Commentary Land

Happy Mother’s Day from ZannaLand!

8 May 2011 by Suzannah Otis Leave a Comment

I’m not sure I can top my post from last Mother’s Day here on ZannaLand, but I wanted to mark the occasion nonetheless, so here’s wishing all the moms reading this the Happiest of Mother’s Days! I hope you are able to spend the day basking in love and appreciation from your little (or big) ones.

I woke up to breakfast in bed and some hand-made cards and gifts from my three little loves, including my 2 year-old who managed to write ALL the letters to “Happy Mom Day” and “love Gio” on his card…they may not all be next to each other in the right order, but they’re on the paper! 😉

Later today we are heading to Epcot for our annual tradition of Mother’s Day lunch in France at Les Chefs de France with my mom – this year joined by some very dear friends who I consider family as well. I couldn’t ask for anything more!

Disney Mother Reunion — Here's an image I found of some Disney moms getting together! Who is your favorite Disney mom?

I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

First Haircut Magic at Harmony Barber Shop

28 January 2011 by Suzannah Otis 11 Comments

first haircut magic kingdom — Ready for anything with Mickey stickers!

It’s not news to any regular readers that we go to Walt Disney World…a lot, nor that we have 3 children. My oldest son is about to turn 12 this weekend, my daughter is 10 and my youngest son turned 2 the end of October. While we have visited the barber shop in the Magic Kingdom many times, in both its locations, we had never experienced a “first haircut” there. With our first child, the thought just never occurred to us and we took him to a local kids hair cutting place. With our daughter, well, we just never really cut her hair until she was about 4 anyway! So since we now frequent Disney a lot more than “normal” with the blog and Moms Panel and twitter meet-ups etc. It seemed only natural to experience this rite of passage, well, the right way.

Now what’s changed since our last visit, aside from the new location, is that you can now actually book appointments at the Harmony Barber Shop. Since this is such a popular attraction among those who know the Magic Kingdom, the wait time can get quite long in the shop. Simply calling 407-WDW-DINE will secure you a spot in the barber’s chair. Walk-ins are still available but will be taken when available around those with appointments. Our time was for 11am on a busy Saturday, and despite the line out the door, the wait wasn’t too bad for those without appointments. These dual-skilled cast members/stylists know their stuff and do it efficiently. The “First Haircut” package is $18, a child’s haircut is $15, Adult haircut is $19 and colored hair gel and pixie dust is $7.50

Reunited…and It Feels So Good!

5 January 2011 by Suzannah Otis 2 Comments

I just wanted to take a moment to mark another magical milestone in my life; being back on the Walt Disney World Moms Panel answering questions! I’m honored to have been asked back again this year and will be giving out magical advice at www.DisneyWorldMoms.com until April.

So much has happened in the span of two years, it’s hard to imagine that just a short time ago my dream was to join the amazing panelists on the Walt Disney World Moms Panel, and that dream actually came true. Since the site here took off at around the same time and my last year was filled with special events and opportunities, new friends and experiences, I felt like I needed to remember the dream that started it all. It’s still pretty amazing if you stop and think.

I’m so grateful for the chance to help guests out in an official capacity on an official Walt Disney World site, not to mention the wonderful cast members I’ve met, fellow panelists I’ve worked along side and friends I’ve made because of the panel. It’s such a special opportunity of a lifetime and I am so appreciative, every day, for that gift. I only hope that I can pass my excitement, love and knowledge of Walt Disney World on to the people I come in contact with and, well, make Walt proud too.

If you’d like to ask me a WDW vacation planning question directly, you can head over to my bio page at D isneyWorldMoms.com and click on the “ask Suzannah a question” link. 🙂 I’d be happy to help! While you’re there, check out all the new faces ready to lend a hand as well. I hope to be highlighting some of them here on the sight in the coming months!

ZannaLand News Update!

12 November 2010 by Suzannah Otis 2 Comments

Today I’m currently running around organizing and packing for a weekend trip to Walt Disney World to represent the Moms Panel. I’m very excited and will share the details (Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party and lots of other fun “hair-raising” items!) with you in several future posts. So in the mean time, I thought I’d do a quick update of some other things I’ve been working on.

