Travel

Disney 2019

Our first Disney trip is in the books!! I still feel like a complete rookie when it comes to planning a Disney trip, but I thought it would be fun to share what I know and a few favorite moments!

With this being our first trip, we tagged along with my brother and sister-in-law, so naturally we let them do most of the planning. Every time I would try to get involved in the planning, I would get super overwhelmed. My SIL had a friend who was a Disney travel agent, so I honestly think that was the best move we made was in using her help us with all the little things in booking our trip. She knew all the ins-and-outs about Disney, so I think it is definitely worth looking into hiring a travel agent if its your first trip, or heck, even your 12th trip.

We stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, and because there was 9 of us total, we got a 2-bedroom suite with a kitchen and washer/dryer. This was so nice to have with a large group so we could all be together and have our own space too. It was amazing waking up and standing on our patio to see giraffes, zebras, and ostriches walking just feet from us. I will say though, we were hardly in our room because we planned a jam-packed week to fit all the parks in, and the resort was a 40 minute drive to most of the parks. I think next time would try to stay on Disney property but in a location closer to majority of parks. Animal Kingdom is beautiful and its definitely a resort worth experiencing.

With this being our first Disney experience, we wanted to do all the parks and make it a full trip as it takes a lot of work (and money) to get a family of 5 to Florida. We stayed on the Disney property so that we could opt into the dining & photo package with the magic bands. Highly recommend this. It made meals and paying for things so much easier. You can start booking your meals 180 days before your trip and we actually quickly found out that you should start booking right then because a lot of the decent times were already taken when we went to book. (Disney is serious business when it comes to booking–I guess I appreciate this in knowing everything is planned and booked but also stresses me out to the MAX) We did a lot of buffet dinners with characters/princesses. Definitely the highlight meal was “Cinderella’s Royal Table” which was eating in Cinderella’s actual castle in Magic Kingdom with all the princesses. However, the only time available was 9:45 that evening when we went to book which made for a verrrry late (but memorable) night. Again, book your meals right away friends.

Speaking of booking…you can also book your fast passes 60 days before your trip if you are staying on Disney’s property (30 days if you aren’t). My SIL booked our rides so I don’t have much experiences with it. However I found this post that has a lot of helpful information about fast passes.

This was our first trip, and I feel like learned a couple things I hope to remember for next time! Here are a few of them–I hope they help in planning your Disney adventure!

My Top 10 Disney Tips:

Download the My Disney App and connect all those who are in your party. It is on this app that you can see wait times on rides, your photos if you have a photographer take your photo around the park, add/delete fast passes, find restaurants and more.
If you are able to, stay on the Disney park. The whole experience was so much easier being able to opt into the meal plan, use the magic bands, the shuttle system from hotel to park etc. I just feel like they have so many more perks for those who stay on Disney property.
Use the My Disney app to order food at quick service restaurants. You will be able to skip the line and pick up your food. So worth it! Especially to get your Dole Whip!
Choose restaurants that have character meet-and-greets. The characters come around to each table while you eat for a photo and is the best way to skip the loooong lines to meet characters. We loved The Royal Table at Cinderella castle, Akershus Royal Banquet Hall to meet most of the princesses, Hollywood Vine to meet Mickey & Minnie, Dinner at the Floidian to meet Cinderella and characters, and our favorite one was breakfast at Trattoria al Forno with Ariel & Rapunzel.
The night shows at each park are amazing. We learned that many restaurants will include tickets to better seats, or find a quick service restaurant close to the water at Epcot for a good view and plan on staying until it gets dark. You will not want to miss the Magic Kingdom firework show. We booked a Fireworks Dessert Party at Tomorrowland Terrace and it was amazing. It has the best view of the show as well as a delicious dessert bar to enjoy while you watch.
Get to the parks as early as you can. The crowds gather more in the afternoon and it gets hot! Its a great time to head back to the hotel for a nap and to cool off, and then head back at dinner time when the crowds start to clear.
Once you use your 3 fast passes, hop onto your Disney app to see if you are able to grab more fast passes for other rides.
Purchase the photo package. Totally worth it because it includes rights to all photos taken of you and your family throughout the week. Saves you so much money and time from trying to decide which photos to buy when you can just get them all.
Bring: Comfortable walking shoes. If you have a baby/toddler who will be riding the stroller quite a bit, bring a portable stroller fan. Extra change of clothes for the kids. (They will be eating messy food and getting wet on some rides) Baby sling to wrap your little one while you stand in line. Bag to hold all the things, light and durable–love this one. Portable phone charger. You will be using your phone for so much with the app and taking photos/video–I highly recommend this one.
Which brings me to my last tip. Take lots of video. You will be getting so many photos through the photo package, and I feel like video captures your trip so much more than a photo. Make sure to take all your video horizontally, and then hire Isabell Family Films to take all your videos and compile it into one beautiful keepsake video that you will treasure forever. You can see the video she put together for our family below, and we have watched it at least a zillion times. These videos will be so much fun to watch together as family as the kids grow to remember fun trips & moments. Kalee has so kindly created an exclusive discount just for my followers to get 10% off their first video/video package. Use LOVE10 at checkout to save!

