Adventures of the "Moms" Panel

[bellazachmom]

I sent in my application a couple of hours ago and then went out to lunch with my mom and kids to celebrate. In a way, I'm relieved that it's over because I've been stressing about it. This is something that I really want! (I'm sure everyone else can relate to that feeling). I did the best I could and now I'm ready to wait and see if my best is good enough. I'm sure they are going to reach 20,000 apps very quickly. Good luck everyone!

On a side note, how many nursing moms do we have here? What are your plans if you do get picked for the panel and have to leave home for a few days in December? My baby has cut her feedings down to about 4 a day...but I'd not sure if she'll wean before I would have to go to WDW if I got picked. On the other hand she probably wouldn't mind weaning, I would! It would be great if others were in the same boat. I'm glad I found this thread!

I am currently a nursing mom who just took a quick, impromptu trip to tour the Castle Suite ... at the last minute hubby convinced me to leave ALL the kids at home so that I could really enjoy my "mommy vacation!" ... the biggest challenge for me is that my baby WILL NOT take a bottle! So, hubby ended up increasing his solids and having him drink EBM from an open cup. I just pumped and dumped while at WDW and then picked up with nursing when I got home. My son is 7 1/2 months old and nurses about 5 times a day. I was gone for 4 days. I was a bit worried that my supply would decrease, but it really wasn't an issue, just continued to drink a ton of water while I was gone.

Good luck and Pixie Dust!

 

[pl'smama]

I don't think they would mind if you're pregnant! I went to WDW 30 weeks pregnant with my son and it was a great trip...if anything you would learn how to answer questions people have regarding going to WDW pregnant! Good luck!

Thanks for saying this Nee Nee and Biddy! Again I am a bit silly, but you just made my night with this. I got this huge grin and thought, yeah why not have someone with this sort of experience on the panel!! I can dream!!

Suz

 

[I believe]

Backing up a bit to some posts from this morning:

I just got my confirmation email that my app. was received. There was no picture upload or anything. I am assuming that would be at a later date. Anyone?

Hi! There are just the three essays for this round. No photo or bio required yet!

Once you click submit, you should receive a note saying your application was received, and then an email with the same note should show up at your registered email address within a few minutes.

Thank you dollhouse and magic2go! I did see your replies this morning before I submitted my essays and your replies helped me!

Once I finished writing and finally submitted my essays, I needed to get to my daughter's bus stop quickly so I could surprise her by being the one who got to pick her up at the bus stop. Then I had to go to work. Thanks!

 

[I believe]

I was tempted to cut-and-past the answers, but I ultimately typed them. (I’m such a little rules-follower. On more than one occasion, my DH has actually started clapping when he spotted me choosing not to perfectly level whatever I’m measuring for a recipe. Hmmmmph! Guess he figured I was living on the edge?!? )

I am such the rules follower, too. I can totally relate!

 

[Dcanoli]

WHEW! I just turned mine in too!

Can you believe there will be 20,000 applicants? How they will wade through them all is beyond me.

What I think is so challenging is that most of us, on this thread at least, are really good at helping our friends and other family members plan their Disney trips.

How do you pick and choose from such an informational and knowledgeable crowd?

Plus, I can't help but think that so many of the entries will sound alike because we probably do a lot of similar things when we help others plan their vacations.

This is a huge task for the Cast Members involved!

Did anyone hear about the time frame? I would think it would be longer since the numbers are so much greater this time.

Good luck to all of you. With a huge pool of 20,000, I know only a few lucky ones will be picked, but judging from Disney's choices last year--I know that whomever they pick, they will be MORE than qualified!

For me, I am always just honored to be able to participate in entering the "contest" and just feel lucky that we have these boards to fall back on!!

Good luck girls (and guys)!!!

 

[DISgeeksfromDC]

Yes, that was me. The campers are a hoot! Even Bret came over there one time for information!

A-HA! (I thought I recognized your screen name!!)

By the way...I just had to chuckle at one of your previous posts about submitting your application and getting the munchies! Right after mine was officially submitted I headed for the kitchen to get a steamy hot bowl of baked mac-n-cheese~the ultimate in comfort food! It only would have been better had the pasta been Mickey shaped!

Mmmmm.... Comfort food!! (I'm thinking that steamy, hot mac-n-cheese trumps a bit of trail mix any day!)

Ya know: Once things slow down again -- and we're left to wait and wait for word from Disney -- we should consider posting our favorite comfort food recipes to pass the time. (It's a thought anyway -- especially since it's almost Fall and time for warm, feel-good food!)

Oh, and it's looking like we might be waiting for quite some time... Diane was right! (Great attention to detail, girl!! ) Before I submitted my essay questions, I printed out a screen view of my answers (or the portions that were visible anyway). 'Guess what language was printed at the top of the page??

"Applications will be taken from September 8, 2008 through September 19, 2008 or when we have reached 20,000 applicants, whichever comes first. Applicants will be notified via e-mail if they qualify by November 1, 2008.

Please type your answers directly into the boxes below. Please do not cut-and-paste text from any word processing application."


