This weekend I had the great fortune to attend an inspiring event put on by the never-evil geniuses at Walt Disney World in Florida called the Magic of Healthy Living. In typical Disney fashion, they combined fantastic fun, quality family time and artful education to congratulate families across America for having healthy habits. They also worked to educate and inspire this group to go even further on their quest. Fifty essay contest winners, ages 8-14, were chosen from thousands across the United States, who submitted their ideas for leading a healthy life — at home, at school, or in their community. The winners and their families were invited to be guests of honor at Walt Disney World Resort and were treated to endless opportunities to learn more about physical fitness and eating nutritiously … deliciously.
These 50 families, which were gifted a dream vacation by the Mouse and his crew, were also given the chance to mingle with some of their favorite Disney Stars and football players. Yep. All the kids hung out with Shake It Up’s Caroline Sunshine and Kenton Duty, Wizard of Waverly Place star Jennifer Stone, as well as Camp Rock’s Alyson Stoner. The football players, Mark Herzlich and Barrett Ruud, gave the winners a thrill well. In fact, at EPCOT Center on Saturday, everyone took part in a one-of-a-kind ‘TRYathlon,’ an imaginative and inspiring course ‘around the world’ to TRY new foods, new moves, and new ways to live healthy. How cool is that? Very cool indeed.
Over the next few weeks, I’ll publish interviews with all of the celebrities referenced above, Disney recipes, words from families who participated in Disney’s Magic of Healthy Living weekend and more. As a native Floridian, I’ve always taken great pride in Disney World. But as I’ve written about before, as a fitness pro and Mommy … I couldn’t dream of a better business to invite into our family’s lives. They COULD be promoting junky fun and still make a mint. Instead, they’ve aggressively chosen to be a force for good and do everything they can in efforts to help our children live better, longer lives. They’re going all-out for healthy habits and I hope you go with them. While there, I also interviewed Disney Corporate Responsibility’s Heather Mizrahi, Senior Manager of Health and Nutrition. See what she had to say in this great interview.
**Because this event was so exciting and full of activity, you’ll hear a bit of fun in the background. Heather’s worth listening closely to though – lean in if you must!
