Last month, I was invited to Walt Disney World (along with 2 other mothers.) We were there to create a video where we would share our most memorable family experiences/vacations at Walt Disney World. And the videos that we made will be displayed on ESSENCE.com’s newest editorial destination, Mommy Den.
Launched in March of 2015, Mommy Den is ESSENCE.com’s newest editorial destination. This digital experience is designed to connect our audience of moms to their peers, ESSENCE editors, parenting experts, celebrities and bloggers to engage in weekly parenting centric content covering real topics with real people.
So in the middle of February, I packed up my entire family and we headed down to Walt Disney World for a 4-day vacation (with a little work mixed in for the video shoot.) I was there to talk about my most memorable family vacation. But little did I know, I was actually about to experience it.
You see, this trip was the first time that all four of my kids would experience Disney together. This trip literally brought my family together again and I will be forever grateful to Disney and ESSENCE for it.
It’s no secret that we have a blended family and that everything in our family has not always been “peaches and cream.” We’ve definitely had our challenges coming together as a family (blending.) And I have experienced the most painful feelings in my life as my oldest child and only son, moved away during his high school years when things became too volatile in our home. So he’s never been to Walt Disney World with his two youngest sisters.
So, this was literally the first vacation that we all took together as a family since my son moved back to Georgia to work and finish his college education.
Disney brings families together like no other place on earth. The extreme happiness that the kids experienced (and I mean all of them from my 21 year old son to our 7 year old, and everyone in between) and the overwhelming feeling of joy that I had to have my entire family there in one place was priceless.
We put all of our family issues behind us, and we enjoyed each other and all that Disney had to offer.
We all had a ball.
Our son is 21 and our girls are 13, 8, and 7. There were so many fun activities for all of them to enjoy. First of all, I had no idea that our youngest girls had become such thrill-seekers. They rode every roller coaster in each of the parks that we visited. Check us out in the pictures below as the entire family enjoyed our favorite rides.
We were able to connect.
My son had so much fun with his little sisters. While there, we stayed in a family suite at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort. It was just enough room for our family of six. And Lamar and I had our own room where we could decompress each night in privacy. Every night, my son took his little sister’s exploring around the resort. He took them to the dining room, Landscape of Flavors, which was open until midnight and he also took them to the video arcade.
Lamar and I were also able to get away for some couple’s time while our kids played together. So we were able to connect as a family and as a couple. It’s the Disney Magic that allows you to truly let go of your day-to-day responsibilities/issues and to just enjoy having fun with each other.
We created memories that will last for a lifetime.
This vacation is the gift that will keep on giving. For years to come, my kids are going to remember the fun that we had as a family. It was just what we needed to bring healing to our blended family.
By the way, if you are wondering how we were able to capture so many magical moments while we were at all of the parks, then I have to share that Disney also let us experience their Memory Maker offering. It’s their Disney PhotoPass Service that gets everyone in the picture—and Memory Maker allows you to download all of your favorite digital photos taken at these fantastic locations.
Happiest Moms in the World
Here’s a picture of the happiest moms in the world sharing their most memorable family vacations at Walt Disney World. Why are we so happy? Because our families are happy.
Check out one of our finished videos below on Mommy Den
BMWK – what’s your most memorable family vacation? Do you plan on visiting Disney soon?
Disclosure: Disney gave my family and me a four night, five day vacation to Walt Disney World that also included our travel, resort stay and meals. Essence also provided compensation for my participation in the video production. However, all opinions are my own.