Every summer our family enjoys a trip to New Hampshire. Last summer we took a surprise weekend trip with the kids to Church Landing at Mills Falls.
Church Landing is the newest of the Inns at Mills Falls. It sits right on Lake Winnipesaukee with wonderful views of the water and a beautiful boardwalk along the lake to the marina.
Check out the beautiful accommodations.
I recently became connected with a blogging group who share their experience with travels to Branson, Missouri. Did you know that Branson, Missouri is a great place to travel to for great family fun? I didn’t know that until I learned a lot from other bloggers about Branson. Now that I know this amazing place exists I am going to have to find a marathon in the area for an excuse to make a trip out West and explore this great area as well!
Until March of this year, I had no idea there was such a place called Branson, Missouri that had SO much to do there. A Facebook and fellow runDisney runner friend of mine was looking for ideas of places to go to over the summer and I proudly told her about Branson because I learned so much about it from the bloggers who went there. She told me she grew up not far from there and knew of it.
I guess I live a sheltered live, coming from a small farm town in CT, and my biggest trips are going to Disney World, Disneyland and Washington, D.C. I need to get out and travel more! I did recently learn about Cedar Park when I attended the Bloggy Con Conference last year. That’s another great place (and another blog post), that I want to share with you!
The first category that the bloggers covered about their trip to Branson in April of 2018 focused on their accommodations. They stayed at the Stone Castle Hotel and Conference Center. I was asked to review and judge some of the blog posts and videos of the hotel and I was blown away by the resort, the rooms, THE PRICE, and how much everyone raved about this place.
Check out these blog posts from the #BransonBloggers to learn that each blogger thought of the Stone Castle Hotel.
http://moneysavingparent.com/stone-castle-hotel-branson/
https://mypeachyqueendom.com/2018/05/the-stone-castle-hotel-a-branson-palace-fit-for-a-queen.html
https://footprintsinpixiedust.com/bloggingbranson-stone-castle-hotel/
https://rippedjeansandbifocals.com/7-reasons-stone-castle-hotel-and-conference-center-should-be-your-home-in-branson-mo/
https://week99er.com/new/stone-castle-hotel-offers-guests-a-unique-hotel-experience-within-your-budget/
https://www.southernfamilyfun.com/stone-castle-hotel-branson/
https://www.southernfamilyfun.com/stone-castle-hotel-branson/
https://midwestmomlife.com/the-stone-castle-hotel-conference-center/
https://www.couponmamacita.com/stone-castle-hotel-conference-center-branson-mo-a-budget-friendly-beauty/
Why Stone Castle Hotel Is Your Best Choice When Staying In Branson, MO
http://thecreativesahm.com/2018/05/22/stone-castle-hotel-bransons-royalty-on-a-budget/
http://talesofonemomsmess.com/stay-at-the-budget-friendly-stone-castle-hotel-in-branson-mo/
I have been learning how to be more frugal with my spending lately. I’m actually making money when I spend money! It’s like a game. I would say this is similar to those who like to clip coupons and come home with lots of free products.
The two apps that I have been using to make this extra vacation money are ibotta and Ebates.
Ibotta is a rebate program. The best way to use it is to use that time that you may be playing on your phone or social media and dedicate 15 minutes to searching through the rebates available at the stores that you frequently shop at. This is my referral code to help me earn money so YOU can earn money!
The screen looks like this:
Click the plus sign next to each item that you may purchase. Even if you do not purchase it, it’s good to check it off just in case.
After you go to the store, you scan your receipt and the app looks for the items you selected and compares them to the items on your receipt. For all the matches it adds the rebate amount to your account. Some stores may require that you scan the bar code of some of the products to verify the purchase.
If you refer a friend to use the program and then they do actually use it you earn money as well!
Since I stared using this app in September I earned $60 and already deposited it to my vacation account!
Ebates is great! I have been using it for my holiday shopping and also referred my husband to use it and he earned money and I earned a bonus for his referral and use. Now I just have to convince my mom to start using it! With the holiday specials going on stores such as Kohl’s is giving 6% cash back! I have been using it for 2 weeks and already earned $40 and just got notified that another $25 is on its way! Please use my ebates referral link to start saving your money and getting cash back too!
The great thing about having two adults in one household is that you can refer your spouse, family member, roommate, etc. you both can save and earn at the same time!
