Great Wolf Lodge - How much does a night really cost?

I'd been participating in a couple of recent Facebook threads about budget and kid friendly Staycation ideas near the Seattle area.  Since I just posted the new Suncadia Spring Fling deal and recently wrote about our Staycation in downtown Seattle, I thought I would dig up my receipt records from our 1 night stay at the Great Wolf Lodge.  Every so often I see Groupon or Living Social deals for Great Wolf Lodge.  These deals are often advertised as low as $159 a night.  But when you add in the taxes, fees and extra costs for meals and activities, how much is a single night at Great Wolf Lodge really going to run?  Keep in mind that since we're a family of 5 our costs tend to be a big higher due to most rooms having a max of 4.

When I made the original booking online, I reserved the Family Suite which consisted of 2 queen beds and a pull out sofa for our family of 5.  I forgot to change the drop down menus for occupants so the room was reserved for 2 adults only.  Since I wanted to make sure that everybody received a wrist band for water park access when we checked in, I called in to make the change in number of occupants.  What I didn't realize is that the room rates are quoted for 4 occupants - even if you are in a room that is clearly meant to hold a max of 6 or 8 people.  For each person over 4, you are changed an extra fee of $40.  :(  I would hate for this un-advertised fee to kill someone's budget so be prepared that you'll need to pay extra if you've got more than 4 in your room.

The other thing I did, perhaps unwisely in hindsight, is bite on the bait when they lured me with the thought of possibly getting a room upgrade for a small fee.  They will lay out for you the different room types that might be available and how much more it would cost.  It's totally up to you to say yes or no (check box form all done through their online reservation system) for each room type and the associated cost.  The thing you don't know is which room type out of the ones you aimed for that you'll be getting until you're at check in.  These upgrade fees are a lot less than it would cost you outright to book that higher room class.  This is good and bad in that you may or may not end up being completely satisfied about your upgrade and the fee.

When we arrived for our check in, we discovered that we had gotten one of our possible requested room upgrades of the Grand Bear Suite.  The new suite consisted of a separate bedroom with a king size bed and 3/4 bath, with a main outer room of two queen beds and a sofa bed.  The 2nd bathroom was a very nice addition to have with 5 people in the room though in hindsight, we would have been perfectly fine in our original Family Suite room.  The cost for the room upgrade was a not-small amount of $45.00.

Great Wolf Lodge is rather isolated and there's not a lot of choices for outside eating establishments.  McDonalds is a short drive away and a bit farther drive away are a few restaurants.  We did try one of those for a late lunch after leaving the waterpark on check out day.

One suggestion that I've see on discussions of how to save money on a Great Wolf Lodge trip, is to plan ahead and bring your own food.  An easy and more obvious tip is to bring breakfast and snack food - fresh fruit, bread, jam, peanut butter, juice boxes, snack bars, applesauce cups, etc.  A little more complicated, but novel, ideas involve packing some of your fridge foods in a cooler and bringing a crock pot or other plug in electrical cooking devices.  ;)  I like to feel that I'm on vacation from cooking so I haven't gone the route of bringing a crock pot or planned to cook actual meals in my room but I know some people have and do and I say "More power and savings to you!"

(We ended up making a late night McDonalds and Convenience store run and I didn't save my receipts from that but I estimate we probably spent an extra $10 that's not included in the amounts below.)

Great Wolf Lodge
1 night
Sunday 1/27/13
5 guests

$167.99 - Base room rate, Family Suite
$  40.00 - Fee for 5th guest in room
$  45.00 - Upgrade fee to Grand Bear Suite
$  14.99 - Resort Fee
$  26.80 - Room Tax
$  67.90 - Lunch at Tutta Bella (on the drive down to GWL)
$  84.00 - Dinner at Camp Critter (casual restaurant inside GWL)
$  24.00 - Mini golf  $6 X 4 = $24
$  50.00 - Virtual Arcade token card
$  59.01 - Breakfast buffet X 5
$    9.00 - Locker rental fee
$  55.22 - Lunch at Country Cousins (down the road from GWL in Centralia)
======================
$643.91 - Total spent on our 1 night Staycation at Great Wolf Lodge

Major Rumor Alert! - Disneyland and Disneyworld tickets set to increase 2/22/15

Various Disney fan sites have been reporting the rumor that Disneyland and Disney World ticket prices are going to be increasing "soon".  My favorite comprehensive aggregate website for Disneyland and Disney World deals, Mousesavers.net, is reporting that soon is actually going to be this Sunday, 2/22/15 - less than 2 days away!

If you've been thinking about taking a visit to see the Mouse in the near-ish future, now may be the right time to invest in your tickets! 

Disneyland Tickets

Tickets purchased for Disneyland won't expire until December 31, 2015.  As long as you use your 1st day by Dec 31st, you can use the rest of the days on your ticket into January 2016 as long as you use them by January 13th, 2016 or the equivalent of 14 days after first day of use.

I had previously blogged about a "buy a 4 day ticket to Disneyland and get the 5th day free" deal from Get Away Today travel.  I ignored the expiration text on the website and checked the link and this deal is still going on!  I have purchased and used tickets from Get Away Today in the past and they are a reputable and authorized Disney ticket seller.

