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Family Travel Tip Tuesday: Theme Park Membership Has Its Privileges

May 19th, 2009 by bsmith | 1 Comment | Filed in Disneyland, Family Travel, Legoland, San Diego Day Trips, Sea World, theme parks, Travel Discounts
Jared Makes A Camel Friend, Legoland California

Jared Makes A Camel Friend, Legoland California

If you are thinking about purchasing a theme park pass, be sure to investigate the extra benefits and privileges that the theme park may offer passholders.  Although these vary from park to park, many times these extras will almost pay for your entire membership.

Since my two youngest were born less than a year apart, our family has become experts at the “staycation”.  Traveling far from home with two preschoolers seems a bit too crazy for us at this point.  Our location here in Carlsbad gives us many options for family fun.  Visiting theme parks and zoos is one of the things that we enjoy doing together as a family.  In the past three years we have held passes for the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park, Legoland, and Disneyland.

Legoland

If you live in Southern California or visit frequently throughout the year, a Legoland membership offers many opportunities for family adventure.  In addition to the great special events and members only activities that Legoland holds throughout the year,  Legoland offers excellent deals and discounts to its members.  Twice a year, members receive coupons for free entrance with a passholder.  This gives your family opportunities to bring friends and grandparents along to enjoy a Legoland adventure.  Also, if there is a Dad or teenager in your family who won’t be making it to Legoland very often this can be a great way to bring them along to enjoy the fun.

Legoland pass holders also receive free entrance to The Wave in Vista and Wild Rivers in Irvine.  In addition to the regular member dining and shopping discounts, Legoland’s quarterly newsletters contain coupons for additional savings.  This month I have a $10 voucher for the Ocean Journey Cafe, a free bucket of water balloons at the Raptor Splash, and other discount coupons.

Members benefit from Legoland’s efforts to promote the new Sea Life Aquarium.  Legoland is continuing to offer special visitor rates to Legoland members and friends and family.  Come enjoy the aquarium for as little as $5 per person!  Note that a coupon is required.  The curent coupon says that it expires 5/31/09, but keep checking the site.  So far they have extended this offer several times.

The Unauthorized Legoland Guidebook  will help your choose the combination of  memberships that will save you money and work for your family.

Disneyland

When we were planning a three day trip to Disneyland, I decided to investigate the price of membership.  I knew that we wouldn’t be visiting too often, but since we live only an hour away a few return visits would be fun.  After doing my research I decided that the Southern California Select passes offered the best value four our budget.  Unlike Legoland, non premium Disney Passholders do not receive many benefits.  However, they do receive some limited dining discounts in the parks and shopping discounts at Downtown Disney.  Still, with prices that can be less than a multi-day visit, an annual Disneyland pass is worth considering.

San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park

Membership at these attractions is extremely affordable.  (Kids passes are only $2 more than the one day Best Value Ticket).  Adult members receive two free guest passes which come in handy for out of town guests.  Pass holders also receive free admission to the Journey into Africa Tour at the Wild Animal Park…this is a must see!   In addition, they receive unlimited Skyfari aerial tram rides at the zoo.  These are important since, kids have to do alot of walking at the San Diego Zoo.  Membership covers both attractions so your family has plenty to explore.

Members also receive a monthly zoo magazine that contains interesting articles about the animals and great coupons including more free admission tickets for passholder guests.   All pass members also receive discounts on Wild Animal Park parking.

Sea World San Diego

We have had the opportunities to obtain discounted entrance to Sea World with our preschool, so I haven’t gone the pass route yet.  I am dreaming of an  Unauthorized Sea World Guidebook some day, so we may be getting passes next summer. 

In the mean time, be aware that Sea World offers the Fun Card which is a great deal.  You get a pass good for admission throughout the entire calendar year for the price of a single admission.

Parking

Make sure you factor the price of parking into your membership decisions.  Sometimes it pays to buy a more premium membership for at least one member of your family in order to get free parking.  Be sure to investigate whether the person needs to be the driver or just in the car.  Premium child memberships are often cheaper and  also offer free parking.

