• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About | Press
  • Up the Waterfall
  • Media Kit

ZANNALAND!

Magical Adventures & Memories

  • Latest News
    • Top Stories
    • Disney News
    • Disney Movie News & Reviews
    • Movie Reviews
  • Places to Explore
    • Walt Disney World
    • Universal Orlando Resort
    • Disneyland Resort
    • Orlando Area Resorts
    • Disneyland Resort Paris
    • Disney Cruise Line
  • Things to Do
    • Disney Dining
    • Disney Special Events
    • D23 Expo
    • RunDisney
    • Travel, Theme Parks, and Resorts
    • Florida Theme Parks & Attractions
      • Universal Orlando Resort
      • Medieval Times
      • LEGOLAND Florida
      • Busch Gardens
      • Sea World Orlando
    • Orlando Area Resorts
    • Central Florida Family Entertainment
  • Up the Waterfall Podcast

zannaland

To Quote Rafiki – It is Time!

1 April 2010 by Suzannah Otis Leave a Comment

Share
Tweet
Pin
Share

suzannah moms panelJust adding a quick update that I am now LIVE at DisneyWorldMoms.com along with my other 2nd quarter friends, Amanda W. and Joel K. If you click on our bios you can ask us questions directly! I started answering questions today and let me tell you, it is so much fun. As much as I love helping a random person out here and there on twitter, it’s great not to be limited by 140 characters. 😉 The Disney site lies somewhere between twitter constraints and being able to go on and on here, so it’s a nice, happy medium. Of course I am seeing and answering questions there from all over, from people with every possible situation looking to get help with their Disney vacation. As a former travel agent, I always loved that part, when I just got to talk to people about what they could do. It really is so exciting and I thank Disney once again for giving me this amazing opportunity.

Because of my new position taking effect now, my time is a bit limited but I’ll still be here posting as much and as often as I can. The book giveaway I mentioned on twitter will be a bit delayed, but I’ve got some other things coming up you won’t want to miss. As for the Vinylmation giveaway, I’ll be using random.org to pick the winners tonight and announce them as an edit to the original entry – so stay tuned! Thank you so much for participating and for reading ZannaLand. This certainly is one heck of a ride! Glad to have you along with me. 🙂

Share
Tweet
Pin
Share

Filed Under: WDW Moms Panel Tagged With: Disney Moms Panel, Walt Disney World Moms Panel, zannaland

The Thanks For Reading ZannaLand Giveaway!

30 March 2010 by Suzannah Otis 76 Comments

Share
Tweet
Pin
Share

zannaland.comThose of you on my personal facebook page may have noticed my update about the milestone my little corner of the internet is about to reach. When I posted it, I thought I’d just say it there, and move on, not making a big deal about it. The more I thought about it all day, the more I realized I should be celebrating this achievement. After all, this site is devoted to Disney, and who does celebrations better than Disney, right? Also, the whole reason this milestone is happening is because of you, the readers, so I figured I should definitely be giving back to the very people that brought me here to begin with. So are you ready to celebrate??

There are 2 days left in March, including today – ZannaLand.com is really really close to getting 10,000 page views for the month of March. I’m so amazed by this – I remember when I started I was excited that the site had 10 views a day. Certainly a LOT has happened both on the site and in my life since that time, and I am so grateful for the exciting changes that have taken place.




vinylmation
These are just some of the Vinylmation figures out there - you could win a brand new one!




I would not be here without the wonderful community of readers about which I’m always raving, and although I may not have the budget of Disney, what I’d do in real life is take you out for a coffee and thank you. Since for most readers, I can’t do that without involving airlines and lots of miles, I thought I’d give away 3 gift cards {of various mystery amounts}  for a coffee on me {or tea or whatever else you might like to drink at Starbucks}.

In addition, I’m giving  away a couple of fun surprises – 2 unopened Vinylmation figures! So that’s 5 separate chances to win.  However,  we have to reach that goal first – which means I need your help getting the word out about this giveaway!


