This is a guest post by Over the Top Kid! ( Emily, age 9)
A few days ago, I had the chance to take a quick trip with my family down to San Diego. It’s a short drive and I was excited to stay at The Hyatt Regency Mission Bay because it’s right on the water.
When we were checking in, I relaxed by the lobby fireplace with some of my stuffed animal friends. In the lobby there was a coloring table and right next to it is where I picked up one of the Scavenger Hunt pages that they have for kids to do during their stay. If you answer all of the questions, you can win a prize!
On our first day there, it was too late to go on the waterslides but we did go and look at the pool. There were 3 different pools all in the same area and one had a small waterside, while another one had 2 big waterslides. I couldn’t wait to go on them the next day!
Next to the pool area there’s a restaurant called “Swim” and they sell S’mores Kits there that you can roast at one of the hotel’s 3 fire pits. (hint: That’s actually one of the answers to one of the Scavenger hunt questions)
Each kit comes with a bunch of marshmallows, 2 big Hershey’s chocolate bars, a bunch of packs of Honeymaid graham crackers and 4 wooden dowels that you roast your marshmallows on.
It was so fun to make the s’mores by the fire with my parents. We also got to watch the Sea World fireworks when we were out there because Sea World is really close by.
The next day, I think we were at the pool all day long. It’s kind of cool that they give the kids a refillable purple cup to use. I got to have as much lemonade as I wanted. The smaller waterslide was fun because you could ride it with 2 people. I liked the bigger waterslides the best though. It was fun to make my mom go on them too!
At 3:00 there were races by the pool for all of the kids. They actually have different activities for kids by the pool each day, even on the weekends!
I had a fun time staying at The Hyatt Regency Mission Bay! I hope I get to back there sometime soon!
Follow the Hyatt Regency Mission Bay on Facebook , Twitter, and Instagram.
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.
The Cast Member presents you with your own keepsake, which is something that I know my daughter will treasure for a lifetime!