If you don’t live in Southern California, I encourage you to research theme park memberships in your area.  You may just discover the ticket to a whole year of family fun.

Happy Trails,

Bridget

 

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Free Sea Life Aquarium Ticket!!!

May 15th, 2009 by bsmith | No Comments | Filed in Legoland, theme parks, Travel Discounts

The Sea Life Aquarium is sponsoring an E-Waste recycling event.  If you bring your old TV, DVD player, cd player, computer, cell phone etc. to the Legoland back gate between 8am and noon on Saturday May 16th.  This event is sponsored by Recycle San Diego and I Love a Clean San Diego.

I’ll be heading to the Sea Life Aquarium next week with one of my mommy blogger friends so I could really use a ticket.  I plan to pack up my old electronics and head over.  See you there!

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Family Travel Tip Tuesday: Join the Club!

May 12th, 2009 by bsmith | No Comments | Filed in Travel Discounts, Travel Tips

A few years ago, we took a fabulous Florida Vacation while my husband attended a conference.  We had the opportunity to stay at the Tampa Mariott Waterside Marina and Luxury Hotel.  We had so much fun staying at this Mariott ,  Ken joined their rewards program.  (By the way, if you ever stay there,  the Cafe Waterside had a delicious oatmeal creme brulee with fresh berries. I’ve never tasted anything like it. It was one of the least expensive items on the menu, and I had it for breakfast every day during my stay.)

Whenever Ken travels on business he tries to stay at a Marriott.  This works out well, because although Mariott has beautiful luxury hotels like the one in Tampa, it also offers more affordable options for the budget business traveler.  When traveling with the family we prefer properties that offer suites like The Fairfield Inn, The Residence Inn, Towne Place Suites, and Springhill Suites.  The small kitchens, continental breakfast, and other ammenities really come in handy when traveling with the kids.  Since we are rewards members we also earn free hotel stays.  If you pick an out of the way location those points can really go a long way.  On our recent visit to Seattle, my husband and I stayed at the Towne Place Suites in the picturesque town of Mukilteo, Washington.  It was a drive into the city, but the property was very close to the water.  It had an extensive continental breakfast, a basketball court, umbrellas in case of rain, as well as the usual pool and workout room.  You could even rent a fish to keep you company during your stay!  Ken and I used reward points to stay all three nights!  Without the free room our Seattle adventure would have been much shorter.

Sign up for the Mariott Rewards Program or choose the hotel chain that your family uses the most and sign up for their loyalty program.  With any luck you can enjoy a few extra affordable family adventures with your free hotel stay.

Our Seattle trip also showed us how important it is to  be enrolled in those car rental preferred member rewards clubs, and to keep your info updated.  Ken thought he had a membership with Dollar Rental Car, but his membership was so outdated they had changed the name of the club and he was no longer in the computer!  We waited about 20 minutes to get to the front desk, just to do the paperwork for our rental.   Then it was off to an off-site building to wait again to pick up the car.  If the kids had been with us it would have  been torture!  Dollar Rental Car had rock bottom prices, but the service was slow.  Here’s the link to sign up for their Dollar Express program.  Do it now and save yourself some rental car hassle.

Happy Trails,

Bridget

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Best Legoland Bargain of the Year: Celebrate Carlsbad Day Discount Tickets for $15

April 26th, 2009 by bsmith | No Comments | Filed in Legoland, theme parks, Travel Discounts
Jared on His Way to a Joust, Legoland California

Jared on His Way to a Joust, Legoland California

The Carlsbad Educational Foundation is hosting its annual Celebrate Carlsbad Day Fundraiser at Legoland California on May 2, 2009 from 1pm-9pm and includes evening fireworks.   Tickets are only $15  dollars and must be purchased in advance at several locations throughout North County.  The Sheraton Carlsbad is even offering special Celebrate Carlsbad Day discounts for guests visiting on May 1st and 2nd.

