Yes, Disneyland is the Happiest Place on Earth

Hey Everyone!

As many of you know, we went on a family trip to Disneyland last week. To say it was a fun trip would be a total understatement. It was literally the funnest trip Kody and I have ever been on. Ellie made everything so exciting!

Today’s blog post is an overview of our entire Disneyland vacation. I know many of you are planning your  Disney trips, so I hope you can use this blog post as a resource.

The planning of this trip actually started when we were in Florida about six months ago. Kody received an email with an amazing deal on flights to Burbank California. He looked into it, and realized that Burbank was an hour drive to Disneyland. So, we made a spontaneous decision to go to Disneyland the week before Ellie's Birthday. (Best decision ever!)

We booked our hotels in August, the hotels near Disneyland are in high demand. Some were already booked months in advance. We stayed at the Fairfield Inn. Our hotel was very convenient because it was only a block away from the park. If you have little's that need naps, I would recommend staying in a hotel that is walking distance.It worked out very well for us. We would leave first thing in the morning and get to the park 10-20 minutes before it opened, we’d then get to the rides we new we had to go on before the park got extremely busy. Around 2:00 the park would be packed so we would head back to the hotel so Ellie could take a nap. This schedule worked really well for us. We’d hit the park hard in the morning and then hit it hard again in the evening.

Tip: If you buy a 3 day pass, you get a Magical Morning. I HIGHLY recommend using this morning to hit all of the big name rides.

I also booked a Princess Breakfast at Ariel's Grotto. I booked this in September. I definitely recommend booking this in advance, you have to have a reservation and they get booked fast. Also, the sooner you book the better seats you have. Our booth was third in line, so Ellie had the best view of the princesses walking in. I also felt like the princesses took a longer time with the first few tables, they seemed to be burned out by the time they hit the last booth lol. This breakfast was a little pricey but SO worth it! Ellie was literally mesmerized the entire hour. She was able to meet Belle, Rapunzel, Cinderella, Ariel and Tiana. They each came to our table, took pictues, talked to Ellie, and signed her book. This was the highlight of the trip for me. It was so fun to see Ellie get starstruck! It was so funny, Belle was the first princess to greet Ellie, while Belle was talking to her Rapunzel walked out and Ellie's jaw dropped. She wouldn’t even look at Belle all she could do was stare at Rapunzel. Belle was like, “I like Rapunzel too,” haha it was hilarious. When Rapunzel came and greeted Ellie, Ellie didn’t know what to do or how to act. She just stood there star struck, then all the sudden bursts out and gave Rapunzel the biggest hug. It almost made me cry! It was seriously the cutest, most magical moment!

After the breakfast we went and rode some rides at California Adventures Bugs Life. There are a lot of little kid rides with short wait times. Ellie’s favorite was the lady bugs. While we were riding rides, Kody went to the Theater to get in line for the Frozen Show. (This show is a must see, it is literally a Broadway production.) Kody got in line 30 minutes before the show started and was able to get us some really good seats. Ellie sat through the play and loved every second. The characters were phenomenal! This is definitely a must for girls and boys of all ages.

After the play, we went back to the hotel and took a nap. We were all pretty worn out by 2:00 lol. We came back at 4:00 pm and rode all the rides possible. Ellie was obsessed with the tea cups.

The following day was a Friday, we got to the gates at 8:45 (15 minutes before the gates opened) and there were thousands of people waiting to get in. It was the first day of their Holiday decor and holiday parades, so the park was packed. It got to its Maximum Occupancy of 85,000 people by 2:00 in the afternoon! Can you believe that? 85,000 people were at the park on Friday. I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was claustrophobic. We hit as many rides, and saw as many characters as we could. We had Ellie’s Papa Jake save us a spot for the Holiday parade, as we stood in line to see Goofy and Minnie (Mini, Mickey, and Goofy are usually in their houses in Toontown). The holiday parade was amazing. Their floats are incredible and it’s a fun time to see all the characters. (Jake went to save a seat 45 minutes early, and the streets were already getting packed, make sure to strategise and have someone save seats at least 45 minutes in advance.)

Saturday we used our Magical Morning. We got to the park at 8:00 and walked right in. We rushed over to, “It’s a Small World.” The lines for that ride were two hours long the day before, but we walked right on. Ellie loved it. We then hit the teacups (again), Alice and Wonderland, and the Merry Go Round. By the end of the hour we felt like we had done all the rides we needed to for the day lol. Saturday was a pretty chill day. There weren’t near as many people, so we were able to hit all of the rides we wanted to. We also were able to meet Moana. She greets kids at Aladdin's Oasis, in AdventureLand. Ellie was so excited to meet her! She had to show Moana her necklace lol.

