June 2014 - Over The Top Mommy

Month: June 2014

The Fairmont Scottsdale Princess: A Review of the Arizona Resort by Over the Top Kid

June 29, 2014 / Arizona, Disney, Over the Top Kid, Social Media Conferences, Travel

This is a guest post by Over the Top Kid! (aka Emily, age 9)

I love summer! I love not having homework, I love getting to sleep in later, and I LOVE getting to go on little vacations! Last week I got to go to Arizona with my mom. She was going for The Disney Social Media Moms on the Road conference and I got to travel with her. When my mom told me she made our reservations at The Fairmont Scottsdale Princess , I looked online to see what kind of things they had for kids like me to do. That’s when I got even more excited about the trip! Wow, it looked cool! After staying there for 2 nights and 3 days I was not ready to go back home. Let me tell you about just a few of the things I liked most about this hotel and my stay there.

1. It’s actually on Princess Drive I thought it was really cool that the resort was located on Princess Drive! Obviously that’s why it’s called the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess, right? My mom and I LOVE princesses, especially Disney princesses!

2. A cowboy helps you with your luggage

When my mom pulled up in the valet area, a cowboy came up to the car to help us! He was wearing a cowboy hat and real cowboy boots and was super polite. He unloaded all of our things onto the bell cart. We had kind of a lot of stuff and he didn’t even laugh at us!

3. They have golf carts to take you everywhere After my mom checked in and got our room (which was actually a casita), we got to take a golf cart to our room! It wasn’t just a regular golf cart, it was a super long one with a ton of seats. Our driver told us that we could call any time that we needed a ride someplace at the resort. I think I drove my mom nuts when I kept asking her if we could take lots of extra golf cart rides!

4. You can order s’mores in a cup One of the many restaurants at the Fairmont Scottsdale is called The Ironwood American Kitchen. I think my mom would want me to write about how great the food was there, but I honestly can’t stop thinking about the s’mores in a cup that I got there! I really want to go back and have another one. This restaurant is really yummy though. They also have cool things for kids to play with while they’re waiting and not just a kids menu.

5. Our casita was awesome! When we first went into our casita I was so excited! It had 2 beds, a living room, a desk and a TV, all in one room! There was also a fireplace inside and a patio outside the door. In the bathroom there were 2 sinks, a giant tub, a shower and a cool walk-in closet! I always like to organize my things in a hotel closet, as soon as I get there. There were also robes for both of us and some great bath products that I took home for souvenirs. I told my mom that I could live in the casita forever. It was so nice. Also, there was a Keurig in the room and I got to make my own hot chocolate since my mom brought some hot chocolate K-cups with us.

6. *****Sonoran Splash *******my favorite thing about the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess This was the BEST part of the resort for kids! Sonoran Splash has 2 different waterslides that you can go down. You have to climb up the stairs and pick what side you want to go down. They move you pretty fast and it dumps you into a pool at the bottom! It seemed like I rode each of them about 100 times. I even got my mom to go with me a ton of times. I think this was definitely my favorite part of the whole trip! The Fairmont Princess Scottsdale has a lot more activities for kids to do, we just didn’t get a chance to do them. I saw a kids club online, called the Trailblazers Club, that looked really fun. On the weekends they have zip lining, fishing, fireworks and even Dive In movies that you can watch while you’re in the pool. I am begging my mom to take me back really soon so I can do all of the other things that I didn’t get a chance to do. If you were wondering if YOU should take YOUR kid(s) to the Fairmont Princess in Scottsdale, I’d say “YES you should!” Follow the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess on Facebook here, on Twitter here, and on Instagram here.

Let’s Talk About Pool Safety 101

June 26, 2014 / Uncategorized

With school out and the summer break in full swing, families everywhere are often looking for a fun place to spend the day cooling down from the summer heat. With pool safety being a top priority for parents, it’s important to visit a facility that’s trusted in the community and is equally committed to keeping your children’s safety a top priority.

Here are some quick pool safety tips brought to you by Renaissance Club Sport Aliso Viejo:

· Implement a ‘safety break’– Kids can play in the pool for hours on end, which can cause them to become very fatigued. For this reason, experts recommend giving any children under 12 years of age a 10-minute break every hour on the hour. These breaks are a perfect opportunity for children to use the restroom, reapply sunscreen, hydrate, fuel up, and recollect their strength in preparation for re-entry into the pool.

· Invest in swim lessons – According to the CDC, children ages 1 to 4 have the highest drowning rates. If your child could use a bit of instruction in the water, the summer is the perfect time to have a professional train them to become accomplished, technically-sound swimmers. By making this investment, it will give your child the tools needed to be a strong swimmer and allow parents an extra piece of mind while at the pool.

