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Exclusive Disney Baby Store Glendale Grand Opening Photos and Review

17 September 2012 by Suzannah Otis 2 Comments

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Those who follow on Twitter or Facebook, or fellow bloggers in attendance, may remember my surprising grand prize win at Disney’s Social Media Moms Celebration back in April. I was thrilled to hear I had won a trip for four to California, to attend the grand opening ceremonies for the new Disney Baby exclusive store in Glendale, as well as some time in Disneyland. Having gone to Disneyland for the first time last year for the Disney D23 Expo in Anaheim, I was so excited to be able to bring my children out with me to see the park I fell in love with. As fate would have it, I ended up being in the Disneyland Resort a month before this special trip, for the D23 Destination D event, but that’s another story entirely.

Details were worked out and I ended up taking my three children and my mother on this most recent visit out west. They were just as excited as I was and none of them had ever been to Disneyland before, or Glendale for that matter. The trip was a lesson in travel, being the first plane ride for all my children, my first attempt at driving in Los Angeles, and my first time venturing outside of the bubble of Anaheim’s Disneyland area. As you can imagine, we all survived and had a wonderful time.

Due to difficulties with our flights on the return, we were kindly offered a Disneyland area hotel, which was heaven-sent since we decided to extend the visit by a few days, so I was sure the kids would see all of Disneyland. We were booked into the Grand Californian, which, if you’re going to see Disneyland for the first time, is a highly recommended way to go about it! We were also given a rental car (resulting in me freaking out about driving in L.A.!) and one-day Disneyland tickets. I was relieved to learn they were still sending a car service to get us to and from Glendale, for the Disney Baby opening. I think I would’ve been okay driving, but it was nice to sit back and enjoy the scenery vs. worrying about Freeway exits! I’ll be writing more about our family experiences at Disneyland Resort in the coming weeks.

Disney Baby store Grand Opening
My Disney Baby was excited for the day’s events!

Disney Baby in Glendale is the first of its kind and I’m sure more will follow across the country. This first store is located at The Americana at Brand, which is a lovely way of saying a super cool outdoor mall in Glendale! I loved this area and it was a beautiful setting for Disney to hold its grand opening ceremonies, which, in typical Disney style, gave back as well.

The opening doubled as a baby shower for 20 expecting military moms, who received special gift baskets, prizes and all sorts of pampering before heading in to check out the Disney Baby store. When the spokesperson explained the purpose of Operation Shower, it was hard not to get emotional at these moms, many of them already raising families, while their spouses were stationed overseas. It was truly wonderful to witness.

The event was also full of fun activities for the kids in attendance, ranging from arts and crafts to technology to product samples and clothing typical of what Disney Baby would offer, in store and online. The DisneyBaby.com site launched the same day so you don’t have to wait for a location to reach your neck of the woods to order some Disney magic for your little prince or princess.

Disney Baby store Grand Opening
Some of the interactive booths at the Disney Baby grand opening

 

We were treated to a visit from Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, and Piglet who arrived by trolley car. They helped Alison Sweeney, (host of The Biggest Loser, star of Days of Our Lives, and author of the new book “The Mommy Diet*“) and her family press the button to reveal the Disney Baby store in all its adorable glory. Also on hand were Blue Sky Riders (comprised of members Kenny Loggins, Georgia Middleman and Gary Burr), who serenaded us with classic and new hits. Other Disney Channel and ABC Family stars were in attendance to complete the celebration. Here are some photos from the event:

Disney Baby store Grand Opening
Kenny Loggins and Blue Sky Riders

 

Disney Baby store Grand Opening
Some familiar friends arrive by trolley!

 

Disney Baby store Grand Opening
Ali Sweeney and family (and some friends from the 100 Acre Wood) drop the curtain on Disney Baby!

 

Here’s a video of the big moment:

 

Disney Baby store Grand Opening
Outside the Disney Baby store

 

Disney Baby store Grand Opening
Inside the Disney Baby store

 

Disney Baby store Grand Opening
Disney Baby is adorable!

 

Disney Baby store Grand Opening
Of course there are dress-up clothes too!

 

Disney Baby store Grand Opening
Diaper Bags and more inside the Disney Baby store

 

All in all, my family had a wonderful time playing games, enjoying the entertainment and of course, experiencing the actual star of the show – the Disney Baby store! More than just a store full of baby-sized clothes, the new boutique offers small toys, supplies for new parents like diaper bags, car seats and strollers, and of course, adorable plush that you will want to fill your nursery or playroom with.

Disney Baby store Grand Opening
A bouncing, baby Tigger!

