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Tag: travel with kids

Summer Vacation 2019 – Branson, MO

While just about everyone I know has said ‘I need a vacation’ at least once, sometimes planning a vacation – especially one with kids (and on a budget!) – can be more stressful than the daily life you are trying to escape from!  Over the years, I have definitely learned a few tips and tricks for vacationing that I am always more than happy to share.

Sometimes, deciding where to go on vacation can be the most difficult decision. Like most, I have a bucket list for places I’d love to go – and I hope I’ll get to them all eventually – but for now, we have some more ‘local’ spots we tend to frequent. For this years summer vacation, we will be returning to Branson, MO.

Branson is probably most known for it’s many shows. Musical, variety, magic, acrobatic, and so much more. Despite the many shows, there so many other things to do there as well.  All of these little excursions can sure add up to a lot of $$ though – especially if you have a large family.  So how can you cut costs?

Start by checking out Groupon. You can search by location and see what deals they have. You can get super discounted admission tickets, discounts on food, lodging, and more. And some deals are upwards of 50% off. That is a huge savings!!

For lodging, we are lucky enough to own a timeshare through Capital Vacations. They are always adding new locations and if you are a last minute traveler – you could get a private condo for $100 or less for your entire stay. Definitely worth checking them out! It is a big investment, but if you plan on traveling, it just might be worth it! Want the savings, but not the investment? A timeshare owner like myself can book for you – you just pay the cost!

For our Branson vacation, we have rented a 2 bedroom condo with a full kitchen, living room, washer/dryer. Even if you don’t have a timeshare, it’s worth finding a place that has a kitchen in it. This can help save you loads of $$ by cooking in instead of going out. The washer and dryer is a bonus as well – you can take less clothing and wash/dry it all while you are there.

Another tip is booking a place that already has a pool and/or waterpark there that is free for guests to use. To purchase tickets to a waterpark can be pricey, so if you book a place that has it included, it could definitely help add to your savings.

If you aren’t able to book a place that has the washer/dryer services and just want to try to condense packing as much as possible, try out some compression packing organizers. You can help maximize the space you do have!

 

Now, some recommended places to see in Branson:

And probably our favorite…

 

This is a very SMALL sampling of what there is to do in Branson, it’s just a few of our favorites. If you go down to the jet boats, plan for an afternoon of shopping on their pier! Make sure to take plenty of sunscreen!

A few other things you may want top have for the kids if it’s a length drive:

These are just a few tips and tricks to vacation planning and can be applied to pretty much anywhere you go!

Here’s just a few pictures from our last trip:

Planning A Disney Cruise!

I will be 34 on my next birthday and I’ve NEVER been to Disney. I’ve loved Disney movies ever since I was a kid. When they were on VHS (not DVD’s or streaming like they are now – Hulu? Is that your dogs name? haha) – REAL VHS that you had to rewind. And on a lot of those VHS, they’d have ads for Disneyland or Disneyworld and couldn’t wait to pack my suitcase and go. I wanted to have dinner with the princesses (ESPECIALLY Ariel) and get pictures with every single princess. And let’s not forget about Mickey and Minnie, I would have to see them too!!

But alas, that day never came. My dream of going, however, has stuck with me. I have an entire Pinterest board dedicated to Disney. But once you reach a certain age, it’s just not cool for your mom and dad to take you anymore – and I think 20’s is way beyond that. So my options – go solo as an adult and try not to be the creepy adult amongst the sea of children – or wait til I have kids and they are old enough to go. I’ll go with the latter.

Fast forward to the present. My daughter is 3, almost 4, and is obsessed with Disney Princesses. Really, Disney in general. My 6 year old son isn’t quite as big of a Disney nut, but he still loves almost all things Disney. I’ve been waiting and waiting for the day when my husband would finally decide on a date to go. Well, that date FINALLY happened! But of course we don’t be going until 2020….

Our original plan was to go to Disney World, but we decided a cruise would be more up our alley. After going on an Alaskan Cruise for our honeymoon, I wouldn’t turn down any cruise! It was the perfect way to vacation for us. Since I’ve never been to Disney (or cruise), I knew I needed a little help planning. I didn’t know the first thing about it and what to do, what I needed, etc etc. So I turned to my good friend, Heather, who is a travel agent specifically for Disney and Universal Studios. Without her, I probably would have waited to long to book it, paid way more than I needed to, and got a much smaller room on the cruise.

Seriously – travel agents are the BOMB. They’ve usually had special training/certification, have traveled, possibly to the destination you are wanting to go, and know all sorts of tips/tricks to make your vacation go smooth and save you money. Heather has been to Disney several times and has been a travel agent for them for a while, so she knows her stuff. She’s even got a Facebook page, you can find her at Middle of the Magic Travel on Facebook. Hit her up for a quote on your very own Disney vacation!

My kids are beyond excited that they are going to get to go on this HUGE boat AND fly in an airplane. Of course my 3 year olds concept of time is WAY off and to her, we’ll be going tomorrow – but she’s about 496 days off. I don’t really want my kids to grow up any faster than they already do, but I think I’m even more stoked than they are to go!

There isn’t much else I can do now but wait and save those pennies so we can do everything we want on the cruise. I’ve got just under 500 days to do it. Tell me about your upcoming vacations. What have you got planned?

An older picture of us, but one of my favorites <3 Family Pic