Get Away Today Disneyland Ticket Deal

Here's a comparison of how much this saves pet ticket:

5 Day Hopper ticket

Disneyland.com Pricing
Adult (ages 10+) - $305.00
Child (ages 3-9)  - $289.00

Get Away Today Pricing
Adult (ages 10+) - $288.00 (Savings of $17.00)
Child (ages 3-9)  - $273.00 (Savings of $16.00)

The other reputable Disneyland Ticket seller that have used in the past is aRes Travel.  They also have a couple of 1 day free ticket deals including the above "buy 4 days get the 5th day free" and also a "buy 3 days get the 4th day free" deal.  Ordinarily I would list the pricing of their ticket deals here in my blog but I have to rush off and get my kids showered and off to bed.  But I know this is a time sensitive matter so I want to make sure I get the info and web links out there!  ARes also has pre-purchase character dining certificates which can save you a little bit over the "pay at the restaurant" price.  These dining certificates include the cost of tax and tip.

aRes Travel Disneyland Ticket Deals


Disney World Tickets

Tickets purchased for Disney World do not have an expiration date as to when you must use your first day by.  You can hold onto these indefinitely and use them at any future date.  There are two different options regarding use of Disney World tickets.  For normal tickets, they are similar to Disneyland's policy that once used, the remainder of the admission days must be used within 14 days.  There is also the "No Expiration" option.  These No Expiration tickets have a price premium but these can be used at any time - there is no time frame within which you have to "use or lose" the rest of your days.  You can purchase a 10 day No Expiration ticket and split the days up between two or three different trips - even if those trips are years apart.  Just be sure to keep those tickets in a safe place and don't forget to bring them with you!

Undercover Tourist is a reputable authorized Disney ticket reseller for Disney World tickets.  They offer a variety of ticket deals, some with 1 extra day free as well!  There are a lot more options for Disney World tickets so it can become overwhelming.  Again, I apologize that I don't have the time tonight to get the prices up on my own blog.  :(

Undercover Tourist Disney World Ticket Deals
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Suncadia - Spring Fling Deals: April 1 - May 31, 2015

Suncadia is offering special rates and a $50 resort credit during the dates of April 1 - May 31 this spring!  This special is only offered on Sunday through Thursday nights during this time period.  I ran a sample date of Sunday April 12 (during my kids' spring break from school) and these are the options that popped up.  I'm including all of the extra taxes and fees as well so you can see how much extra that these inflate your final  price.  Use promo code spfling when booking.

Suncadia Resort
Sunday April 12
1 Night
4 guests
$50 Resort Credit

Lodge, 2 queen beds, resort view - 450 sq ft
$159.00 - Base Room Rate
$  15.90 - Taxes
$  27.00 - Resort Fee
======================
$201.90 - Total Room Cost

Lodge, 2 queen beds, river view - 450 sq ft
$189.00 - Base Room Rate
$  18.90 - Taxes
$  27.00 - Resort Fee
======================
$234.90 - Total Room Cost

Lodge Studio, 1 king bed, 1 sofa bed, resort view, kitchenette (no fireplace) - 450 sq ft
$189.00 - Base Room Rate
$  18.90 - Taxes
$  27.00 - Resort Fee
======================
$234.90 - Total Room Cost

Lodge Studio, 1 king bed, 1 sofa bed, resort view, kitchenette (w/ fireplace) - 450 sq ft
$209.00 - Base Room Rate
$  20.90 - Taxes
$  27.00 - Resort Fee
======================
$256.90 - Total Room Cost

Lodge Studio, 1 king bed, 1 sofa bed, river view, kitchenette (w/ fireplace) - 450 sq ft
$219.00 - Base Room Rate
$  21.90 - Taxes
$  27.00 - Resort Fee
======================
$267.90 - Total Room Cost

Lodge Studio Penthouse, 1 king bed, 1 sofa bed, resort view, kitchen (w/ fireplace & mini balcony) - 795 sq ft
$239.00 - Base Room Rate
$  23.90 - Taxes
$  27.00 - Resort Fee
======================
$289.90 - Total Room Cost

Lodge 1 King Bedroom, 1 Q sofa bed, resort view, kitchen & dining rooms (w/ fireplace & balcony) - 870 sq ft
$259.00 - Base Room Rate
$  25.90 - Taxes
$  27.00 - Resort Fee
======================
$311.90 - Total Room Cost

Lodge 1 King Bedroom, 1 Q sofa bed, river view, kitchen & dining rooms (w/ fireplace & balcony) - 870 sq ft
$279.00 - Base Room Rate
$  27.90 - Taxes
$  27.00 - Resort Fee
======================
$333.90 - Total Room Cost

Lodge 1 King Bedroom Penthouse, 1 Q sofa bed, resort view, kitchen & dining rooms (w/ fireplace & mini balcony) - 1040 sq ft
$309.00 - Base Room Rate
$  30.90 - Taxes
$  27.00 - Resort Fee
======================
$366.90 - Total Room Cost

Lodge 1 King Bedroom Penthouse, 1 Q sofa bed, river view, kitchen & dining rooms (w/ fireplace & mini balcony) - 1040 sq ft
$329.00 - Base Room Rate
$  32.90 - Taxes
$  27.00 - Resort Fee
======================
$388.90 - Total Room Cost

Lodge 2 King Bedrooms Penthouse, 1 Q sofa bed, resort view, kitchen & dining rooms (w/ fireplace & mini balcony) - 1415 sq ft (can accommodate up to 6)
$409.00 - Base Room Rate
$  40.90 - Taxes
$  27.00 - Resort Fee
======================
$476.90 - Total Room Cost

Lodge 2 King Bedrooms Penthouse, 1 Q sofa bed, river view, kitchen & dining rooms (w/ fireplace & mini balcony) - 1415 sq ft (can accommodate up to 6)
$429.00 - Base Room Rate
$  42.90 - Taxes
$  27.00 - Resort Fee
======================
$498.90 - Total Room Cost

Staycation Downtown Seattle Part 1 - Overview

Since we had to cancel our 2 night cabin trip to Snoqualmie, we decided to do a single night staycation in Downtown Seattle instead.  It was a pretty last minute scramble to change our plans and decide on a new course of action.  Here's an overview of what we did:

We checked in to our room at the Hyatt Place hotel a bit early.  Luckily it was ready for us.  I've detailed our Hyatt Place experience here in a different post.

Hotel: Hyatt Place by the Seattle Center
Proximity: 4 blocks to the Space Needle

Address: 110 6th Ave N

Seattle, WA 98109

Rooms: Larger rooms that accommodate six people, 2 queens + pull out double sofa bed

Amenities: Indoor pool, free breakfast, free WiFi, free hotel shuttle

Parking: $22.00 per night added to your room bill

 

After checking into our hotel, we walked over to the Seattle Center and strolled the grounds for about half an hour.  The kids always like to go to the big fountain when we come here!  It was a sunny day in the mid-50s but with a chilly breeze and the kids got a little wet.  Oops!

