My First MACNA Trip!!

[BlueDamselReef]

I just got back in to the hobby 3 weeks ago which was when I found out that MACNA was being held in Orlando this year. I didn't have much time to prepare for the trip but knew that I was going no matter what! It's only a 2 hour drive from where I live in Jacksonville, FL so there's no excuse for me not to go (not even Hurricane Dorian).

The drive today (Friday) was surprisingly nice. I didn't notice any extra traffic going or coming and the sunset was beautiful. We arrived and checked in to our hotel at around 8:30pm.

We'll be spending the day on Saturday at MACNA and heading back home to Jacksonville Saturday evening. Sometime on Saturday we hope to make our way over to the World Food Trucks and eat some of the amazing Latin Cuisine, specifically one of their foot long Alcapurrias. Oh my God...if you've never tried one, it will change your life! I only hope that Dorian didn't scare them off and that they'll be there serving food!

If you want to check them out, here's the address:

World Food Trucks in Kissimmee, FL:
5811 W. Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy.
Kissimmee, Florida 34746

I highly recommend!

As for MACNA, I'm really looking forward to meeting and making new friends in the hobby and hopefully finding my new tank's first fish (who will be going in to quarantine for a couple of weeks before I move it to my main tank). I'd love to tell you what that fish could be but I don't want anyone stealing my fish! So, I'll definitely tell you if I find it!

I have STICKERS if any of you will be at MACNA tomorrow (Saturday) and might want one! I'd love to swap and grab any stickers you might have! I'll be easy to spot... just look for the tall girl with dark curly hair, wearing the Blue Damsel shirt!

 

[BiGGiePauls33]

Enjoy, my original was MACNA 16 in Boston, MA circa 2004. I ad a 2 year old and a newborn in tow. Won lots of stuff and remember seeing names and faces of people that wrote books about this hobby.

 

[BlueDamselReef]

Enjoy, my original was MACNA 16 in Boston, MA circa 2004. I ad a 2 year old and a newborn in tow. Won lots of stuff and remember seeing names and faces of people that wrote books about this hobby.

Thank you! That is so awesome! It would be nice to win something but I've never been lucky like that so it's not really something I'm expecting. But, who knows... we'll see!

 

[BlueDamselReef]

The weather this morning is GORGEOUS! We checked out of the hotel and drove across the street to have breakfast at the Wolfgang Puck Restaurant in Disney Springs! I got the Belgium Waffles and everything was fresh and delicious and the staff and service was awesome!

 

[BlueDamselReef]

Ahhhh! #MACNA was a BLAST! So, I didn't win @Bulk Reef Supply $2,500 giveaway or any of the 5 Tritons they gave away BUT I did get a nice and soft BRSTV shirt AND $50 Off Vouchers for http://www.bulkreefsupply.com We had to complete a scavenger hunt of sorts where we had to visit 6 of their partner vendors and have them stamp our card and that got us the free shirt, $25 voucher, and entered us in to their raffle. I enjoyed the hunt and interacting with the different vendors. Everyone really seemed to enjoy it too and seemed to really be engaged. I'm especially excited to browse their site tonight and see what I can get! Bulk Reef Supply stole the show at MACNA and had EVERYONE running around wearing their Blue BRStv tee shirts!

 

[BlueDamselReef]

I also got a free tee shirt from https://www.saltwateraquarium.com and a $25 voucher for their website! I had to post a selfie of myself with one of their partner vendors to earn the voucher and I chose Sicce because I love their powerhead pumps and use them in all my aquariums!

The $75 total that I got from Bulk Reef Supply and Saltwater Aquarium helped to counter all of the money I spent on Valet parking today, between our hotel, the event hotel and Disney Springs, all my money went to Valet parking and not corals today!

 

[BlueDamselReef]

I got 4 different shirts and I especially loved how Saltwater Aquarium personalized their shirt with a Mickey Mouse image incorporated with their own logo and included "MACNA 2019" on it.

I met so many amazing and friendly people and made sure I stopped at @revhtree Reef2Reef table FIRST! They were already packing up to head out and I missed Rev who was mingling around somewhere! But just know that I dropped you some love!

I also had a chance to meet and speak with some familiar faces in the hobby like @coralfish12g , @jfox , Ryan from BRStv, Marc from Melev's Reef, and others that will be featured in an upcoming video! I'm glad Hurricane Dorian didn't scare them off!

Next year's MACNA will be held in Phoenix, Arizona, so I may not be able to make it out to the desert for that one, but if YOU can, I highly recommend you do!

 

[BlueDamselReef]

With the $50 off promo codes I got from BRS, I ordered a Cobalt Aquatics Neotherm Water Heater and a Flipper Magnetic Cleaner.

With the $25 gift card code I got from Saltwater Aquarium I ordered a Tidal 55 HOB Filter.

http://www.saltwateraquarium.com is currently having a MACNA sale on their site until tomorrow (Sunday) and I have an extra $5 off coupon code that I think expires after tomorrow that I will give to the first person who private messages me!

I'll also list some coupon codes below for other vendors that came in our goody bag for anyone wanting to use them!

 

[BlueDamselReef]

5% off at http://www.buildinganobsession.com

Code: MACNA19

 

[BlueDamselReef]

25% off at http://www.aquaholicaquaculture.com

Code: MACNA2019

 

[BlueDamselReef]

$50 Off at http://www.reefkinetics.com

Code: RKMACNA

 

[BlueDamselReef]

25% Off at http://www.liveaquaria.com

Code: 25OFFLA

Expires: 9/7/19

 

[siggy]

Bulk Reef Supply stole the show at MACNA and had EVERYONE running around wearing their Blue BRStv tee shirts!

Sounds like you had a good time. Thanks for bringing a little excitement here......and the coupons

 

[BlueDamselReef]

Sounds like you had a good time. Thanks for bringing a little excitement here......and the coupons

I had a BLAST! Thanks for dropping some love and shouting out my thread! I hope someone can take advantage of those discounts! I thought the Aquaholic Aquaculture and Liveaquaria one were worth taking a look at!

 

[Larry L]

I had a BLAST!

Glad you had a good time!

 

[BlueDamselReef]

Glad you had a good time!

Thanks Larry!

 

[BlueDamselReef]

Hey hey guys and gals! You read the MACNA blog (THANK YOU) and now here's the MACNA VLOG!!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hey hey guys and gals! You read the MACNA blog (THANK YOU) and now here's the MACNA VLOG!!

Beautiful video and very inspiring to watch. Appeared to be a Blast !!!
Learned something today- I always called Sicce " S. . eyes". . . . its pronounced " see-chay " - wow

 

[1mbrews8]

I'm in there at 4:40 lol! nice vid!

 

[BlueDamselReef]

Beautiful video and very inspiring to watch. Appeared to be a Blast !!!
Learned something today- I always called Sicce " S. . eyes". . . . its pronounced " see-chay " - wow

Glad I could help clear that up! I'd probably be calling it "See-Say" if it hadn't been for my lfs who first introduced me to the pumps and pronounced it "See-Chay" Thanks for watching and for those kind words! It was definitely a blast!