Re-post, in case you missed it! ~M
As if all the posts over the past few days didn’t indicate properly, we are just coming off of the roller coaster that is TMSM Meet Up Weekend! I’m so tired, but pretty darn thankful! We have a lot to talk about, and have lots of pics and videos to show you as well, so lets get to it!
Thursday afternoon, my crazy long weekend began, as we headed to the airport to pick up the “Michigan Besties” as they’re called. My friends from back home, Michelle and Paula. This was the fifth year for this annual meet up, and they haven’t missed a single one. I know a lot of people at home don’t fully understand this crazy job that I have, but they do, and they support our efforts unconditionally. It’s also a comfort having them here for the meet ups, as I get myself pretty worked up and worried that things won’t run smoothly. Yes, I fully realize that things usually turn out fine, but it wouldn’t be like me if I didn’t worry. Most know that. Friday evening was the kick off party at Planet Hollywood. We were celebrating the meet up AND also my new book, “How Many Sleeps Till Disney?” We arrived a little bit early to set up the table with the raffle prizes and TMSM swag. Before I knew it, people were coming in, and it was wonderful. I had the girls on my staff in attendance to help me keep things going smoothly, and it went good. We had a great crowd show up, and everyone had a fabulous time. Planet Hollywood did an amazing job keeping up with our party as well, I really appreciate them taking care of us. After the party there, we walked over to the Christmas Tree Trail for another group pic and to see the pretty trees. All in all, the evening was a success. Being that the big event was coming up the next day, we didn’t stay out too late. Seeing everyone have a good time really did my heart good, and I was excited for the fun coming up on Saturday.
On Saturday, we got all decked out in our TMSM shirts and such, and headed out to Epcot. The first meet up spot of the day was at the Electric Umbrella. Our group took up the entire upstairs, it was awesome. I was trying my best to greet everyone who was there, to thank them for coming to our event. It was so nice to see familiar faces, plus meet new people. Our beloved Fran… her husband and one of her daughters were there as well. We put our Fran ribbons from last year on our bags, as she is still with us in spirit, and we miss her so much. So many people have made friends through TMSM, and to get to actually see it puts so much into perspective. How amazing is that? Time was quickly passing and before we knew it, we had to get over to Spaceship Earth for the first group photo. Our site photographer Joe and his family surprised us, we didn’t know he’d be there. He was helpful of course with getting the crowd together. I don’t have his pics yet from that group shot, but I did get a guest to help out! After the pic, we all rode Spaceship Earth together, then headed over to ride Soarin as a group. The Cast Members let us take up the whole room since there were so many of us. What an unforgettable experience…. all Main Streeters on those hang gliders, enjoying the ride together. Pure Disney magic.
Once Soarin was done, it was time to meet up at the Christmas Tree by World Showcase. Our “OG” Staffer Corey had put together a scavenger hunt, and he was handing out the directions and explaining the rules. This was the first year doing a scavenger hunt, and I have to say, it went really well. People had a lot of fun doing it, and Corey did a great job putting it together. We were able to see our Main Streeters having a fantastic time, plus were able to give away more prizes. Of course, we got more photos by the tree!
The rest of the evening, we managed to grab a bite to eat, did some more visiting of course, and closed out the evening with Illuminations. Meet Up day was a success, and from what I could tell, everyone had a great time. It’s still amazing to me, that so many people attend these functions year after year. TMSM Meet Up Weekend is our way of thanking those who follow us, to show them how much we appreciate the love and support. It was great to have most of my staff there as well, as we don’t get to spend a lot of time all together. At the end of the day (or weekend), I know that TMSM has brought Disney magic to people no matter where they’re from…. and made some really amazing friendships at the same time. I’m truly humbled. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. I’ll post some videos from the weekend at the bottom of the page as well!
This morning, I went to the radio station that I’ve been contributing to. We did two Disney segments, and I got to talk about my new book. How exciting. Wednesdays will be my day to go to the studio now, instead of recording segments from home, so that’s new and fun. The opportunities that I’ve been given aren’t taken for granted at all, and I’m looking forward to working with them more! I’ll post video below of both segments from today!
Lastly…. whew, this is a busy article this week! The new book has only been out a week, and it’s doing well. The morning after its release, the book was number one on Amazon in its category. Thank you all so very much! If you don’t have “How Many Sleeps Till Disney?” yet you can get it on Amazon OR through us at https://www.lostprincessapparel.com/product/how-many-sleeps-till-disney-by-michele-atwood/. You can get my first book on our site or Amazon as well. Great Christmas gifts if I do say so myself! Well, this week has been quite full, but I’m thankful. Tired, but very grateful to all who came out to spend the weekend with us. If it weren’t for our Main Streeters, we wouldn’t have this great site and community, so God bless you guys for that. Until next week, sending you love, blessings and pixie dust. See ya real soon ! ~M
To hear us talk about the meet up weekend in detail, here’s this weeks TMSM Weekly Live!
Michele also contributes theme park news for Fox 35 Orlando 11pm news and on the radio on WDBO.
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