iTunes Giftcard Giveaway

Do you travel much for the holidays? When Big J was living here in WI and was living out East in NH, we used to spend every holiday travelling, either by plane or by car. I much prefer this living in the same state set-up!

If you are hitting the road for the holidays, Holiday Inn would like to help make your trip as enjoyable as possible. They have provided ideas on ways to get through the holidays below.

In addition to their tips, Holiday Inn wants you to travel with music that suits your destination and your mood, so they are giving one lucky Wisconsin Mommy reader a $10 iTunes gift card.

To enter, leave a comment with where you went on your last trip (whether for business or pleasure).

For an extra TWO entries, blog about this contest with a link to this post and leave me two comments letting me know the link to your post.

All entries must be received by midnight CST on Dec. 14th. The winner will be chosen via random.org on Dec 15th and notified by email.. (Please make sure that I have a valid email address for you.)

Girls Great Escape: You love your father and brother-in-law and all, but sitting on the couch for 10 straight hours watching football isn’t exactly the type of holiday cheer you’re looking for. Take a much needed break from the holiday hoopla and book a room at a relaunched Holiday Inn instead. Not only will you be able to come and go as you please, you’ll relish in the privacy of snuggling up in Holiday Inn’s new, crisp bedding with “soft” or “firm” pillows to choose from while you watch a girly holiday flick.

Other BudJetsetter tips:

Treat yourself to some fabulous art – for free! Scout out local museums in the area for a dose of culture. The originals may be out of your price range, but grab a poster in the gift shop as a treat.

De-stress from the holiday madness by creating your own in-hotel spa. Give yourself a mini facial by washing and exfoliating in a steamed bathroom. Replenish and revitalize hair using Holiday Inn’s new coconut verbena shampoo & conditioner from Bath & Body Works. Then for an extra touch use lavender oil on your temples or, use a lavender face mask while you catch some zzz’s

Guys, Listen Up!: While you may want to give the woman in your life a little bling, we understand that budgets are tight. But you can still tug at her heart strings by whisking her away for a romantic holiday weekend that won’t break the bank. In fact, you don’t even have to go far. Relaunched Holiday Inn properties are conveniently located all over the country from metropolitan cities to small towns off the beaten path – Book a room for a night or a weekend, grab some Prosecco and let the relaxation begin! Hint for Dads: getting mom away for a night like this may be exactly what’s on the top of her wish list! Other BudJetsetter tip:
Research local concerts, fairs or skating parks that might require a minimal entrance fee and make it a date night.

Travel Gurus, rejoice: You know that you can find Holiday Inn around the world, right? Give yourself or a friend the gift of adventure and hit up a hip or exotic destination this season instead. For some inspiration, we’ve pulled a few destinations to choose from below. All you have to do is decide where to go, cash in some airline miles for the flight, and your budget will be sure to thank you!

Nairobi, Kenya for about $215/night
Lisbon, Portugal for about $107/night
Papau New Guinea for about $224/night
Christchruch, New Zealand for about $132/night

Thanks to Holiday Inn for providing the gift card for the giveaway as well as one for my personal use.

Sesame Street Live Ticket Giveaway

Sesame Street is quite a tradition in our house. Not only did I grow up watching it, Little J loves it as well. I marvel at how the writers are able to keep it current and still retain the educational value all parents count on.

If Sesame Street is also a loved show in your home, you should definitely check out Sesame Street Live. It will be running at the Bradley Center from November 27th through the 29th. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster and Wisconsin Mommy readers can use the code "ERNIE" to save $3 a ticket.

Plus, one lucky Wisconsin Mommy reader will win a family four pack of tickets to Sesame Street Live for the November 27th show. To enter, leave a comment telling me your all time favorite Sesame Street character.

For an additional TWO entries, blog about this contest with a link to this post and leave me two separate comments letting me know you have posted about it.

All entries must be received by Wednesday, November 25th at midnight CST. A winner will be drawn by random.org and contacted via email (so please make sure that I have a way of contacting you!).

Disclosure: I was given tickets for my personal use as well as tickets to give away. All opinions expressed are my own and are no way influenced by any compensation.

Am I Paranoid or Just Cautious?

