This week on the Meet Your Moms Panel series here in ZannaLand we are meeting a wonderful mom that started on the panel in 2009 – Cathy S! 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!
The few times I’ve hung out with Cathy I’ve loved her sense of humor and personality. We’ve had a lot of fun on twitter too – she and Disney Dad Jonas are killer at 80’s movie quotes! I hope you enjoy getting to know her a little better –
How did you first get interested in the Disney parks?
I remember watching the original Mickey Mouse Club (they were REPEATS, I’m not THAT old!) and just loving it! I wanted to be in the “New” Mickey Mouse Club, but unfortunately the fact that I live in Ohio and can’t sing, dance, or act kind of ruled me out from that!
I actually did not visit WDW until I was 16, but since then have made about 50+ trips to my favorite vacation destination!
Besides Disney, what are you most passionate about?
I am a typical mom, I just adore my kids! They are 10 and 7 and are so much fun! I can’t imagine a day without them.
Tell us about your family – are they Disney fans too? What are some of your most memorable family experiences?
Well, if this tells you anything about my kids, I currently have the entire monorail system set-up in my family room, complete with switch tracks, Cinderella Castle, Spaceship Earth, and the Contemporary (still checking ebay for Grand Floridian and Polynesian – know of anyone selling these??!!)
The family trip my family will never let me forget was the big family gathering I planned for my 40th birthday. My husband and kids, my brother and his family, and my parents all planned to be in Disney to celebrate my birthday. Wouldn’t you know it, exactly one month before my birthday, I got the call that I had made it on the 2009 Moms Panel, and training weekend was the same as my birthday! Of course, I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday present than being selected on the panel, but my family likes to remind me that they traveled across country for my birthday party – which I did not attend!
Oh, and my husband will leave me if I don’t mention that he proposed to me in front of Cinderella Castle. We love to bore our kids every time we pass by the location and say “this is where daddy . . .” and they finish up “yeah, we know, where you asked mom to marry you. WHATEVER!”
What is your favorite Disney restaurant and why?
Certainly it is not the best food on property, but nothing says Disney Dining like Chef Mickey’s! We have had so many fun family meals here with our kids, family, and cousins. There are just so many great memories. And where else can you dine with Mickey and his pals? This is as fun as it gets!
As far as best food, we like to dine in France, and when we are ready to really eat til we can’t move, it’s off to Whispering Canyon Café. My favorite counter service is Wolfgang Puck Express, so yummy!
What is the first thing you do when you arrive at Disney visit? What is your MUST DO during each visit?
It is always straight to Magic Kingdom! Even before we had kids, this was always our first stop on our WDW vacations.
What do you wish there were more of at Disney? Less?
My number one request: I would love more counter service restaurants in Epcot. My son thinks Electric Umbrella is the best restaurant ever (is he really my child?). There really there aren’t many good choices.
More parking at Downtown Disney Marketplace – and don’t tell me to park over in that far lot – I’m lazy and want close parking!
What type of music are you into?
I really enjoy all kinds of music and I am totally addicted to my ipod and itunes. Best invention ever.
What’s the last book you read that you really enjoyed?
Well of course it is “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Walt Disney World
Describe YOUR perfect Disney vacation (could be solo, with family, friends anything, no limitations).
I love WDW Mom reunion vacations. Yes, I miss my kids, well a little bit. But it is so fun to linger at a nice dinner, shop for hours, and just hang with the girls! (We haven’t convinced any of the dads to ever join us – why is that??!!) Now when is our next WDW Mom get-together???
Feel free to share your little “interesting tid-bit” from training or some other surprising fact about you. (that you don’t mind the internet knowing!)
My deep dark secret – I worked in retail at a Warner Bros. Studio Store when I got out of college, and had to wear a Bugs Bunny T-shirt to work everyday. SHHHH! I had to sneak past the Disney Store on the way to work, I didn’t want Mickey to see me!
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Thank you so much Cathy for letting us get to know you and your family a bit more! Remember to look for Cathy at the Walt Disney World Moms Panel, where you can ask all of your Disney World vacation planning questions. You can also find Cathy on twitter @DisneyMomCathy and blogging about her family at http://cathyschikowski.blogspot.com. Be sure to look for her the next time you’re in the parks too!