It’s also that time of year to move out some of the old toys to make room for some of the new that Santa will be delivering. I gathered up many of the puzzles, books and younger toys that my children have outgrown and I will bring them to the consignment shop. Now is the most critical time to get them there for those shopping for their little ones. I won’t make a fortune on them but I’ll make more than having them sit in the garage and wait for a tag sale where I will practically give them away.
If you are a blogger like me, it’s also great to be part of affiliate programs to some of the products you support. For instance I have affiliate links for the following:
Amazon – the Echo Dot (2nd Generation) – Black
Please feel free to use my affiliate links to save money and/or create affiliate accounts of your own!
So there you have it, my tips on how to make money while spending money and tucking those little wins of money away for your Disney or any vacation!
I recently shared with you all of the new announcements that came from D23 Expo for the updates to the Parks in Walt Disney World, today I will share with you all of the updates that will take place in Disneyland.
There were many announcements made about the changes coming to Walt Disney World’s attractions, transportation and lodging, but there are also great changes coming to Disneyland as well.
Photo by Disney
So there you have it, all the changes coming to Disneyland as announced at the D23 Expo. Next up will be the news released about the new movies and video games so stay tuned for more exciting news!
WOW! I sure missed out on a great year to attend the D23 Expo! There are so many announcements that have been coming out of Anaheim during this weekend’s D23 Expo that I will break it out into pieces for you.
For starters, the changes that are coming to Walt Disney Word will take place in the Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Epcot, and there will be new property developed for DVC in Florida.
Stay tuned for my next blog post which will cover all of the enhancements coming to Disneyland.
My husband and I are celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary of our Disney wedding today. I am so blessed for all of the years we have had together so far. The memories, our beautiful family and the fun that still awaits us. So much can happen in 15 years, yet we have remained by each other’s side, our love is strong and our children bring us so much joy. I have everything I always wished for. I can’t wait for what lies ahead.
Here’s a little video recap of our wedding day. It was a picture perfect day and I wish we could redo it every year.
Please read my latest guest blog post on the Mouse For Less Blog about how to participate in runDisney events on a budget. Great tips on how to save money and still have a fun filled race weekend!
We weren’t planning a vacation to Disney this summer; but with all the new updates coming to the parks, I didn’t want to miss out. At Animal Kingdom the land, Pandora the World of Avatar is opening on May 27th. Recently, the Rivers of Light show also opened to the public, so now Animal Kingdom offers lots of new things to do at night. At Hollywood Studios, BB-8 is greeting guests at the Star Wars Launch Bay. Typhoon Lagoon has a new family raft ride, Miss Adventure Falls. Plus, the Magic Kingdom Wishes fireworks show is ending on May 11. A new show, “Happily Ever After” Nighttime Spectacular is making its debut on May 12 .
I am attending the BlogHer conference at the end of June, so I couldn’t go to Orlando and not turn it into a family trip! But of course, like always, it has to be a surprise! So if you are a reader of my blog and know my children, DO NOT say anything about this to them!
To prepare for this new world, we watched Avatar with the kids recently. My husband and I have never seen the movie so it was great to see it for the first time together. I have heard that it isn’t necessary to watch the show prior to going to the new Pandora the World of Avatar; but I wanted to really understand the story behind the world to gain a better appreciation for it. I also wanted the kids to have that insight.
Source – Wikipedia
We were hoping that last Spring when we had our family vacation that we would have the chance to see the Rivers of Light show on its opening day on Earth Day. The show didn’t open until February of this year so we will also be sure to make this a must-do on our list.
I have been avoiding any social media related to these changes because I want to get the first hand experience of seeing it all myself. But I think any preview videos and live broadcasts won’t do it justice. These new immersive experiences in Animal Kingdom are things that have to be seen in person.
The Wishes Nighttime Spectacular is being replaced with a new fireworks and pyrotechnics show on May 12. Happily Ever After Nighttime Spectacular includes an original music score and it will include more recent Disney movie moments projecting onto the castle.
With the new release of Beauty and the Beast I heard that the Beast in Magic Kingdom has taken on the appearance of the Beast in the live action movie. Since we never went to the Enchanted Tales of Belle interactive story telling show, it is now a must do on our list of things to see!