The Walt Disney World Moms Panel – One Year Later

11 November 2010 by Suzannah Otis 4 Comments

A little over a year ago, I was floating in a surreal dream of having actually achieved my dream of being selected for the Walt Disney World Moms Panel. It’s hard to imagine a time before my Moms Panel journey began…but I thought I’d try to reflect back on it after an action-packed year. Of course, my year has been doubly blessed because so much has happened as a result of the blog as well. I am grateful for all that this past year has brought, in terms of friendships, personal successes, lessons learned and dreams come true. The wonderful thing about dreams coming true…once they do, you get to move on to the next dream. And let me tell you, a girl can get used to dreaming big!

In putting together the video I’m about to share below, I remembered when I first started looking into DisneyWorldMoms.com and watching the official video Disney released announcing the 2009 panel. I recall watching the video and seeing the faces of the moms and dads on the panel and just thinking, “That will never be me. I can’t imagine.” (but at the same time secretly hoping) The people on the panel seemed like rock stars to me; people you admired from afar but could never be a part of their world. Despite that, I had a dream…and now not only am I one of the chosen few Walt Disney World Moms Panelists, I call each and every one of them friend.

Inside the VIP Lounge at The Living Seas

2 November 2010 by Suzannah Otis 6 Comments

Last month, most of the Walt Disney World Moms Panel joined together for an informal reunion, just because we love an excuse to get together and what better place to do that than the Walt Disney World Resort, right? Our Pink Princess was kind enough to have a luncheon put together for us by the allied partners responsible for the Innoventions attractions. We were lucky enough to be treated to that lunch inside the second story of the Seas pavilion, in the former VIP Lounge area from back when United Technologies sponsored The Living Seas.

Unfortunately, I did not have my real camera and my cell phone pics are not the best, but I wanted to share the inside with you just the same. Hopefully I’ll get another chance to visit. I know the D23 Sip and Stroll attendees were able to experience both this lounge and the one for Spaceship Earth, so who knows what future events may take place here.

living seas vip lounge — This sign as you enter was enough to make my visit worthwhile.

Remembering My Disney Dad

20 October 2010 by Suzannah Otis 24 Comments

I mentioned on twitter and facebook this morning that today my dad would’ve turned 71. I’ve posted about my early memories of Walt Disney World with my family, my parents were both big Disney fans, however my dad, who had a childlike nature to begin with, would always be filled with excitement at every Disney visit.

His favorite character was Donald Duck. In later years, this meant he always got a Donald something for birthday and Christmas presents. I remember asking him one time why Donald was his favorite and he told me that he only really said he liked Donald for my benefit, because my older siblings were not really into Disney (I know, shocking!) and he didn’t want me to feel sad about that, so since back then Mickey was my favorite, he said Donald was his…and it just stuck. If that’s not an example of what a Daddy’s girl I was, I’m not sure what is.

My dad loved old musicals and old Hollywood. He’d be the one singing along to all the songs playing in the background on Main Street, USA and would name every movie from the Studios soundtrack too. Disney’s Hollywood Studios was definitely his favorite park. We visited a few times when it first opened and of course back when my husband, mom and I were cast members too. He loved being able to tell me every actor or movie that was being referenced in some detail or pun used in the parks. My mom and I cannot watch the film montage at the end of the Great Movie Ride and not tear up remembering his favorites. That park is just full of happy memories.

Another spot that holds some magic for me is the queue for Splash Mountain. My dad loved the thrill rides and was the one to first convince me to ride Big Thunder Mountain, which, as scared as I was, of course I loved. When I finally agreed to go on Splash Mountain, he spent the very long wait that day telling me stories of his childhood in Ocala and Jacksonville, FL. He always loved Song of the South and the tales of Uncle Remus (without getting into a PC debate, I think the lessons and history within that movie are something to be treasured, learned from and preserved) so the Splash Mountain theme always made him nostalgic for his southern upbringing and the crazy stories he grew up with. In fact, during 2009’s Moms Panel round 3 phone interviews, that was the ‘favorite memory’ I discussed (I was extremely nervous and I think sounded like I was about to cry but hopefully got the specialness of the memory across).

