Ultimate Road Trip Guide

Ultimate Road Trip Guide

Summer is a great time for a road trip with your children, but you can make the process easier by planning ahead. Here are some great tips for an ultimate road trip. 

Discovering New Orleans with TripAdvisor Day Three and Four

Or first couple days in New Orleans was amazing. Day one, we got to learn about the cemetery and saw some awesome homes and ate too much food. Day two, we ate even more food, saw the Cathedral and the Hurricane Katrina Museum. Make sure you read about them, if you haven’t yet. Now it’s time to fill you in on Day three and four (we flew home so not much happened day four).

Discovering New Orleans with TripAdvisor Day Two

If you haven’t read my Day one of New Orleans, please go do so. To recap, we did some sight-seeing of the French Quarter, Lafayette Cemetery 1 and the Garden District.

Discovering New Orleans with TripAdvisor Day One

Before I start this post and how amazing our trip to New Orleans was, I want to give a huge shout-out to TripAdvisor for giving us the opportunity.

This was the first time I had been to New Orleans and was looking forward to it, then I saw the weather report. There was a tropical storm heading right for the Gulf and all it said was thunderstorms, and lots of rain. We were a little worried and started looking at more indoor things to do. Luckily, we only got caught in one downpour, the rest of the trip was perfect weather.

Stone Mountain Park in Georgia is a Family Friendly Destination!

My family and I recently had the opportunity to visit Stone Mountain Park in Georgia. It is not the first time we have been there, but it is the first time we went as a family of five. I love this park so much because it is truly a family friendly park. Unlike some of the bigger parks where you might have to wait an hour or more to get in, at Stone Mountain there is virtually no wait. We were able to walk right on to everything that we wanted to, except a few rides like the Ride the Ducks needed to be scheduled ahead of time. My kids had so much fun on a few of the attractions that we actually missed out on a couple of things I would have loved to see. However, we all had a blast, and as you can tell from the happy smiling faces of my children, they just loved this little mini-vacation. Let me tell you about the rides and events that we did experience.

Discovery Cove, Orlando Review

This past weekend, my husband, eight year old son and I had a chance to explore Discovery Cove, Orlando and I am so excited to tell you about it! I have to say, this was seriously one of my absolute favorite experiences that I have had related to this blog, or really in my life. Discovery Cove impressed all of us so much, and we had a terrific day together!

We first arrived at 8:45, which we thought was prior to opening but that was not the case. Apparently, they start letting people in at around 7:30, but you cannot start swimming until 8:30. I was a little bummed because you get your ticket to experience the Dolphins based on a first come, first serve basis, so I thought that we would not be seeing the dolphins until late that afternoon, but that was not the case at all. We ended up with passes to see the Dolphins at 9:50, so not a long wait at all! We then were greeted by a personal guide, Tina, who escorted us to the cabana that we had reserved for us.  This cabana was stocked with snacks and drinks. It was nice having an amazing place to get out of the sun and just relax for a while! It had a fan going too, so it was a great place to cool off from the hot Florida sun. Since our swim with the dolphins was so soon after we got there, we had just enough time to grab a wet suit for the boys (and a vest for myself because my pregnant belly would not be fitting nicely in a wet suit) and head to the fully equipped bathroom to get changed. I mention fully equipped because there are showers, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, clean towels and even a blow dryers for you to get cleaned off at the end of the day.  We then headed to the Dolphins and got to experience Roxy first hand!

Medieval Times, Orlando Review

I review lots of THINGS here, but my favorite thing to review is events and places, and I have a great one for you! My oldest son just got done with his summer camp program a few weeks ago, and the theme was the Medieval times and he really enjoyed learning about it. That prompted me to get in touch with Medieval Times, Orlando and see if they would be interested in a review. I was seriously excited when they agreed, and my Mom let me know taking her would be an excellent birthday gift for her. 

My Mom, my son and I all went this past Saturday, July 11th on her birthday! Before we went to the dinner and tournament, we decided to look around the Medieval village. We were told that Orlando is actually the only Medieval Times that offers the village, and I am very glad they did. I was definitely something to take it. We saw how clothing was made, we saw torture devices and we also saw what a typical home would have been set up like in those days. It was really a neat, and educational experience for all of us. 

