Everything You Need to Survive the Airport

January 2, 2016 By Anne

Whether or not you are traveling for the holidays, or simply taking a vacation, you know that if you end up at the airport you will need some items to keep you busy. Between arriving early, layovers and delays in flights, you know that you can end up spending a lot of time in the airport. If you are going to be spending any time in the airport soon then there are a few things that you need to have on you.

Phone charger: This is probably the most important thing that you need to have on you when you are in the airport. Think about it, how many times have you been in an airport and your phone starts to lose power? There generally are never enough charging stations around, so if you don’t have your own charger then you may be out of luck. Keeping your phone charged means you can keep your entertainment options open.
Smartphone/Tablet: Having a phone charger means that you can keep your phone or tablet charged. This way you can keep streaming music, movies and even books on your device without having to worry about losing power. A quick note though, if you plan on watching movies or listening to music, then you should probably buy a good pair of headphones, like a pair of Bose, so you don’t disturb others around you.
Books and Magazines: If all your electronics fail, then you can always go to good old-fashioned books and magazines. These reading materials will keep you busy for hours, and are perfect for long layovers, or flights where you can’t sleep. You can bring these with you, or even buy them from the shops at the airport.

Traveling isn’t always the most pleasant experience. If you are going to be spending some time in airports, then come prepared with entertainment options in case you find yourself waiting around for an extended period of time.

Anne

I'm a mother of 2 who likes to get involved in too much! Besides writing here I started a non-profit, I'm on the PTO board, very active in my community and volunteer in the school. I enjoy music, reading, cooking, traveling and spending time with my family. We just adopted our 3rd cat and love them all!

Christmas Town™ Upgrades Bring More Holiday Cheer To Busch Gardens Tampa

December 1, 2015 By Marijean

CHRISTMAS TOWN UPGRADES
BRING EVEN MORE HOLIDAY CHEER

Christmas Town™ transforms Busch Gardens® into a holiday wonderland of Christmastime entertainment, and the best way to unwrap the cheer is with all-new exclusive experiences that you and your family will treasure forever.

NEW! Holly Jolly Christmas Party

‘Tis the season for a Holly Jolly Christmas Party where spectacular Yuletide celebrations await. Mrs. Claus and her elves join you for dinner with a delicious all-you-care-to-eat pizza and salad buffet at the Garden Gate Café. The party keeps going with fun holiday activities, including writing a letter to Santa, decorating decadent cupcakes and singing classic Christmas carols.

NEW! Christmas Town™ VIP Experience

Unwrap all the magic of the holidays during the Christmas Town VIP Experience, a three-hour-long guided tour that is sure to make your Christmastime memories even more merry and bright.

This ultimate experience is complete with:

· Front-of-the-line access to Santa’s House presented by Coca-Cola®, where the Claus family invites you into their North Pole home as the elves prepare for Christmas. There, Santa will take a break from his busy holiday schedule to meet and take photos with in his private study.

· An exclusive up-close encounter with Busch Gardens’ African penguins.

· Fun holiday activities at the Holly Jolly Christmas Party, including writing a letter to Santa, decorating decadent cupcakes and singing classic Christmas carols.

· Delicious pizza and salad buffet hosted by Mrs. Claus and her elves at Garden Gate Café, or a holiday feast at the Crown Colony Restaurant for an additional fee.

· VIP seating to Christmas On Ice, where Yuletide melodies, deadline-driven elves and the big man himself come together to celebrate the many wonders of Christmas during this holiday spectacular.

· Commemorative photo with Santa Claus and refillable hot chocolate mug.

For more information about these exclusive experiences, visit ChristmasTown.com for pricing and reservations. Christmas Town is included with any annual pass, Fun Card or daily admission to the park. The 2016 Fun Card is available for purchase now. With the 2016 Fun Card, guests pay for one day and get all of 2016 free. Plus, guests who purchase their 2016 Fun Card now can also visit Busch Gardens for the remainder of 2015 for no additional cost, including the popular Christmas Town™ event.

Be the first to know about new events, special deals and future announcements by following the park’s blog at BuschGardensTampaBlog.com, or “Like” the Busch Gardens Tampa FB Page and follow @buschgardens on Twitter and Instagram .

Marijean

My name is MJ. I have two wonderful children and work part time as well as volunteer at my children's school.

Three Things A Mom Needs When Vacationing In Benidorm

July 28, 2014 By Anne

Benidorm is one of the more popular towns in Alicante, and features everything you need for a perfect family vacation. Benidorm holidays 2014 are all about fun and relaxing beach activities that are backed up by beautiful surroundings. Your kids will enjoy the gorgeous beaches and clear blue water, and you can relax in the evenings at one of the many family-friendly Tapas bars.

However, there are plenty of things to remember when packing for your Benidorm holiday – here are three essentials we recommend.

Sunscreen

Although this one’s obvious, it should be at the top of everyone’s list. Children’s skin is delicate and can burn easily, especially if you’re outdoors on the beach all day. Make sure you get a water-resistant, broad spectrum sunscreen for maximum coverage, and remember to reapply frequently. Remember to protect yourself from the sun so as to enjoy a hassle-free beach vacation.

European Plug Adaptor

Essential yet easy to miss off your packing list, a good adaptor is needed to charge your camera to capture those special moments. It will also keep your mobile fully powered for keeping up with news from home, or staying in touch with friends. For those who love to get stuck into a good book on the beach, it will also keep your e-reader charged and ready to go.