What did I miss? Leave any tips/suggestions below OR questions! Disney truly is the happiest place on earth, and we cant wait to go back!

Wed
11 ^th

Family Travel Guide: Scottsdale, AZ

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For spring break our family decided to get out of the snowy weather and head to Arizona to soak up some vitamin D. This was our first family vacation in Arizona and it did not disappoint. We actually plan to make Arizona our yearly vacation destination as the flight was less than two hours and spring in Arizona is absolutely beautiful. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort & Spa and we had the best stay. I would highly recommend this resort for couples or even families as they accommodate all. So if you are considering a trip to Arizona, especially the Scottsdale area, I hope you can find this post helpful!

Where to Stay:

As I stated above we stayed at the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort & Spa which quickly made it to the top of our favorite places we have ever stayed. The resort is absolutely beautiful and so well maintained with gorgeous landscaping, architectural features, and a stunning view of the mountains. We went in March which is when they run a ton of activities for kids during spring break. Some of the events that were going on while we were there were late-night movies by the pool, mermaid swimming lessons, watermelon eating contests, mermaid scavenger hunt, painting pottery–just to name a few. If you are looking for somewhere with a resort feel and lots of things for kids to do during spring break next March I would highly recommend the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale.

While all the activities were fun, my girls loved the pools the most. One of the neatest features of the resort was the sandy beach/pool that had actual sand to play in. There are so many pools at this resort that even though it was spring break with lots of guests at the hotel, the pools never felt crowded. We enjoyed the pool food/drinks and just soaking up the sun in the lounge chairs.

rainbow suit / mermaid suit

The Hyatt Regency also a couple great options for food as well including an American food restaurant (Southwest Bistro), an Italian restaurant and a sushi place too! We enjoyed the Southwest Bistro for both a dinner and breakfast one day!

If you end up choosing to stay at the Hyatt Regency in Scottsdale make sure you take advantage of the gondola ride that they have available every evening. The girls loved getting a boat ride and our guide even sung to us in Italian. Other fun amenities include a gorgeous spa, a golf course, a playground/ rock climbing wall, tennis court, and amazing entertainment in the main lounge every evening.

(our beautiful patio that overlooked the pool)

Where to Eat:

If you know Garth and I, we travel for the food. Honestly we LOVE scouting out the best and top rated restaurants when we go new places. These were some of our favorites from our trip!

Hand Cut Burgers + Chophouse

What to Do:

We took a day from the pool as it was more cloudy outside and did a few fun things around the Scottsdale area.

OdySea Aquarium

Butterfly Wonderland

Dolphinaris (swimming with the dolphins)

Railroad Park – the girls loved the carousel ride here

We are looking forward to many more trips to Arizona! It seems like there is so much to do and see (and eat) while visiting! If you have ever been, I’d love any additional recommendations for you to leave in the comments below!

striped dress

Fri
23 ^rd

Family Travel Guide: Copper Mountain

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I am so excited to be writing this post to share such a fun location with you, Copper Mountain, Colorado. I can’t recommend a better place to go for a fabulous ski vacation with the family. Everything about this place accommodated both children and adults, and we can’t wait to plan our next trip! If you are planning your stay to Copper Mountain here are just a few tips and recommendations!