After that we went ahead and headed in to the dinner and tournament. You are sat by sections so each section has their own knight to cheer for. We had the black and white knight, who, while I may be partial, I have to say, was the best! He smiled more, he rode his horse well, and I was glad to be cheering for him. While he did not end up winning the tournament, he was in second in place. The show was really quite nice, with amazing horses and the "fights" kept our interest. My son, who is almost 8, loved it! He really got into it and cheered with the crowds and was pretty upset when he did not win.

We LOVED Christmas Town at Busch Gardens, Tampa!

I was provided tickets to visit Busch Gardens free of charge for review from Busch Gardens and Mom Central.

We are a family that is often on the go! We love theme parks and to stay busy! We especially love to explore Florida, and what our beautiful state has to offer in the wintertime, because as any true Floridian will tell you, we hibernate in the summer! This was very true this past weekend when we were able to head down to Tampa and enjoy Busch Gardens. This weekend temperature was a lovely 68 during the day, and it dropped to around 50 by the time the park closed. It was the PERFECT weather to enjoy riding roller coasters and then enjoy the Christmas Town after dark! 

This time we headed to Busch Gardens, we left our toddler with my Mom so we could all fully enjoy the roller coasters. My seven year old son JUST made the height requirements for ALL the rides, so that meant a day full of adventure for us!! We were able to ride a LOT because the lines were pretty minuscule. I think the longest we waited in one line was 30 minutes, and that was at Cheetah Hunt, which is near the front of the park, so it gets a lot of people checking it out. After every single ride, my son said that that was his new favorite. At the end of the park he could not tell us which one he loved most, so suffice it to say, he did loved our visit and the coasters!! 

My husbands and my ride of choice was SheiKra, maybe it is because we are getting older, but this ride is a bit "smoother" feeling than others and did not bump us around as much. While it is pretty scary and offers lots of drops and thrills, it was very comfortable, and I could have rode it over and over again. Cheetah Hunt is the newest coaster, and boy is it fast! It is the longest coaster in the park, but somehow it did not feel that way to me. Perhaps that is because it is as quick as a cheetah! I refused to go on Falcon's Fury because I do not like the sensation of being dropped, but my hubby and son loved it! They said it was a ton of fun, and my son loved being face down hurtling to the earth (eeks!) The Gwazi was a lot of fun, and this wooden style coaster is more mild compared to others in the park. My son loved it, and I loved the wooden planks because it made it feel more like a train ride. However, it does shake a bit more than others and the vibrations made my back itch. I could only go on Montu once and to be perfectly honest, I was inhaling the peppermint oil afterwards!! All of the loops and drops made me feel a little unsteady on my feet afterwards, but my husband and son rode it twice in a row. There was literally NO WAIT on this ride, so they walked right back on as I sat on a bench and watched from the sidelines! While I am not big on being upside down on a coaster, for some reason the Scorpion offered a much more pleasant roller coaster ride for me, despite being upside down! Maybe it is because it was so speedy, or that it was also one of the smoother rides, but I enjoyed the coaster as much as my son and husband did! Kumba is a massive roller coaster! It offers huge drops and lots of loops and twists! It is amazingly thrilling, but did make me a little unsteady on my feet afterwards! That night after a day filled with all of these coasters, I felt like I was still on the ride as I lay in bed! I've not had as much fun as this in years and loved riding on these with my boys! 

Busch Gardens, Tampa Review

I was provided tickets free of charge for my  review from Busch Gardens and Mom Central.

I was so excited to be selected as a Busch Gardens, Tampa ambassador! My family and I LOVE to travel and I've been told we rarely stay home on the weekends, so of course we jumped at the chance for this review. We live an easy two hour drive from Tampa, but we decided to stay in a hotel the night before so that we could arrive at Busch Gardens at opening so we had all day to visit. Busch Gardens is open 10-6. 

