Tag Archives: Disney

Contest, Family, Travel

Going to the House of Mouse!

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See You Real Soon

We just found out today that we are going to be going to Walt Disney World for our Vacation of a Lifetime instead of going to Arizona. While we certainly do want to go to Arizona at some point things just didn’t work out for that location. I was upset about it for a little while but how much can you really complain when you have won a free trip.

We’ll be there from May 14 – May 18, 2009. So we will be staying at the Buena Vista Palace Hotel & Spa. This is gonna be quite the step up from the econo places we’ve stayed in the past. This is also an official Walt Disney World® Hotel in Lake Buena Vista so there is a shuttle to the parks. We are still up int he air about maybe renting a car so we’d have more control of when we get back and forth to the hotel and so we could maybe drop in on our favorite folks in downtown Orlando, the IZEA team.

There are many people down in Orlando that I’d love to catch up with, maybe we can do a dinner one night in Downtown Disney or something like that. It will depend upon whether or not we have a car. Of course we hope very much that Grandpa Dano and Mimi can come up to Orlando to visit and also we hope that Auntie Mo can come down too.

I’m very excited to get back so I can spend some time taking some photos. There is just so much to see at Disney and the photo opportunities are amazing.

Cinderella's Castle

I will have to check out Flickr for some inspiration. Then I can try and plan out my shots. Of course I will be taking my Xshot with me so that we can get some great family pics.

On this trip I will be taking another new device. I’ll be taking with me my new Polaroid PoGo. With the PoGo I can make instant photos that require no ink because of the special ZINK paper. I am happy to say that ZINK has sponsored me with products for my upcoming Blogging Event, “Blogs, Brews and Belly Laughs” at Speed of Thought Playhouse on the 13th of March. But back to the ZINK Paper. For our trip I will buy some ZINK paper to create a scrapbook while on the vacation. During our downtime we can pick photos, instantly print them and stick them right into the scrapbook. I said stick because you can peel off the backing on ZINK paper and it is sticky. There are so many cool applications for this and once you see the “Blogs, Brews and Belly Laughs” (It will be broadcast live on USTREAM.tv) you will see another great application of the paper. I can’t wait!

Because ZINK was so generous to me I want to tell you so much about the paper. Here are some Key Features of ZINK Paperâ„¢:
* Zero ink required.
* Capable of reproducing millions of vivid colors at very high resolution.
* Earth Friendly. Less waste – No cartridges, no extra packaging to throw away.
* Protected by a polymer overcoat, providing water resistance and image durability.
* Affordable for everyday use.
* Not sensitive to light.
* Long lasting and designed to resist fading from exposure to light, heat and humidity.

Conferences

10 Best Reasons to go to IZEAFest 2009

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Before I get into the 10 Biggest reasons to go, here is the #1 way to get there in style! Enter BenSpark’s Ultimate IZEAFest 2009 Prize Pack Contest.

Yes, I am going to tell you about the 10 BEST Reasons to go to IZEAFest 2009. How do I know that these will be the best reasons? Trust me, I know IZEA and I know that they DO IT UP BIG!

#10. Location – IZEAFest is in Sunny Orlando, Florida which is home to some amazing theme parks like Disney, Sea World and Universal. Last year there was a blogger takeover of Universal. This year, who knows. But I do know it will be an amazing time. This Year IZEAFEst is at SeaWorld and it was recently annoucned that the opening party is at Busch Gardens Howl-O-Scream!

#9. SWAG – IZEA certainly does know a thing or two about swag. They were very generous at IZEAFest 2008. Check out my Swag Bag.

@izeafest Swag Bag

#8. Friendships – You get to see people that you have probably only talked to to twitter or through your blog. Now it is time to make some connections to real live people in real life.

Post IZEAHunt

#7. Sponsors – Sponsors for IZEAFest rock. Last year there were a ton of them and this year a ton more. My money is on somebody like BluFrog supplying us with Energy drinks so we can keep up with Ted Murphy.

#6. The IZEA Team – People who are working at IZEA have a phenomenal way about them. I am so glad to call them my friends. IZEAFest wouldn’t happen without Ashley. That man rocks!

Ashley & MeAndrew and Trevor

#5. Food – Oh man the food at IZEAFest is so good. We had tons of great stuff at Watiki and various other restaurants. I myself would certainly love to see a Blogger takeover of Pancheros. Every time Ted Tweets about them I want to eat there and I’ve never been.

# 4. Cake Plows – Speaking of food, oh man the things we do to cake.

Post Cake Plow

# 3. The Speakers – Each year IZEAFest ratchets things up a notch, last year they even got John Chow, Jeremy Schoemaker, Stephanie Agresta and Neil Patel to do a Big Money Bloggers Panel which I moderated. I was nervous as all hell. This year the list is also very impressive with people like:

You will also have a chance to meet the members of the IZEA advisory board:

– Michael Brito (http://www.britopian.com)
– Brian Clark (http://www.copyblogger.com)
– Jim Kukral (http://www.jimkukral.com)
– Neil Patel (http://www.quicksprout.com)
– Wendy Piersall (http://www.sparkplugging.com)
– Jeremy Schoemaker (http://www.shoemoney.com)
– Missy Ward (http://www.affiliatesummit.com)

Along with our IZEA Insiders:

– Kathleen Argonza (http://toughgirl101.com)
– Drew Bennett (https://benspark.com)
– Laurie Brosius (http://laviedelaurie.com)
– Brett Bumeter (http://something-about-harry.com/)
– Elizabeth Edwards (http://table4five.net)
– Corrin Foster (http://corrinrenee.com/)
– Lisa Martin (http://mythoughtsideasandramblings.com/)
– Steve Sanders (http://steven-sanders.com)
– Heather Smith (http://socialspark.com/bloggers/heather-in-beautiful-bc)
– Julie Vazquez(http://juliesjournal.com)

2. Ted Murphy – I bet you were thinking that I would put Ted Murphy as my number one best reason to attend IZEAFest 2009 but you are wrong. Ted is an amazing guy but he is merely a catalyst for the most important part of IZEAFest 2009.

Allison and Ted

1. YOU – Yes having YOU at IZEAfest is pretty much the best thing about it. By being there you are saying that you love blogging about things and having fun. You want to learn and interact with an amazing group of people. You don’t have to be famous or have a huge blog, you just have to be you and have a willingness to have a great time. That is the best thing about IZEAFest 2009, you being there. So grab your Early Bird Ticket today and Save $50. Only 30 are left. The value you get for your money is the BEST value of all conferences around by far, it is the most inexpensive and gives you an up close and personal look at great blogging and bloggers.