As you may have heard, the 2013 Disney Social Media Moms Conference is going to be held May 9-12 and will be invitation only again this year. Naturally, the #DisneySMMoms hashtag on Twitter has been pretty busy with everyone excited about the conference, hoping to be invited, and reliving memories of past Disney Social Media Moms Conferences. You can most definitely count me in the category of hoping to go!

I was lucky to go once and the whole experience remains one of my happiest memories. If you are interested, you can read Day One, Day Two and Day Three

In 2011 all the planets and stars aligned and I was on my way to my very first conference that just happened to be at Walt Disney World. Not only the happiest place on earth, but my all time favoritest place on earth! Even more exciting? Disney Social Media Moms was scheduled during the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival, an event I’d always wanted to experience.

We took the opportunity to leave the kids (and dogs) with my parents, sorry kids, thanks mom and dad, and make it a trip for just my husband and myself. I admit I felt a little guilty, but it was wonderful! We hadn’t taken a real vacation alone since our oldest daughter was 4 months old, some 20-something years ago. I do feel guilty enough to make sure I take the kids (not the dogs, sorry mom and dad) with us if lightning ever strikes twice and I find myself invited to Disney Social Media Moms this year.

Because we were child free, there was one thing I’d always wanted to try, the Around the World Segway Tour in Epcot. I’d always wanted to try a Segway and this was my big chance. I would totally buy one if I ever won the lottery.

The tours run early in the morning, before the World Showcase opens. We met at Future World and went over to Innoventions to learn how to operate a Segway. Stepping on and off were the trickiest parts. One of the woman in our group was wearing high heeled sandals and was having a little trouble. (FYI, they do ask that you not wear any open toed shoes. Guess she didn’t get the memo) Once we all got the hang of it, we were off and heading to the World Showcase. It’s a lot of fun riding the Segway through the crowds. There were lots of comments of “How can we do that?” as we rode by.

Our guides took us through the different countries, giving out facts and trivia as we went. They were knowledgeable and funny, keeping us entertained as we went. It was really fun going through the different countries before anyone else was there.

We stopped in Italy for a bit for some photo ops and to try out our newly learned Segway skills.

As you can see, my husband really enjoyed the Segway tour. He wasn’t that excited about going, but went along with me. By the end he was wondering how much they were and where to buy one. For the record, I still don’t have one. Just sayin’

I love how beautifully landscaped Epcot is, but it is just stunning during the International Flower and Garden Festival.

I’m sure the Epcot Internati0nal Flower and Garden Festival will be even more amazing this year!

Now I just need to cross Sleeping in Cinderella Castle off my Disney Bucket list!!

While writing this post, I found that Epcot isn’t currently offering the Around the World Tour. I don’t know if it is temporary or not. Fort Wilderness still offers their Wilderness Back Trail Adventure.

Elle