I mentioned it last month, but I wanted to say it again in case someone missed it. You have until June 22nd to book a Walt Disney World trip with FREE Disney Dining. This means that if you stay on property and get at least a 1-day park pass (of course you can get passes for as many days as you’d like), you’ll get FREE meals for everyone in your party!

You really can’t ask for more than that. I’ve done this twice before, and it’s incredible. You will get to eat at some really great restaurants, and won’t have to worry about the price!

The package is a little bit different than in previous years, but it’s still great considering it’s FREE:

Each day, each person in the room gets 1 quick serve meal (which includes an entree, dessert, and drink), 1 table service meal (which includes an entree, dessert, and drink), as well as a snack credit which can be used on many items such as ice cream, fruit, drinks, etc.

Tips are no longer included, so you’ll still have to pay for that…but think about all the free food you will be getting each day!

It really is worth it, since you have to pay for a hotel room anytime you go anyway, so you would still have to pay to eat. I’d much rather just pay for tips than have to pay for my meals plus tips!

I’ll be going again in 2009 (hopefully they’ll have free dining again!) since I was just there in 2007, but I really recommend it to everyone.

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When going on vacation, it’s great when you’re able to find a discount to see some of the attractions, especially if you plan to see quite a few on your trip. When visiting San Diego specifically, you might want some sort of discount, since there are many things to see that each have their own admissions ticket!

The Go San Diego Card is a card that you can buy to get you into 38 San Diego Attractions, all at one price. You can get it for as many days as you’d like, choosing from 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7 days.

Some of the attractions included are the San Diego Zoo, Legoland, whale watching, and more. A few of the biggest Los Angeles attractions are also included, like the Kodak Theater and the Behind the Scenes Hollywood Tour.

What’s even better about this, is through May 22nd, you can buy this card for 10% off on 3, 5, and 7 day cards. So you would have saved a lot of money before, but now you’ll save even more!

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The Grand Canyon is an amazing place to visit. The problem may be, that you don’t want to plan an entire trip around the Grand Canyon. What if you were visiting Las Vegas, and spent one of your days visiting the Grand Canyon? What if you didn’t have to do the drive yourself?

This is exactly what we did, the first time we were in Las Vegas. We spent one of the days doing a bus tour like one offered by the Grand Canyon Tour Company.

It’s a great deal. Usually for under $200.00 for 2 people, they will pick you up on the Las Vegas Strip early in the morning, give you breakfast, take you to see the Hoover Dam (albeit a short visit!), give you a buffet lunch, and take you to the Grand Canyon. You won’t get back to your hotel until late at night (as it’s a long drive each way…) but it’s worth it!

They also offer other tours, such as a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon, so you’ll have to see which is the perfect tour for you. Either way, it’s an easy way to get to see the amazing Grand Canyon, without having to do the long drive yourself, and you can still spend the rest of your trip in Las Vegas. I am so glad that we did this tour, and would definitely do it again.

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If you’re going to Universal Studios Orlando, and are considering staying on site, you might want to take a look at this deal. United Vacations has a deal where if you stay at one of the 3 on-site hotels (Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, Hard Rock Hotel, or the Loews Royal Pacific Resort) for at least 4 nights, you’ll get 2 FREE adult 2-park unlimited admission tickets! How great is that? You’ll also get a free Universal ExpressSM so you can skip the regular lines at most rides and attractions!

Not too bad, right?

To get this deal you have to book by December 12th, and can travel anytime by December 25th! So you have plenty of time. The Simpsons ride is opening soon, so if you’ve been waiting for that, it’s almost here!

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Looking for the perfect vacation for the whole family? As I mentioned last week, Disney is offering FREE Dining if you travel between August 24th and September 20th. You have to stay on property, but since they have all types of hotels, you’re sure to find one that fits your budget. United has a great deal going on right now where you can book your trip to Disney, get the FREE dining package, and get a great price!

I can’t recommend Disney’s FREE dining offer enough. We’ve done it twice now, and really enjoy it. Hopefully they’ll offer it next year so we can do it again. We figure since we went last year, that we’d go somewhere else this year. But it makes your vacation so nice and easy not to have to worry about paying for your meals. You’ll also get some great meals when you have FREE dining, and since you won’t have to worry about the cost, you can order what you’d like, and get to try some really great foods!

