The day I came back from my Disney Vacation with my husband and toddler, I got this email. (Ironic, isn’t it.)
Yup. Rejected. Again.
This is the third time I have applied. I am not sure what I am saying (or not saying) that is not getting me to the next round, but I have to say, it stings.
While some local bloggers have stated that I am not a ‘big’ enough blogger to merit the attention from the likes of Disney, I thought it was more about my knowledge of Disney. Not sure what is the percentage of Disney Panel applicants that have been to Disney more than 30 times, have done every Disney tour possible and have even run 26.2 miles on Disney property, but I even took a trip with my 23 month old to keep up with the Disney happenings as it pertains to young children: took the time to talk to cast members, chatted with other Moms at the water parks or in the rider swap lines. So to say I was serious about my application? Totally.
So once again, the opportunity passes me by, and my hopes for getting an invitation to the Disney Social Moms Conference diminishes too. Though I did get an invite to attend the first Disney Social Media Moms conference, I was still post-partum and wasn’t cleared to fly. But the same blogging community also said that other ‘bigger’ bloggers’ should get invites before me to that event too.
Whatever.
So while I am not an official Disney Mom anything, I do know a lot and will be sharing my recent Disney experience with you all. I suppose this way I can be brutally honest and give you the good and bad of Disney based on my 30+ years of Disney experience. So stay tuned for some funny (and real) Disney Mom posts. Even if I am not a ‘big blogger’ or an ‘official’ Disney Mom.
So later gators – I’m off to look into a Disney Cruise….
You don’t have to be official to be an awesome Disney Mom. My Dad used to work for Disney and it’s been a part of my life as long as I can remember. I don’t know if I’ll ever apply to be an official Disney Mom, but that won’t stop me from visiting. I hope you guys had a good time, I’m really looking forward to taking my kids someday.
(And I personally don’t understand the whole big-blogs-come-first hierarchy. After all, don’t the big blogs have plenty of affiliations already? I feel like smaller blogs with one great affiliation can do more than bigger blogs who are representing a large number of brands.)
Jessica – thanks for the comment! I agree. Since I share the same birthdate (December 5) as Walt Disney himself, I always feel it is a special connection too. I also agree with the big blog comment: small but mighty!
Sorry, Charlene. I’m sure that’s frustrating.I don’t think the Disney Panel has anything to do with your blog, but there are some forums where people share their answers to the questions that were posted. I don’t know if it will help, but maybe you’ll see something in their tone or style that might inspire you for next year. I didn’t make it past the first round when I applied and I’m pretty sure that I wasn’t quite as conversational as they prefer. There are thousands upon thousands of people applying. It’s just highly competitive.
This probably won’t help with the emotional sting, but sometimes you just need to focus your energy elsewhere. Use your talents to earn up the $ to go to Disney whenever you want and travel in the manner you prefer.
By the way, I have never been invited to the Disney Social Media Moms Conference. I got to attend the first year because so many other people declined and I saw them post about openings on Twitter. You got the nod, even if you couldn’t attend, which is more than a lot of folks can say. You’re doing just fine!
Thanks Christy for the vote of confidence! and ditto to you too!
I got the same email! You are exactly the type of blogger they should be utilizing…with your knowledge, experience and entertaining writing style…it would be perfect. We can always start our own group…the REAL Disney Moms 🙂