The Disney Parks Moms Panel and Being Gobsmacked

It’s that time again, moms and dads! The Disney Parks Moms Panel search is ON! #DisneyMP

Here’s the skinny on what the Disney Parks Moms Panel does, right from the Big Cheese himself:

Even though there are plenty of planning tools to help navigate through your Disney Parks vacation, it’s still no easy task to plan a family vacation. With many theme parks, dozens of resort hotels, water parks, luxury cruise ships, shopping, dining, recreation, special events, entertainment and more, planning a Disney Parks vacation can leave some guests feeling a bit overwhelmed even before they arrive. That’s where we like to help.

The Disney Parks Moms Panel is an online forum of everyday people who answer questions and offer advice based on their own experiences and opinions. By visiting DisneyParksMomsPanel.com, guests can ask real Moms and Dads their tips for getting the most out of a Disney vacation. And, with an archive of questions that could fill Spaceship Earth, guests visiting the Moms Panel website can also search volumes of information provided in previously asked questions.

By sharing their own opinions and experiences, Disney Parks Moms Panelists help plan magical visits for guests vacationing at Walt Disney World® Resort, Disneyland® Resort, Disney Cruise Line® and Disney Vacation Club®. They also help guests participating in runDisney® events and accompanying youth sports teams to the ESPN Wide World of Sports® Complex.

And that’s where you come in.

Are you so passionate about Disney Parks vacations that you plan them for your family and friends in your social networks? Are you a stickler for grammar, spelling, punctuation and sentence structure? If so, we’d like you to consider applying for the 2016 Disney Parks Moms Panel and helping guests around the world who visit DisneyParksMomsPanel.com.

We will accept applications for the 2016 Disney Parks Moms Panel beginning 10 a.m. ET on Tuesday, September 8, 2015. The deadline for applications to be submitted is noon ET on Tuesday, September 15, 2015.

So what are you waiting for? Go to the Disney Parks Moms Panel website and apply!

This will be my (ahem) eighth time applying. I’m a real stubborn thing, aren’t I? But the beauty of this process is that I have made lifelong friends as a result. We’ve gone on trips together, help each other through the ups and downs of life, and even motivated me to get off the couch to run a half marathon. Me, a runner? To quote The Princess Bride, “inconceivable!” And yet it was apparently conceivable. I have 3 medals now to prove it!

Yes, my friends and family know what this process looks like, and even they are on pins and needles with anticipation. OK, so maybe they aren’t quite so giddy about it. More like wanting to tell me:

So I’m going to do a Throwback Thursday of a different kind: reminisce about the time when I made it to the final round of the Disney Parks Moms Panel!

My post back in 2010 was called “Gobsmacked” (my friend Jane who’s the Disney Parks Moms Panel mum would be so proud!) And for you nomenclature fans, it was called the Disney Moms Panel then. 😉

I love the word “gobsmacked.” Maybe it’s my fascination with the Great Britain, the English accent, or the fact my son first learned how to walk while we were in the UK, but I just LOVE the way it rolls off the tongue. Plus, it makes me think of Willy Wonka candy (Gobstopper, anyone?) Guess I’ve got Halloween on the brain! Anyway, you might ask, why not just say astonished, astounded, dumbfounded or shocked? Because gobsmacked just sounds WAY cooler! (And British).

So, this week left me positively “gobsmacked” when I got the news that I was advancing to Round 3-the FINAL round- of the Disney Moms Panel application process! Hopefully I didn’t scare any neighbors when I opened the email. Talk about an adrenaline rush! While I am humbled and thankful, I also remember how it feels to get the “thanks for applying” email, too. So I’m trying to keep it all in perspective, be confident and yet also grounded. I’ll let ya know how that works out-easier said than done!

This on the heels of returning from a three night Disney grown-ups only getaway! Which was pure bliss. After my Keys to the Kingdom tour (special shoutout to our awesome tour guide, Ames), I am even more awed and amazed at what goes on behind the scenes to make the magic happen! Utilidors, floats with characters loaded by forklifts, and secret staircases, oh my! Now, if only I could get a glimpse of the Cinderella castle suite…

Speaking of suites, our trip took a surprising turn when we entered our “home away from home” at Bay Lake Towers. Talk about gobsmacked-we found ourselves in the 3 bedroom Grand Villa! I mean, the villa has 4 balconies, each with stunning views of the Magic Kingdom and the Seven Seas Lagoon. Oh yeah, and a kitchen that seats 10. A whirlpool tub. A two story living room that is floor to ceiling windows. Six flat screen TVs. Seriously, the villa is literally is more spacious than our first home (we know because my husband “walked it off”). Capping off the evening with a bottle of wine, followed by dinner at California Grill while watching Wishes was the culmination of a marvelous day. Not to mention our fun “late night date night” at the Magic Kingdom during Extra Magic Hours. Lucky for us, we could stay past midnight (unlike Cinderella)- the park was open until 3AM!

So after having been immersed in Disney for a few days and getting good news about the panel, you’ll have to excuse me if I’m a bit absentminded. I’m not ready to come back down from Cloud 9 just yet!

I’m hoping that there’s room to be gobsmacked again. If not, it won’t change how I feel about Disney. Or how I love sharing it with everyone I meet. And how much I truly cherish my Disney friends who are goofy and inspiring and make me smile every single day. I think Walt himself said it best: