Disney Social Media Moms Portland & MyPrintly Trip Report- Part 3
If you’ve missed the first two installments of my Disney Social Media Moms Celebration On the Road Portland (#DisneySMMC) and MyPrintly Trip Report, check them out in Part 1 and Part 2.
The morning of June 8th, I woke up at Aloft Portland Cascade Station without the best of rest due to airplane noise. But, it didn’t bother me one bit, because I was headed to the main event, Disney Social Media Moms Celebration On the Road Portland! Woo Hoo!
After a short trip on the lightrail, I was at the DoubleTree Portland! Pretty quickly I was all checked in!
I somehow timed everything just right, because the doors to the conference were opening right after I took that last photo. A tip for anyone attending these types of conferences, get a seat as close to the stage as possible. The closer you are, the better your photos will be for social media. I was very lucky to have a seat just left of the stage, and to the right of the projection screen. My tablemates were pretty awesome too!
There was a yummy buffet with eggs, bacon, croissants, bagels and lox. I had yogurt and fruit, and a bit of bacon-
And of course there were photo opps with lots of Mickey hats!
Ok, so before we get to the actual conference itself, another tip for if you’re interested in going to a Disney Social Media Moms Celebration; bring multiple devices. I had my iPhone 5, and my Lumia 830. (You can read the comparison between the two phones here) Just about all conferences have free access to WiFi, so no worries about using cellular data. It’s important to have a backup incase your battery dies, or you run out of storage. In my case I used the iPhone 5 to Periscope the first half of the conference, while at the same time I took photos and chatted via Twitter and Instagram on the Lumia. The iPhone’s battery was dead by the second half of the conference.
Ok, let’s get right to it!
Tyler Slater was the first presenter-
He gave us updates on the Disneyland 60th Anniversary, Downtown Disney at Walt Disney World (including the Amphicars!), Disney Cruise Line, and Adventures by Disney.
Erin Glover was up next, and this is the second time I’ve seen her present, and she did a fantastic job again!
She talked about what goes into every Disney Parks Blog post-
And brought down the house with these two videos-
On a side note, my daughter has become completely obsessed with this Disney Kids video! I believe a few hundred thousand of those views might be from her alone!!
Laughs, tears, joy, oh my!
Victoria Lim, Managing Editor for Walt Disney World Public Relations, presented next. She gave some great insight into how to improve videos from your phone.
Here are a few of her tips:
- Zoom with your feet, not lens
- Try different angles
- Put your phone in airplane mode to avoid distractions
- Selfie sticks!
- Use products like Rode SmartLav Lavalier and VeriCorder Mini Mic
- Apps like PicCollage, PhotoGrid, Magisto, and CuteCut
We had a quick break and I was able to enjoy some of the awesomeness of the swag bags we received-
That rice crispy treat was probably the best one I’ve ever had!
After the short break, The Babble Editors shared their tips on increasing social media reach.
Here are a few of their incredibly helpful slides-
Marianne Richmond presented next, she is most well known for her book “If I Could Keep You Little”
Marianne discussed her journey to becoming an author and illustrator. A brain tumor lead her on a very different path than she anticipated
She was recovering in the hospital when she started painting thank you cards. A relative thought they were great, and why wasn’t she selling them?!
So, she brought them to local stores, and they were a hit! This eventually brought her to write and illustrate her own books-
Marianne had some great advice-
Know your why.
Connect to your true passion and understand why it matters to the world. Focus and stay on track to achieve your goals.
Find your brave.
Dig deep, and ask the question, make the connection, don’t be afraid.
The final presenters were a mother and daughter duo- Crafty Chica and Maya in the Moment
If you can’t read it at the bottom; Mission: Spread the gospel of GLITTER!
I can’t tell you how much I loved these two! Both were shining lights of positivity and following your dreams. I’m honestly not even sure I can properly recap their presentation. So, instead I suggest you follow on Twitter- @CraftyChica @MayaintheMoment and Vine- @CraftyChica @MayainetheMoment
And check out these tips-
I hereby request to become an honorary Murillo family member!
The celebration was about to come to an end, and then this happened-
Mickey!!
Everyone had a chance to meet the Big Cheese too!
There was the opportunity for more networking after the event too. If you’re looking to attend a Disney Social Media Moms Celebration, I would highly suggest getting involved with some of the official and unofficial Facebook groups, and allow time to go to lunch with some of your fellow attendees. For me, Hubby was sick as a dog, so I had to jet after the celebration. But, in my first conference in Seattle, networking after the event was really one of the best takeaways.
Overall, I’m overjoyed I had the opportunity to attend Disney Social Media Moms Celebration On the Road Portland! It was a fantastic time, and well worth the trip to Portland. If you receive an invitation I would highly suggest going, even if it involves a bit of travel. In fact, I met people from all over the West Coast who came to Portland just for this event. The presenters are inspiring, and networking is top-notch. It’s an honor to have been invited, and I am truly grateful.
The trip back to Seattle was uneventful. We did however get back to the Oregon Coast just a few weeks later! (Hubby is totally rocking a Walt Disney World t-shirt too!)
See you real soon!
Disclosure: I was invited to events by Disney Social Media Moms Celebration On the Road and MyPrintly in Portland. Both were free to attend, and I am under no obligation to post. I did receive some event swag along the way. All opinions are most certainly my own.