Hmmmm.... "by November 1." ('Guess that's the absolute latest date for a first-round (?) decision. Hopefully, Disney will start contacting people sooner...)

 

[mousetravel]

To anyone who received a packet of goodies last year for the Mom's Club:
Did anyone put a P.O. Box # down on their info and still receive packet? When you have to enter all your info, it says "street address only", and I'm wondering if I would be able to receive anything if I put in my P.O. Box instead of physical address?

 

[CJsMom]

I just submitted my application. Was going to wait until my day off - Friday - but then saw that they are "only" taking 20000 applications! Seems crazy that the limit would be reached by Friday - but I didn't want to take any chances. I'd love to make the panel, but I'd be really happy with a Mickey Mom's Club magnet for my car!

Good luck everyone!

 

[DisneyBride'03]

I just submitted my application. Was going to wait until my day off - Friday - but then saw that they are "only" taking 20000 applications! Seems crazy that the limit would be reached by Friday - but I didn't want to take any chances. I'd love to make the panel, but I'd be really happy with a Mickey Mom's Club magnet for my car!

Good luck everyone!

HI Welcome to the unofficial waiting room!lol I love my magnet!

 

[zulaya]

I'm not sure, but I think that the Mickey Moms Club stuff came via UPS last year. If you put a PO Box, UPS can't deliver there. But I could be remembering wrong.

So if someone cut and pasted, does that mean you're out of luck? I did for 2 of my 3 boxes and it seemed to accept it okay and I checked my text to be sure everything was there. I had to tweak and re-type my third box, but all seemed fine and was accepted.

I hope my application wasn't totally empty. I wish you could see a screen of what you just submitted after you hit "submit". Now I'm seriously wondering if only 1 of my 3 boxes made it through. But it doesn't seem like it would allow you to do that, would it?

 

[DISgeeksfromDC]

I'm not sure, but I think that the Mickey Moms Club stuff came via UPS last year. If you put a PO Box, UPS can't deliver there. But I could be remembering wrong.

The United States Postal Service (USPS) delivered mine. (I found it in my mailbox -- not on the front porch.)

I hope my application wasn't totally empty. I wish you could see a screen of what you just submitted after you hit "submit". Now I'm seriously wondering if only 1 of my 3 boxes made it through. But it doesn't seem like it would allow you to do that, would it?

It is 'kinda unnerving to hit "submit" and to know that you can't go back and triple-check things.

I am relieved, though, that I received an e-mail confirmation stating that my application transmitted.

If you recall, quite a few people complained last year about never receiving their e-mail confirmations (or follow-up e-mail messages) from Disney. 'Seems we haven't heard the same complaints this go-around. I guess that no news is good news?!?

 

[cdotla]

"Applications will be taken from September 8, 2008 through September 19, 2008 or when we have reached 20,000 applicants, whichever comes first. Applicants will be notified via e-mail if they qualify by November 1, 2008."

Scoopy - I took this to mean "qualified" to be a member of the Panel; not just qualified to move into round two.

If you think about it, the December orientation trip starts a couple days earlier this year AND last year's applicants still knew by the end of October if they were on the Panel or not.

I think they would want to give people at least a month's notice of the trip. Many Moms will have to make arrangements for people to take care of the kids, ect, ect.

I am thinking the timeline from last year is likely to be roughly the same timeline that will be followed this year, despite the doubled numbers on the initial application. Either they have more CMs recruited to start culling the entries or the three CMs who did it last year are going to be vowing to cut back to 10,000 next year by the end of it! LOL!

 

[KarenP99]

It was Nov 6 or 7 last year that they made the phone calls - I got one of the dreaded "no" ones (I was at OKW at the time, so at least I had WDW to comfort me) . I'm back at it again this year though!

I just went back and although I don't know what day I actually submitted my application ), I have a few other dates:
Thur 9/6/2007 - Official notice 5,000 applicants or 10/5/2007
Fri 9/14/2007- Contest closed - 10,000 applicants reached.
Wed 10/17/2007 - Notification of making it to phase II essays 11:27 A.M.
Fri 10/26/2007 - Notification of making it to phone interview 11:05 A.M.
Sat 10/27/2007 - Phone call to schedule interview time
Mon 10/29/2007 - Phone interview 4:20 P.M.

I wonder if Nov 1 is the final deadline (maybe they need a specific date for "contest" purposes?) I can't imagine they would take the 2 weeks after that to work through the rest of the process. Everyone will need time to make their work/kid arrangements so they can go to WDW in Dec!

I also wonder if they are doubling the # that make it to the phase II essays?

Good luck everyone!

 

[PartyOf5]

Well, if you think of it...if the date is November 1st - that means Disney will be reviewing approx. 2500 applications per week. That is very aggressive for them (at least I think it is, not sure how many people they have reviewing).

Also, are we even sure there will be a second round of essays this year? To me, it almost seems like they combined the essays from last year's Round 1 and Round 2. Who knows, maybe they will be going directly to the phone interview after this round of essays? And if that happens, that would put us almost on track with last year's timing.

I remember last year we were notified on a Friday afternoon that we made the final (phone interview round) and we were contacted over the weekend to schedule the phone interview.

We received the good/bad news late on November 7th, 2007.

