Adventures of the "Moms" Panel

[pl'smama]

Awesome Erin. Thanks for sharing this special day with us. Because of this thread and the openness (sp?) of the panel I feel like I know you guys. A bit silly I know, but I feel like these great and fantastic moments are happening to my "friends". Thanks to all the "moms" for giving us that.

I am off to share your day with my hubby! He laughs at my eagerness, but I just love it.

Suz

 

[cdotla]

Actually, this has been the year of a lifetime.

In addition to tangible rewards and countless priceless experiences, the Moms Panel has given me, well, me. I have been a stay-at-home mom for more than 10 years. During that time my kids have grown and flourished, but I sort of forgot what it was like to be part of something larger than my own backyard. The opportunity to interact with such amazing people and to be taken seriously by them (mostly ) has given me self-confidence that I never knew I had. Ironically, I needed the Moms Panel to show me that there was someone other than "Mom" in there.

The Celebration theme will be amazing for the new Panelists to share, but 2008 will always be the year that my million dreams came true, thanks to the Moms Panel.

Erin

Awww...Erin! That is so great! Time and time again you guys keep showing us that Disney really knew what it was doing in picking you all to be on the Panel!

And thanks again Erin for keeping us posted on all of the Moms' Panel events. I am sure I speak for all of the non-Panel members on this thread when I say that the next best thing to being on the Panel has been to hear about your experiences along the way. Thanks so much to you and all the other panelists (particularly Bret on this thread) for sharing your stories with us!!!

 

[DISgeeksfromDC]

More photos:

Hotel Edison

Moms in Times Square

Nice photo of Mickey

Balloons

Love 'em! Thanks for "gifting" us with all of these great photos so soon after the event!


The close-up shots of Mickey and the branded balloons ("What will you celebrate?") are super! And, I love all of the busy New York signage behind the Moms. Laura looks almost giddy, btw! (What a terrifically classy pink outfit.)

Edited to Add: Hmmm... Maybe the correct word is "radiant." Not "giddy," but "radiant"...

 

[cdotla]

Those of you running the race, how about those clues? Needless to say I have not been running like I should have, I hoping that the excitement of it all will help me through the race.
Take care and I'll check back later.

Julie - I will let you in on a little secret. The last time I ran was in the month that I did the Minnie5k. Yep! MAY!!! I keep meaning to start my "training", but somehow haven't quite gotten there yet - LOL! Oh well! I am far too excited at this point to dwell on minor details! LOL

 

[I believe]

Hi everyone—

Did you see this tour website? There will be a "What will you celebrate tour?" that will visit 30 cities across the United States and part of Canada. The tour is scheduled to come to Boston on Sept 29. I am trying to find out where it will be held in the Boston area.

If anyone knows where it will be held please let me know. Thanks!

 

[Dcanoli]

Hi everyone—

Did you see this tour website? There will be a "What will you celebrate tour?" that will visit 30 cities across the United States and part of Canada. The tour is scheduled to come to Boston on Sept 29. I am trying to find out where it will be held in the Boston area.

If anyone knows where it will be held please let me know. Thanks!

Hmmm...that IS very interesting...I had not seen it before...and ATLANTA is on the map! Whoo! Hoo!

Thanks for sharing this link!

 

[DISgeeksfromDC]

Those of you running the race, how about those clues? Needless to say I have not been running like I should have, I hoping that the excitement of it all will help me through the race.
Take care and I'll check back later.

Julie - I will let you in on a little secret. The last time I ran was in the month that I did the Minnie5k. Yep! MAY!!! I keep meaning to start my "training", but somehow haven't quite gotten there yet - LOL! Oh well! I am far too excited at this point to dwell on minor details! LOL

Yeah, well... If it's any consolation, my sister just started training a few weeks ago, and this is her first race ever! We're just going to have fun! (I think we'll likely be walking that last mile... )

And, about the clues...

I'm comforted by all of the commiserating that has been taking place on Lou's Disney World Trivia.com forums, especially around page 11, post #156.