 

Not a cloud in this beautiful cobalt blue sky!

 

 

From the Seattle Center, we rode on the monorail to Westlake shopping center.  We bought round trip tickets which were $4.50 per adult and $2.00 per child for a total cost of $15.  Waiting five minutes for the monorail took longer than the 2 minute ride but it was fun and the kids enjoyed the street view from up above.  Once at Westlake we noticed there was a Daiso store (Japanese $1.50 shop) and we stopped in to buy a couple of packs of Japanses gum and a mango Calpico yogurt drink. :)

 

From Westlake shopping center, we walked a few blocks to Gameworks.  This was going to be our first time at Gameworks and I had checked out their website online ahead of time.  Gameworks has about 25% ticket prize games and 75% other arcade style games. 

 

Their entire system is based on pre-paid magnetic stripe cards of which they have two types - one that has a paid dollar value and one that is for a block of time.  If you want to play ticket award games, you must purchase a paid dollar value card.  You can use this card at all of the machines.  The cards that allow you to play any games for a one, two or three hour block of time are limited to the arcade games only.  If you have a younger child whose interest will mostly lay on the ticket award games, I would make sure to purchase a dollar value card.  There are different amounts you can pre-load onto the card and the higher up you go, the greater the bonus amount is added onto it.  One thing to note is that they will also charge you a $2 "activation fee" for the initial purchase and use of a paid dollar value card.

Since we knew we were going to be there on a Sunday, I decided that we would go for the Sunday Family Deal which was a large 1 topping pizza and four one hour game cards for $39.99.  The pizza was ok - we've definitely had better but it was not awful.  It took about 15 minutes to arrive, though luckily it was just an afternoon snack for us to share and not a meal.  Our server very helpfully clued us in to our 1 hour cards worked.  Once swiped into a machine, they would become activated and start counting down the one hour.  If we did not swipe the card, we could save the one hour of play time for a future visit.  We decided we would make do with sharing 2 cards and save 2 cards for later. 

 

One thing to note, is that you can not swipe the cards continuously through machines.  There is a wait time of about 5 minutes between swipes.  This is to prevent overuse but also it gets in the way of some shooting games where you use up your lives very quickly.  If you die before 5 minutes is up, you can't swipe your card again to continue.  Because of the 5 minute timer between swipes, you aren't really getting an unlimited number of games - it's more likely that you'll get 10-12 games out of each card due to timing.

 

After we finished our game time at Gameworks, it was time to take the monorail back to our hotel for some swimming time!  We swam for about an hour and us girls went back up to the room ahead of the boys so we could take a bath in the tub. 

 

It was about 7:30 by the time we were ready to head out for dinner.  We checked Yelp for diner ideas.  Some restaurants close early and some are closed entirely on Sundays.  From our hotel, we walked 1/4 of a mile to a Thai restaurant called Ti22.  It was mostly empty and was very narrow following the length of a bar top.  Most of the tables were small and seated two.  We decided it didn't quite feel right for our family and walked another 1/4 mile to Kushibar where my husband and I have been once before.

 

Kushibar serves fantastic Japanese street-foods!  We ordered yakitori sticks (teriyaki chicken in a skewer), takoyaki (fried doughballs with chopped bits of octopus), yakisoba, tonkotsu ramen and a donburi bowl.  Everything was good though the takoyaki was not a hit with my seafood loving son like I thought it would be.  I think the yakisoba was the best dish of the night!  The noodles were just the right amount of chew, seasoned well and a good mix of veggies and pork.  Our bill total came out to a reasonable $82.00 before tip and included a house sake and lychee lemonade cocktail for $9.00 each.

 

After dinner we walked about half a mile back to our hotel.  It was getting pretty chilly by then.  Before heading back up to our room, we stopped at the front counter to pick up a chocolate chip cookie, chocolate peanut butter cup cookie and a chocolate chip brownie.  Cookies with tax were $10.95 and warmed up for our eating enjoyment.  :)

 

We spent an uneventful evening in our room and I set the alarm for 9am so we could wake up in time for the free breakfast offered downstairs.  On our way to breakfast, I stopped at the front counter to ask about getting complimentary late check out which was granted for 1pm instead of the usual 11am.  After the kids and I were done eating downstairs, we brought a plate of food and to-go cup of coffee upstairs for dad who got some extra quiet time to sleep in.

 

It was about 10:45am by the time we were ready to head out again.  It's a good thing we got an extension on our check out time!  I had forgotten all about the free shuttle service but saw the van sitting outside and we caught a ride back down to Gameworks!  We arrived just at 11:00 when they opened for business and the place was practically empty.  Since we still had our two remaining 1 hour game cards in hand, we were able to skip the front counter and head straight to the games that we didn't get a chance to try in the crowds the day before.  The kids had a blast again!  The Sunday Family meal was definitely worth what we paid!

 

After our one hour game time was up, we walked back to the Hyatt and enjoyed the sunshine and cool breeze.  It took us about 20 minutes to walk the half mile distance.  There was a little mix up when we got back to the hotel as our room cards no longer allowed us access up to the 2nd floor to access our room.  I needed to stop at the front counter to get that fixed so we could regroup up in our room and pack up our final odds and ends.

 

After checking out, we drove over to our favorite Tutta Bella location on Stone Way for delicious pizza and gelato!  We've eaten at the Tutta Bella location at Crossroads Mall in Bellevue which is much closer to where we live but their pizza somehow just isn't as good.  Most lunch specials are $9 and you're able to add on a side salad for an additional $4.  We ordered a veggie calzone and four 9" lunch pizzas.  They took a bit long to arrive but were as delicious as we had expected.  For dessert we had vanilla, salted caramel and lemon gelato.  Mmmmmm!  We were given a gift card over Christmas so used that to pay for our lunch and paid a $13 cash tip.