We love Star Wars and now BB-8 is at the Star Wars Launch Pad. When we were in Disney for the Walt Disney World Marathon in January we got family photos with my parents, my husband and the kids with Chewbacca and Kylo Ren. Well now I need to add to our collection with BB-8! We also didn’t get a close view of the “Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular” fireworks and projection show, so I’d like to stay closer to the Chinese theater to see the entire show.
The kids love going to the water park. We have only been to Blizzard Beach and last year we tried Aquatica at Sea World. But that didn’t hold a candle up to the fun you can have at a Disney water park. So this time I’d like to try Typhoon Lagoon. Especially since the Miss Adventure Falls family raft ride includes a ride up the conveyor belt to the top of the slide! That is a win-win in my book! Less stairs to climb!
Source – Disney Parks Blog
My husband and I are celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary on May 16th so I didn’t want to miss out on a trip to our place of marriage on this special anniversary year. The Disney’s Wedding Pavilion was recently refurbished so I want to get over to our wedding location to take some photos. I’d secretly love to hire a photographer to do some family pictures there. Something to consider for a special gift to my husband!
So as you can see we have a lot to do! I hope we can fit it all in with this one trip. Otherwise, some of it will have to wait until our next one. And by the looks of it, we are going to need a vacation from our vacation!
For the past two years we have taken the kids out of school the day before Thanksgiving to see the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons being inflated.
We took the 9:50 train from West Haven to Grand Central Station, had our lunch on the train, then tool the subway from Grand Central for the Museum of Natural History. That takes you right to the location where the balloons are. It’s perfect. We had great front row seats to the balloons this year. Somehow, when we arrived we were let into the area before it was open to the public. I think it was the media access that was allowed in for the beginning of the afternoon before it opens to the public at 3:00. We arrived around 1:15 so we had the entire area to ourselves!
November 23rd was the release of the new Disney movie Moana so I told the kids I wanted to see the movie on the opening day. Little did they know that it meant we were going to see the movie in New York City! We saw all of the balloons and then went to Uno’s for dinner and then had to hop on the 1 train to 42nd street then the 7 train to get to the 6 train (these are also notes to help us remember for next time). We got to the movie theater just in time for the 7:00 movie. Then we had to make the trip from Lexington back to Grand Central Station to get back on our train to head home.
It was a great day, perfect weather, and the movie was a great ending to the day. The train got us back to West Haven just before midnight. The kids like the fact that we do things that take us into the next day. By the time all was said and done I think we were in bed by 1:00 a.m.
If you are ever looking for something to do with your family this is a great time. Last year we went to see the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular so we chose something different to do for our evening entertainment. I’d love to stay overnight one year and see the parade up close.
I’m starting a new section of my blog which will provide you with hotel recommendations, especially to use for race weekends. Cost is a factor when I travel for race weekends because I am traveling alone and want to do it as cheap as I possibly can because I really just need a bed, shower and coffee maker.
When I went to Disneyland for the past two Dumbo Double Dare Races in 2016 and 2015 I stayed at the Best Western Plus Pavilions. I was very happy with this hotel last year and booked again at the same hotel this year. It is close to the Disneyland Resort area and Downtown Disney and is just about a 15-20 minute walk to the starting area for the races. It is also a more direct route to the races which does not require you to go though security and bag checks like you do in the area between Disneyland Magic Kingdom and California Adventure.
I also booked this hotel for the price. I was able to book it for $135 per night and I use hotels.com so that I can earn free nights. When you book again to the same hotel you also get special pricing. They also offered something great this year that I took advantage of. With their location right next to Denny’s, you are given a voucher for each night you stay there to use for breakfast the following day between 7:00 – 10:00 a.m. And your choices are not just a muffin and coffee. You can choose from eggs, pancakes, toast, tea, coffee, or juice and a side of bacon, sausage or turkey bacon. I made sure to take advantage of this the morning of the 10K since I finished early enough to take a fast shower and head over to the restaurant before 10:00 a.m. I thought this was an excellent addition to their accommodations there.
They are also located on a road that makes my return trip to the airport very easy because there isn’t usually theme park traffic when I depart on Sunday late morning.
I am very happy with the cleanliness, the amenities, the bed and how quiet it is at this hotel. I suits my needs perfectly for a race weekend. Check out my video of the hotel.