To enter the giveaway:

  • Comment on this entry.
  • If you want some extra entries you can also:

  • Tweet about this giveaway and comment here with the url of that tweet.
  • Post on facebook or anywhere else you’d like to spread the word and let me know here!

I will then add all the entries into random.org and pick the winners there. I can’t wait to see who wins!

Disclosure: I am providing these prizes out-of-pocket and am not being sponsored by Starbucks, Walt Disney World or anyone else for this giveaway. Each comment meeting the above guidelines will be entered to win one of five prizes. Contest ends at midnight PST on March 31st and winners will be announced on April 1st. Good luck! 🙂

…

UPDATE: If you did not read on twitter, we surpassed 10,000 views after midnight on March 30th, so we definitely hit our goal and then some by the 31st! Thanks so much!! The winners have been picked at random.org:

$5 Starbucks gift card goes to – Jacqueline Hudson!

$10 Starbucks gift card goes to – icitea!

$15 Starbucks gift card goes to – Stephanie (VertigoDawn)!

1st Vinylmation goes to –Vader’s Mom!!

2nd Vinylmation goes to – Jon (disneylovndad)!!

Congratulations! I will get your prizes mailed out as soon as possible!

Thank you ALL for the amazing participation, for reading, and for spreading the word about ZannaLand. I promise this will not be the last fun giveaway!!

Share
Tweet
Pin
Share

Filed Under: Giveaways Tagged With: celebrations, Giveaways, starbucks, vinylmation, zannaland

The Disney Community – The Magic is in YOU!

23 March 2010 by Suzannah Otis 17 Comments

Share
Tweet
Pin
Share

Faithful readers may have noticed a gap in updates here in ZannaLand. Never fear – I have lots of fun stuff lined up. I’ve just been working on some behind-the-scenes (or backstage to use a Disney term) things on the site and trying to make it better organized for visitors that may be looking for specific posts or planning help. In addition (outside of running after my 3 kids), I’ve been working on another page within the site to list some other places to get your Disney fix online. Basically a blog roll, as is very common on other sites – however I really want to make this a lot more than just a listing of links. And here’s why…{you knew there had to be a story in here right?}

I know I’ve talked a bit in the past on here about the how and why of wanting to write about Disney. To go into a little more detail, it was really because of twitter and the amazing Disney community that lives there. A year ago, I was just a fan connecting with other Disney fans on twitter and discovering that there existed so many sites and blogs about Disney. When the thought occurred to me to change the focus of my blog here to one about Walt Disney World, the support was overwhelming. I never heard a “oh, don’t bother, there are 10,000+ Disney sites out there!” or “it’s already been done, what could you possibly bring to the table?” even though those were exactly the doubts I was having. Quite the contrary, I received cheers and open arms waiting to help. And trust me – I asked for help – a LOT.

[Read more…] about The Disney Community – The Magic is in YOU!

Share
Tweet
Pin
Share

Filed Under: Walt Disney World Tagged With: Amanda Tinney, Disney blogs, Disney fan sites, Your Disney Community, zannaland

How Chris Brogan Saved My {Blogging} Life

15 February 2010 by Suzannah Otis 26 Comments

Share
Tweet
Pin
Share

Confession: I had a blogging identity crisis. Right in the middle of Walt Disney World.

Readers of ZannaLand may have noticed the not-so-subtle shift from Disney posts to more me/personal/generic posts. This happened both because I combined the MainStreet.Zannaland.com posts here and I really wanted to venture out into the world of Mom Blogs and hopefully get more involved with other bloggers, product reviews and blogging opportunities. I thought – “I can be a REAL blogging mom!” There was only one problem…I had no idea what to blog about.

I’m just not a gifted blogger like some of my friends. I can’t keep things short and sweet and interesting and share-worthy about me. Even as I wrote out my first “all about me” post I looked at it and thought, “Really?! Who is going to want to read this?” {ok, my mom wanted to} And lets be honest, being a successful blogger is often times about the numbers and no one is out there googling “What kind of childhood did Suzannah DiMarzio have?” The result was it was stressing me out. Big time.