 

After lunch and before we headed home, we stopped at Golden Gardens beach to take in the view since the weather was nice and sunny.  We were able to find parking right away in the south end parking lot.  We strolled along the beach up to the north tip of the area where the beach gave way to rocks.  We were lucky and got to see a guy kite surfing out there!

 

After our Golden Gardens stroll, it was time to head home and get back to real life.  We had a great Staycation and enjoyed spending time together as a family playing tourist 30 minutes away from out home!

 

Kite surfer at Golden Gardens.

 

 

 

Budget Itemization:

 

- 2 queen room - $162.10

- Occupancy Tax - $25.29

- Seattle Tourism Fee - $2.00

- State Tax - $2.09

- Parking Fee - $22.00

- Parking Tax - $2.75

==================

Hyatt Place Room Total = $216.23

 

Monorail - $15.00

Daiso snacks - $5.50

Gameworks - $49.00

Bottled water - $1.50

Kushibar - $97.00

Late Night Cookies - $10.95

Tutta Bella Lunch - Free (gift card)

Tutta Bella Tip - $13.00

=========================

Overnight Trip Total = $408.18

Staycation Downtown Seattle Part 2 - Hyatt Place Seattle Center

Since we had to cancel our 2 night cabin trip to Snoqualmie, we decided to do a single night staycation in Downtown Seattle instead.  It was a pretty last minute scramble to change our plans and decide on a new course of action.  What makes things a little harder is that we need a room that will hold the five of us - and straddles the line of being inexpensive yet good quality.  I think we met that challenge with our room at Hyatt Place near the Seattle Center!

I found an AAA rate online for our two queen beds room with a pull out sofa that was $162.10.  I picked this hotel for a few reasons.  It was in close walking distance to the Seattle Center, it could fit all 5 of us with a max of 6 in the room (many hotels have a max of 4 in a room) and it had an indoor pool.  As added bonuses, complimentary breakfast is served in the downstairs common area and a free shuttle service is provided for drop offs and pick ups within a 1 mile radius of the hotel.  The shuttle is actually a Toyota Sienna van and can hold a max of 6 passengers plus the driver.  So if you have more than 6 in your party, you'll have to take turns.

This was our first time at a Hyatt Place.  I liked the value service concept.  The downstairs front desk agents also serve as the snack bar and incidental shop keepers.  There was a small menu of food items available in the room but sadly I neglected to pay much attention to what it said.  The front food counter was stocked somewhat like a Starbucks cold display with bottled drinks, pre-packaged salads/sandwiches/wraps, freshly baked cookies, brownie, NY cheesecake, cinnamon scone and a muffin.  We ended up having a late night dessert and paid $10.95 for two cookies and a brownie ($$!) and we were offered to have them warmed up - yes please!  They were all good though a bit over-laden with chocolate for my tastes.  Not a problem for my family of chocoholics!  ;)

When arrived early around 12:15 but our room was luckily ready for us!  Unfortunately for us, our outdated Hyatt Gold Membership had auto-filled some of our preferences, one of which was "low floor".  I hadn't realized this until we arrived at our 2nd floor room and looked out into street traffic whooshing by.  I called back down to the front desk and asked about switching rooms, even offering to come back later in the afternoon for one to be available.  Not sure what kind of miscommunication I was having with the front desk (maybe they thought I was married to the "low floor" request?) but the only room change they could offer me was 2 doors down on the same floor, still looking at the traffic.  I decided we might as well just stay put.  Did I mention that they so helpfully provided complimentary bright orange ear plugs on the nightstand??  :)



The view out of our 2nd floor window.

 

The rest of the room was very spacious and furnished well with comfortable furniture and beds and lots of counter and storage space.  The room came with an empty mini fridge, a desk and chair, two sitting chairs next to the window overlooking the traffic, and a vanity sink outside of the bathroom.  Everything seemed to be in very good condition with a new looking shower curtain liner and almost new condition towels and bedding.  The sofa cushions themselves had a few small stains and had seen better days but considering that most likely there had been other kids (like mine) jumping all over it, that was not unexpected.

The beds were very comfortable and the pillows were almost universally liked.  I tucked one up under the edge of the fitted sheet to act as a guard rail so my 5 year old wouldn't fall out of the high bed.  This worked!  I got the idea from a random Lifehack list online of tucking a pool noodle under the fitted sheet to act as a cheap bed rail.

We made use of their indoor pool for about an hour between 5:30-6:30pm.  It was a little crowded when we first showed up with about 10 people in the pool before we got there.  The pool is not large - approximately 25 feet long by 12 feet wide.  The pool depth ranges from 3 feet 6 inches to about 3 feet 10 inches.  My 9 and 11 year olds could easily traverse the entire pool.

In the morning we went downstairs to check out the free breakfast which was included with our stay.  It was a decent breakfast spread and more than I was expecting.  An iced drink bar offered cold pitchers of milk, orange juice, apple juice and tomato juice.  The hot offerings included Belgian waffle quarters, and two separate halves of a breakfast sandwich: one half with bacon and cheese and the other half with egg and tomato on an English muffin.  Single serve cereals were stacked on display which was great for the kids.  They overindulged in Reeses Puffs cereal, Lucky Charms, Frosted Flakes, Trix, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch.  A small assortment of pastry included powdered, glazed and plain cake donuts as well as apple and raspberry puff pastry tarts.  A toaster and basket of assorted breads along with butter, margarine and jams were situated alongside a big pot of hot oatmeal with raisins on the side.  Sliced fresh fruit mix of cantaloupe, honeydew and oranges were in a bowl next to grapefruit slices and baskets of bananas and apples were available.  A coffee and tea bar were situated just outside of the breakfast counter with heavy duty plastic mugs and paper to-go cups available.

Overall, this was a good value on a spacious and good quality room.  Parking was an additional cost of $22 for our stay - ouch! - but I found this to be a median fee for parking at hotels in the downtown Seattle area.  I enjoyed our stay here and recommend it to others.  We would come back here again for a future Staycation!