Disney's Wide World of Sports had a presence at the Health Expo during packet pick-up for the Virginia Beach Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon. I stopped by the booth, saw the EE Challenge finishers' medal and picked up a few souvenir brochures for the EE Challenge race. While I was at it, I quizzed one of the women there, who works for Disney.

(Side Note: I've since decided that "You work for Disney? Do I have some questions for you..." probably isn't the best way to introduce yourself... 'Ya think I came on a little too strong, maybe?!? )

Anyway,
*She mentioned that her colleagues had just done a test run of the course, and some of the scavenger hunt questions are 'kinda challenging.
*She also encouraged us to "keep your eyes open" while touring DAK. I gather from the language in Disney's pre-race e-mails that they're 'kinda hoping we'll check out the place before the race. ("Don't forget that you have a theme park ticket to scout the course the day before!")
*Finally, I asked if we could get help if we have a tough time solving any of the clues. While I got the vibe that they'd certainly prefer us to make an effort, folks will be available to help if you absolutely need it!

On a related note: Do you plan to attend the course walk-through during packet pick-up? It's strongly recommended, but the times are sort of sparse. (I'm afraid they'll mess up my hoped-for sked...)

 

[DISgeeksfromDC]

Hi everyone—

Did you see this tour website? There will be a "What will you celebrate tour?" that will visit 30 cities across the United States and part of Canada. The tour is scheduled to come to Boston on Sept 29. I am trying to find out where it will be held in the Boston area.

If anyone knows where it will be held please let me know. Thanks!

Soooo cool! Thanks for the "heads up," Kristen. ...Going to check out the site now, and crossing my fingers for a D.C. stop!

 

[cdotla]

Wow - looks like Canada (specifically Toronto) is the 1st stop!

Hi everyone—

Did you see this tour website? There will be a "What will you celebrate tour?" that will visit 30 cities across the United States and part of Canada. The tour is scheduled to come to Boston on Sept 29. I am trying to find out where it will be held in the Boston area.

If anyone knows where it will be held please let me know. Thanks!

 

[DISgeeksfromDC]

Wow - looks like Canada (specifically Toronto) is the 1st stop!

Washington, D.C. AND Baltimore! "YES!" And, "YES!"

 

[DISgeeksfromDC]

Well.... According to my clock, it's 12:25 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 19.

I guess that means, then, that the Walt Disney World Moms Panel contest has officially closed??

From the site:

"Applications will be taken from 10:00 am Eastern Daylight Time on September 8, 2008 through midnight Eastern Daylight Time September 19, 2008 or when we have reached 20,000 applicants, whichever comes first."

I wonder how many applications Disney received. I wonder if we'll ever know...

Side Note: What an exciting day!!

 

[RatBoy]

Well.... According to my clock, it's 12:25 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 19.

I guess that means, then, that the Walt Disney World Moms Panel contest has officially closed??

From the site:

"Applications will be taken from 10:00 am Eastern Daylight Time on September 8, 2008 through midnight Eastern Daylight Time September 19, 2008 or when we have reached 20,000 applicants, whichever comes first."

I wonder how many applications Disney received. I wonder if we'll ever know...

Side Note: What an exciting day!!

I really think that it ends TONIGHT at midnight. Anyway, it appears to still be accepting applications.

I sure hope anyone who wants to be part of the Mickey Moms Club has applied to the Moms Panel by now (or gets off their you-know-what today!!!). Call me mean (I'm used to it, my kids do it all of the time! ), but I'm not going to feel sorry for anyone who says "I didn't realize I needed to apply for the Moms Panel to be part of the Mickey Moms Club", but I know we'll be reading that kind of post a lot in 2009!


Oh, and a big THANKS, Erin, for all the great posts today. I was off at a company event this afternoon/evening, but loved seeing the info tonight. Almost (but not quite ) as good as being there!

I'm off to Lima for the weekend. Probably won't be online too much.

