This image was the Babes In Disneyland “logo” in the beginning. My son Aidan will be turning 13 in April 2018. It’s still my all-time favorite photo from our Disneyland days.

My Google website started as a site with advice for new and expecting moms. (Yawn, right?) I spent time learning the backend of the site and populated the pages with content. As I was building out the site, I started a page on what to do with a baby at Disneyland. The page kept growing… and growing… and growing. I had so much to say. You see, for those of you who may be new to the blog and don’t know, I worked at Disneyland for four years as a tour guide–a job in which I was basically paid to know EVERYTHING about Disneyland. I then spent a year as a writer for the Disneyland Resort, which means I didn’t just know everything about Disneyland, but I knew how to write about it the way Disney writes about it.

After several days of writing and writing on the mommy site I had created, it dawned on me that I had way more than just a page or two worth of information. I had a website worth. I ditched my mommy site and created Babes In Disneyland–a static website that featured information on taking babies and toddlers to the Happiest Place on Earth. I literally typed and created pages while I nursed my son. I networked with other travel and Disney fan sites to get other sites to link to me. The site became my passion. And then, a letter to the Los Angeles Times travel section came out in the Sunday paper in which a reader recommended my site. (The letter has been posted on my fridge with a magnet ever since.) That was the magic moment… the moment the Disneyland Resort noticed my site. My life changed. I was encouraged to start a blog so that my information would be always changing and be current. This change from a static website to an ever-changing blog meant I was now “press.”

Babes In Disneyland became a living, breathing member of my family. I nurtured it. I dressed it up with new looks. I worked to cultivate a brand, style and identity for it, just like I would for my PR/marketing clients. It became part of my identity. Over the years, based on the original website, I produced two books (one regular and one e-book) and brought on a team of writers who share my same passion for providing Disneyland information that is both honest and well written. I couldn’t be prouder.

My youngest son Connor’s first time meeting Mickey Mouse at a Disneyland holiday media event. Such a magical moment!

In return, Babes In Disneyland provided me opportunities to share the magic of Disneyland with thousands and thousands of families. Perhaps even millions. I have received feedback from hundreds about how the site changed their outlook on taking little ones to Disneyland or gave them the tools and information they needed to plan the perfect trip. Moreover, because of the site, my family and I have had some really amazing experiences at Disneyland and Walt Disney World. I’ve been to the Dream Suite, interviewed the heads of the Walt Disney Company, experience attractions and shows before they’ve opened to the public and so much more. I’ve led a Disney dream life fueled by hard work and passion.

At a media event to preview Ariel’s Under Sea Adventures before it opened to the public.

As my kids have gotten older and my career has become more demanding, it has become harder and harder for me to keep up with the rigors of the site. Moreover, as I was working so hard doing communications for my clients, there were often times I just felt too mentally fatigued to keep up with the posting schedule I once maintained. I pretty much took off most of the first three quarters of 2017 from the site. I was working in-house for a large entertainment union and didn’t have the time to commit to Babes In Disneyland. My amazing team tried to contribute when they could, but really, it was up to me to steer the ship and I wasn’t doing a good job at it.

Around the end of last summer, I felt like something was missing in my life. I felt like I needed more. After some soul-searching, I realized one of the things I was missing was Babes In Disneyland. Even though it hadn’t gone away, I realized that I was letting myself down by not keeping up this wonderful blog/website that I had put some much of myself into for so many years. I was the first “mommy blogger” to focus solely on Disney, and I’ve always been very proud of that. I’ve also always been proud of our incredibly high standards when it came to our writing and reporting, and hated that our voice wasn’t being heard at a level in which it had previously.

Last October, I left my in-house job in order to refocus on my family, my freelance marketing and PR career and… Babes In Disneyland. We’ve been publishing a little more regularly and I feel like I’m back to my old self… just older and with way more wrinkles since I started that Google site ten years ago.

Throughout 2018, my team and I will be celebrating 10 years of Babes In Disneyland with special video throwbacks, remembrances and articles. We’ll also be forging ahead with great new series, like our weekly Pregnant in Disneyland series, fun shirts and other merchandise for Disney-loving families and maybe even a new edition of the book! Plus, contributor Vy Spear is welcoming her own babe, which means we’ll be returning to a lot more “baby talk” this year!

To all of you whose children have grown up with mine throughout the years, thank you from the bottom of my heart for joining me on the Disneyland journey. It’s been the ride of my life and I have felt so blessed to have watched your families change and grow throughout the years via social media and in real life. It’s been such a wonderful honor.

To the friends I’ve made–my fellow Disney bloggers and my incredible team–you have changed my life for the better in ways. I am a lucky girl.

For those of you who are new to the Babes In Disneyland family, we welcome you with open arms and pixie dust. You’ve found your people in us and we cannot wait to see what the next ten years has in store.