Where to Stay:

Copper Mountain’s lodging consists of East, Center, and West Village which are all near chairlifts, shops, restaurants, ski rentals etc. We stayed in Center Village which I would recommend as it has lodging that is the closest to many of the attractions of Copper Mountain. Most of our stay we were able to walk to restaurants and ski rentals, we just took the bus to the tubing hill & the the ski lifts. It was a very convenient location and we loved our condo/room. It had a living space, 2 rooms, 2 bathrooms, and a kitchen. This kind of space was so nice to have with the girls and especially to hold all of our winter gear.

What to Do:

There is SO much to do on this mountain and we weren’t able to do everything, so we look forward to our next trip and checking the other things off our list. Here are some of the things we did:

Tubing Hill – Garth and Adelyn had so much fun tubing together. I can’t wait to join next time when I’m not 7 months pregnant…Emery will be able to go next year too! (children must be at least 36 inches)

Critterland – The girls had a blast playing in Critterland! There is little slide, forts to hide in, and a machine operated tubing carousel that pushes them in a circle while they sit in a tube. Emery loved this and it helped her feel like she got to ride in a tube since she couldn’t go down the hill quite yet.

Youth Skiing Lessons – Adelyn was so excited to go skiing for the first time! While Garth went snowboarding, we took her to ski lessons! We had so much fun watching her learn with her classmates as they rode up a little “magic carpet” and then down on their own. She did fantastic for her first time and can’t wait to go again. I suggest that if you are getting rentals for your child, to do it the night before as it does save time in the morning. The lessons begin at 9:00 and you want them to arrive early to meet their instructor. It just saves you the feeling of being rushed in the morning– especially if your child might be a little nervous. If your children are in ski lessons, its a great way for you to be able to hit the slopes too! Lessons begin at the age of 3, but they also have child care available if you have younger children!

Woodward Copper – The day we went tubing in the morning, we decided to try to find something inside as the girls were ready to be out of the cold. We called the Woodward Copper, which was just blocks away from where we were staying, and they had an opening to take the girls for “private lessons” in tumbling, jumping, etc. Woodward Copper is an indoor training facility with skateparks, Olympic-grade trampolines, foam pit jumps, etc. The girls had a blast playing and we had even more fun watching them. It was a great place to go to get out of the cold and for them to burn some energy off!

Our next trip we want to make sure to:

Ice Skate!

Rocky Mountain Roller Coaster – a 5,800 coaster that takes you through the mountains (one of the longest in North America) and it runs year round!

Where to Eat:

We did not have a bad meal at Copper Mountain…and in fact the food might have been our favorite part about this trip. Here are a few places we ate at during our stay:

Camp Hale – Perfect place to grab hot cocoa after going tubing

Toast & Co – this was probably my favorite restaurant because not only was the food great, but the atmosphere as well. The decor and ambience of the place was so neat, as were the pancakes which convinced us to eat here more than once. I also loved the acai bowl as well as the banana bread French toast. The perfect cozy place to eat breakfast or brunch!

Mahi’s Street Tacos – This was another restaurant that we ate at twice because it was SO good. Hands down the best taco salad I have ever had. And I am pretty sure Garth would say the same about his tacos. (His favorite were the Alaskan Wild Pollock tacos) This fun lunch spot was next to where we were staying, so we loved doing something fun in the morning, picking up lunch to bring back to our room, and settling in for a nap in the afternoon.

A-Lift Pizza – The atmosphere wasn’t the best but the pizza definitely made up for it! I am a true pizza lover and this place made it in my top 5 of the best pizza I have had! SO so good! (Make sure to get the cheese sticks too!)

Casa Sanchez – A great dinner place to go for some amazing Mexican food!

Mountain Top Cookie & Crepe Stand – This might be the winner of the best place we ate because we went every single night after dinner. I have traveled to France and eaten authentic crepes and this place might have been just as good, if not better. I will warn you, they are HUGE, and we would all share one crepe for dessert. (The chocolate, banana, peanut butter, and strawberry was our favorite one!)

Sugar Lips Mini Donuts – Do not leave the mountain without trying these. Better yet, make sure you get some for breakfast and then go back in the evening for dessert donuts (they serve them with ice cream!) Freshly made to order and they seriously just melt in your mouth! (My mouth is watering just writing this) The only thing I would recommend is taking them back to your room as there isn’t much seating inside. I loved the strawberry/Nutella combo and the girls loved the chocolate and sprinkles!

City Pop Gourmet Popcorn & Candy – Before we headed back home, we stopped here to let the girls pick out some candy! This place was definitely not a disappointment in their book!