We lost my dad back in 2004 and although I do believe that he is looking down and seeing his beautiful grandchildren, I wish more than anything that he could walk through the parks with them and tell them his stories, as he told me. I am so grateful that I was given the chance to hear his stories in such a magical place and will forever be thankful to Walt Disney World for that gift.

Happy Birthday, Daddy.

What is the Training Trip for the Walt Disney World Moms Panel Like? We’ll Show You!

22 September 2010 by Suzannah Otis 26 Comments

There has been a lot of buzz about the 2011 Walt Disney World Moms Panel applications, just as there was last year. Today, friend and fellow 2010 Moms Panelist Marc Lorenzo shared a video he compiled of our training trip last year. It brought back such wonderful memories of our time together at Walt Disney World, I got his permission to share it here with all of you as well. Each training trip is slightly different and focuses on whatever projects WDW has going on at the time that they’d like to promote, in addition to lots of bonding opportunities among the new panelists and some special surprises too – this is Disney after all! We all had some an amazing time just packed full of memories at every turn, thanks to Walt Disney World, Laura Spencer and her team! I hope you enjoy this glimpse into our training trip last year thanks to Marc:

I never did get around to finishing my reports for the trip, but you can read the first day of training, hopefully I’ll finish it up before December! You can catch the entire trip report from Kaylene J. at her blog FiveTimesBlessed.blogspot.com (see links to all of the days on the left of that page), Kathie F. at WhatNowKathie.com, and Amanda W. at her site, OhAmanda.com.

Have you applied to the 2011 panel? I’d love to hear from you if so!

Meet Your Walt Disney World Moms Panelist-Amanda P

31 August 2010 by Suzannah Otis 1 Comment

After another short break in the Meet Your Moms Panel series here on ZannaLand we are jumping back in, with the 2011 Walt Disney World Moms Panel applications starting up soon (September 13!). Today we get to know another Amanda – Amanda P. from Texas to be exact. (Followers of the Panel may realize there are now 3 Amandas on board!) These informal interviews are meant to be a jumping off point from the bios that appear on the DisneyWorldMoms.com site where you can learn about every panelist’s background and experience with Walt Disney World, and see their personal videos as well. Once you check them out there, you can get to know the panelists a little better here!

Amanda P. has a great sense of humor and her love of Disney and her family (she recently had a baby girl, joining her other two princes at home!) shine through. I hope you enjoy getting to know her a little better –

Going Bananas at Walt Disney World Since the 70’s

30 August 2010 by Suzannah Otis 12 Comments

In searching for ancient vintage photos from my childhood visits to Walt Disney World, I came across what may perhaps be my favorite. From the looks of my hair, I’m thinking this was around 1st grade, so 1978 or 1979. My Gramma Lucy (my dad’s mom) and I are both enjoying a wonderful Disney treat – a chocolate covered frozen banana. This was once one of my favorites, but I have to admit, I haven’t had one in years. Maybe I need to attempt to re-create this picture so my children can blog about it in 30 years??

wdw frozen banana 1970s — This trip is bananas! B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

In this photo, you not only get to see adorable 6-ish year old me, you get my mom next to me in a long sundress (which is I think back in style today?!) and Jackie O sunglasses, my brother on the other side of me in knee socks and short shorts, and to the far right, you can see part of my sister in a green one-piece tube-top/shorts-set situation. If my dad were in the picture, I can only imagine the fashion fabulousity he would’ve added, given his previous appearances with white pants and reaaaally short shorts.

I think my family is pretty tame compared to the other 1970’s theme-park couture going on, even from behind. Thanks, lady with the matching red pants and vest, lady with the super high plaid bell-bottoms with matching plaid jacket in your hand, and dude behind my brother with his shirt buttoned ALL the way down. You really made this picture worth posting. How did we survive as a species during this time?? Oh that’s right. Disco!