Hi Mouseketeers, welcome back to the D-Luxe Life series. This week, I am going to share the luxury of having a solid Disney community. I sure hope I didn’t lose you already, just stick with me through this; think about it… a sense of community where you are seen, heard, and feel like part of a bigger collective is a luxury in this day and age. Facebook and social media are rife with all sorts of Disney groups, and sometimes those groups have hundreds and thousands of people. You can get lost in the shuffle, but I’m proud to say that I belong to a small but mighty group called the League of Extraordinary Princesses (LOEP). The name is a mouthful, and you can even say we are “extra” (I’m not ashamed) so I’ll just refer to the group as “The League” or “LOEP”.
Through League, I have been able to experience some amazing private Disney events, which I will cover in this series, but this group is so much more than just a place where luxe events are planned and executed, it’s a place of true camaraderie and friendship.
The Origin Story
“The League” came to fruition in 2017 as one woman’s little slice of the interwebs to share her Disney obsession with like-minded friends. That woman is Chrissie Rusher, and if you ever get to meet her, you will NEVER forget her, and I mean that in the best way possible.
By late 2019 when the world went into lockdown, it became a lifeline for the group to spread cheer with a card chain that remains active to this day. Slowly the league started branching out and members were inviting friends, and then friends of friends were invited, all connected through their love of Disney and a need for a safe space to just exist and find a little Disney magic in such an uncertain world. The League currently sits at close to 300 princesses sharing magic and grows steadily. Not bad for one woman’s dream?
The Power of Community
Many of us who participate in LOEP originally met through the Disney Bride community. There are two sides to being a Disney Bride, sometimes it is wonderful and a wealth of resources, and other times it’s not as magical as you imagine. If you ever wanted to watch the drama unfold that rivals the Real Housewives, join the wrong Disney Bride group and you will get sucked right in. It truly is not for the faint of heart, and it can become overwhelming and exhausting.
On the flip side, the wonderful parts of the Disney Bride community brought me some excellent friends. Many of whom attended my own Disney inspired wedding in Orlando, and that is how I ended up invited to the League years later.
I will admit, at first I was weary of joining. League seemed like a group full of women, many of whom I knew of because of their luxe and extravagant Disney trips/events, but many of whom I had little actual interaction. Having been unceremoniously ousted from the non-magical bridal group, I feared continued drama and grudges might have spilled over, but after some thought and a great friend promising me this group was different, I joined the League and let me tell you, I am so glad that I did.
I soon found that I had been given an opportunity to see people that I thought I “knew” in a whole new light, and in doing so I had my first taste of what a community can really do with the right people doing the right things for the right reasons.
Sprinkles of Magic
You know when someone says that it’s the little things that matter the most? The League has perfected this art.
Every time I open my Facebook, I have 10 plus notifications, and most are from the League. We have an outstanding carefully curated admin team of the most thoughtful and creative women that really take time out of their lives to make every single member of the community feel amazing.
There are Mental Health Mondays, Wedding Wednesdays, and threads where you can share just about every aspect of your life to the degree you are comfortable with in a community that doesn’t shame you for oversharing. Instead, they give you a space to be heard and champion solutions when there is a problem afoot, or cheer you on with words of encouragement if something amazing is happening in your life. It really is one of the most supportive spaces I’ve been a part of on Facebook.
When it’s your birthday, wedding anniversary, or an important milestone one of our amazing admins makes sure there is a post in the group to highlight it, and then there is a hand written card that comes in the mail too. Double Magic.
In the league, we share Disneybounds and reviews of Disney festival foods, newly dropped merchandise, and so many other aspects of living a Disney obsessed life. Aside from Disney, I’ve truly learned so much from this group, and it is an honor to know so many of these accomplished, kind, generous women.
Perhaps my favorite League activity thus far has been the Year of Magic (YOM) which was a gift exchange program where our admins paired participating group members with a secret pal and you exchange a monthly gift. Recently the League debuted a Seasons of Magic, which splits this concept into seasons and makes participation manageable for busy League members.
For YOM, I was paired with a Canadian pal named Heather and she quickly became a complete inspiration to me. I spent a whole year finding awesome gifts to spoil her with and patiently waited for her to post in the group when she received the monthly package. I would include little clues with the gifts so she could try to figure out who I was. Heather is an accomplished mother and now is on her way to becoming a nurse embarking on this journey in tandem with her daughter proving that you can do anything you set your mind to. Through this experience in League, I made a friend that I can visit when James and I decide to go to Canada.
As for me, the secret pal who drew my name was Jessica, and I can only describe her as literal sunshine. She’s an educator, a fashionista who indulges in the wanderlust of life with her awesome husband, and a fiercely fabulous woman who spoiled me rotten for 12 months. I’m blessed she is in my life, and if the League was the equivalent of a Disney sorority – she would be my big sis for sure.
League Luxe Events
Now that you’ve gotten a high level introduction to the League hopefully you can understand why having this kind of community is priceless and a luxury in and of itself. Make sure you check in soon because in the next few blog posts I am going to share with you the luxe private event experiences I have participated in that I would not have been able to partake of if not for being a member of the league.
