Category: travel

disney, Disneyland, Hotel, Review, travel

Pixar Place Hotel

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Entrance to the Pixar Place Hotel

Pixar Place Hotel is only a few months old but is absolutely beautiful! . It opened in January 2024 and was originally the Paradise Pier Hotel.
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The hotel is full of art and sketches of some of your favorite Pixar characters. There are hidden Mickeys in the ceiling lights and hidden Pixar characters added to the floors .. so look up and down as you venture through on your way to the parks . There is also an “Up” inspired elevator .. so cool!

Sitting nook


The Pixar Place Hotel is also one of the more affordable Disneyland Hotels so what’s not to like? Beautiful, fun and affordable! Oh and it has its own secret entrance into California Adventure..yay!!


Let us know if you have stayed here and your thoughts! Did you love the remodel into Pixar theme or miss the Paradise one?

Hotel, pnw, Review, travel

Home2Suites by Hilton Review

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We had a girls trip recently and stayed at the Home 2Suites Hotel by Hilton . We have never stayed at this line of Hiltons before so we wanted to check it out.

Front desk Clerk was very attentive and kind
Love when hotels have this posted⭐️

The hotel was very welcoming when we walked in .The front desk agent was very kind and texted us to see if we needed anything once we made it to our room .

The room was clean and huge! It really is made for a family of 4/6 easily. There were two queen beds and a pullout couch. A fully stocked kitchen and full size refrigerator.

Our Stay included breakfast ..love that! It was a typical breakfast buffet . Eggs, meat ,toast , oatmeal and grits!! I was so excited for these!

Loved the seating

Our cost was for one night was $225, which we felt was a great price especially if we would have taken the whole family . We ended up using points from our Chase card so it was free !! Yay 🥳

Oh and they take dogs. We had quite the parade of dogs as we enjoyed breakfast in the am.

disney, travel

Beauty & the Beast

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“True that he’s no Prince Charming, but there’s something in him that I simply didn’t see.”
~ Belle

Hotel, Review, travel

Hyatt Mission Bay Spa and Marina ⭐️ Family Review

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We were excited to be visiting San Diego for the first time and knew we wanted to stay close to the water and close to Sea World. The Hyatt Mission Bay Spa and Marina was an easy choice since it met both of our criteria.

We arrived later in the evening to check into our room. First impression …The hotel lobby was beautiful and welcoming. They had valets out when we pulled up as well as a luggage clerk on the ready .

The foyer was beautifully decorated, clean and welcoming.

At check in , they offered to upgrade us to a tower room with a marina view for a minimal cost. We considered it but asking more questions we realized it would not meet our needs so we declined. We then went over our details of the room we booked and at this point knew something was not right. It took quite awhile while the employee tried to work it out and then went to get a manager . When they returned , we were told the room we booked was not available that it was under renovation.

The manager offered us the tower room with a king bed and sleeper sofa or they could try to get the a room we booked together while we waited. We chose to wait to get the room ready so we would have the space we had planned on. We were exhausted from traveling and had already had a full day of adventures and were ready to just relax and swim.

After about 45min-1hour we went back to see the progress and the room was still not ready . At this point we were approaching 9 at night so we took the the first option the Manager Monica had offered us . It was a Tower room and she had a rollaway bed brought in as well.

She also offered us a room credit for breakfast for our whole family for the duration of our stay . She was amazing.She stayed calm and professional and tried to make the experience a good one despite all that had happened.

Upon entering the room we were quite surprised at the amount of space ! It fit us perfectly and had plenty of room even with a rollaway being brought in. I wish we would have asked to see it earlier vs waiting. It was more then enough space , clean and had stunning views.

Finally, we were ready to head to pool and relax a bit before bed .

Waking up the next day was breathtaking! The view of the Marina and the sun rise was spectacular and one of our favorite memories overall! It’s amazing at all the beautiful colors of the sky that God paints it.

We headed down to the breakfast buffet that was included with our stay ,courtesy of the manger. The event room was clean, well lit and nicely decorated. There was an assortment of fruit, muffins , cereal, bagels, as well as eggs, potatoes ,bacon and sausage . The waitstaff were all super friendly and attended all of our drink request. At one point in the meal, they came around with little shooters of fruity mock-tails to try which the kids loved!

This was our first experience with a Hyatt Hotel .The Hyatt Mission Bay Spa and Marina was conveniently located to Sea World , a beautiful hotel and had stunning views. Overall, we would love to try this hotel again under normal circumstances. At the time we traveled,many airports were shut down and guest were over extending their stay which is why there were not as many options for the other available rooms. If you are looking to stay in San Diego then we would recommend this hotel . The Manager,Monica,went above and beyond to provide great customer service.

Update:We did contact the hotel as well as Costco travel to let them know what had happened and they graciously took care of us. I value companies that take responsibility and make it right. We are looking forward to staying at another Hyatt .

family adventures, travel

Carlsbad Beach 🏄

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Carlsbad beach is simply breathtaking 🌊

The view captured there was absolutely amazing!

There were surfers 🏄 riding the waves as the sun was setting which was so fun to watch.