 

It was an honor to be in attendance with other local bloggers and media, and of course, the deserving military moms from Operation Shower. Huge thanks go to Disney Baby for having my family out, and the wonderful team behind Disney’s Social Media Moms Celebration for making it happen. Look for the Disney Baby stores to pop up around the country, and of course, check out DisneyBaby.com for all your baby magic –  follow @DisneyBaby on Twitter and Facebook.com/DisneyBaby for more updates!

 Stay tuned for a Disney Baby GIVEAWAY in the coming days!

Disclosure: I was provided with airfare, hotel, transportation, 1-day Disneyland tickets for four, and a $200 Disney Baby gift card as my prize package but was not asked to write about the event, I am just doing that because I wanted to! 🙂

*affiliate link – if you purchase using that link, I will get a few cents toward keeping zannaland running. 🙂

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Filed Under: Disney Merchandise, Disney Movie News & Reviews, Disney Special Events, Reviews Tagged With: Ali Sweeney, Alison Sweeney, baby store, California, disney baby, Disney Baby Store, Disney Baby store grand opening, Glendale, grand californian, grand opening, grand prize, Kenny Loggins, military moms, Operation Shower, The Americana at Brand

VIDEO: Magical Disneyland Memories (and a little D23 Expo too)

29 August 2011 by Suzannah Otis 8 Comments

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I mentioned before as a preface to my D23 Expo Primer guest post by Carrie Hayward that I was visiting Disneyland for the first time during our journey out west to see the Expo. Not only was it my first time visiting California and the Disneyland Resort, it was my first time flying since 1997! So, I was a bit nervous, but I survived and actually liked it!

Now usually, I am a photo-holic and take pictures of any and everything when I visit a place for the first time. However in this instance, I was so completely overwhelmed by the experience, that I found myself without photos of a lot of what we saw when I returned home. (I still have quite a few, and I’ll be posting them over the next few weeks.)

Nicole and Zanna on Small World
Nicole and I on "it's a small world" Where else but Disney could we get away with those hats?? (photo by Becky Staudt)

That said, I wouldn’t change it for the world. I’ve seen tons of photos of Disneyland, even ride videos, but nothing compares to walking down Main Street, U.S.A. that first time and seeing it all before you in living, breathing color. So while I’m still sharing our memories here with you, my real purpose in writing this post is to implore, even beg any Disney fan that has not yet made the pilgrimage to the “motherland” to do so. If you’re anything like my friends and me, it will change your life.

Now first, a little backstory. I decided to make this journey westward thanks to an amazing friend of mine, Nicole Siscaretti. She is not only a wonderful, caring person, but she’s also going to be a star some day, so you can watch these videos and say later, “ahh, I knew her when…” Nicole was part of our team for the D23 WDW Scavenger Hunt we did a few months back and it was then that I really got to know what a special person she was. After spending the last few months hanging out and “planning” our conquest of Disneyland (I say that in quotes because this was probably the least planned trip either of us had ever taken), she is like a little sister to me. In addition, she loves making fun videos on her iPhone andlooks WAY better on camera than me, so I’m pleased to be able to share a highlight reel of our Disneyland adventures thanks to her.

Before sharing her Disneyland video, I must explain one other thing. Nicole actually embarked on a quest that most people don’t even dream of – visiting all 6 Disney Parks in the US in one day. Nicole had asked me to join her and I was all set to do so before a last minute meeting had to happen at 9 on the morning we left for California. So I got to take the easy way out and only went to the 2 west coast parks. Nicole persevered and accomplished her goal. You can see her Six Parks One Day adventure on YouTube!

And now, without further ado, here are just a handful of our amazing Disneyland memories, shared with local Florida friends, west coast friends and new friends from all over! Disney fans may recognize the famous Scott Otis (@otisney on twitter) and the equally famous Michael Crawford from ProgressCityUSA.com (@ProgressCityUSA on twitter), two great friends from whom we were lucky enough to get amazing Disneyland history and backstory as we toured the lands!

I hope you enjoyed our video and if you’ve never been, do make plans to get to Disneyland some day soon, it is simply incredible!

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Filed Under: Disney Attractions, Disney Planning, Disneyland Resort, Guest Authors, Walt Disney World Tagged With: #6parks1day, 6 parks one day, California, D23, D23 Expo, Disney California Adventure, Disney videos, Disneyland, Disneyland memories, Disneyland Resort, Disneyland videos, ElecTRONica, expo, fan videos, Fantasmic, first visit to Disneyland, Magical Fireworks, Nicole Siscaretti, njoysiscaretti, Storybook Land Canal Boats, The Magic The Memories and You, World of Color

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