Around here we are always working on some kind of "vacation".  For us getting away for an afternoon or a weekend is just as fun as getting away for a week.  We will take whatever we can get.

We are always looking for vacations that we can do on a budget.  The cheaper they are the more we can do.  Being that I am frugal about my trips you won't be surprised that I am doing a guest post over at Frugal Living NW.  Following her advice is what allows us to save money so we can do trips.

One of the things that we do every year is a roller coaster vacation, thus the name, Vacation Thrills.  I didn't think we would go this year, but right before my back surgery we decided to do one last run.  I know crazy, but I was getting a new disc, so I thought I might as well run the ones I had into the ground. Standing in line is what hurts the most, but we keep ourselves entertained to keep my mind off of it.  Want to know how to plan the perfect roller coaster vacation?

We also like experiencing things right in our backyard.  This year my husband and I celebrated our 20 year anniversary.  Since going away for a week wasn't an option (again that surgery got in the way) we decided to at least get out of town for a couple of days to Hood River.  We had the best time ever.

For us the thrills just won't stop.  So check back as we continue to look for fun vacations, find great places to eat and even become a tourist in our own town.  Like I said we are always up to something.

I am an avid couponer and I make my way to Coupons.com often.  Just today I noticed that you can click and print a $7 off coupon to Cedar Point.

All you will need to do is install a coupon printer on your computer. This will do nothing to harm your computer. Trust me, my husband is an IT guy and he has even allowed me to put it on his so I can print more coupons.  I am not sure how many people can use the coupon.  Just know that if you need more you can print 2 coupons per computer.

Enjoy the ride!!

Loved this place and would go back in a heart beat, but read on for how to make it work best for you.  This place is busy, so be prepared.

Read  my previous posts to find out what all we did at the park and other ways to "discover" Magic Mountain.

First off I went directly to the site and looked for a room with breakfast included for the 4 of us.  With taxes and anything else added it came to $313 for 2 nights.  I did so much better than that.  Check out the whole thing HERE. I did call and have her offer me something a little better, but I did best with package deal.

Since this Hotel is near the park(actually it's the closest) I figured it would be run down and marginal.  I was so surprised to see that it was not only very nice looking, but it was very clean.  I was very, very surprised.  It makes going back to your hotel to rest a whole lot more fun.

Our breakfast was a cook to order, so I wasn't really sure what to expect there.  BIG TIP:  When we were there the place was busy, but not off the charts busy.  I am sure during the busy season this place is a zoo and you really, really need to plan accordingly.

This is a sit down breakfast.  There is a pastry/cereal/toast bar plus a fruit bar.  From there you wait for someone to come take your order for hot food which is eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, pancakes and waffles to name a few.  The kitchen cranks it out as fast as they can, but they do get behind. The servers are running like crazy.  DO NOT think you will eat in 15 minutes or less plan accordingly.  It will take some time especially if you have to wait for a table.

I really, really appreciated the shuttle service. I am sure that since they were not super busy that they accommodated us well.  You have to schedule what time you want to be taken to the park and what time you want picked up.  Spots fill up quickly, so book at departures to the park as soon as you arrive.

We had scheduled a pick up, but some other people waiting had not.  Had we not scheduled it, those people would have never gotten picked up.  The nice thing is since the Hotel is so close they can turn around and come back for the next group within 5 minutes.

I am not sure in the busy season how many trips they become willing to take.  They claim one trip every 1/2 hour, but they were doing more.  At $15 a day for parking this was a great benefit to our hotel.  No other hotels in the area do this.  Not only do you save the $15, but you don't have to walk all the way from the parking lot or back to your car at the end of the day. Drop off and Pick up are right there by the entrance.

We spent a total of 3 days at the park.  Well, our half day the day we arrived, full day on Tuesday, then a half day on Wednesday before we had to catch our flight.  Because we went for 3 days we purchased the season passes.  This also allowed us discounts at stores plus coupons for so much more. We could have gotten into Hurricane Harbor for FREE, but we never did go.

If you are going and you want to get the most out of your day, make sure you go first thing in the morning.  We hit 6 rides in an hour and half.  The day before we had gotten there at 12pm, because of our flight, and we stayed until 6 and we rode 6 rides.  The lines were longer later in the day.  For even more tips about getting in quicker than everyone else make sure you check out yesterdays post.

Let' s back up and remind you of my first secret.  That was checking school calendar.  I realized that California was still in school June 14-16, so therefore the park was not super full.

Everyone runs right for Tatsu and X-2.  If you are going more than one day, pick one day to go the other way first, because very, very few people go that way.

We were on the very first ride of the day on Goliath.  By the time we made our way around to Scream, we sat and rode it 3 times in a row.

If you are a wooden roller coaster fan don't miss The Terminator.  It's one of the best wooden roller coasters.  It is super fast and the seats are ultra cushy making the ride much more enjoyable.  Don't pass this one by.