We had a toddler, six and seven year old and two adults with us! Having a toddler with us limited some of the rides that we could go on, and next time we are going to ask someone to keep him so we can explore the park more. As it was, we still had an excellent time. We loved all of the animals and ALL the children loved the Stanley Falls and we had to go on that ride more than once! I admit, not only did the kids love this ride, I did as well! Children two and up can go on the ride with an adult, so our toddler took turns sitting on our lap through the ride. My husband took the two older children on Tanganyika Tidal Wave. They both LOVED it, and said it was a leisurely ride until the end where there is the drop that drenches you!! My son loved standing at the bridge afterwards and getting so wet that his shoes were soaking afterwards! Good thing he is seven and just goes with the flow! I thought it was a VERY smart idea that they offer these dryers that dry your whole body after the ride for only $5. We did not use this, because it was rather hot outside, and being wet kept them cooler. My seven year old and I decided to go on the Cheetah Hunt. We had our heart set on the Gwazi, but when we arrived it was closed for a little while for routine maintenance. Both of these rides were available to him because he is above 48 inches tall. Our friend, who is six, could have joined us too but she opted out of this "scary ride." The Cheetah Hunt was a VERY fast roller coaster that took our breath away. There are lots of twists and turns, and it even turns you upside down once. While it does not seem to last very long, it is quite an adventure!! The Serengeti Railway was relaxing to us, and was a great way to cool off, relax, and to get to different parts of the park. You get to tour animals in a natural type habitat, with someone telling you about different things and features. There are stops in Nairobi, Congo and Stanleyville and you get to see large free-roaming herds of African animals, including giraffe, zebra, antelope, ostrich. We also got to watch the alligators be fed. The older kids LOVED this! I am personally terrified of alligators so it was not my favorite part of the day but the kids were delighted with watching them chomp the raw chicken! 

Doubletree by Hilton

A few weeks ago my friend Anna and I decided we wanted to take a trip to Minneapolis and have a girls weekend. It has been a crazy year for both of us and we needed time to unwind. I was very happy when DoubleTree Suites by Hilton offered to let us stay at their hotel for a night.

Nick Hotel Introduces Their Summer of Shell!

We were recently invited back to the Nick Hotel because they are offering the Summer of Shell! This summer from May 23- September 1 Nickelodeon Suits Resort is offering lots of interaction with The Famous Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and pulling out all stops to make this summer fun for kids of all ages! I know I was a huge fan of the Turtles as a child, so I was very excited to introduce them to my son (and nephew pictured.) We had a ton of fun at this special TMNT Retro Weekend Event. We were able to meet the original voice cast for the Turtles, and had photo opportunities with the Turtles and April! 

So, if you have a little one who is in love with the Turtles, you might be asking yourself what this Summer of Shell is all about. The Summer of Shell is offering lots of fun activities and features including:

• TMNT themed rooms. Due to a limited number of rooms, you cannot order this online yet, but will be an upgrade that you can ask about at the check in desk. Online booking of the TMNT rooms will be available soon. 
• Turtle Themed Dinner Shows, Antonio's Pizza-Rama Dinner. On Tuesday, Thursdays and Saturdays you can now learn new Ninja moves and meet your favorite turtles! 
• Guinness World Record Attempt: August 9, 2014 there will be an attempt made at the lagoon for "Most People Dressed as a Ninja Turtle in One Place." All guest are invited to attend. 
• All NEW TMNT poolside show: Turtle Power. This interactive experience will be so fun for all children, and shows just how lean, mean and green the Turtles can be! Located at the Lagoon Pool on Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday.
• There will also be glow parties, games, "dive" in movies and plenty of other TMNT encounters throughout the summer! 
• Brand New TMNT Art at the Lagoon.

Nickelodeon Suites Resort Review- A Vacation in Itself!

I often think that my children are lucky to grow up in Central Florida. They get to experience things on a regular basis that other children only experience on vacation. As often as we have visited Orlando, we have never experienced Nickelodeon Suites Resort, even though I have heard awesome things from friends! My two little boys, my Mom, and I were lucky enough to receive two nights at the Nick Hotel for review purposes on Mother's Day. It turned out to be as big of a treat for my mom and I as it was for my boys. We were treated to an awesome two room suite, the character breakfast, and we even got to attend the live Double Dare show!

The Wilderness Resort

My family loves going on getaways for the weekend. It’s our chance to regroup and recharge our batteries for whatever lies ahead. We were planning a weekend trip with my siblings and parents and wanted to go to the Wilderness Resort in Wisconsin Dells. I was very happy when they agreed to a review of their resort. Since my family and I had already booked the room, the Wilderness Resort was kind enough to give us a complimentary breakfast and 3 Wild Fun Passes (the baby can’t use one of course).

We arrived on Friday, check in was nice and easy in the main lobby. Once we got to our room and unpacked a little we were ready for the fun to start. Mya of course wanted to hit up the wave pool right away. I wasn’t surprised as that girl loves water.