Maybe Third Time Is The Charm--Disney Moms Panel

Maybe third time is the charm!  A few weeks ago I submitted an application for the Disney Moms Panel—click here to read more.

Disney Moms Panel is an on-line presence of people chosen by Disney to help others plan Disney vacations.  Each year a new panel is chosen.  Would be Disney Moms (and dads, uncles, etc.) can apply for various categories such as Walt Disney World, Disney Vacation Club, runDisney, Adventures by Disney, etc.  I chose the category of Disney Cruise Line for my application.

The application process begins in mid-September and is open for one week or until 10,000 applications are submitted.  I got mine in on the first day.  (When I told this number to someone I work with they said, “You mean there are 10,000 crazy people like you?”  I took it as a compliment.) 

On Friday I opened my email to find “Congratulations You are Moving On to Round 2” of the Disney Moms Panel application process.  I nearly started dancing.  Thrilled begins to describe my response. 

I then had to settle down and read carefully.  The directions indicated that I had to complete the next submission by 11:59 pm EST on Tuesday, October 15.  No late submissions would be accepted.  I would then be notified via email about a phone interview in early November if I advanced to round 3.  Then I read through the rest of the application. . . five more questions to answer and a 60 video were required.  I read through the questions before going to bed so I could have some think time.  It also said not to construct responses on word processing software and then copy/paste into the on-line application.  (I had some suspicions as to why-but more on that later.)

On Saturday morning I listed to a PassPorter Moms Podcast featuring a current Disney Moms Panelist offering more information about the application process, selection, etc.  Again the issue of not copying from word processing came up and it was more about some of the encoding that happens making the receivers of the application unable to read it.  Okay, that’s important!  This particular Disney Mom (who was a dad) shared how the Disney Moms Panel becomes both an on-line community and a face-to-face community, which was something I hadn’t considered.  His best advice was to not get too invested in the process as some of it is a numbers game.  He also told how this year there were some new categories for panelists.

After the podcast, I started drafting my responses to the application questions—on word processing software—as word counts were important.

The first question was about my experiences with Disney Cruise Line.  No problem.  I just highlighted our four, soon to be five, sailings on the various ships and various itineraries.  99 out of 100 words.

The next question was how I have helped friends and family plan Disney Cruise Line vacations.  I told about how a friend of a friend had called me prior to their family’s holiday cruise, our hour long conversation, and how seemingly simple questions can weigh heavy on someone’s mind planning a Disney vacation.  100 out of 100 words used.

I then had to tell about me—this was a bit more difficult but included information about my work and various interests beyond Disney.  98 out of 100 words.

My favorite question was telling about my family.  When I read this response to the husband he said I made them sound better than they were.  I did not embellish; they are just that great.  I included the husband’s goal to go platinum for Disney Cruise Line’s Castaway Club and how the train garden in EPCOT is the son’s favorite Disney spot.  100 out of 100 words used.

Describing my favorite Disney memory was the last question.  Wow, there are so many to choose from.  This was also the category that I would have to create a video telling about my favorite Disney memory.  I recalled the time when a fellow guest told us we “glowed” and how that comment made my day.  Yes, I do believe there is such a thing as Disney glow.

We spent some time on Sunday taking various takes of the video.  I knew when I finally got it right and uploaded it onto the computer.

After printing my responses, I then typed them into the application.  (I know, you were worried about that, weren’t you?)  Uploaded the final version of the video and hit “Submit.”  It took a while for everything to go through but I got the “completed submission” message and took a deep breath.

Now, the waiting.  I will say that I was thrilled to make it to round 2 and I wish all current and future Disney Moms Panel applicants a bit of pixie dust!  Good luck!