Just inside the door, mini fridge, cabinet space, counter with single cup coffee maker, desk & chair.

One of the two queen beds next to the window and sitting area.

Large sofa with pull out double size bed.

PS - One other hotel I had looked into, Hotel Maxwell, had free parking and an indoor pool, but their max is 4 to a room so we couldn't do that one. 

Amazing Offer - Vancouver Hotels w/ Amex Gift Card!

I ran across this amazing offer while I was looking for alternate plans due to my cabin trip cancellation!  There are some great hotels on this list and the price is comparable to, and sometimes less than, the pricing available direct from the hotel websites.  Check to see what hotels are available for your dates!  Lots of star rating hotels from luxury to economy!

Trip Advisor has a few posted reviews from people who have already used this offer and gotten their gift cards so this is a legitimate offer.  It will bring down the net amount that you pay for your room drastically!  I'm hoping that I can be able to take advantage of this!! :D

AMEX Gift Card offer

Fine Print from their website:

Looking to visit Vancouver between now and the end of April?
Book today with beVancouver.com and we'll give you a prepaid AMEX Gift Card of up to $125 to reward your booking AND an additional $50 AMEX Gift Card for every subsequent night you stay.
It's that simple ... book a 1 night stay and we'll give you up to $125 in AMEX Gift Cards, book additional nights and we'll add an extra $50 AMEX Gift Card per night.
Gift Cards can be used any way you’d like … to cover hotel costs, on-site restaurants, room service, spas, amenities … or at surrounding restaurants and shops. The choice is yours.

Promotion Details

• Check-in must be before or on April 30th 2015
• Bookings can be made using VISA, MasterCard, or American Express
• Bookings are Pre-Paid, Non-Cancellable and Non-Transferrable
• Guests will receive their $50, $75, $100 or $125 AMEX Prepaid Gift Card per booking, not per night
• Guests will receive an additional $50 AMEX Prepaid Gift Card for every additional night after the first night
• Separate consecutive night bookings at the same hotel will not result in the guest receiving more than one $50, $75, $100 or $125 AMEX Prepaid Gift Card
• A Maximum of 3 bookings per person is enforced - all subsequent bookings will be converted into normal Best Available Rate bookings (and will apply the corresponding Terms and Conditions) and the guest will not receive an AMEX Prepaid Gift Card

Snoqualmie Getaway - Cancelled :(

Well, as it turns out, we have had to cancel our Snoqualmie cabin trip.  :(  There is not enough snow, it is too warm and the Snoqualmie operations have halted the ski lifts.  The tubing center is still open but I don't believe the wet and slushy conditions are going to be very fun.  I'm able to get a refund on our advance purchase Tubing Center tickets.  I've also gotten a very generous offer from our cabin owner, Brandi, of a full refund on our rental fees.   Brandi seems like a very honest, openly communicative and truly caring person.  I would definitely like to stay at her cabin one day in the future and highly recommend her to anyone reading this blog.  =)

Here is the link to the VRBO listing.  If you are searching for the property number on VRBO it is: 209140.

VRBO - Hunt's Remedy Cabin

 

 

 

 

Pre-pre planning - Orlando, FL April 2016 - Flower & Garden Show

I recently realized that during our planned trip in April 2016 is going to coincide with the annual Flower & Garden Festival in the Epcot park at Walt Disney World!  This is one of the longer special events at Disney World spanning from early March until mid May.  There are a number of annual special events that happen at Disney World - some traditional like Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, Independence Day, Halloween and Christmas - and some that are unique to Disney.  Maybe you'll find something special that you'd especially like to enjoy!

Here is a list of some of Disney World's usual special events and when they're scheduled to happen in 2015:

February 14, 2015

Valentine's Day

 

February 19-22, 2015

Disney's Princess 1/2 Marathon Weekend

March 4 - April 4, 2015

Atlanta Braves Spring Training

 

March 5-8, 2015

Disney Dreamer's Academy

 

2015 dates not yet announced (In 2014, this event was held March 7-17)

Mighty St. Patrick's Festival

 

March 4-May 17, 2015

Epcot's Flower & Garden Festival

 

April 5, 2015

Easter

 

May 1-2, 2015

Expedition Everest Challenge

 

May 15 - June 14, 2015 Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays,

Star Wars Weekends

June 2-8, 2015

Disney Gay Days 2015

 

2015 dates not yet announced (In 2014, this event was held June 14-15)

Car Masters Weekend

 

2015 dates not yet announced (In 2014, the event was held on Saturdays, June 7-August 9, 2014.)

Harambe Nights

 

2015 dates not yet announced (In 2014, the event was held June 8 - July 26)

Sounds Like Summer Concert Series

 

July 4, 2015

Independence Day

 

Unknown if this event will be held in 2015 (In 2014, it was held on August 23)

Villains Unleashed!

 

Unknown if this event will return in 2015 (In 2014, it was held July 5 - September 28)

Frozen Summer Fun LIVE! at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
 

2015 dates not yet announced (In 2014, it was held August 29-September 1)

Great Irish Hooley Festival

 

September 11-12, 2015

Night of Joy

 

2015 dates not yet announced (In 2014, it was held September 26-28)

Disney Fit Challenge

 

2015 dates not yet announced (In 2014, it was held September 1 - October 31)

Halloween at Disney World

 

September 25-November 16, 2015

Epcot's Food and Wine Festival

 

October 30-31, 2015

Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Food & Wine Classic

 

2015 dates not yet announced (In 2014, this event was held November 8 - 9)

Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon

 

November 2015 - January 2016

Christmas at Disney World

 

November 26, 2015

Thanksgiving

 

Dec 31, 2015

New Year's Eve

 

 

Snoqualmie Getaway - Pre-Trip #2

Before we know it, it'll be time to leave for our 2 nights in a Snoqualmie cabin!  I've just gone to check the weather forecast for the next 10 days and it looks like we may be in for warmer temps and slushy conditions.  Sooo, with that in mind, we'll have to plan a few other things to bring on our trip in case we can't get out to do any sledding/tubing.