-Bret

 

[PartyOf5]

Holy Cow! A lot sure happened on this thread while I was asleep! You guys sure know how to burn the midnight (OK 10:00!) oil! Even Bret - checking in at 2:03 a.m. (Bret - I totally agree with you...)

Erin -thanks so much for sharing your day. Awesome! I have to ask...did you eat the cake? It almost looks too pretty to eat. If so, do describe!

And a special thanks for sharing the pics with us...LOVE the one with Jason.

This new promotion sure has caused a lot of excitement on day 1! Can you imagine being the person who plans these events...they have to be on top of their game! From personalized cakes - to newly branded balloons - to ensuring Mickey can have a day off to attend! Fun!

Welcome to all our new friends who have come out of lurke-ville! So nice to have you enjoying all the fun with us!

Hi Marleen - hope you're enjoying your trip in Cleveland! Way too far from your Disney surprise!

 

[Beckie w/ an IE]

Hi everyone—

Did you see this tour website? There will be a "What will you celebrate tour?" that will visit 30 cities across the United States and part of Canada. The tour is scheduled to come to Boston on Sept 29. I am trying to find out where it will be held in the Boston area.

If anyone knows where it will be held please let me know. Thanks!

Hmmm...that IS very interesting...I had not seen it before...and ATLANTA is on the map! Whoo! Hoo!

Thanks for sharing this link!

Sweet Chicago is on the Map for 9/29...but where? Let's see if we can find anything else out....searching, searching, searching...

 

[KarenP99]

Amazing! Erin thank you for sharing, what wonderful photos!

 

[PartyOf5]

Sweet Chicago is on the Map for 9/29...but where? Let's see if we can find anything else out....searching, searching, searching...

Hartford, too! Keep us posted if you find anything else out!

 

[I believe]

Hi everyone—

Did you see this tour website? There will be a "What will you celebrate tour?" that will visit 30 cities across the United States and part of Canada. The tour is scheduled to come to Boston on Sept 29. I am trying to find out where it will be held in the Boston area.

If anyone knows where it will be held please let me know. Thanks!

Hmmm...that IS very interesting...I had not seen it before...and ATLANTA is on the map! Whoo! Hoo!

Thanks for sharing this link!

Wow - looks like Canada (specifically Toronto) is the 1st stop!

Washington, D.C. AND Baltimore! "YES!" And, "YES!"

Sweet Chicago is on the Map for 9/29...but where? Let's see if we can find anything else out....searching, searching, searching...

Hartford, too! Keep us posted if you find anything else out!

This does sound like fun! I am excited to go! I saw this tour link in last night's Passporter email. I remember a few years ago there was a CARS road-tripping tour to promote the then soon to be released movie that brought Mac, Lightning McQueen and Sally across the US. Boston was an early stop on that tour. Lots of Disney sites announced the dates and cities of the CARS tour, prior to it coming to Boston, but it wasn't until after the tour passed through Boston that I was able to find any location specific tour itineraries on any of the Disney-related sites. The location specific lists took longer to be put on the websites. (The story has a happy ending though, I was able to find out exactly where it was to be held—and we had a great time— but boy, did I have a tough time finding out the exact location and time of day of the event!)

Here's hoping we find this location specific information soon!

Have a great day everyone!

 

[zurgswife]

WOW!!! Such exciting stuff....thanks for sharing.

 

[PolynesianPixie]

How wonderful to get caught up on this thread this morning! What an amazing day yesterday was! I feel so blessed to have been able to share in it in some small way!

Erin, thanks for imparting all your experiences from yesterday as well as the ones that have spoken to your heart all year! What you said really touched me and I thank you for trusting us enough to share that.

has anyone heard if we have a new baby yet?

Last day! A milestone in the application process! Anybody want to place bets on when we hear about the next round????? Any clue how many apps have been submitted??????

 

[DISgeeksfromDC]

'Not sure if anyone had a chance to check the link that Bret posted earlier, but I noticed that Leanne has updated her blog with pictures from yesterday's press event.

Leanne's Life: "I'm Celebrating - What Will You Celebrate?"