Food Blog Forum 2013 ~ Walt Disney World Resort (part one)

A few weeks ago my family and I had an amazing opportunity! Just like last year, Disney was again hosting Food Blog Forum, and we were blessed with the chance to go! Food Blog Forum is an intimate group of 100 or so food bloggers that come together to learn about new trends in the field, meet new friends and mingle with old and of course, EAT! With Walt Disney World hosting again we were able to stay at the Grand Floridian Resort and visit all 4 of the Disney parks with our families. Talk about a dream come true!

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We drove up bright and early that Friday morning full of anticipation. You see, I know I won’t get much sympathy, but since we live in Florida we’ve had Disney season passes several times over the years. And as with all good things….they eventually come to an end. For us….our season passes expired in early February. We told our girls it would be at least a year or 2 before we would go back to Disney. The girls were prepared for a long wait. Not just any girls….but our girls are Disney fanatics. And they were taking it very well. So when we found out we’d be attending this event….we did what all good parents do…..we kept it a secret. FOR ALMOST THREE LONG MONTHS!! Certainly tricky with a teenager in the house!

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And then when it was finally time to tell them, we gave them a secret code to crack 4 days before we left. To say that they were out of this world excited is an understatement. We were all smiles on the drive up Friday. We were instagramming with other attendees, and texting with our good friends who were also coming. My friend Michelle was finally getting her do over after all the drama of last year. I just kept praying for a safe trip and no incidences this year. Guess what? There were no mishaps. Whew!

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When we arrived at the Grand Floridian at 10 am we were surprised to find out our room was ready! Yay!! Disney pulls out all the stops. They load up all your luggage into a golf cart, drive us to our building. The room was incredible….spacious enough for a family of 5, an inviting balcony (I love this aspect of their deluxe resorts!) and my little one even found Tinkerbell hidden among the bedspread. I was in absolute heaven!

I’m a little nervous that my 5 year old will think this is standard living for us….with the Polynesian last year and now the Grand Floridian. I’m sure she’ll wonder why we can’t stay there next time we go! After getting all settled into our room, we headed over to the conference center to pick up our Disney park passes. Then hopped on the monorail to meet our friends and ride some rides. My girls were still in disbelief that we were back at Disney!

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Bottom left: My youngest on left, Michelle’s youngest on right. Bottom right: In the front seat of the flying carpet her daughter and my middle daughter on right, and in the back seat Michelle and her hubby.

After spending time in Fantasyland, Tomorrowland and Adventureland…..and of course getting our Dole Whips together….it was about that time to head back to the room and start getting ready for the big opening night meet and greet for all the food bloggers. My hubby and girls were planning on spending time with our friends at the pool, while Michelle and I met up with our food blog friends!

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Bottom left: our 3 girls; Bottom right: Me (left) and my good friend Michelle (right)

I bumped into longtime friend Aggie (this is our third Food Blog Forum together) first on our walk over. I also met Liz for the first time….a food blogger similar to Aggie and I with the focus on healthy foods! As we made our way over we kept bumping into more and more friends (new and old)……I was excited to finally meet Sommer of A Spicy Perspective. Her blog is a longtime read of mine, she’s based in Asheville, NC and area near and dear to my heart where I have family and always has a wealth of incredible recipes! So many people to meet….so little time. It all went by so fast!

20130610-000529.jpgUnfortunately, I have very limited pictures of that first night because we were all so busy catching up, meeting new people, and eating all the amazing food the Disney chefs prepared. I’ll be linking to friend’s recaps so you won’t miss out on the action! But as usual Disney did not disappoint, and I made a lot of new friends! It’s great when you finally meet someone in “real” life after only being friends online….like Amy of The Nifty Foodie….I’ve been following her inspiring weight loss journey on Instagram. I’m bummed I didn’t get pictures with my friends that night, but will make up for it in part two.

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After our food blogger fun, I went back to the room and changed out of my wedges (definitely NOT park shoes! lol) and headed over to the monorail to meet up with my family. After swimming and dinner they’d gone back to Magic Kingdom to get in some more rides…or course! When I got there they’d just finished up Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain and we headed over to ride one of my favorite rides….Pirates of the Carribean. Then we rode Jungle Cruise…always FUN at night! We caught the fireworks, but I’m still kicking myself that we didn’t monorail back before they started and watch them from the beach at the Grand Floridian.

As you can see from my new snazzy Fitbit Zip (pedometer) above, I got in over 22,000 steps that day! Yay! I have so much more to share with you about our trip, so stay tuned for part two at some point. We’re headed out for a family wedding next week and also our family reunion in North Carolina so bare with me…it might be awhile.

I do have Secret Recipe Club coming up Monday with a great new healthy recipe so make sure to stop back by!

Visit my friend’s recaps of Food Blog Forum:

 

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3 Responses to Food Blog Forum 2013 ~ Walt Disney World Resort (part one)

  1. cindy says:

    all of these recaps are so fun! thanks for the link love!
    cindy recently posted..Oatmeal Brownies

  2. Michelle says:

    Awe! Yes, Disney is so magical! Glad we were all able to do it this year!
    Michelle recently posted..homemade ravioli and emotional outbursts

  3. Camille says:

    Love the great prospective of the magic carpet ride photo!
    Camille recently posted..It’s German Chocolate Cake Day!

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