And one of the rules for the contest is: "Be available to travel to Walt Disney World® Resort from December 5-9, 2008." So technically, they've already notified us of the dates...if there are daycare/work issue, clear the calendar now - you never know!!

 

[MommyPoppins]

So how many of the 20,000 applicants come from the DIS?

I just submitted my application yesterday with no problems. Thankfully I didn't try and include curse words like, "whip".

So how did someone explain The Kitchen Sink without being able to say, "whipped cream"?

BTW. I'm a nursing Mom too! I hadn't even thought about that when I applied.

My LO will be almost a year old by Dec.

Okay, so I'll be honest. I don't really have a clue what the Mom's Panel does. I saw them on one of those Disney shows on TV last May. But that was the first time I'd heard of them. I thought to myself, okay, I said it out loud for everyone in the room to hear,"I should be on that panel!" So when I came across a thread yesterday about them accepting applications I did it.

What is involved? What is the trip in Dec. for? It said you win a trip for your family, is that separate from that trip? Do you basically answer e-mails? The website for applying didn't have a whole lot of info. Do they pay for the Dec. trip or you?

 

[5/4Disney]

Hey guys, It's good to see so many people all excited again. I want to wish everyone luck! Any finalist from last year stick by some of your answers?
Boy does all of this bring back some memories. Anyway it's a good thing I'll be in WDW in a few weeks, maybe this will help pass some time.

I guess I'll see some of you at EE Challenge.

Also, can some of you start praying that hurricane IKE doesn't hit Galveston!!! This boarding up and waiting is killing me.
Julie

 

[WishesQueen]

I applied yesterday and at first I was so relieved, but I find myself rereading what I sent (I have it in a word document)!! I really think its good, I just can't stop obsessing!!!

 

[dollhouse]

Hey guys, It's good to see so many people all excited again. I want to wish everyone luck! Any finalist from last year stick by some of your answers?
Boy does all of this bring back some memories. Anyway it's a good thing I'll be in WDW in a few weeks, maybe this will help pass some time.

I guess I'll see some of you at EE Challenge.

Also, can some of you start praying that hurricane IKE doesn't hit Galveston!!! This boarding up and waiting is killing me.
Julie

Hello! Julie, I will say some prayers for you! I can't believe the hurricane season already. WOW! It is one after another. It is worrisome!

I am glad everyone got their apps in. I am a little worried. Everyone seems so prepared for their questions. I just typed from my heart and didn't really prepare anything..just answered the questions as I felt from my "Disney" heart. I hope I didn't jump the gun and maybe should have prepared a little more. I felt good about my answers but maybe not good enough after reading all these postings. I thought they were pretty similiar to last year. I wonder how big of a cut it is going to be to the 2nd round, pretty big, I am assuming with the number of apps. I know that whoever makes it will be wonderful. Gosh, from the first panel and even the finalists and semi's..how could they go wrong? It seems like they are always on the ball at Disney!

Good luck everyone! I am pulling for everyone here!

Take caution on the Gulf Coast! I hope Ike dies down a little.

Leslie
semi finalist Mom's panel

 

[DISgeeksfromDC]

Hey guys, It's good to see so many people all excited again. I want to wish everyone luck! Any finalist from last year stick by some of your answers?
Boy does all of this bring back some memories. Anyway it's a good thing I'll be in WDW in a few weeks, maybe this will help pass some time.

I guess I'll see some of you at EE Challenge.

Julie,

Oh, good!! It sounds like you decided to apply... (I remember you were having second thoughts.)

Also, can some of you start praying that hurricane IKE doesn't hit Galveston!!! This boarding up and waiting is killing me.

Wow! You can't seem to catch a break from those hurricanes, huh?

 

[DISgeeksfromDC]

"Applications will be taken from September 8, 2008 through September 19, 2008 or when we have reached 20,000 applicants, whichever comes first. Applicants will be notified via e-mail if they qualify by November 1, 2008."

Scoopy - I took this to mean "qualified" to be a member of the Panel; not just qualified to move into round two.

If you think about it, the December orientation trip starts a couple days earlier this year AND last year's applicants still knew by the end of October if they were on the Panel or not.

I think they would want to give people at least a month's notice of the trip. Many Moms will have to make arrangements for people to take care of the kids, ect, ect.

I am thinking the timeline from last year is likely to be roughly the same timeline that will be followed this year, despite the doubled numbers on the initial application. Either they have more CMs recruited to start culling the entries or the three CMs who did it last year are going to be vowing to cut back to 10,000 next year by the end of it! LOL!

Makes sense. For the sake of everyone waiting, I sure hope that's the plan, 'cuz November 1 sounds so very far away!

My thing: Wouldn't Disney be more likely to phone the new Panelists with the good news, especially if they've already conducted phone interviews? (... maybe it's just semantics, but I'm still wondering if the e-mail contact is meant for the semi-finalists/finalists in the earlier rounds.) Otherwise, the text might have read, "Winners will be notified by Nov. 1, 2008," KWIM?

Hee! Hee! I am so over-thinking this!! ('Too bad I'm not a fly on the wall at Disney Corporate, huh? )