Because we did run a lot in the morning and hit the opposite side that most people go to, we were able to get in 14 rides on the 2nd day.  We would even take breaks.  Remember that we always pack our snacks, so they are healthy and much more affordable, but we mostly do it because it's just healthier.  We had trail mix and jerky packed in our cargo shorts.  Also, like I said before, we would stop and get our FREE glass of water to have with our snack.

I do also need to mention that we did something we don't often do.  This was do to that fact, that even though I was running through park and riding coasters, I did have back surgery scheduled for the day after we got home.   We did need to take breaks on this trip.  We ended up hitting the park hard in the morning, then we left for a few hours of napping, eating and swimming, only to return to the park right before closing and hitting more rides.  Had we stayed that extra 4 hours we would have had nearly 20 rides that day.

So I guess to answer my question, do you really need a flash pass for Magic Mountain, I would have to say, if you timed it right, there is no reason.  If you HAVE to go in the middle of summer and have the money to spend I would probably get one just so you can really enjoy the park. Read for restrictions before purchasing though.

Tomorrow I am going to post about the Hotel we stayed at and places we ate.

This is linked to Works for Me Wednesday

We have "discovered" some great tips while visiting Six Flags Magic Mountain, sorry it has taken me so long to get all the details out to you.  We have saved some money and time and found ways, that had we know, we could have saved even more money and time.  I missed out, but I am sharing with you, so yo don't miss out.

We like to get to the park just before it opens and stand at the gate and run in. I know we are crazy, but that's what works for our family.

BEST TIP OF THE YEAR:

We noticed that they have a line for Discover Card Holders.  Yep, that's right.  It pretty much looked like an express lane.  Masses of people to your right and to your left about 5 people in line.  We have a Discover card, but we did not bring, because we didn't know.  Bring your Discover card!

Also as you go around the park you get an instant 5% off of most things that you purchase, plus the discount for being a season pass holder. These signs were in all the windows of the gift shops and some of the eateries.  I think we also get 1% cash back on most purchases using our Discover card, so this really does start to add it.  Slowly, but every little bit helps.

All that to say, I guess it really does pay to "Discover" at all Six Flags nationwide.

Check back tomorrow as I share some more great money saving and time saving ideas.

Want to learn how to really enjoy and get the most out of your theme park trip?  I have some proven tips to share with you.

If you have already booked your trip there are still some tips to help you out.  Even if you can't use them all there are still some great tips in here to keep you happy while at the park of your choice.

1. Pack Light – If you don't have little ones, take as little as you possibly can.  This works great for places like Disneyland, because you can skip the bag check line and pass up all those people.  We load up the boys cargo shorts with things we might need, like snacks, phones, cameras and sunscreen.  You never have to keep up with a bag and in the end, we have never missed the bag.
   
2. Be Willing to Eat in the Park – This is a big one for me, because I like good food and good food is hard to find in a park, and it's expensive.  We try and choose a hotel with a big breakfast, then we pack snacks in hopes of just needing to eat a light lunch.  Try and find healthy food so you don't make yourself sick and miss out on all the fun of the park. We don't like to waste time leaving the park and re-entering, so we just try and find something there.
3. Don't be Cheap, Drink Lots of Water – Especially during the summer, stay hydrated.  You don't want to ruin your day and get sick because you didn't drink enough.  Try asking for a free glass of water at the counters.  I know Cedar Point has to give them out.  Other things we have done in the past is carry a reusable bottle and filled it for FREE at the water fountain.  Our kids also have fond memories of us buying a HUGE water bottle and walking from our motel to the Disneyland entrance, we couldn't enter until the whole bottle was gone.  That was our way of making sure they started the day hydrated.
4. Wear Good Shoes - There will be lots of walking no mater what park you are intending on going to, so make sure you have good shoes.  Our family runs from ride to ride, because we keep track of how many rides we can go on during the day and write it down when we get back to the hotel in the evening.   Here's a comment from my daughter when she wore the "cute" shoes instead of the comfy shoes.
   
5. Check School Calendars -  I mention this tip a lot, but it has given us some great vacations.  You pay so much money to go, you might as well try really hard to find out when the area is out of school or when they go back.  We have done Cedar Point late August a few times because they had gone back to school and we hadn't yet.  We also hit the California parks once we get out, but before they get out.  We almost always use this tip.  You can see from the picture above, that April is a great time to go to Great America in California, we had the place to ourselves.

1.  Do some investigative work. If you look through all the hotels in the area you can find some matching descriptions.  The one that set mine off was 100% smoke free.  Look through the list of amenities and you can kind of figure it out.  Need more of an explanation?

2.  Book a package and it will show you what you are booking.

I did number 2 and it was the one I actually booked.  I booked a car/hotel package.  Not only did it show us the hotel, but it was the best price we had found.  Even adding the car it ended up costing us less.