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The Carnival Splendor - the newest ship from the Carnival Cruise Line will start taking people all over Europe on July 2nd. If you’ve been thinking about taking your family on a cruise in Europe, but weren’t sure if they would have a good time, the Carnival Splendor is for you!

This ship was created for families, and therefore has a lot of amenities just for those with families. Take for instance, the many different kids clubs they have. The kids clubs are separated into 3 age groups. There is Camp Carnival for kids aged 2 through 11, Circle C for kids 12 through 14, and then Club O2 for kids 15 through 17. Each of these groups of kids have their own areas to play in, and these areas are much larger than on other ships.

The two older groups get their own dance floors with high tech sound and lighting systems, TV’s, and more. They will even have shore excursions for the older kids so that if you would like, they can see Europe with kids their own age. These areas are much bigger than on other ships, so you won’t have to worry about your kids getting bored, no matter what their age!

There are many special food choices for kids, so they will be happy both at meal time, as well as walking around the ship - especially since pizza and ice cream will be available 24 hours a day!

So if you’ve wanted to take a cruise in Europe, but have been worried that your kids would be bored, here is the perfect compromise! They’ll have lots of fun, and you’ll get some time alone!

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It’s finally here!! If you’ve looked into going to Walt Disney World in August or September, most likely you’ve heard of the Free Dining Plan they have had the past few years. We took advantage of it in September 2005, and this past September as well.

It’s back! If you plan on going to Walt Disney World between August 24th and September 20th, and are staying on property, as long as each person has at least a 1-day park ticket, you will get FREE Disney Dining with your reservation!!!

Considering it usually costs $37.99 for an adult, and $9.99 per child, you are getting a great deal. What exactly do you get with the Disney Dining Plan?

Each day, each person gets: 1 quick serve meal (which includes an entree, dessert, and drink), 1 table service meal (which includes an entree, dessert, and drink), as well as a snack credit which can be used on many items such as ice cream, fruit, drinks, etc. Tips are no longer included…but think about all the free food you will be getting each day!

We have taken advantage of this deal twice, and both times it was incredible! We ate some really great meals, and it didn’t cost us anything. The best part was, we went in September after most kids had gone back to school, so it wasn’t even very crowded! We were able to walk onto most rides without having to wait in line. So between that and the great (FREE) food, it was an amazing trip. Actually, we’re hoping they do it next year so that we can go in September of 2009. It’s fun going every other year for us!

To book the Free Dining package, you can either do it at the Disney Web Site, AAA, or at your local travel agent. If you do go, have fun!

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Rumor has it that FREE Dining at Disney will be offered for late August -Mid September starting tomorrow, April 10th. I have taken advantage of this twice before, and can’t tell you how great of a deal it is.

Tomorrow I’ll be back with more details on exactly how you can book your trip…and get your meals for free! Since I did this last September (and was just at Disneyland last month), I won’t be booking this year…but I’m hoping they’ll do it again next year because then I will take them up on it!

I’ll have all the details for you tomorrow!

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Just last week, the Trump International Hotel and Tower Las Vegas opened! If you’re looking to go to Las Vegas soon, and want to stay there, you can get a good deal through Orbitz.

They have a Sizzlin’ Hot Vegas Sale going on right now where you can get $50.00 off when you book a qualifying vacation package for travel between March 24 and August 31, 2008. You have to book by May 18th to get this deal.

You can also get a $25.00 resort credit & 3rd night free at Trump International Hotel and Tower Las Vegas, so that could be a pretty great deal!

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We enjoyed driving through Balboa Park to get to the San Diego Zoo, so the next afternoon, before we went to the airport to go home, we decided to go back. It’s a really nice area to walk around, and they also have a TON of museums and gardens. We could have easily spend 2-3 days here, but unfortunately we only had about 3 hours.

After looking at the list of attractions, we decided to go to the Fleet Science Center. It was fun, there were a lot of attractions, although it was geared a little more towards children.

We did get to see a new IMAX film about dolphins, so that was a lot of fun!

If you do go to San Diego, you should plan to spend at least 2 days in Balboa Park. One for the San Diego Zoo, and a second for any of the other museums or gardens that interest you!

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