Tip: download the app that tracks the characters. It tells you where they are and how long the wait is.

Disneyland was nothing short of amazing. We were all pretty exhausted on Sunday, so we slept in and went to the beach. We went to Newport. It was a lot of fun and only 20 minutes from our hotel. They have a pier and had a farmers market going on. Ellie would've stayed at the beach all day. Her and Kody run and run while I pick up shells lol.

This trip was one I will never forget. They were some of my favorite Mom moments that I will cherish forever!

Below is a direct link the Ariel’s Grotto. This was a must if you have a little girl!

Comment below or on today’s Instagram post if you have any other questions.

Thanks for following,

XoXo,

Briana Marie Smith

Ariel's Grotto Restaurant

Marco Island Family Vacay

Hey Ya’ll

 I’ve been in the South all week so I feel justified in saying “Ya’ll” :) How’s everyone’s Summer treating them? I hope you are all enjoying those summer rays!

Kody, Ellie, Grandma Pam and I went on a vacation last week. We traveled to Marco Island, Florida.

Kody and I have been saving up to go on a tropical vacation after we both graduated college. We really wanted to enjoy the island life by deep sea fishing, jet skiing, and snorkeling but we didn’t want to leave Ellie home. Pam (Kody’s mom) said she was in need of a vacation and suggested that she would be our “nanny” during the times Kody and I went and adventured. We thought that was a great idea so we were happy to have her come along.  

We flew out of Salt Lake City on a non-stop flight to Miami. Ellie was such a good girl. She watched her Ipad, played with toys, and actually napped the majority of the flight. We arrived in Miami at midnight. We were all so exhausted so we stayed the night in Miami.

When we awoke, we drove for two hours to Marco Island. Along the way, we stopped in Everglades National Park. It was beautiful! We were so glad we stopped because Ellie got to see so much wildlife. It was super neat. We drove down a dirt road and saw alligators and turtles everywhere! It was definitely a highlight of the trip.

We got to Marco Island and were so excited to lay by the beach and enjoy the sunny weather. We were super disappointed when we arrived. It was cloudy and rainy. We were hoping it was just an off day but it turned out to be an off week. It rained all day, every day! Not a little shower, flood status. Local businesses closed due to flooding and some of the locals said it was the worst they’d ever seen. I was a little freaked out. We received flood alerts on our phones and I thought we were going to be in a Hurricane at any given moment. Luckily, the hurricane never came and we were alright;)

We made the best of the floods by going puddling haha. I think that was Kody’s favorite part of our trip. We would drive through puddles that would splash higher than our car. It was crazy! Probably not the safest thing to do but we had fun.

Not only did we have flood like weather, we also all came down with a flu bug. Ellie awoke throwing up. This was the first time in her life that she had thrown up, so we were slightly freaked out. She rested half of a day and was all better. The next morning everyone else woke up throwing up. It’s funny to think about now, but at the time we were all pretty bugged with how our vacation was going. On the bright side, we got caught up on our movie watching:) We were all lucky because it was just a bug and we were better the next day.

Our favorite pastime was to walk along beach and find sea shells. I’ve never seen so many shells in my entire life. The beaches were beautiful. The white sand was made up of crushed sea shells. It was gorgeous! Ellie and I had the best time picking up shells. (I brought some home so I could make her a picture frame using the shells we picked up. I’ll post a picture when I’m done.)

We also traveled to another island called Naples. Kody, Pam and I were obsessed with the adorable houses on this island. They were the cutest little beach cottages. Kody and I may retire there someday;) Naples was beautiful. We went shopping, ate yummy food and hung out at the pier.

On our last day the rain stopped (complete miracle) and we were able to hang out by the pool and beach all day. It was wonderful! I got sunburned but Kody and Ellie turned into brown bears! They got so tan.

Our vacation wasn’t what we expected but it was perfect in it’s own way. We all had great attitudes and just enjoyed our time away together as a family. It was so fun to have Ellie there because she didn’t care if it was sunny or not. She was happy to play out in the pool even when it was raining. The amazing food also helped out attitudes, well mine at least! We ate so good. The fresh sea food, fish tacos, and mangos were heavenly.

Below are pictures from our week. I also have direct links to a few of my favorite resort wear. See direct links!

Distressed Keyhole Graphic Hoodie: BB Styled This is one of my all time favorite tops. I wore it on the airplane because it is so comfy and then wore it as a swim cover on Kody’s and my date night.

 Ellie’s Red and White Swimsuit: Janie and Jack