You will need to do some math because it breaks it down per person.  That's fine, it was costing us $71 per person to have the motel with no breakfast and no car.  I got motel, breakfast and a car for $80 a person.  Break that down, for $9 more a person or $36 total, we are getting a rental car for 3 days and breakfast for four for 2 days.  Sweet!!

I looked at rental cars, even through Hotwire and it was cheaper to do the package.

Are you a little curious what we are booking??

We really wanted to do Kingda Ka, but it's so far away.  Our window is so small that we decided staying on the West Coast was our best option.

We decided to hit Six Flags Magic Mountain.  We really do love this park.  Our only hang up is that it's kind of got a lot of gang activity, but they are watching it closely and we won't be there during the night hours. By staying on the West Coast and having such a short flight we will be able to hit the park the day we fly in and the day we fly out.

Before we booked the trip we did what we always do and that is check the school calendar for the school districts in the area.  They all go through the week that we are there.  We might run into some bus loads of kids coming in for end of year, but nothing like it could be.

We just booked our airfare, and we had lots of miles.  Not quite enough to get it all for FREE, but the four of us are flying for $150, not too bad.

I know it's a crazy idea, and it's just days before my surgery, but the kids have really wanted to go.  My daughter has been asking for a vacation this summer and we just were sure if it was possible and today I decided to throw caution to the wind and book it.

Linked to
Thrifty Tuesday
Works for me Wednesday

I was reading over at Frugal Dad about his Disneyworld vacation and he mentioned what they did to keep the kids occupied while in line and it made my think of our games we "invented" for a lack of better words.

So here are a few Coaster Family games to play while standing in line.

1. Don't stop moving. This one is funny as we sometimes get into peoples space making ourselves laugh which also is a good time waster.  The way this game works is you take the smallest steps possible and you never stop until you are at the front of the line.
2. The Alphabet Game.  Pick a topic and go through the alphabet saying something within topic.  We usually do music, so we have done artists, bands and song tittles.  You can change things up for adults and do 70's songs(if you need the challenge) and you can also do this with little kids naming animals. If you get stuck you might need to ask someone in line.
3. Guess how many more coasters come buy before you get on.  This works well if you can see the coasters coming and going.  Then you count.  This is good in conjunction with the other games.  Winner chooses their seat.
4. Risky places to bounce a super ball.  Yep, it's exactly what you think it is. We get a super ball (or 2) and bounce it on the ground.  Sometimes the ground off to the side is a ramp leaving a ride.  It's funny to have people watch you and they will help you rescue your ball.  We like to see how long one ball will last.  It can last up to a day or two.  Bonus:  We entertain those around us.
5. Rock, Paper, Scissors.  It's simple, but fun.
6. Photo Guess.  We take a camera everywhere we go, so my husband made this game where we all had to turn our backs and close our eyes and he would take a super close up of something right there in line and we would have to figure out what it was.

Frugal Dad suggested in his post that kids should take along handheld gaming systems to keep them from getting bored.  I couldn't be more against that idea.  We have been taking our kids on roller coaster vacations for years and we have stood in a few lines here and there.  It's a time to talk, to hang out, to be together.  I have to deal with video games enough, I don't want that during vacations too. Plus I am not going to carry that thing for them.

What other games have you played while standing in line?  I know you have all gotten creative at some time or another.

Cedar Fair is doing something special to honor the military and that is giving them FREE admission to any of their parks.  For Memorial Weekend, May 30 and May 31 also  the 4ht of July weekend, July 4 and July 5 Military can get in for  FREE. This for active or retired military.  You just need your Military ID to get in.

It doesn't stop there.  They are also offering discount tickets to immediate family(max 6) those days as well.  For all the details check it out HERE.

Check out the 14 parks you can choose from.

Thanks for all you do!!!  Enjoy your day of fun with your family.

The memories we have created are priceless.  We started when my son was in 1st grade and last year, as a 7th grader was the first year we missed a coaster vacation.

It's my fault. It's not a money thing, it's a back thing, like I need back surgery.

Three years ago we went to Cedar Point Ohio and I accidentally mixed 2 pain drugs and passed out while waiting in line.   Super, super embarrassing.

Me After I Passed Out

Two years ago I managed my drugs better and did fine, but last year I couldn't even walk the park and this year it's finally surgery time.

Biggest bummer?  Our kids still love doing that vacation with us and our time with them is running out.  It kills me.  But in honor of Mother's Day and my favorite vacations with my kids, I give you:

Through the Years

Great America '03

Disneyland '04

Great America '05

Six Flags Valencia '05

Magic Mountain '06

Great America '06

Cedar Point '07 - Maverick

Great America '08

Great America '08

Cedar Point '08 - Top Thrill Dragster

Kings Island '08