I was emailing my blogging friends, desperately asking for help and advice…all the while writing up my life story while I waited for the “oh, here’s how you do it” replies. I’d hit send on my email and be embarrassed for myself, asking such stupid questions when I pretty much knew the answers. I just didn’t know how to come up with the content to keep people interested. I lay awake at night worrying about what the %#&! I was going to write about the next day. Blogging started to feel like a job. I knew something was wrong and it shouldn’t feel like that. I’m sure many people treat blogging like a job, and probably have the income to prove it, but that is not what I set out to do. I wanted to connect with others and share my experiences in hopes of helping others in some way – and make friends along the way. The crazy part was, I’d already done that. It was those connections that cheered me on when I was applying to the Walt Disney World Moms Panel. It was those connections that helped get my blog noticed and out there to begin with. In my eagerness to get to the next big thing, I forgot the big thing I already had.

Before I left for the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration, I actually wanted to give up blogging. The stress was getting to me and I was doing it wrong. I figured I’d give myself till after the conference to decide, and hopefully learn something there that would help set me straight.

And I did. It just wasn’t the answer I thought I was looking for.

I will do recaps of the entire conference experience and the people I met, but this post had to come first. One of the speakers I was most looking forward to hearing was Chris Brogan. I had watched his keynote speech at IZEAFest and of course instantly liked him because he was from Boston. However, I worried that his speech really wouldn’t have anything to do with me. I wasn’t a business, I wasn’t even a successful mom blogger – how could his advice on social media business relationships help ME?

My biggest fear as a blogger was selling out. I didn’t want to become one of those blogs with 200 blinking ads on either side, only talking about the great product I just tried and leaving all my personality and stories on the other side of the screen. When I got up the courage to just introduce myself to Chris at breakfast on Thursday (yes, I said courage, for a shy fat girl with social anxiety, it was a big deal) he asked me, “What do you hope to get out of the speech tomorrow?” We were interrupted by a cast member that needed to whisk Chris away for an interview, but it gave me time to come up with an answer. I later tweeted him that I wanted to know how a new-ish blogger could successfully use social media without “selling out”. I figured he had over 100 other people telling him what they wanted to get out of his presentation as well, and just thought I’d sit back and enjoy his speech.

In absence of a white board, Cinderella Castle works for Chris Brogan

Chris is a smart, witty, engaging speaker. His subtle jokes are the same ones that run through my mind half the day and go over most people’s heads. He opens with the Zulu greeting “Sawubona” which means “I see you.” And he does. There was no person too ‘small’ that Chris didn’t see and connect with. He made sure of it. I will never forget his magic triangle describing Community, Content, and Spnsors, invisibly drawn on the Cinderella Castle backdrop behind him on the stage.

Then he spoke the simple words – “Never alienate your community.” I felt as if that phrase was branded onto my brain. Or rather, as if those words had finally opened my eyes. I had alienated my community, or was at the very least on the path to do so. I had created such a wonderful community of Disney fans and then said, “oh, well, now that you’re here lets talk about my laundry.” Clearly, I had made the wrong choice.

I mulled over that phrase again and again for the remainder of my time at the conference. I tweeted my friend that I was having a blogging identity crisis. I met amazing, wonderful mom bloggers that CAN tell people about their laundry or any other number of topics and get people to listen – and care. I simply am not one of those people. Maybe, in time {and with more time personally}, I could be but right now, it’s just not where I am in the blogging world. Kind of like a rock guitarist that gets a job with an orchestra. You know how to play the music, you know the notes, yet you are never really playing the right song.

Once I had that revelation and made the decision that followed, I was again excited about blogging. I was filled with ideas and new goals to reach. The stress was gone. Even though Chris Brogan stopped short of reenacting James Brown’s scene from The Blues Brothers, shouting “Do you see the light!?” and I stopped short of doing back flips in Grand Republic Ballroom A, I did see the light.

