We just wrapped up our third annual Magical Media Retreat in Anaheim. This SoCal media conference is always such a fun weekend, but so much hard work goes into making sure that it goes smoothly! Have you ever thought about becoming a blogger or online content creator? Do you need help marketing your small business? Or maybe you just need to reignite your creative spark? The Magical Media Retreat might be just what you need! Some links contain affiliates, all opinions are my own.
what is the Magical Media Retreat?
The Magical Media Retreat is a hybrid blogging conference and women’s retreat. Everyone in their blogging or content creator journey is welcome, from seasoned pros to newbies. Held in SoCal every year, this weekend takes a holistic approach to online content creation. We have fun group activities, as well as conference sessions in topics like SEO, Pinterest Marketing, and Pitching to Brands. Over the years we’ve had bloggers, vloggers, influencers, small business owners, and photographers attend our retreat! They all say they come away feeling motivated to create awesome content and having learned something new.
our SoCal Magical Media Retreat conference
I am so excited about sharing all the details of our third annual Magical Media Retreat. As I mentioned earlier, a lot of planning goes into this one weekend. And just like our attendees, us hosts come away with learning something each year. Every year we learn things we could be doing differently and better. It helps each year be better and a more successful experience for attendees than the next.
our optional Disneyland park day
Although this SoCal media conference has been held in Anaheim every year so far, this year was the first year we planned a group day in Disneyland park. This was an optional add-on to the retreat ticket, and most attendees chose to come! Not only was it fun because we were at Disneyland, but we met up for various activities throughout the day. We also had a fun Content Creation Bingo game for attendees to play. This helped get their creative juices flowing in how to share content throughout the day. In the afternoon we randomly selected from all the Bingo winners and gave three of them a pair of Minnie ears from Magic Mountain Ears.
Some of us started the park day with rope drop and after having to pivot due to a ride closure, we headed over to Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway. The day was pretty flexible, with different segments of our group heading to different rides. We did have a meet up before lunch for snacks and postcard writing that was sponsored by Pilot Pen, who was the official pen of the Magical Media Retreat. As a group we enjoyed snacks at Refreshment Corner and wrote postcards back home with our Pilot Pens. We also had different opportunities for headshots in the park with our event photographer, Amanda from Captivating By Amanda, culminating in a group photo in front of the blue Small World wall later in the afternoon.
our group dinner at Naples Ristorante e Bar
We partnered with Naples Ristorante e Bar in Downtown Disney for our first Magical Media Retreat and were thrilled they wanted to partner with us again. They are always such gracious hosts and are very accommodating with those who have food sensitivities and allergies. We all met up Friday evening at the outdoor patio at Naples for a delicious hosted dinner. This was sort of the unofficial start of the conference. If you are visiting the Disneyland Resort, a stop at Naples for a family meal is a great idea. They have both indoor and outdoor dining and you can reserve your table ahead of time online.
Saturday blogging conference sessions & brunch
Saturday was the big day when all our conference sessions were held. We met in the Garden Room at the Sheraton Park Hotel and it was the perfect location for our group. We started off the day with a presentation on affiliate marketing from Kim at Get Away Today. Our attendees love all the tips on how to successfully implement affiliate marketing into their content. After that we had Laura from Lex + Park, a marketing agency, speak to us about how to attract more brand partners. In the afternoon we heard from our keynote speakers, Liz and Christian Cannon, in a presentation called “The Platform and the Person: Establishing your Brand with Authenticity.”
| Read: My Review of the Sheraton Park Hotel at the Anaheim Resort |
Other topics throughout the day from us three hosts included: hacks for working smarter, how to create the best first impression, and social media & your mental health. I was thrilled to be able to speak to our attendees about the power of Pinterest Marketing. I love Pinterest and think it is such an underutilized marketing tool! For part of my presentation I focused a lot on hot to leverage your Pinterest insights and analytics for success. Do you have a Pinterest business account? It was great showing everyone some of the best Pinterest practices and how they can use Pinterest to their advantage!
Our brunch during our conference sessions was sponsored by Get Away Today. We worked with the Sheraton to create a delicious brunch spread that would offer something for everyone. We made sure to include options for those with food allergies as well. A crowd favorite was the sweet potato and caramelized onions hash and the cinnamon French toast. In addition to be attentive while serving and clearing, the wonderful staff at the Sheraton Park Hotel kept the drink carafes full during our sessions so we could all stay well hydrated. We’re so thankful to have Get Away Today as a partner for our retreat!
our closing reception and gifting suite
One of the highlights of this year’s SoCal media conference was our closing reception and gifting suite, sponsored by Brighton. Our Magical Media group was out on the Garden Patio and enjoyed a delicious Tex-Mex dinner. Again, the Sheraton was great in working with us to make sure that there were gluten free options for those attendees that needed them.
As we ate and chatted, attendees also were able to choose two pieces from a variety of accessories that Brighton sent. We displayed bracelets, necklaces, sunglasses, and more. Each guest was able to pick out a couple of their favorite pieces. Brighton even sent a small suitcase for us to give away to one attendee. As we did last year, us three hosts went through all the content that was shared during the retreat weekend and picked one person that we thought stood out. The winner of the carryon was so thrilled and it was well-deserved! Our closing reception would not have been nearly as magical without Brighton as a title sponsor!
sponsors and partners for our SoCal media conference
Our Magical Media Retreat would not be as successful without our wonderful sponsors and partners. Every year Jenny, Kim, and I try to think of who would be the best partners for our retreat and spend months negotiating with them before the retreat weekend. For our 2024 SoCal media conference we had three title sponsors.
title sponsors of the Magical Media Retreat
The first of these was Get Away Today, who has been our partner for two years now. We love partnering with Get Away Today and listening to their presentation on affiliate marketing. We also had Pilot Pen as a title sponsor and the official pen of the whole weekend. They are the only pen I buy and it was a thrill to partner with them for our retreat! Lastly, Brighton was another title sponsor and spoiled our attendees with the delicious Tex-Mex dinner at the closing reception, as well as the Brighton gifting suite. It was the perfect way to end the conference.
gifting sponsors for the Magical Media Retreat
We also had several gifting sponsors to fill our swag bags for attendees. These gift bags are not just a fun treat for attendees, it’s a great way to get them thinking creatively about how to share the brands in an organic way with their audience! Walli Cases worked with us for a second year, and sent new phone cases (or wrist lanyards) to all the attendees. There were also plenty of snacks for attendees to munch on, from Love Corn, Schoolyard Snacks, Better Than Good Foods, and Kayla’s Cake.
Attendees of the Magical Media Retreat also went home with accessories from Darling Dream Co. and Mama X Brand. Personalized stickers were waiting for them at their seats from Mabel’s Labels, who designed custom stickers just for this SoCal media conference. Pink Desert supplied outfits for us three hosts, as well as gift cards for all our attendees. Meanwhile, Dearfoams sent new slippers for everyone so at the end of the day they could put their feet up and relax. Finally, attendees will be able to keep up with the friendships they made at the retreat with their new Marco Polo Plus subscriptions.
Thank you to our wonderful sponsors & partners for our Magical Media Retreat:
Sheraton Park Hotel at the Anaheim Resort
All photos in this post were provided by our event photographer, Amanda of Captivating Photography by Amanda. She is located in the greater Anaheim area.
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Want to join us next year? Message one of us hosts and let us know!
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