I spent a couple of hours this evening going over the cabin info, driving directions, researching a couple of restaurants we can eat at and trying to figure out if we'll have cable TV so we can watch the latest episode of Walking Dead on AMC sunday night.  ;)
Here is my preparation list so far (2/10/15):

Food:
1 carton eggs
4 packs hard boiled eggs
1 pack bacon
Bread loaf
Strawberry Jam
Juice/milk boxes
Hot chocolate packets
Bag popcorn
Kale chips
Soda X 3
Snacking candy (?)
Snack bars X 5
Coffee Thermos

Outdoors:
Snow bibs X 5
Snow jackets X 5
Sled X 2
Tubes X 2
**Look for the electric inflator!

Electronics:
Power strip
Cell phones & chargers
Tablets & chargers
GPS & power cord

Normal clothes X 5
Bathroom gear
SUNSCREEN
Sunglasses
Deep Blue Oil
Breathe Oil
Extra Bandaids
Blanket & stuffy for littlest one
Paperwork/Google Maps/Restaurant Info


Rough Schedule:

Day 1
11am Dim Sum in ID
Drive to Cabin after lunch, 1 hour
Check into Cabin, get settled in
Dinner - BBQ or Pizza, Cle Elum

Day 2
Breakfast/Lunch - in cabin
1:30-3:30 Tickets for Tubing Center
Dinner - Switch BBQ or Pizza, Cle Elum

Day 3
Breakfast
Pack up
Load Dishwasher
11am Leave Cabin
Lunch at Cottage Cafe, Cle Elum
Drive back home, 1 hour

Hood Canal Area Restaurant Review #2 - El Puerto de Angeles

Here is my other restaurant review in the Hood Canal area that was just published on Trip Advisor! :)

We stopped to eat here as a family of 5, 2 adults and 3 kids. It was a fairly busy evening and the small parking lot was crowded. I needed to wait for an open parking space and sent my husband in ahead to check if they still had seating availability. Luckily there is ample outdoor seating as well as indoor seating. Don't let the crowded parking lot fool you, there is more occupancy space to dine than there is to park.

We had a lovely, warm early evening and sat outdoors at a large picnic style table that can amply seat 8 or squish together 10. Some of the outdoor tables have overhead umbrellas. Food came rather quickly despite the number of other patrons which was a huge plus for a hungry family who had just come from hiking. Platters and portions were very generous and we would have taken our leftovers home if we had been going home afterward.

We really enjoyed being able to dine al fresco and enjoy the warm sunshine, balmy breeze and gorgeous views of the Hood Canal.

Hood Canal Area Restaurant Review #1 - Robin Hood Tavern

A few of my latest Trip Advisor reviews were recently published for restaurants in the Hood Canal area.  Here is one of them.  Enjoy!

"Surprising Farm to Table PNW Cuisine”

 

We stayed a couple of nights at the neighboring Robin Hood Cabin resort and walked the 2 minutes to try this restaurant with our three kids. We were quite surprised to discover that this was a more upscale restaurant than we were expecting considering that the "resort" is more like a campground with mobile home trailers converted to cute and quaint cabins.

The interior is cozy though a bit more sedate than our 3 kids in their shorts and tank tops. They do offer a kids menu which is thoughtfully pasted into the front cover of a kids book so the kids had something to occupy themselves for about 3 minutes. The food took an inordinately long time to arrive especially the kids meals. I am used to the kids arriving to the table more quickly than the adults meals - it makes sense to me to keep the kids quieter and busy eating instead of the alternative.

Food was also pricier than expected for a restaurant situated on a mobile home campground but probably on par with other farm to table concept restaurants in more populated areas of the Seattle metro. This would have been a lovely romantic evening with just my husband and I but not the type of restaurant I would generally take my kids to.

I was interested in taking a cocktail back to our cabin (100 yards away) to enjoy later in the evening when the kids were asleep but was told that this was not possible due to liquor laws.

Overall the food was good but took rather long to make it to the table.

Celebrity Cruises - Bermuda R/T from New Jersey, 3rd & 4th passengers free plus free bonus perks!

Wow, first Norwegian Cruise Lines came out with a extra passengers sail free offer and now Celebrity Cruise lines is following suit albeit a much more narrow offering than Norwegian's wide catalog of choices.

Here is the low down:
- Pay for the first two passengers in the cabin and other passengers in the same cabin, up to the max capacity for that cabin can sail free (but everyone does still have to pay for taxes & fees).
- Cruise is one week long (7 nights), Sunday to Sunday.
- Cruise is round trip departing from and returning to Cape Liberty, NJ.
- The free sailings are restricted to the May 10th and May 17th sailings and not all cabin types are available.
- Most other dates have a discount of up to 50% off for additional passengers.  Again, not all cabin types are available.
- A few cabins are "Family Cabins" capable of accommodating a maximum of 5 passengers.  There are only a few of these special cabins on the ship and they do tend to go quickly.  Unsure if the 5th passenger would be free, you'd need to ask the booking agent.
- Gratuities are included free for the first two passengers.  This value comes to $168.00 calculated as $12.00 per person (X2) per day (X7).
- Classic alcoholic drink package is also included free for the first two passengers.  This value comes to $686.00 calculated as $49 per person (X2) per day (x7).
- Free 40 minute internet package for the 3rd and/or 4th guest.  I have to guesstimate the value of this at $25.00.
- Free classic non-alcoholic beverage package included free for the 3rd and/or 4th passengers.  This value is $16.00 per person per day or $112.00 value for the each of the 3rd and 4th passenger.



Celebrity Cruises - 3&4th passengers free plus bonus perks!


That's all well and good, but what is the cheapest deal?