Even if sticking with my niche prevents me from working with certain companies or being open to some opportunities available to a more broad-content blog, that’s okay. If I have my community and my content, the rest will come. And if I make a really cool Xbox Controller Cake and want to share it with you, I will. If my kids do something funny or I have a craft to share, I will. But I will do my best to never alienate you again. {And I’ll just save my childhood stories for my book 😉 } I am a mom blogger. I’m a mom that blogs about Disney. And that’s okay.

So thank you, Chris. Sawubona. And I’m so grateful that I did.

 


*This post is now part of the Disney Blog Carnival, where you can find a great group of Disney articles!*

Share
Tweet
Pin
Share

Filed Under: Commentary Land, Walt Disney World Tagged With: #DisneySMMoms, Blogging, Chris Brogan, community, content, Disney, Disney Social Media Moms, Disney Social Media Moms Celebration, Family Memories, Holidays, zannaland

National Blog Posting Month-A Month of ME!

1 February 2010 by Suzannah Otis 3 Comments

Share
Tweet
Pin
Share

Those of you who have been online for a while have probably heard of NaNoWriMo before – National Novel Writing Month. The goal there is to write a 50,000 word novel in a month. I tried it once about 4 or 5 years ago, and didn’t get much past a first chapter. Blogging is a little less daunting, so with a reminder from a friend’s blog, I thought I’d sign up and give NaBloPoMo a try.

Since I can’t ever make things easy, I thought I’d go a step further and make all posts related to this month about me. Yes. Me. Of course I’ve blabbed about myself before, usually in relation to Disney and my memories there, but I thought I’d use this slightly shortened month to talk about myself, either in-depth or just some fluff pieces. A lot of times you stumble across a blog or a person online and you think you know them based on their likes, their recent entries or their tweets. Sometimes what’s visible is only the tip of the iceberg that is the person behind a blog. The way I relate best to people is based on common background or interests. I know I instantly feel a kinship with someone if they say “I love David Bowie!” or “That was my favorite toy as a child!”. Why not expand on that and see just how much we all have in common?

So welcome aboard and stay tuned for some fun (and hopefully interesting) posts all about me. There will probably be additional non-me-related posts this month as well, but I’ll try to do 28 NaBloPoMo posts on their own.  That said – any questions or topic ideas about me you’d like me to touch on? I’m all ears (or eyes really). 😉

Share
Tweet
Pin
Share

Filed Under: Family Memories Tagged With: about me, NaBloPoMo, zannaland

We’ve Only Just Begun…

4 January 2010 by Suzannah Otis 3 Comments

Share
Tweet
Pin
Share

Happy 2010 to all reading this! I took a bit of time off from writing for the holidays to enjoy some family time at home, but now it’s time to get back into full swing here at ZannaLand. I can’t tell you how excited I am for this new year and all it may bring. I thought I’d take a moment to talk about where I’ve come from and where I hope to be going in 2010.

According to my archives, I wrote my first entry on this blog on March 5, 2009. It was a pretty silly entry about working on the technical stuff and how I’d soon be updating. Then a month went by and I posted one more time. And another month and I posted a rant about annoying people leading up to Mother’s Day. Then…I decided to make the switch and talk about what I knew, Disney. In June, I started writing semi-regularly about the topic I know and love, Walt Disney World. It’s been both a long 10 months and at the same time feels like the past year flew by.

I went through many changes in a short time with the blog, wondering if I should be all newsy and informative, realizing no one can compete with the amazing Disney news sources already out there, thinking I should be more personal, starting up a sub-blog about personal things, realizing I should just combine the two, and getting to where I am today – a blog about all the things I find interesting and share-worthy about my life, family and the World (Disney World that is). I know a lot more about the world of blogging and social media than when I started, but boy do I still have a lot to learn! And I can’t wait to learn it!

