Family, travel, mom blog | Theme Park Mom (Leigh Caldwell)

I had the great privilege of spending a few days last week at Walt Disney World with the winners of the Macy’s Celebrate Moms sweepstakes. The contest selected a mom from every state for a dream trip that started with a special event at sunrise at Disneyland and ended at sunset at Walt Disney World.

One of the most interesting things to me about the trip was watching these women and their families bond. None of them knew each other before they arrived at Disneyland, but they left friends. I watched them share details of their lives and find common ground with each other. And I saw them all transform into unofficial ambassadors for their home states, sharing great places to visit and other details of what it’s like to live in Illinois, Rhode Island, New Mexico, etc.

Here are more of the wonderful families I met:

Valerie Leier, her husband Pat and sons Zach, 17, and Jordan, 14, are from Tappen, N.D., population 200. None of the Leiers had ever (more…)

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The Pirates League is now open at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. It’s located right outside the Pirates of the Carribbean ride in Adventureland.

The new attraction offers a “pirate makeover” to boys and girls of all ages, but the experience goes well beyond the makeup and bandana.

From the moment you step through the door, you are transported to the East India Trading Company’s storeroom, and it’s been taken over by pirates! There is stolen loot everywhere.

The pirates milling about inside The Pirate’s League are the real deal, too. I was wearing a tiara when I toured the attraction, and I wasn’t sure (more…)

There was A LOT of celebrating going on as moms from every state brought their families to Disneyland and Walt Disney World last week as the winners of the Macy’s Celebrate Moms sweepstakes.

That’s James and Tamiko Purdy above, dancing to the song “YMCA” at the Celebration Dinner thrown for the winning moms at EPCOT’s Wonders Pavilion. They are from Las Vegas. It was Tamiko’s birthday, and she and James also celebrated their wedding anniversary on the trip she won. I promised Tamiko that I would embarass James on the Internet, so here you go, girl!

You can view more photos of the magical trip these moms won in my Flickr stream.

And check out this video for a taste of the big party Disney and Macy’s threw for these deserving moms:

Walt Disney World has unwrapped the Hall of Presidents, and revealed the new audio animatonic President Obama to annual passholders and Disney Vacation Club members in a preview on June 28.

The first thing you notice when entering the attraction is that the lobby has been revamped and a display case has been added. Disney says this is the “first exhibit” for the case, which should mean that the exhibits will rotate and new things will be displayed here.

First up is a display showcasing artifacts from three first ladies. The dress on the left is a reproduction of one worn by Edith Roosevelt, President Teddy Roosevelt’s wife.

In the middle is a reproduction of a dress worn by Elizabeth Monroe. And on the right is an actual dress sent by Nancy Reagan. Reagan sent six dresses to Walt Disney World, and Disney says they will be rotated every six months. (more…)