· Make a day at the pool fun – By creating engaging activities for kids to participate in while they’re in the pool, it makes swimming a fun and rewarding experience. Various activities like diving and racing allow children to build on their skills, which ultimately creates a safer experience for everyone involved.

Whether you’re looking to enroll your child in a swim class, enjoy a relaxing day poolside, or just to socialize, the pool season has a bit of everything you are looking for this summer. It is important to find a facility that is committed to the safety and enjoyment of all of its patrons and offers all of these amenities and more. Feel free to swing by and enjoy the summer sun with us at Renaissance Club Sport Aliso Viejo! To find out more about aquatics and swimming programs offered by Renaissance Club Sport, click here.

Be safe and remember to live life to discover!

YOU Can “Unlock the Magic” at The Disney Store!

June 15, 2014 / Disney, Travel

Did you know….there is a special, kind of (almost) secret thing that occurs each day at each Disney Store location. Have you heard of “opening The Disney Store” before? It’s a real thing!The first guest at The Disney Store in the morning gets the honor of “unlocking the Magic” as soon as the doors open! If you peek through the windows before they open, you can see that there is something set up at the entryway. It looks like a giant keyhole and has theater-style ropes that are attached to each side of it. It’s almost similar to the ropes the Cast Members use each morning for rope drop in some of the Disney Parks. Most people actually don’t know about this special event. My daughter and and I were in line at our mall one morning, about 50 minutes prior to the Disney Store’s opening time. When we arrived, there was no one else around. We sat down in front of the store to stake out our spot. Eventually, a few other people arrived at the storefront and sat behind us. When there were about 8 of us in line, a conversation began and one of the girls asked the other people what they were here to buy? She let us all know she was in search of Frozen dolls. Another lady from the UK was actually there to buy a Buzz Lightyear. When it was our turn to share WHAT we were there for, we told the others that we weren’t here in search of any specific item but, rather, to “open The Disney Store”. Not one of the other people even knew what we were talking about! At first they looked at us like we were a little crazy but then we explained how it all works.It was exciting to share about it with the others and I almost felt bad that we were first in line and they all weren’t, now that they knew. It’s OK though, they can come back and have their turn any other day. This was my daughter’s day to do it! I’m pretty sure my daughter asked me about every other minute to check the time, as we counted down the time until 11:00 a.m.. When it was finally 11, the doors opened and everyone who had been standing with us seemed anxious to see.

My daughter had the hugest smile on her face as Cast Member “Adam” asked WHO was the first guest in line that day? Emi proudly raised her hand and the Cast Member then explained to her that SHE would be “unlocking the Magic” of the store that day! The ecstatic expression on her face was priceless!

Here’s a little video where he explains what’s going to happen.

At this point, all of the kids were very excited and waiting in anticipation for Cast Member Brittany to bring the giant key!

After the key unlocks the Magic, then the fireworks on the ceiling of the store begin a little show, and finally the ropes are dropped and the store is open for business! One of the other cool parts about being “the one”, is that you also receive your very own key to The Disney Store! The Cast Member presents you with your own keepsake, which is something that I know my daughter will treasure for a lifetime!

Did you know about this magical happening before? Have you ever “unlocked the Magic” at a Disney Store? Share with me in the comments! I’d love to hear about it!

The Box Trolls: A New Film from the Makers of Coraline

June 14, 2014 / Entertainment, Holiday Fun, Movies

I don’t know who gets more excited for the release of new family films, me or my daughter? I LOVE to watch kid-friendly movies with Emily, especially because the filmmakers always seem to include so many clever details to capture adults’ interest too. Now the the makers of Coraline and ParaNorman are coming out with another film, The Box Trolls!

How adorable are they? I already know my favorite one is the one with the shoe!

Here’s a synopsis of the film:

A family event movie from the creators of “Coraline” and “ParaNorman” that introduces audiences to a new breed of family – The Boxtrolls, a community of quirky, mischievous creatures who have lovingly raised an orphaned human boy named Eggs (voiced by Isaac Hempstead-Wright) in the amazing cavernous home they’ve built beneath the streets of Cheesebridge. When the town’s villain, Archibald Snatcher (Academy Award winner Ben Kingsley), comes up with a plot to get rid of the Boxtrolls, Eggs decides to venture above ground, “into the light,” where he meets and teams up with fabulously feisty Winnie (Elle Fanning). Together, they devise a daring plan to save Eggs’ family.

In honor of día del Padre, here’s an adorable printable you can print out to use for a special father!

I don’t think I can wait until 9/26/14 for The Box Trolls to come into theaters!

It’s going to be such a fun film, don’t you think?

Check out their official site: http://www.theboxtrolls.com/

Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theboxtrolls

Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheBoxtrolls

Farrell’s 5th Annual Charity Ice Cream Eating Challenge!

June 4, 2014 / Entertainment, Food, Let's Eat!