Continue Reading We’ve Only Just Begun…

Share
Tweet
Pin
Share

Filed Under: All blogs Tagged With: about me, social media, twitter, zannaland

We Gather Together…

26 November 2009 by Suzannah Otis 6 Comments

Share
Tweet
Pin
Share

fallingleafI have to admit up front, I was hoping we’d have some better news on J’s job front by now, but am confident next week will bring something wonderful. The truth is, it would be so easy to focus on the negative and not even write a post like this detailing the things for which I am thankful…times are tough for sure, and so many times in instances of strife like this, we resort to phrases like, “Why me?” However, I came to an understanding a long time ago that the best answer to that question is, “Why not me?”

Who are we to choose who takes the easy road while others take the hard? And who’s to say someone isn’t (and they usually are) suffering ten times more than you are right now? Why not us? Who would we rather push this hardship onto? No one that I know, certainly. Again, not to say what we are going through is so unbearable or even the worst struggle we’ve experienced, but this has been given to us and we will come through it stronger than ever. Why not us?

…

It’s pretty obvious what my blessings are this year, I could rattle off my husband and children and mom and of course the amazing friends I’ve made recently. I am thankful for those things each and every day. In addition, I’d like to add some other things that make me pause, take a deep breath, and smile – from the inside out.


  • Kids that actually *fought* yesterday over who got to dust more things as we cleaned the house. I know a time will come when they will not be so willing to help out, and I cherish these days when they are.
  • A tiny little person that reminds me every minute of what’s truly important in life and how blessed I am, no matter what.
  • A husband who, at the end of the day, would do any and everything just to make me smile. Despite the every day stresses and trials, I do appreciate that fact and love him more each day.
  • The leaf I looked out the front window and saw fall off the tree. It’s pretty rare that we stop and look at nature happening around us and it’s the one constant in this crazy, fast-paced world we live in. So I loved that I looked up right at that moment and gave thanks for the beautiful world we live in.
  • Family and friends that seem to think I’m pretty cool and are willing to support me in any way. I’ve always had a problem accepting compliments or entertaining the thought that people might actually like me…so to get that confirmation almost daily lately…is pretty mindbogglingly amazing.
  • Hope. Dreams. I wouldn’t be where I am without hope and dreams. I can’t imagine a world or my mind without them and hope the day never comes when I wake up without hope in my heart and a dream to try to make come true. ♥

Happy Thanksgiving.



Share
Tweet
Pin
Share

Filed Under: All blogs Tagged With: celebrations, Holidays, zannaland

Chapter 2 of the Cinderella Story-Disney Moms Panel Round 3

29 October 2009 by Suzannah Otis 6 Comments

Share
Tweet
Pin
Share

You know how some blogs or websites have ‘Tag Clouds‘ where they list the words entries are tagged with, and the words used most often are bigger and bolder than the others? If my life had a Tag Cloud, the biggest, boldest words would be Disney Moms Panel. I swear it’s like those words are just hanging in the air above me everywhere I go, like some human Sims character or the “I’m Thinkin’ Arby’s” commercials. It’s become a part of me now, and pretty much everyone I know realizes that. I don’t personally think that’s a bad thing…just the way it is!

I wasn’t kidding when I wrote back in July that I was going to Do What I Loved and make it my goal to be on the Disney Moms Panel. My determination was strengthened in August when my family was able to enjoy the Mickey Moms Club Illuminations Party, put together by the Moms Panel cast members. My excitement then bubbled over as the date to apply approached and the 2010 Disney Moms Panel search began.

The funny thing was, in all that talk and excitement and hoopla, I never really thought my chances of making it into the Moms Panel were any greater than anyone else’s. In fact, so many others seemed to have such a huge online following as well as the knowledge and passion Disney was looking for. Still, the dream was there, the wishes and hopes were always with me. So of course when I first heard I hadn’t made it to the second round, I was crushed. The thought of having to wait an entire year to begin this quest again seemed so insufferably long, and heartbreakingly sad.

