Family Outing: Legoland Florida

Last year for my birthday (and my son's) we went to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  This year we were looking for another outing and decided on Legoland, Florida.

When I saw on Facebook a few weeks ago that Legoland, Florida was giving away free vouchers to visit the new Legoland theme park, I jumped on it.  I called my older son who lives away from home and he did the same. By doing so, we got three free vouchers (@ $75 each = $225) PLUS a $10 off coupon for a senior ($55).  So, admission  cost us $55.  Admission plus a nice lunch and gas totaled about $100 for all four of us to enjoy this delightful new park.  A great bargain for a theme park just about anywhere.  :)

Regular admission prices are a bit high in my opinion.  I think $50 per person would be  reasonable and might get more people in after an initial visit.  I hope the high prices don't make this park close down as Cypress Gardens did.

If you have not gone to the park yet and have one of these vouchers  good through this weekend, BE SURE that you have read all the fine print and take everything you need to get in  (2 emails, VIP card which must be registered online, photo ID).  I felt bad for one lady and her family who arrived when we did. She apparently had not read all the instructions in the original email and did not have the proper documents to validate her voucher, so they family was turned away.   

Our family has  been BIG Lego fans ever since our sons were very small.  Although this park is really ideal for young children (I'd say up to age 12) there were areas that we could all enjoy-- the four roller coaster rides, the Mini-Land (my favorite), the old Cypress Gardens, a ski show, a water ride...

We ate at The Market near the entrance and all enjoyed our meal.  The weather was perfect, cool in the morning and mid-80s in the afternoon.    All in all, a wonderful day.   I hope the park does well.  There were very few people there when we arrived and it was never crowded. Granted, it was a Thursday, but for a much anticipated park, we expected many more people there.  Hours are from 10 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. and you can see pretty much everything in that time frame.  Tickets are $75 per adult; $65 for children (3-11) and seniors.

For more details on the park, go to THIS LINK.

PROMOTIONS  (found this on another website):  
Legoland does offer multiple promotions. There is currently an offer on Pepsi cans. Certified teachers (with a pay stub) can get a free annual pass. Also, if you are a part of a homeschool group, you can set up a field trip and each person is only $5  (you must have proof of FPEA membership or letter of intent to the county stating you are homeschooling).

Free Entrance to National Parks TOMORROW Saturday, September 24, 2011

It's a bit warm here in Florida, but if it's cooler in the morning or where you live, go visit your local national park tomorrow. [And mark your calendar for November 11-13]  There is no entrance fee for those that normally charge fees.  

In Florida, those five  NATIONAL  parks are:

• Canaveral National Seashore
• Castillo de San Marcos National Monument
• Dry Tortugas National Park
• Everglades National Park
• Gulf Islands National Seashore

 For more information, go to THIS LINK.

Free Entrance Days in the National Parks

America's Best Idea - the national parks - gets even better with several fee-free days at more than 100 national parks that usually charge entrance fees.*

Mark your calendar for these upcoming fee-free days in 2011:

• September 24
  National Public Lands Day is the country's largest single-day effort to spruce up parks and other open spaces.
  Worldwide Day of Play encourages children to get up and get active. The flagship event, hosted by the National Park Service, the National Park Foundation, and Nickelodeon, takes place in Washington, D.C. at President's Park.
• November 11-13
  Veterans Day weekend

Making the fun even more affordable, many national park concessioners are joining the National Park Service in welcoming visitors with their own special offers.

Here's a tip - many of your 395 national parks NEVER charge an entrance fee. So start Planning Your Visit!

*Fee waiver includes: entrance fees, commercial tour fees, and transportation entrance fees. Other fees such as reservation, camping, tours, concession and fees collected by third parties are not included unless stated otherwise.

FAMILY OUTING: Bear Grylls and Juice Plus Gaylord Palms Orlando

Last night we had a fun family outing.    We had heard a couple of months ago that Bear Grylls would be speaking at a Juice Plus convention and had been trying for quite awhile to get tickets (which we thought we  needed to get in).   Turns out that we didn't need them after all and it was actually free to the public which many were not aware of.  They did not even require us to pay the $12 parking fee that the Gaylord Palms normally requires upon exiting.     I had packed dinner for us which we ate at Disney before heading over to the hotel, so a nice outing in a lovely location for gas + $2.50 cup of coffee.  :)

Surprisingly, we saw many of our old friends who are distributors for Juice Plus.  I had no idea so many that I know sell this product.   I have heard that it is excellent for your overall nutrition but I have never used it.  My only association with Juice Plus was that it helped me to purchase an almost new VitaMix 5200 which had been on my wishlist for ages. If you don't know the story, please read it  at THIS LINK as it  is a wonderful example of God's provision.

Bear Grylls is the adventure guy on the Discovery Channel's hit program Man vs. Wild, one of our favorite family programs.  Until last year I had never heard of him but he is apparently a hit both here in the U.S.  and abroad.   What a pleasant unpretentious family man.  Very interesting biography.  He spoke at a local mega-church here last year and from what I hear he is a Christian, although he did not focus on that much last night during his interview even when asked about it.  I found an article in which he was interviewed about his faith.  Check it out at THIS LINK.

We had great seats for his interview but as is usually the case, the large monitors gave us a much better view.  Bear is married with three sons.  His bio is at THIS LINK if you'd like to read it.  A strong supporter of the Boy Scouts, he is the Chief Scout in the UK and also supports many other charitable causes.

He was at the convention to endorse the Juice Plus product line  which he has used since he was a young child. His mother was (maybe still is) a distributor in the United Kingdom.  Overall, an interesting interview and a pleasure to see / hear him in person.  Our sons waited in line to get his autograph and spoke with him briefly.  Can't wait until his next adventure on Man vs. Wild.  :)

The Villa de Flora Restaurant in the Marketplace  has  a fabulous looking buffet lunch for  about $20 / person; dinner $30+ which we may revisit some day for a special occasion. :)   There are several other restaurants there as well.  Here are a few photos inside the Gaylord Palms if you've never been. This was my first time.