Farrell’s 5th Annual Splendiferously Superific Summer Spectacular Ice Cream Eating Challenge is almost here…and it’s going to be as ridiculous as ever! Did you know that 100% of the net proceeds from this event benefit CHOC Children’s and Make-A-Wish? How awesome is that? Do you see why I LOVE Farrell’s?
Beginning Friday June 20 through Sunday July 13, Farrell’s will be looking to qualify the fastest ice cream eaters to compete, head-to-head, at their Championship event, which will take place on Sunday July 20 in Downtown Brea. From June 20 through July 13, anyone with an appetite for fun and ice cream can walk into any of the seven California Farrell’s locations during normal business hours and to try and qualify! In order to qualify as one of the fastest, and be placed into one of the categories, guests must eat a “qualifying sundae”. Categories will include Men’s, Women’s, Kid’s, Big and Small (one adult and one child), 4-Person Teams and Professionals. Amateur guests can qualify by eating a 3-scoop ice cream sundae as fast as they can. Professionals may qualify by eating a 6-scoop sundae called the Pig’s Trough.

Professionals can qualify by eating one of these 6-scoop sundaes called the Pig Trough!
(Photo: courtesy of Farrell’s)

All sundaes include chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry ice cream, hot fudge, pineapple and strawberry toppings and are then covered with Farrell’s freshly made whipped cream. The cost for amateurs to attempt to qualify is $20, for all categories, and $40 for professionals. Each entrant will receive a limited edition event t-shirt, a $5 coupon for a future visit to Farrell’s and the qualifying sundae. Remember: 100% of the net proceeds from this event benefit CHOC Children’s and Make-A-Wish!
Farrell’s will invite the top qualifiers to their Championship event in Brea on July 20! Farrell’s will actually close down Birch Street in Downtown Brea, in front of their Farrell’s location. The Championship event is an all day family festival and will take place from 11am until 5pm. There will be lots of rides (courtesy of Carnival Services), games, prizes, raffles, food, booths, music, and more!

How fun does last year’s event look, especially when you’ve got Max rockin’ the mic!
(Photo: courtesy of Farrell’s)

This guy looks like he’s still hungry!
(Photo: Courtesy of Farrell’s)

She’s powering through it!
(Photo: courtesy of Farrell’s)

At the Championship event, the Men, Women, Kids, and Big and Small categories all compete to be the first to finish a Farrell’s famous Pig’s Trough that has 6-scoops of ice cream and all the toppings. The 4-person team and each individual professional are going to attempt to finish a Farrell’s Famous Zoo sundae, which is 30 scoops of ice cream with all the toppings.

If you enter in the Big and Small category, you can use teamwork to win it all!
(Photo: courtesy of Farrell’s!)

Yikes!
(Photo: courtesy of Farrell’s)

Winners from each category will win a trophy and a year of free Farrell’s ice cream. 1st place in the Professional category also wins $300, 2nd place wins $200 and 3rd place walks away with $100.

One of last year’s winners!
(Photo: Courtesy of Farrell’s!)

Farrell’s also has an option for those that just don’t have the stomach to pound ice cream as fast as they can, but still want to participate in all the qualifying fun. During the qualifying period, June 20 to July 13, guests can get the event shirt, the ice cream “qualifying sundae’ to eat, along with a $5 coupon, all for the same $20, but they just won’t be timed. All YOU need to do is let your Farrell’s server know. Qualifying Farrell’s locations include Brea, Buena Park, Mission Viejo, Rancho Cucamonga, Riverside, Sacramento, and Santa Clarita. Complete details and rules can be found at Farrell’s website, FarrellsUSA.com/Challenge.

So who wants to win a year of free ice cream?

I think Emi and I are going to attempt to qualify for a category!

Don’t worry..I’ll post pictures, when we do attempt it!

The Day We Met Olaf (Josh Gad) at Disney’s 24-hour event

June 1, 2014 / Disney

I must admit that I was a little hesitant about attempting the Rock Your Disney Side 24-hour event at The Disneyland Resort with Emi. I have an immense love for Disney, I just wasn’t sure how it would be with a 9 year old by my side. We did some pre-planning for the day and even organized a little bit, thinking it might help make our experience a little easier. (to see that post, click here.)
I originally planned on arriving at The Disneyland Resort around 5 a.m. but waking up Emily was a little more difficult than I anticipated. We still made it by 6:30 a.m., which actually turned out a little bit better for us, because those initial crowds were already inside of the parks. We parked in the Mickey & Friends parking structure and that’s where the Magic started for the day! Emi had a HUGE smile on her face after the CM gave her these.

Disney even offered carpooling perks for guests carpooling to the event!

Here we are going down the escalator to the tram…at 6 a.m.!

