As a Disney Travel Planner I have become the go-to Disney guru among my friends and family, throughout my local community, in my social networks and beyond. At a fundraising event last weekend a mom I hadn’t seen in a while said to me, “So how are things going? You’re the Disney Queen, right?” Why yes, I suppose I am 
Being the Disney Queen has its perks, of course, but there are some folks who simply do not love Disney and Disney travel in the way that I do–mostly because they don’t really know what it’s all about. So when I learned that I was chosen to host a #DisneySide at Home Celebration, I started thinking about how I could use my Disney Side to show my friends that Disney is about much more than princesses and parades.
First of all, as mothers we all know how exhausting our days can be. As much as we love what we do as moms, recharging our adult batteries by connecting with other women whose company and conversation we enjoy is absolutely essential to our well-being. The old adage, till you own soil, definitely means that Moms’ Nights are indispensable. I’ve known most of these women for 10-years now, having first connected when our first children were in Mother Goose time at the library, and I count myself blessed to be a part of such a close-knit, unyieldingly supportive group of gals.
With that in mind I opted to leave the kiddos out of this shindig, instead inviting a bunch of fabulous mamas over for a night of cocktails, snacks, friends and a dose of Disney MAGIC! Being the Disney Queen meant that I did have to clarify, after sending out the invitations, that this was NOT going to be a Disney tupperware party of sorts in which I planned to wrangle everyone into booking a Disney vacation. It was a celebration of our Disney Sides–the side that allows us to leave our worries behind, put up our feet, indulge a bit, and laugh until our cheeks hurt. A celebration of friendship and fun–with glowing cocktails, of course!
Wanting to set the Disney tone for my friends as soon as they walked in the door, I thought some decorating would be in order. There is tons of inspiration to be found and I had a great time making my #DisneySide Pinterest board and browsing through all the others! In keeping with the color theme of my Minnie invitation, my girls and I went to the party store and purchased lots of black, white and red supplies–streamers, shiny stars, fun hanging fans, and confetti–and dressed up the house together the night before the party. With Disney music on the stereo, we hung crepe paper and sprinkled Mickey heads on the table cloth while singing and dancing through the house. A huge, added bonus was that an absolutely magical invitation to this year’s Disney Social Media Moms Celebration bing-ed into my inbox while all of this was going on. Talk about a reason to celebrate!
As someone who loves to cook, food is always the focus at any of my parties, and because Epcot’s World Showcase is one of my favorite Disney World spots I decided to have a bunch of appetizers from each of the country pavilions. And no Disney party would be complete without a signature drink. The Glow-tinis were a HUGE hit!
One important thing you need to know if you ever want to host you own Girlfriends’ Night #DisneySide party is how to make a Disney Glow-tini. I mixed up several of batches in my cocktail shaker, tripling the recipe each time so as to have enough for all of my guests. The recipe below makes one drink. Adjust your ingredients as needed.
Signature Disney Blue Glow-tini
- 1 oz Citrus Vodka
- 1/2 oz Blue Curacao
- 1/2 oz Peach Schnapps
- 1 oz Sweet & Sour Mix
- 1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
- 1 Glow Cube (I set ours to stay blue)
Combine all the ingredients over ice in a cocktail shaker and shake vigorously. Strain into chilled martini glass and add glowing ice cube. A sugared rim is optional.
Friday evening before my guests were due to arrive, my daughter set up an arrangement of Disney goodies on our coffee table–park maps, resort guides, Adventures by Disney itineraries, Disney Cruise Line brochures, First Visit pins, my recent runDisney marathon medal and a box of MagicBands for an upcoming trip. While I wasn’t intent on getting any of my friends to jump on the Disney travel bandwagon that evening, who can’t resist looking at all of the fun a Disney destination has to offer. Everyone loved looking through the materials, were fascinated by the new technology of the MagicBands and had lots of questions. Disney travel has a great deal to offer and many people are not aware of just how much.
As I’d hoped, the party was a great success and was everything I wanted it to be–a time to slow down and be with a bunch of people I cared about, celebrating each other and just having fun. We snacked and chatted and laughed and everyone went home with a lovely gift. And isn’t that exactly what Disney is all about?
At the bus stop on Monday morning one of my friends thanked me for the great party and for the opportunity to get together with so many wonderful women. “I’m much more likely to go to Disney after this,” she said.
“Excellent,” I said, “So am I!”
Thinking you might like to throw a #DisneySide at Home Celebration of your own? There are lots of resources out there to give you ideas from clever Pinterest boards to great blogs. Disney’s official #DisneySide page is a great place to get started as well. If you do host your own celebration, I’d love to hear about it! Feel free to leave your ideas or inspirations in the comments section below. Cheers!
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