think I’m finally getting used to the idea of this new baby, but it’s time for us all to pop back out of the bubble until the next post.
More videos, more stories about the other bloggers (some of whom I know you’ll love, if you don’t already), and much more about the Disney experience to come.
Most of all, I want to share with you what I learned. You know full well that I don’t generally write reviews. But this was different, and for that reason, I ask that you bear with me and trust me. This trip to Disney changed the way I think of my family and my role as their mother.
For all of the fun times that I miss from being in my twenties, nothing compares to the joy that family life brings. Since this was a business trip, our families had to stay behind (understandably so, as we were completely booked). Let me tell you, I had to hold back tears for the whole first hour I was in the Magic Kingdom because I missed them so thoroughly. I was jealous of every mother that watched wonder spread across the face of her child as they stood in front of Cinderella’s castle. I sort of wanted to kick every dad that propped his son on his shoulders as they headed toward the Jungle Cruise.
Because I wanted to share the experience with my kids.
My life is nothing without my family. And the magic of Disney only highlighted that for me this weekend. For that, Mickey, I thank you.
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