The parking structure didn’t seem very crowded nor were the trams. After exiting the tram and going through the security bag check, we spotted the media area in the Esplanade with sand sculptures in it. As we walked towards the giant Olaf sand sculpture, we were both in awe of its beauty. Clearly we had no idea there was an even better surprise over there!

After walking around the media area to see if any of our friends might still be over there, I recognized the amazing Lisa Robertson of Babes in Disneyland and saw that she was taking a picture with someone, right in front of the Olaf sand sculpture. That’s when Emi tugged at my shirt and (practically) shouted, “Mommy LOOK…it’s Olaf!!!” Lisa was actually taking a picture with Josh Gad, I guess I just didn’t realize at first! I try not to fangirl but THIS WAS OLAF! Emi and I walk around on a daily basis talking like him, quoting him, doing his snowman dance…we LOVE Olaf! When we saw Josh had walked over to the other side to take a few fan pictures and sign some autographs, we walked (very quickly) over there too. He was so kind and genuine with the fans, taking time with each one. He chatted with them, signed autographs, took pictures with them, and even recited a line from the movie for one girl, as she recorded it. It melted my heart when my daughter backed up to make more space for a guy in a wheelchair, so he too, could have access to Josh. It melted my heart more when Josh approached him and the guy’s face light up as they took a picture together. I then overheard a high school kid next to me say, “Oh my gosh, this JUST made my entire graduation trip here SO MUCH BETTER!”

At this point I was already overjoyed about our day and it was only 6:45 a.m.!

We chose to start our day in the parks inside Disneyland. I loved walking in and seeing Alice and Mad Hatter dancing in the entryway with some children to the music of The Disneyland Band. I loved being inside Disneyland this early in the morning because there were still lights on that you’d normally only see at night and it just feels like you’re getting a view of Disneyland that you normally would never get during a regular visit. I loved seeing all of the guests in costumes. I already loved the ambiance. I think I loved a lot of things that day!

As Emi and I walked down Main Street, U.S.A., we just kept running into social media friends. First we saw our friend Caryn from Rockin’ Mama and we got to meet Heather from It’s a Lovely Life and Nicole from Presley’s Pantry too. Next we spotted Pattie from Living Mi Vida Loca, who was channeling her inner Snow White. Then we got to sit for a little while on the patio of The Jolly Holiday and have coffee with Liz from Family is Familia!

We LOVED our Maleficent buttons that they gave us at the Main Gate!

A little later it was time for some fun in Fantasyland. Surprisingly, the lines weren’t very long. Emi and I have several mandatory things we must do in Fantasyland each time we visit Disneyland. Some of them include a ride on King Arthur’s Carousel (specifically on Jingles), a ride in the caboose of Casey Jr. Circus Train, and a spin in the blue tea cup over at Mad Tea Party.

Jingles is so beautiful!

From Fantasyland we strolled over to Big Thunder Ranch to visit the animals. We have a special bond with the goats and sheep over there, and taking pics and selfies with them has just become something necessary for us on each visit. We’re even starting to know each one by name. (you can learn their names from the tags on their collars). I’m convinced that the Disney goats have actually learned how to pose for a properly for photo. What do you think?

We were fortunate enough to run into the ladies behind Disneyfluentials while we were there and got one of their cool buttons!

We also got to watch an interview they did with one of the goats.

You HAVE TO check out that hilarious interview below!

I love how festive Mickey is in his Spring suit!

All of the socializing really made us work up an appetite, so we cruised over to Stage Door Cafe next. We were on a mission to try the Red Velvet Funnel cake, which was offered exclusively for the Disney 24 event! After one bite, it was like…..WOW!!! We were fighting over who was getting bigger bites and who was eating more of the cream cheese frosting! Sometimes it’s just hard to share!

We headed over to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad next but the line was a little longer than we were prepared to wait, so we just grabbed a fast pass for each of us. This is when we ran into The Disney Sisters! I’m telling you, it was a super social media day and, although we had never gotten to meet in person, it was fun to chit chat with them for a little while!

I feel like we did so much walking, talking, eating and tweeting all day long until we found ourselves in the early evening. Emi and I were both exhausted but neither of us was willing to admit it to the other one. We decided to take a walk into Downtown Disney for a little while to break up our day and re-energize with a Frozen Strawberry Lemonade and some Cinnamon Bits at Wetzel’s Pretzels. As soon as we both sat down, outside of Wetzel’s Pretzels, I think I knew what was going to follow. We were both exhausted and I don’t think either of us had any energy to walk back to the parks. I felt like we accomplished a lot in the 13 hours that we did rally that day! Honestly, it was one of the BEST days we’ve had at The Disneyland Resort! We saw so many of our friends and got to do so much and let’s not forget, WE MET JOSH GAD!!!! I think THAT one is going to be hard to top!

Are you ready for my grand finale shot? Here ya go……….

Should YOU attend the next 24-hour event that Disney has? TOTALLY!