These are by far the cheapest Legoland tickets you can purchase, and they are for a great cause.  All proceeds benefit enrichment programs at the Carlsbad Schools.  Like all districts here in California, Carlsbad has been hit hard by budget cuts.  The grants distributed by the Carlsbad Educational foundation are key to maintaining a high quality engaging education for Carlsbad students.  You can catch a glimpse of some of the great performing arts and music programs funded by the foundation as several student acts including the award winning Carlsbad High dancers perform throughout the day. 

This is a great bargain, and in general you get the same level of Legoland experience available to visitors on any give day.  There are, however, two big differences.  The Big Test Show in Fun Town is cancelled to make room for student performances.  Also it is CROWDED!  We attended last year because it was the day that our Legoland passes were expiring.  We followed some of the strategies in my book that allowed us to have fun without waiting in too many lines.    It definately took longer to get around and we skipped some of the rides that were too busy.  I am guessing that early evening may be somewhat less crowded, so consider staying late if you go.

Still, if you think this will be one of your only Legoland experiences ever, and you did not have a chance to buy a $15 dollar ticket, I would plan to visit another day.  The crowds might not be worth the visit, although the fireworks will be fun.

Here’s the information for obtaining advance tickets http://www.carlsbaded.org/events_telethon.php .  If you decide to go, I thank you in advance.  My kids will benefit from your generosity.

For more Legoland bargains as well as tips on how to avoid the crowds, check out my Unauthorized Legoland Guidebook available on LULU.Com

Happy Trails,

Bridget

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The Latest Discounts, Bargains and Contests at Legoland

March 6th, 2009 by bsmith | 4 Comments | Filed in Legoland, San Diego Day Trips, theme parks, Travel Discounts

Legoland offers lots of sweet promotions and discounts to members throughout the year.  In addition to the special March pricing for the Sea Life Aquarium,  Legoland is offering a 20% Discount at the  Ocean Journey Cafe that is located just outside the aquarium.  It would be a convenient place to stop and have a bite before visiting either the Sea Life Aquarium or Legoland.  You can find the 20% off coupon here http://www.legoland.com/NR/rdonlyres/11555C93-0989-4349-8F9F-DB9D4D90C808/0/OJC_coupon.pdf

Legoland Members also receive a free kids meal at the Soup Plantation,  a Hornblower Family Four Pack where kids cruise free with a paying adult, and a discount to see the cool new Wild Ocean Imax film at the Fleet Science Center.

Soup Plantation Coupon

http://www.legoland.com/NR/rdonlyres/8DDBABA4-880E-46F7-8565-0EACB1E3E49C/0/souplantation_coupon_2009.pdf

Hornblower Coupon

http://www.legoland.com/NR/rdonlyres/DE969DBD-ABD9-41B8-A595-3C8F5BDDF4C5/0/hce_coupon.jpg

Ruben Fleet Science Center IMAX discount: See Legoland e-mail.

Most of these discounts are distributed through Legoland’s E-News Newsletters.  If you are a member or just a fan, but sure to subscribe here http://www.legoland.com/Plan-your-visit/enews.htm.

I was having trouble accessing the coupons that relate to these offers.  I have an e-mail into Legoland and will be sure to post an update as soon as I get one.

The Legoland Junior Model Master Builder Competition is fun year round, but this month you have a special incentive for participating.  The winners of this month’s competition will be invited to that exclusive after hours premier of the new Bob the Builder 3-D movie as well as enjoying a Legoland 10th birthday complete with cake, cream, and a preview of that giant Lego birthday cake that’s being constructed!  The competition takes place this weekend. Everyone who participates will also be entered in a raffle for a Legoland prize pack, so this is a contest worth entering!

On an unrelated topic,  I am organizing a “Will Play for Food” canned food drive next Thursday at 9am at Aviara Park in Carlsbad.  Bring your kids, some canned food, and a snack to share. After our meetup I will deliver the food to Brother Bennos food pantry.  If you come, be sure to find me and say hi.  It would be great to meet some of my readers.  If you live outside of Carlsbad, visit playforfood.blogspot.com for information and inspiration on organizing your own Will Play for Food drive.

Happy Trails,

Bridget

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