Then, as in all good fairy tales, something magical happened. A single glass slipper appeared on my foot, in the form of the email from the Moms Panel telling me I was meant to receive the “Congratulations, you made it to the second round” message all along. I had now become a part of something amazing – my very own Cinderella Story. If you recall, all of Cinderella’s family were already AT the ball when her Fairy Godmother arrived…just like what happened with me, it felt as though all my friends had already gone on to the ball without me.

glassslipperThe next few days seemed like a dream as I composed my answers, took my headshot picture, and hit ‘submit’. My friends and I waited patiently (and not so patiently) for news of when the next round’s finalists would be announced. Detectives all across twitter were scouring for significant tweets that might give us some clue we could go on. Of course at the end of the day, it’ll happen when it happens and no amount of willing it otherwise will help – but excitement and speculation are just part of the fun, I think. Thanks to twitter we all came to the conclusion that the finalists had been chosen in a big team-wide meeting held at Disney World on October 22nd. Then we all had to wait on pins and needles for the 27th to arrive, the date we had been told we would be notified about the next round.

I kept busy with my son’s 1st birthday party on Saturday, the 24th. Family and friends joined us for the fun-filled day full of frosting and presents. Sunday my good friend came over and decided to cook Beef Wellington! Who am I to say no to that? None of us had ever attempted to make it but it made for a fun night as she tried to figure it out (and succeeded!). I made super easy appetizers that don’t require worrying about beef being cooked enough! 😉 Monday, the 26th was my 13th wedding anniversary, so again, I was distracted by that celebration. Before I knew it, it was Tuesday the 27th.

Continue Reading the Cinderella Story >>

Share
Tweet
Pin
Share

Filed Under: Walt Disney World Tagged With: Disney, Disney Moms Panel, zannaland

Farewell to Disney Moms Panel 2010?? My Cinderella Story…

19 October 2009 by Suzannah Otis 9 Comments

Share
Tweet
Pin
Share

WDWMomsPanel

Originally written October 15th, 12:00pm:
Well, the emails have been sent and arrived for round 2 notifications for the 2010 Disney Moms Panel applications. I did not receive one. I had done my best the last two weeks to convince myself that I hadn’t made it and therefore prepare for the inevitable let down, but alas, the heart is stronger than the mind in these cases. I originally began to write this entry the day I got the news, but quickly realized that was not the best idea. I’ve now had a couple of days to process the news and feel the need to share my thoughts, now that I’ve collected them.

I have extended my heartfelt congratulations to all I know that have moved on, and I sincerely do wish them the best of luck. (In fact I re-congratulated all those I knew from Twitter that made the cut right before taking a deep breath and starting to write this entry!) I know many of those that were chosen and do not doubt their love, passion and commitment to sharing their knowledge on the Moms Panel. I can’t wait to hear who will make the final cut!

My initial reaction to not moving on was of course sadness. Really it was the greatest sadness I have felt in a long, long time. I think this is mostly because being aware of many of the activities and events the current Moms are involved in, through Twitter, the panel itself has been built up as truly the ultimate experience for someone with Disney knowledge to share. Most of the panel refer to themselves as Disney Mom BFFs and all those involved of course share their love of their position and all it involves. It is truly wonderful to see the ‘family’ that they are and the love they have for both each other, and the job they are doing and sharing with us. At the same time, being witness to that camaraderie and fun, doing something I have such love and interest in, makes it all the more difficult to step back and move on from, knowing it is not in your plan to be a part.

I think I must’ve experienced all 5 of the Kübler-Ross stages of grief in the hours following the news – twice. 😉 Now that I am finally at the ‘acceptance’ phase, I am able to better see perhaps why I wasn’t chosen. Of course, I…um. Wait. Stop.

…

Written today, October 19th, 2009: I was in the very process of writing this entry on Thursday, October 15, when I happened to click over to check my email. When I saw the subject line of the one new message bolded in my inbox – my heart stopped. It said “Walt Disney World Moms Panel Confirmation“. Even more heart-stopping – I recognized the person’s name as being involved with the Disney Moms Panel from following along as others got their acceptance to round 2. I clicked the email to read, while experiencing shortness of breath and a rapid heartbeat.