There were many other restaurants we didn’t make it to, so I recommend taking a look at their site to see all the others they offer too!

Our visit to Copper Mountain did not disappoint and we are so excited to go back. This place quickly became a yearly place for us to visit as we loved everything this cozy mountain town had to offer. If you are looking for a fun-filled, family-friendly, and fantastic-food ski vacation, than Copper Mountain is just the place for you!

Also! If skiing isn’t your thing…they offer a ton of fun activities in the summer too including a zip line, hydrobikes, bumper boats, bungee trampoline, go karts, and mini golf just to name a few!

Mon
20 ^th

How to With Two – Traveling

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When we first booked our trip to Texas, I was like, “ok, here we go, our first trip ever with two kids”. (smile) But as time went on, panic began to set in…“what are we thinking traveling with two kids under two”?!?!

I had a couple months to plan ahead so I began looking online and talking to a few of my friends who had already traveled with kids. Before we left, I felt a little more prepared??, but knew I would have to go into this trip with an open mind and just “going with the flow”.

Surprisingly, our trip went better than I could have ever imagined. The girls did great and I even said to my husband when we got home, “ok, so Hawaii next”? There were however, a few tips and tricks I used while traveling that made the trip go as well as it did. I hope a few of these items can help you on your next trip with kids!

Wrap Your Baby – I love this Solly Baby wrap as it is lightweight and convenient to pack in a suitcase, and also very breathable which was so perfect with the Texas heat. I wrapped Emery the entire trip because we only took a small stroller for Adelyn to get through the airport. I loved having her close to me at all times. I was able to nurse with her in the wrap and with the constant movement of walking, she would easily fall asleep in the wrap. I cannot express how thankful I was to be able to wrap Emery while traveling. I will keep the memory of wrapping her on our first trip with me forever.

Take a Small Stroller – At the last minute, we decided there was no reason for us to take our double stroller if I was going to wrap Emery. So we ran out to Target and bought this stroller. We absolutely loved how light and well made it was. I even loved that for how small it was, it still had a compartment on the bottom to place your purse, etc. I would highly recommend this stroller for traveling.

Headphones – We made sure to buy headphones about a month before the trip so that Adelyn could get use to wearing them. With headphones, she was able to listen to the laptop or iPad on the airplane and already be comfortable with wearing them.

Madeline Lily Jade Bag – I love this diaper bag as it has so many great things about it including: many pockets, the inside of it comes out, and the size is absolutely perfect – not too large and not too small. But what I love most about it while traveling is that it can convert into a backpack. It was the only carry on bag I took, and so with wrapping Emery, I had my hands free the entire time while traveling.

No-Spill Cup – Honestly any no-spill sippy cup will work while traveling but my sister-in-law showed me these sippy cups while we were in Texas and it was great for the trip back home. Adelyn loves that it feels like she is drinking from a real cup, and the best part is that it doesn’t spill.

Pacifier Clips – If you have a child who takes a pacifier, you will want to make sure that you are able to clip it to them for safe keeping. There is nothing worse than, A.) losing a pacifier while traveling and/or B.) dropping it on the airport bathroom floor. (Yup, both happened)

Washi Tape – Last, when all things seem to fail for keeping your little one occupied while traveling or on the airplane, washi tape works. Right before we were about to land, we had already pulled out every toy we brought, and Adelyn was about to lose it. She didn’t want to sit still, she didn’t want a snack, she didn’t want any toy we offered her. #toddlerproblems I then remembered the roll of washi tape we brought and began to tear off little pieces of it. I stuck it on her, on each of us, on the seat, around her finger, etc. She loved finding the little pieces and pulling them off and re-sticking them elsewhere. That little roll of washi tape helped keep her entertained longer than anything else we brought. Best $1.99 spent.

I hope that a few of these tips can help ease your mind with the idea of traveling with kids. Just remember that you are not alone when traveling with kids. It is not unusual to travel on a plane and have multiple families also traveling with their kids. Try to stay relaxed, and live in the moment with your family as you create lifetime memories.

A last little funny tidbit I have for you is, puppy pads. I was so thankful for this tip I found to take a few puppy pads in your diaper bag for diaper changes in disgusting bathrooms. This way you can just dispose of the pad instead of using your diaper changing pad and sticking it back into your diaper bag – Yuck.

Hope these all help! Any other traveling tips? Please share below!

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