Disneyland Resort: Holiday Parent Blogger Event

Ahhh... the magic of Disney!

About 2 weeks ago, I received an email invitation from Disneyland Resort Public Relations detailing the Disney Holiday trip I won from Xiaolin Mama, which included:

• Roundtrip flights between SJC & LAX for me & my family, provided via United Airlines
• Shuttle Transportation between the Disneyland Resort and LAX Airport, provided via the Disneyland Resort Express operated by Gray Line
  
• 2 nights accommodations at the Disney Grand Californian Hotel & Spa
• 3-day park hopper tickets for me & my family

Exclusively for the Holiday Parent Blogger Event:

• Special reserved viewing of the new show, “Tiana’s Showboat Jubilee”
• Priority boarding for “It’s a Small World” holiday
• Private Holiday VIP Reception on Saturday, November 21. Which includes buffet dinner, Disney characters, tons of activities, etc.
• Special reserved viewing of the Disneyland Resort “Believe in Holiday Magic” fireworks show.
  

It’s no secret that I absolutely LOVE Disneyland. And I love it even more when my family & I get the VIP treatment to experience the Disney magic in style! Our experience last week was absolutely magical. The Disneyland resort, including Disneyland, California Adventure, Downtown Disney District, & the Disney hotels, were all decked out for the Holidays!

So much to say & even more to see during our jam-packed 3-day holiday at the Disneyland Resort for the Holiday Parent Blogger Event sponsored by Disneyland Resort Public Relations.

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My husband & I are still in awe and can’t stop talking about the magical time our family had at Disneyland as well as the very swanky Private Holiday VIP Reception. That evening Parent Bloggers (like Xiaolin Mama) & their guests (like me) got to hang out with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Princess Tiana, & Mrs. Clause while being treated to a delicious buffet dinner, & activities like cookie decorating, face painting, Studio Disney 365 makeovers, and more.

To cap off the evening, we enjoyed reserved viewing of the Disneyland Resort “Believe in Holiday Magic” fireworks show. This is a “must see” magical experience & Disney does not disappoint with this fireworks spectacular above Sleeping Beauty’s Castle & surprising the crowd with a spray of “snow” that covered Main Street as the fireworks show ended.

Simply put, we had a magical time!

Happy Holidays from my family to yours!



FULL DISCLOSURE: I won this trip from a contest hosted by Xiaolin Mama & sponsored by Disneyland Resort Public Relations. I was not paid to do this review… I just absolutely LOVE Disneyland! Thank you Disneyland Resort cast & crew for hosting this VIP Parent Blogger event that made our Disney Holiday trip possible.

Christmas wishes really do come true

This past summer we vacationed in Southern California and of course, the trip would not have been complete without a visit to the Disneyland Resort. Being that my kids are little and we are a family of Disney fanatics, I definitely hope to see many more visits to Disneyland in our future. However, one thing I kept thinking about after this last summer trip was how cool it would be to visit Disneyland during a different part of the year, besides summer. So I was thinking, with a little saving of $$$, maybe next year instead of a summer trip we could visit Mickey during the Halloween or Holiday season since that’s a Disney experience we have yet to encounter. And honestly with the kids only getting older, vacations during the school season will only get trickier.

So in October, while I was checking out Twitter & Facebook updates, I stumbled upon and entered a contest from Northern California Bay Area local blogger Xiaolin Mama. On her review blog Xiaolin Mama Reviews she blogged about her Disney Halloween Experience & hosted a Disneyland Trip Giveaway. Was I surprised when I received an email from fellow blogger & twitter friend @xiaolinmama herself just days before Halloween, informing me that I won “the trip to DISNEYLAND!” I guess you could say that, Christmas wishes really do come true, since this year my family is getting the best gift ever… A Disneyland Holiday Celebration!

Kids just found out that Mommy won a trip to Disneyland!

Stay tuned, as I will most definitely be blogging about our magical Disneyland Holiday!

*** UPDATED: Here's a direct link to our magical Disneyland Holiday!

Wordless Wednesday - #6

View of South Lake Tahoe from Valentine's Day Sleigh Ride

Wordless Wednesday - #5

My early... but very happy Valentine's Day Surprise!

"Holiday Gifts for Mom Giveaway" from TotallyHer!

If you were given $100 gift card to spend, but it had to be spent on no one else, but YOU... how would you spend that $100?

Would you buy a new purse? A new outfit? How about a mani/pedi? Or a relaxing massage?

Well this MicroBlogginMom would totally splurge on a much needed foot massage & pedicure. And to help that wish come true, I've entered to win the "Holiday Gifts for Mom" Giveaway from TotallyHer! You can enter too, and maybe your holiday wish can come true! Check out TotallyHer's giveaway at [http://tinyurl.com/62au6p]. Good Luck!

Wordless Wednesday - #4

Happy Holidays from our family to yours!

I survived Black Friday Midnight Madness

Hope everyone had a very Happy Thanksgiving Holiday! Also hope that you survived the Black Friday Madness, if you dared to explore, like I did. As I see it, what better way to burn off some calories after Thanksgiving dinner, than to go shopping? For the 4th year in a row, I dared the Black Friday Midnight Madness and again went home a winner. Extremely tired, but at least a winner! Heck... while everyone else is hustling around shopping for the next 25+ days, I'll be enjoying the decorating, present wrapping, & holiday parties. How did I survive you ask? Here's my story & helpful tips to surviving Black Friday midnight madness.

1. Started off with a great Thanksgiving meal… of course!
2. I had a power nap between lunch & dinner as well as during the one hour drive home.
3. I dressed comfortably for the occasion. Comfy tennis shoes & sweats.
4. I dared the event with a buddy. A mom like me targeting the exact same store(s).
5. We planned to arrive at the Great Mall within an hour of opening (which was midnight).
6. We targeted no more than 2 stores in the mall - Gymboree & Children's Place. Targeting the 2 stores which we needed to purchase the most type of items from maximized our time & savings to take advantage of the doorbuster specials (such as additional 20-30% off entire purchase before 5AM).
7. While at the first store we used the buddy system. One of us stood in the check-out line, which already wrapped around along the edge of the store walls. While one of us shopped. About half-way we switched. This gave us enough time (at least an hour each) to gather all the items we wanted to buy off of our list. 2+ hours later, at the end of store one I had finished about 70% of my holiday gift shopping. Yeah!
8. We then ran back to the car to drop off our shopping bags, so that we would be hands free for store two.
9. While at the second store we used the buddy system again, but this time there were three of us since we ran into my girlfriend's cousin (also a mom). So we took advantage of taking turns standing in the check-out line. This worked out great since by the time we got to the second store, the check-out line was even longer than at the last store. Another 2+ hours later, at the end of store two I had complete about 90-95% of my holiday shopping. Double Yeah!
10. By about 6am we were done. And while we left the parking lot, others were barely arriving to the mall.

I admit I was exhausted, but the deals were definitely well worth this one time 4-6 hour shopping spree (without kids in tow) vs. trying to get my shopping done hours at a time after work or during the weekends for the next 25+ days. Would I do it again next year… absolutely!