I read the message quickly. Words leaped out at me like “inadvertently” “incorrect”…”congratulations” “round 2” and “approved“. Of course I thought it must be a joke…a very cruel, heartbreaking joke…but it couldn’t possibly be REAL. I reread it about 5 times, muttering “ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh” the whole time. Finally, I followed the email’s instructions and went to the application site where I should’ve been able to now see the Round 2 questions. I had tried that link before, when it had been leaked on a message board, and I was not ‘validated in the database’, so I knew this would be the ultimate proof of legitimacy. It asked me to log in, I did…and…the questions appeared before my eyes. It was REAL. It was actually happening! I could not believe it, but I HAD to believe it because it was right there on the screen!

images ©Disney
images ©Disney
I thought just to cover my bases, I would reply to the email’s sender, of course thanking her profusely for catching this error, and also to see if I’d get a reply back confirming what I was now able to see. I thanked her about ten times, and double checked that the deadline for submitting the application was the same. I had been in such a daze since Tuesday, and my kids were off school on Friday, that I had my days confused and thought Thursday was already Friday. She wrote right back and corrected that I had until Friday at midnight – the same deadline as the rest of the selected applicants – but I had already given myself one less day in my head! Hearing back from her was the proof I needed that this was not a practical joke gone wrong, a dream, or anything else but the real, live, truth! It was my very own Cinderella story come to life!

I glanced quickly at the questions but I was still in such a state of shock that I did not even THINK about answering them until I had peace and quiet later that night. I was SO excited at that point I had to share on the message boards I’d been following and Twitter. I actually debated keeping it to myself because I knew the heartache so many were feeling, and did not want to be responsible for causing more…but I thought it’d look strange if by some miracle I DO make it through to Round 3 (phone interviews) and announce that, causing everyone to say, “wait, you said you didn’t make it past Round 1!?”. As anticipated, there was some confusion and hurt feelings as people hoped their lack of congratulations emails had also been a mistake. In addition, there was a lot of speculation regarding exactly what Disney is looking for and assumptions that it was more about online presence and less about actual Disney knowledge.

I really do not want to add any more unconfirmed hypotheses to the topic, but I can say that after having been on BOTH sides of the equation (wondering ‘why not me?’ and then ‘yay me!’ ) I *still* don’t know any more about what Disney may or may not have been looking for in the selection process. Of course we ALL believe we’d be a great fit, or we wouldn’t spend the time meticulously condensing our love of Walt Disney World into 100 tiny words. And no, no one knows what Disney is looking for. If we did, it would be even more difficult for Disney to find good matches, because we’d all be tailoring ourselves to what we knew Disney wanted, leaving our true selves on the other side of the monitor.

As hard as it is to accept when you first receive that email telling you your journey has ended for this year, I really HAD come to terms with – despite my belief that I would be the perfect person to share my Disney knowledge and passion with others – the fact that Disney didn’t see it right then, didn’t mean it wasn’t still there. That is truly why this has been such a roller coaster of emotions! I had finally gotten to that 5th stage of grief – Acceptance – and in a split second, my dreams rose from the grave and I was given hope again. I know that sounds dramatic, but how many of us have experienced that Denial or Bargaining stage of any form of grief? It becomes so important in your mind and heart, that you’ll do almost anything to have that experience or chance back again. I never in a million years thought all I’d have to do is check my email to get that chance again. Disney Magic does exist.

In the hours and days following my amazing reprieve, I learned that it was not a singular event. The very mom in charge of the Disney Moms Panel, Laura Spencer, had received a ‘no’ email in error, and discovered she actually HAD made it to the phone interview stage a mere 30 minutes before the interview itself! She made it to that inaugural panel and then secured herself her current Cast Member position. What a dream come true! Another moms panel applicant also received a ‘no’ email in error before moving on to the actual panel. So while of course I never counted on this happening, the knowledge that others had experienced it let me know mistakes can happen, and Disney will catch those and correct them.