Sail date, May 10-17th, 2015
Round trip from Cape Liberty, NJ
4 passengers total: 2 adults + 2 adults or 2 kids
Inside cabin - no windows, no natural light (good for sleeping in late)
Free gratuities, free classic alcoholic beverage package for first two passengers
Free 40m internet package, free non-alcoholic drink package for 3rd & 4th passengers
$599 each for the first two passengers = $1198
$203.37 taxes & fees for each passenger = $813.48
Total cruise fare for 4 = $2011.48

Average cruise fare per person = $502.87
Per day cost per person = $71.84

$71.84 is a really, really great per day value for meals, snacks, alcoholic beverages, lodging, tips, taxes & fees and entertainment!  :D

Review - Mandalay Bay Resort, Las Vegas

My latest Trip Advisor review was published today!  Here it is in its entirety along with the photos that I also posted there:

My Trip Advisor review of the Mandalay Bay Resort

“2 Fab nights at Mandalay Bay Hotel in a Bay suite”

It's been a while since I stayed here and after my recent less than stellar experience at the Delano I was reminded how much I enjoyed my room at Mandalay Bay.

When we checked in, there were no standard rooms available with a king bed. I really didn't want to stay in a queen room the first night, pack up and come back to the front desk to see if a king had opened up for us to switch. After some back and forth, we were given a complimentary upgrade to a Bay suite room with a king bed.

The Bay suite we got was on the 5th floor in a less than ideal location with a teeny window off in the corner overlooking the outdoor gardens. It was close to being a windowless room. One nice thing though is that we were on a low floor and close to the elevator so it never took very long to get back to our room.

The room is spacious with upscale yet comfortable appointments, his and hers closets, a five piece bathroom with jetted tub and dual vanity sinks. The conversation sofa is cute if not very practical but the unusual shape makes it a pleasing addition to the room decor. An odd thing we noticed was the window with blinds in the interior hallway of the room - turns out that window is over the jetted tub! Not sure why when you are taking a nice relaxing soak with bubbles, you'd want to see the foyer of your own room... or vice versa, why you would want to be visible to anyone walking in the room or standing at the open doorway for that matter. =|

We stayed here in November and the main beach and outdoor pool area was closed with the exception of the Moorea pool area. It was way too cold for me but definitely enticed me to want to come back during a warmer time and perhaps bring the kids along.

I would consider coming back here again for a good price on an non-standard room. :)

Spacious single room with cute conversation couch and desk.

 

TV, dresser and minibar. Single window off in the corner nook (looks like a mirror).
 

Understated classy appointments that are still comfortable & relaxed.  King bed w/ bench, open shelving and plenty of light.  Dual his and hers closets on either side of the bathroom entrance off to the left.
 

Dual granite top vanity with TV between for easy viewing in the large tub.

 

Large jetted tub and separate glass enclosed shower.

Win a night in Cinderella's Castle suite at Disney World!

Head's up!  Disney has a new sweepstakes contest to promote the new live action Cinderella film coming out on March 13th!  You can enter to win a grand prize package of a day/4night trip to Disney World in Orlando, FL!

Grand Prize Package includes:
- 1 night in the exclusive Cinderella Castle Suite
- 3 nights at a Disney World Resort Hotel
- Fully loaded 5 day MYW Hopper, Waterpark & More tickets
- A makeover at Bibbidi, Bobbidi Boutique for one child
- A $500 Gift card
- and more (not specified yet)

You can enter once daily between 2/2/15 and 3/27/15 so bookmark this link and remember to come back every day!  The minimum age to enter is 13 so if you have teens, you can also do one entry per day under their identity, too.


http://movies.disney.com/cinderella-perfect-fit-sweepstakes

Disneyland - Buzz Lightyear Insider Tips!

If you've been on the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters ride at Disneyland, you know how much fun it is trying to be the top scorer of your group!  ;)  Here are my favorite tips that little ol' boring mom-me  used to blow everyone away with my amazing rootin-tootin-sharp-shootin super skills! ;)

The Buzz Lightyear ride is a slow moving vehicle ride on a belted track.  There are two guns per car though they allow 1, 2 or 3 passengers to sit in a car.  Only a smaller child can fit as the 3rd middle passenger and they will not have their own gun to shoot.  One of the people sitting on the outside seat can give up their laser gun if they're feeling generous or allow the child to have control of the joystick in the middle of the console in front.  ;)  The joystick controls which direction your car is facing and is a great tool to use!  Many people forget to redirect the way their car is facing because they get too caught up in the shooting but remember to make the most use of being able to face your best target!

When your gun first becomes active, before you get into the game area, shoot at a dark place on the wall so you can get accustomed to which laser dot is yours.  With age, some of the laser pointers don't shoot quite straight anymore so you may need to do some adjusting of where you think you're aiming and where the gun is actually shooting at.

Round Target - 100 points

Square Target - 1000 points
Diamond Target - 5000 points
Triangle Target - 10,000 points

As you are traveling through the ride, you'll see the majority of the targets will be the round ones.   Unfortunately, these are the ones that are worth the least amount of points.  Each target shape type has a different amount of base points scored for a hit.  If you focus your aiming on finding the Triangle and Diamond targets this can really increase your score!  When the little light in the middle of these targets is lit up, you can also score bonus points on top of the base points!

All through the ride track, there will be many multiple targets you can aim for.   Try to do a quick scan for the target shape with the highest points. These are the target you want to concentrate the most on.  Each time you hit a target you'll get points.  So when you find a high value Triangle or Diamond target, don't shoot it once and turn away to a new target - you can keep shooting at the same one at least 5 or 6 times!  You'll rack up the points for each successful hit!  This is really great if the ride happens to stop for a moment since the targets will still work - so keep blasting away at the nearest target even if it's not a high point value.

Here are some tips on where to find those coveted Triangle and Diamond target shapes!

As you are going through the ride, look for a big "Jack-in-the-box" with a target on the box.  If you can hit this target an alien will rise out of the box.   Watch carefully and be prepared to shot because there is a diamond target on the inside lid of the box. There is also a Triangle on the alien so when it rises enough to shoot at it, switch your aim from the 5000 point Diamond to the 10,000 point Triangle!  If you can hit both of these targets once or even multiple times, your score will really pop!