The ocean was captivating as the tide started to move in and we couldn’t help but get caught by it as it came in. Such a beautiful moment ❤️ I wish we would have had a whole day here just to enjoy it .

family adventures, Review, travel

Family Tour of the USS MIDWAY

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One of our first places on our must see list in SanDiego,Ca was the Uss Midway . The Naval Aircraft carrier is bigger then life and is located in downtown San Diego at the Navy pier.

Finding parking was not the easiest . The parking in the Uss Midway parking lot is small but very affordable ( around 10$ a day) but hard to find. Thankfully we were able to drive around the block and find an open lot to park. The cost was around 30$ for the day .

Once parked, we looked for a Starbucks to grab coffee since it was almost Tea Time . Thankfully, right on our walking path to the pier there was a Starbucks . Yay!

The walk on the waterfront is beautiful! Just walking to the Uss Midway was a treat. It felt like a warm summer day at Christmas 🎄

The cost of the Uss Midway for our family of 5 was around 115$. More then we would normally pay for a Museum but now that we have done it .. we would do it again. It was well worth the money. Just to note ..active Military and law enforcement/ firefighters are free admission ….love this!

Upon boarding the ship, you are offered an audio device to wear around your neck or to use your own device. This allows you to hear more hands on experiences as well as sounds to bring the displays alive .

Once you walk into the ship , it is a visual overload. There is so much to see! Not quite sure where to start, we did the typical right to left plan.

One of the displays that we really enjoyed upon entering was being able to hear the biography of different heroes of the Midway.

One of our favorite finds was the used bookstore hidden behind a display. There were so many unique books in here! There were used and new books and some that can only be found there so it was so hard to choose!

We then climbed stairs to explore ( you will climb LOTS of stairs) . There was something to see everywhere we went. Amazing! Even our littles were so engaged in all the displays . Something about walking through a living history museum like the Uss Midway that is so exciting . Just being there makes it all come to life!

There were so many interactive displays that our whole family was able to try . So cool!!

We then headed to pick up our Uss Midway junior pilot activity sheet for the littles to earn their pilot wings. Kelly was great in helping us get started! Tip: This should be your first stop when you enter ship.

Another thing we loved about the Midway was most of the crew were volunteers! There were so many that had served in the Navy on other ships or in some way that just taking the time to thank them for the service and hear little tidbits of what they experienced was so much more then any history book could offer. Priceless❤️

We then headed to the flight deck to do the island tour and oh my was it amazing! Definitely want to experience this if you are going to visit.

The boss and mini chairs were fun to get pics in❤️

There is so much history here as you tour. You can’t help but learn a little while having fun.

On the flight deck there were so many helicopters and planes that we were able to walk in or sit in. The littles enjoyed being able to look at their own pace and explore.

Embracing Peace ~The Kissing Statue

This was a replica of the famous Life magazine photograph in 1945 . It is quite stunning to see in person❤️

It was fun to see the NCIS room on the Uss Midway. It’s one of our favorite shows to watch the reruns of so that was pretty cool.

Our time on the Midway was Amazing! If you are in San Diego then it’s a must on your adventure plans .

Hotel, Review, travel, Universal

Loews Royal Pacific Resort

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Loews Royal Pacific Resort @universalorlandohotels was such a beautiful resort 🌴

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It made us feel like we were stepping into a tropical getaway. The grounds, hotel lobby and rooms were absolutely beautiful. 

We loved the layout of the room and all the special touches . We had a two queen room that said slept 5 but it really only slept 4 with a chair that no one could sleep in . So that was a bummer but thankfully they have rollaway you can add .

We also really loved the text to housekeeping. It was such a wonderful way to communicate what we needed , and it was delivered right to our room and  left outside door . We really appreciated this feature and totally think more hotels should do this. 

There were a few reason we choose to stay on property . The location of being able to walk to @unistudios and the free transportation was one of the main reasons we choose this specific hotel. We didn’t want to have to pay parking and we really didn’t want to have to drive . 

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We also knew we wanted to purchase the unlimited pass to walk onto rides. We were there for only two days and didn’t want to miss anything . The value of the passes completely makes it worth it! The passes are usually around $129 per person so it was over a $600 value for our family for free! 

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By staying on property, we also got a few other perks like early admission and several fun ways of transportation that were connected and easily accessible. We would definitely stay here again 🌴

family adventures, Review, travel, Universal

Gringotts Bank Notes

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Enter, stranger, but take heed

Of what awaits the sin of greed,

For those who take, but do not earn,

Must pay most dearly in their turn,

So if you seek beneath our floors

A treasure that was never yours,

Thief, you have been warned, beware

Of finding more than treasure there.

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Thankfully , you can get your very own Gringotts bank notes by exchanging your muggle money in increments of 10$ or 20$ at the Gringotts Bank @unistudios . You can use the bank notes throughout the parks or keep them as souvenirs .

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Did you know , The motto of Gringotts Wizarding Bank was Fortius Quo Fidelius, a Latin phrase that meant “Strength through loyalty”?

family adventures, Review, travel, Universal

Toothsome Chocolate Emporium

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The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen @universalcitywalk is such a fun experience. There are so many fun details and a bit of steampunk whimsy adds to the charm.


So many options of treats that everyone is bound to find a fav. One of my favorites was the assortment of macarons they offered. Definitely a place to spend some time taking it all in.