My attempts at relaxing before answering my questions didn’t last long – after all, I had 48 hours less than the rest of the applicants to craft my answers, attach a picture and submit them before midnight on Friday! I feel like I should say though, I still would’ve been excited and grateful if Disney only gave me 10 minutes to write my responses!! I tried my best to speak from my heart and all that’s left now is Faith, Trust and Pixie Dust that my heart speaks the same language as those making the decisions. If this is as far as my journey takes me this year, I am honored that Disney saw something in me to pick me out of tens of thousands of applications down to 200 or so. This IS my dream, as I’ve said from day one and if now isn’t the time, perhaps next year!

I want to take a moment before I end this to thank the countless friends and supporters both online and offline that helped me through the last week. The response when I did not make the cut to the 2nd round was overwhelming. So many people assured me it was a mistake, that great things were in store for me, etc. Silly me didn’t believe them! In addition, the support I received when I made my announcement was UNBELIEVABLE. Complete strangers were congratulating me, as well as those I’d become close to over the months on Twitter. Even Raglan Road Pub and the Hilton Anaheim wished me luck!! I was in shock (again!)!! So I’ll say once more, if this is as far as I make it, I feel as though I’m already a success with the people I have in my corner, cheering me on. I’m not sure what more I could ask for, I feel like my Fairy Godmother has already given me the greatest gift!

I know it’s not nearly enough, but…thank you. ♥

Share
Tweet
Pin
Share

Filed Under: All blogs, Walt Disney World Tagged With: Disney, Disney Moms Panel, zannaland

New logo and news!

12 October 2009 by Suzannah Otis 8 Comments

Share
Tweet
Pin
Share

ZannalogoHello everyone! I just wanted to take a moment for some announcements about ZannaLand. First, you may have already noticed my new logo! A HUGE thanks to my talented husband for creating that cartoon version of me. The style is a nod to Mary Blair, with his own artistic spin on it of course. I love it and am so excited to have it up on the site! Thank you so much J!!

In other news, on the advice of a much-respected blogger whom I admire, I have re-combined the two blogs I had running. Rather than separate out Main Street for my personal stuff and keep only Disney content here, I’m just going to do both in one location. At first I did not want to alienate my Disney readers by posting my personal stuff and upcoming product reviews, etc. but I agreed with the thought that since ZannaLand is a personal site to begin with, I may as well keep it personal. I’ve also reorganized my blog categories, so if you are looking for particular content, it should be much easier to find now.

Thank you for your continued support and I hope you enjoy all the future adventures I’ll be sharing here.

Share
Tweet
Pin
Share

Filed Under: All blogs Tagged With: zannaland

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to page 3
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Subscribe to Our Up the Waterfall Disney History Podcast

Up the Waterfall podcast

Get Some Park Candy!

Park CandyUse code ZANNA at checkout for 10% off your entire order!

FAVORITE VLOG

https://youtu.be/jUQvxcguh9o

Click below to SUBSCRIBE to our latest Vlogs & LIVE Shows!

Recent Posts

  • 2022 Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort Easter Eggs Display
  • D23 Expo 2022 News and Ticket Info
  • D23 Disney Fan Club Events Announced for 2022
  • Drawn to Life REVIEW: Is This New Cirque du Soleil Show a MUST SEE for Disney Fans?
  • SeaWorld Orlando Christmas Celebration 2021
  • New Trailer for SING 2 + Posters and Stills from the Film!
  • Holidays Return at LEGOLAND Florida Resort!
  • First Look at Pixar’s LIGHTYEAR!
  • Disney Book Review: A Portrait of Walt Disney World: 50 Years of the Most Magical Place On Earth
  • LEGOLAND Florida Celebrates 10 Years!

Zannaland Archives

Recent Vlog

https://youtu.be/aRB70OJelLc
DisneyStore.com

Subscribe to our podcast

Free Shipping on New Kate Spade Collection now at shopDisney.com!

Copyright Zannaland © 2022