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Today officially launches the new ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. The once called Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex has joined up with one of my husband’s favorite channels…ESPN, for an incredible experience,  one that will please both athletes and fans.

Nearly 2 million people come through the 220-acre sports complex each year and Disney hosts more than 250 events from over 60 different sports.

Some favorite events that are held there:
Atlanta Braves Spring Training
Pop Warner SuperBowl
World Cheerleading Championships
and so many more

Bringing ESPN into the mix will certainly make young athletes who attend the complex feel like they’ve made it…..how fun is that?

To help celebrate, The Globetrotters will perform tonight along with two games showcasing four Major League soccer teams. Now that the weather has warmed up in Orlando (a far cry from the 30’s we experienced 2 weeks ago), I wish I were in Orlando to attend the festivities.

Just two weeks ago, my family and I had the incredible experience to visit the new ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex as part of the Disney Social Media Mom’s Celebration. As you can see, we dressed for the occasion, all in our Dallas Cowboys jerseys. On Wednesday night we were taken to the Sports Complex, and having never been there before, it was quite impressive.

The mom’s were escorted to the “Milk House” for what would become my first press conference experience……more on this event later. While us mom’s were occupied, the families braved the cold weather for some snacks and sports related activities. Needless to say, with a 2 year old, I think all my family did was have a few snacks.

We later met up for an amazing sports-themed Tailgate Dinner Party (indoors thankfully)……hot dogs, hamburgers, seafood, cotton candy, Mickey Bars………fun stuff. Kids were entertained with music and a dance floor. I “might” have joined my 2 year old on the dance floor briefly as she LOVES to dance. There “might” be video of that somewhere.

This night was really my first chance getting to meet fellow bloggers and many members of the press. I had met Julie from Coupon Saving Family along with her family on the bus ride. And I had the pleasure of sharing a table at dinner with Kassie from Southern Bella’s Ways to Save and her sweet family along with the editors from Tampa’s Advisor magazine (who had me in stitches most of the night).

While many of the older kids were excited about the High School Musical act that was performed later in the evening, we were excited about CHARACTERS. Disney went all out for us. They brought in all our favorite characters (decked out in sports gear no less). I was a bit fearful as our daughter didn’t want to have anything to do with characters at Chef Mickey’s the night before. But the second time’s the charm and she was so excited.

The characters visited each table for autographs and photo-ops, but what made the event extra special was that they seemed to stay for hours. For those of you parents who’ve stood in countless lines to get those character pictures, you know how amazing this was. This alone was a huge gift from Disney.  Minnie was a cheerleader, Donald and Pluto were baseball players, Chip and Dale were referees, Mickey was a soccer player,  Goofy a basketball player, and Daisy…well, I just can’t tell from my picture.  I think maybe track and field.

This wouldn’t be the only time that Disney would spoil us.  In fact, it was just the first of many events……….stay tuned for more to come!

Be sure to also check out:

Disney Social Media Moms Celebration 2010 – Pixie Dust, Polynesian Resort and more
Disney Social Media Moms Celebration 2010 – Day of Dinner Impossible, Joe Jonas Concert and more

*Disclosure: I attended the Disney Social Media Moms conference, for which I paid a fee, but received what many would consider a sweetheart deal along with alot of Disney magic. Disney did not require anything from me in exchange for the benefits I received. This post is written 100% by me (A Frugal Friend) and all opinions are mine. As a Disney fan all my life, I would post about all of this with or without the pixie dust that was sprinkled this past month!

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