In the same room as the "Jack-in-the-box" is a circle with a diamond target. This one is in plain sight and is easy to hit.  Keep your finger on the trigger and try to hit it as many times as you can before it gets out of range.  Don't forget that you can turn your car around using the joystick in the middle of the console in front of you!  Keep your car pointed at the highest point target for the longest amount of time to get those points!

When going through black tunnel there are two hidden triangle targets. The first is on the right as soon as you enter the tunnel and the second is on the left as you exit the tunnel. Make sure you use your joystick to swivel around for the best positioning.  Inside the tunnel there are also two diamond targets on the ceiling.  You can't really see them unless they happen to be lit so just kind of shoot upwards.  Once you've seen where they are, keep shooting them to get your score up, up, up!

Here's what to look for in room with Emperor Zurg.  Look down for a "discarded toy" about 2/3rds through the room along the outside with a circle target on it.  This is a secret trigger to get a Triangle target to pop out very close to the track!  Don't forget to shoot at that Triangle as much as you can before moving out of range!

The two big Emperor Zurgs also have hidden targets worth a whopping 50,000 points!  To find these hidden targets, shoot at the spot along the center line just below his cape.  You may or may not see a very small circle there.  Shoot this one multiple times as well for massive points!  In the final "boss room" with Zurg, he is not as easy to hit because he is standing farther away so really try for that first Zurg.

The first time I tried these tips, I kept it a secret from the rest of my travelling group and their jaws just dropped seeing how much higher my score was than theirs.  ;)  I hope you will get a lot of use from these tips and tricks and have a fantastic time!  This is one of my family's favorite rides - even without the scoring tips!  ;)

Disneyland Admission - buy 4 days, get 5th day free!

Just received this Disneyland admission promotion email from Get Away Today, an authorized Disney ticket outlet.  Get a 5 day Disneyland Hopper admission for the price of a 4 day ticket!  The ticket expiration is Dec 31, 2015 which means you must use it for the first time on or before Dec 31st.  The five days of admission do not have to be consecutive days but they must all be used within 13 days after the 1st day - essentially you have a two week period to use your 5 days once it's  been activated.

Something else to consider about purchasing your tickets ahead of time is that Disney traditionally has annual ticket price increases around June.  Since these tickets won't expire until the end of the year buying tickets now, at a discount, also protects you from the expected price increase in the summer.

I've purchased tickets from Get Away Today in the past and they're a legitimate company, safe and easy to use.  Once you make your purchase, you'll get an email confirmation receipt that you print out and take with you to pick up your physical tickets from the Disneyland ticket booth window.


Get Away Today Free Disneyland Day

Here's a comparison of how much this saves pet ticket:

5 Day Hopper ticket

Disneyland.com Pricing
Adult (ages 10+) - $305.00
Child (ages 3-9)  - $289.00

Get Away Today Pricing
Adult (ages 10+) - $288.00 (Savings of $17.00)
Child (ages 3-9)  - $273.00 (Savings of $16.00)

Snoqualmie Getaway - Pre-Trip #1

We've lived in the Seattle area for almost four years now and have not taken the kids to enjoy winter activities on one of the nearby mountains yet.  That's going to change in about two weeks during winter break from school.  I've booked two nights in a cabin using VRBO.  It was a very reasonably priced one bedroom unit for $125 a night plus $75 cleaning fee.  It will be tight but will fit all five of us which was the biggest factor when I was searching for the right accommodation.  This is not a stand alone accommodation but is the downstairs portion of the owner's cabin.  I'll share the link to the VRBO listing in my follow up review.

Since this will be our first time going to the mountain, we're going to keep it tame: skip the first time attempts at skiing/snowboarding and just stick with tubing.  Our cabin is situated in close walking distance "across the street" from the Snoqualmie tubing center.  One important thing I found out is that tickets to the Tubing center can and do sell out, especially for a holiday weekend period, so it's important to log into their website ahead of time and purchase your tickets in advance.

Snoqualmie Tubing Center Info

Ticket pricing is broken down by age group: Adults are age 13+,  Youths are ages 6-12 and kids are 5 and under.  Prices are the same no matter what day of the week that you go though on Friday and Saturday there is the addition of a three hour evening session time instead of the usual two hour sessions during the day.  You also will need to fill out a liability waiver form listing each participant which you can print out and prepare ahead of time.

A bit closer to when we are set to leave, I will probably write another blog post about my trip preparations and focus on the packing list. :)

 

 

Pre-pre planning - Orlando, FL April 2016 - The WDW Crowd Calendar

I love planning.  I love planning way ahead of time and feeling really prepared when it comes time to execute!  I've started thinking about our family trip to Orlando in April 2016.  We will be doing Disney World, Universal Studios and also taking a little side detour for a night or two to Savannah, GA.  Savannah is not only a historic and charming Southern town, it also holds many memories for us as the place where our family began. :)

One of the first things I looked at when deciding on when we would be taking this epic trip is this Disney World crowd calendar courtesy of the wdwpreschool.com website.
This is a very simplified Red/Yellow/Green calendar system but it should give you a good overview of when is a good time and what holidays periods cause attendance to spike up.

Now, I know it says it is a 2015 calendar but it's close enough for my purposes.  Luckily, Easter falls at the end of March, on the 27th, in 2016.  Traditionally, our school district gets the 3rd week of April whereas many other schools get their Spring Break the week just before or just after Easter.  Luckily, our Spring Break will be far enough away from Easter that we will avoid most of those Spring Break crowds and go back to a smaller and more manageable crowd size. :)

The most obvious advice about when to avoid crowds at Disney World is don't go when everybody else is going.  Since kids are the big reason why families visit Disney World, most people have to go during school vacation times, holidays and extended weekends.  The least crowded times to go, are when school is in session.  Besides the heavy crowds, I am also not a fan of Disney World in the summer because of the oppressive heat and near daily afternoon thunderstorms.

Another aspect to consider when deciding when to plan your trip is when Disney World itself holds special events: Marathons, the Food & Wine Festival, Flower & Garden Festival, Star Wars Weekends and traditional Holidays are all events which draw in extra visitors.