Beach Games

What better way to enjoy some quality time with the family than stirring up a little competition! A beach cricket set can provide hours of entertainment for all ages, or why not get some Wacky Splash rackets for some water-based tennis fun? Frisbee is also a classic beach game that takes up very little luggage space, and you can even buy a beach version of Twister. All of these games can be played one-on-one or as a group, ensuring everyone can join in.

These items can help make your holiday in Benidorm that little bit more complete. Start preparing a week or more before you travel, and make a list of items to pack as you think of them. That way you can be sure of a smooth vacation with minimal fuss.

Anne

My Son’s Homecoming

July 16, 2014 By Anne

My son went to Indiana for two weeks and just came home yesterday. My daughter was so excited to get to see her bra-bra. I was nervous as he flew stand-by and the flight was delayed due to the weather.

She clung to him for the rest of the night!

My son

Anne

Disney Quest Indoor Interactive Theme Park

April 2, 2014 By Anne

Thank you to Disney for proving us tickets to Disney Quest.

During my trip to the Type A Bootcamp in Disney this past weekend, my family and I were able to attend Disney Quest. Disney Quest is a five story, indoor, interactive theme park. We visited Disney Quest about 4 years ago, but now that my daughter is older I thought she would like to revisit it. And what teenage boy doesn’t like video games?

We arrived in Orlando, Friday early afternoon and checked into our hotel. Then we took the bus over to Downtown Disney. It was a bit of a walk to Disney Quest but after being in the car for 2.5 hours, it was nice to walk around.

It’s located at Downtown Disney West Side, this 5 story, 100,000 sq. ft. attraction houses some of the most cutting edge technology, mixed with the very best concepts from Disney’s imagineers.

We received our tickets from Will Call and were told we could come and go as we please up until closing which is 11 pm on Fridays and Saturdays. When you enter, you immediately take the elevator to the third floor. From there you can take the stairs or elevators to any of the five floors to play and play and play.

Right on the third floor we got to see a giant Wreck It Ralph. A great photo opp, right?

From there we walked around and found lots of games to play…

My son’s favorite games – football and basket ball.

My favorite section was the Replay Zone. They had all kinds of classic arcade games like, Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Frogger, Space Invaders, Centipede, Asteroids, Q-bert and Mario Bros. It I love Q-bert!!

My daughter loves to dance and was able to try her moves.

She also tried some pinball. I LOVE pinball! I played a few games my self. After an hour of playing we were hungry. So we headed upstairs to floor five and had a bite to eat. My husband and I shared a hamburger, made with real hamburger and fries. My son had the chicken basket. It had a lot of real chicken pieces in there.

My daughter and husband found Buzz Lightyear’s AstroBlaster. You could see it from a floor above and it looked really fun. Unfortunalty my daughter was 2 inches shy to play. She cried a little but then we went on to other games. The buzz Lightyear’s AstroBlaster is kind of like bumper cars. The cars roll over and suck up foam balls (“asteroids”) on the floor. By doing so, the asteroids will be sucked up into the cabin where players can then load them into a cannon and shoot at the other cars. If hit in the correct spot, one’s car may spin around uncontrollably for ten seconds. Usually there are two players to a car; however, it is possible for one person to pilot and shoot at the same time. Hopefully next time we go she will be tall enough!

My daughter and I took a look at the Create Zone. There were many areas to “create” art or music. My daughter drew Donald Duck. The picture though is terrible, my picture not hers. My phone added a huge flash. It’s pretty dark in there.

Other Zones to explore:

•EXPLORE ZONE: You’ll be transported to another world as you experience the Virtual Jungle Cruise while shooting the rapids. Aladdin’s Magic Carpet Ride sends you through Agrabah as you race to release the Genie. Go in search of hidden treasure on the Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for Buccaneer Gold.
•SCORE ZONE: Become a superhero as you Ride the Comix! in a 3D comic book battle. Your crew visits other planets as you go on a rescue mission in Invasion! An Alien Encounter. The Mighty Ducks Pinball Slam puts you in the middle of the action.
•CREATE ZONE: Express yourself in this artistic center. At the Living Easels you can paint a live masterpiece. Create and ride your one of a kind rollercoaster at CyberSpace Mountain. Toy Story fans will love Sid’s Create-A-Toy where you can assemble and take home your own toy. Become a Disney animator at the Animation Academy. Budding musical stars can create their own CD by choosing from over 20 styles and 1000 vocals at the Radio Disney SongMaker.
•REPLAY ZONE: Classic games and rides with Buzz Lightyear’s AstroBlaster pitting you against your competitors in a zany bumper car race. Mad Wave Motion Theater gives you a choice of riding a fantasy coaster or steering a high speed race car. The Dance Zone offers the latest dance video games and KidQuest is designed for kids ages 2 – 7. Custom Redemption Games require the purchase of Disney Quest Game Play Cards. Points can be used to redeem prizes.

So we left after a few hours. Had we started in the morning we would have gone back. But we were ready for some rest and night time was coming soon.

If you are heading to the parks and want to try something new, check out Downtown Disney and Disney Quest!

There are a few games that require additional money but most of the games are “free” with your ticket into the park. Prices are Children $35.00 (3-9) adult $40.00 (10 & up).