Introducing 2016 Disney Parks Moms Panel and upcoming website changes

Disney fans on social media channels have been taking note for several weeks as excited tweets and posts reveal those who had been given coveted spots on the 2016 Disney Parks Moms Panel. This month, however, The Walt Disney Company has officially revealed the full panel, and there are fewer new members than in past years. In its ninth year, the Disney Parks Moms Panel, which answers online readers’ questions about planning Disney vacations, will be working with a revamped website.

Competition for a spot on the Disney Parks Moms Panel is intense — thousands apply each year. In fact, this year’s panelists were chosen from a “near record number of thousands of applicants last fall,” wrote the panel’s creator, Disney Parks Director of Social Media Leanne O’Regan, on the Disney Parks Blog.

Only 10 new members were chosen this year, compared with 22 new panelists in 2015. They join more than two dozen returning members of the Disney Parks Moms Panel. The Disney Parks Moms Panel has evolved from its inception in 2008, but its goal remains the same: to provide vacation-planning advice from adults in families that are interested in and knowledgeable about the Disney properties. The Disney Parks Moms Panelists not only help plan magical vacations for guests heading to Walt Disney World, but they also answer questions about Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, Disney Vacation Club, Adventures by Disney, runDisney and the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Despite the name, however, panelists are not just limited to those who are mothers — dads and grandparents have been chosen, as well.

Here are the newest members and their areas of specialization:

** Brandy Robinson; Euless, Tex. (Disney Cruise Line)
** Erin Karsman; Pittsburgh, Pa. (Walt Disney World Resort)
** Jackie Psarianos; Richmond Hill, Ont. (Walt Disney World Resort)
** Jennifer Reeves; Columbia, Mo. (Walt Disney World Resort)
** Kiki Wong-Yee; Carmichael, Calif. (Disneyland Resort)
** Korliss Datcher; Birmingham, Ala. (Walt Disney World Resort)
** Nancy Murphy; Alpine, Ut. (Walt Disney World Resort)
** Priscila Noriega; Miami, Fla. (Walt Disney World Resort)
** Ricardo Stella; Plainsboro, N.J. (Walt Disney World Resort)
** Sally Bulavko; El Paso, Tex. (Disney Vacation Club)

The new panelists have diverse careers, and among the group are a doctor, lawyer, nurse, teacher, realtor, professor, event planner, IT tech and digital marketing consultant. Three of the new panelists also speak Spanish and will be able to assist Spanish-speaking guests with questions, too. The Disney Parks Moms Panel is available in four languages: English, Spanish, French and Portuguese.

The Disney Parks Moms Panel members will be interacting with Disney guests on a redesigned website that is set to launch “later this winter,” according to a Disney news release. The Walt Disney Co. is improving navigation of the website, which is optimized for mobile devices, with a new topic search structure that allows users to access more than 150,000 questions asked by previous visitors and answered by the panelists. As always, visitors can get their own questions answered using the “Ask a Question” feature. In addition, the website will reflect a sense of community by showcasing trending topics and the most popular topics, allowing families to learn from each other’s past experiences and inspire the creation of new memories.

“2016 is poised to be an exciting and transformative year for the Disney Parks Moms Panel,” O’Regan said. “Not only are we welcoming ten motivated and diverse professionals to our esteemed forum, but we are also preparing to debut a new website experience in the coming months, streamlining the trip planning process and paving the way for what should be the most magical time of our guests’ lives.”

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