I had this weird experience while I was at Disney World (no, it doesn't have anything to do with losing a meal after riding a roller coaster). Now I will be the first to admit that I can tend to be a bit overprotective. I wind up thinking through every possible scenario and outcome in my head and usually take the safest route. I guess my motto is pretty much "better safe than sorry" so I am curious about everyone else's take on this:

I was sitting just outside the entrance to Expedition Everest while J and Little J rode it for the upteenth time. I know my limit for rides that speed backwards in the dark. I was sitting next to a nice grandmotherly-looking lady when a young mom approached. She addressed the other woman and it was obvious from her accent that she was from England.

"Are you waiting for someone to come off of the ride?" she asked.

"Yes," the woman replied.

"Would you mind watching my girls for a minute? My husband and I have FastPasses so we won't be long," the English mom explained.

The other woman looked completely taken aback but agreed to watch the girls. The mom ushered them over and said "This nice lady will be watching you for a bit" and took off without a look back.

The grandmotherly-type woman was wonderful with the girls and asked them about where they were from and if they were having fun. The girls were very sweet and no trouble to the woman. They said that they were 4 and 6 years old and were on holiday from England. After a bit, they began climbing on the rocks behind where we were sitting.

The grandmotherly-type woman looked at me in a can-you-even-believe-this kind of way so I leaned over and said "England must be a really safe place. I can't imagine any of my American friends doing this."

She replied "Or my Canadian friends!"

The English mom and her husband came back to claim the girls and the Canadian woman explained the child-swap program that Disney has (where each parent can ride while the other stays with the kids without having to stand in line again).

So I ask you - do you think this mom was being careless or do you think what she did was acceptable and American moms are too overprotective? Please comment - I'm interested in what everyone thinks!

Playhouse Disney Live Ticket Giveaway

We are back from our wonderful Florida vacation and I am frantically trying to get caught up on everything. Back to real life as they say...

We certainly enjoyed our time at Disney World and Little J especially loved meeting the characters from the Playhouse Disney shows. If your little one is also a Playhouse Disney fan, you will definitely want to catch Playhouse Disney Live! at the Milwaukee Theater. The show is running December 4th and 5th and tickets start as low as $15!

Thanks to my friends at Feld Entertainment, one lucky Wisconsin Mommy reader will win a four pack of tickets to the Friday, December 4th, 7 pm show.

To enter the contest, leave a comment answering the following question:

Handy Manny is always helping out his neighbors. What have you done to help your neighbors?

For an additional entry, blog about this contest with a link to this post and leave me a separate comment letting me know you have posted about it.

For another additional entry, follow this blog by clicking on the "follow" button over to the right ====> (Again, leave me a separate comment telling me you have done this.)

Want to enter again? Subscribe to this blog's feed by clicking on the orange subscribe button at the top of the left hand column. (Don't for get to leave me that separate comment!!)

All entries must be received by midnight, November 29th and the winner must leave a valid email address so that I can contact them to get them their tickets. The winner will be chosen by Random.org. Good luck!!

Disclaimer: Feld Entertainment and Disney provided me with tickets to the show as well as tickets to give away. All opinions expressed are my own and are no way influenced by any compensation.

Blast Off!!! (A guest post from Little J)

On Saturday, we went to visit Kennedy Space Center. It was really cool 'cause it's all about space - which I love. Someday I am going to travel into space!!

While we were there, we met Mac who has worked at NASA for over twenty years. (That's longer than I've been alive!) Mac gave us a private tour and let us see some things you don't usually see on the tour!

I knew it was going to be a fun tour when Mac turned to me and asked, "Do you want to see some alligators?" I'm not sure what this bird is thinking, but I think I know what the alligator is thinking - dinner!

Mac showed us where some eagles hang out and have built the biggest nest I've ever seen!!

This is where the shuttle Atlantis is getting ready to blast off into space. Too bad it's taking off the day after I go back home.

Hey - I didn't know Snoopy was an astronaut!

Here's where I got to meet Mark Lee who is a real live astronaut! And he's even from Wisconsin!!!

I also met this guy - I'm pretty sure he's NOT a real astronaut, but he was pretty cool just the same.

Well, that was my day at Kennedy. We did lots of other stuff too, but my mom says I can't make this too long.

See you soon!

This is MY kinda state!!

Got a Star Wars fan at home???

Then you NEED to check out Hollywood Studio's Star Wars Jedi Training Academy!

During this 30 minute live action show, young Jedi are coached by the Jedi Master in correct use of the Force and their light saber.

But, keep alert, there is a disturbance in the Force...before you know it, Darth Vader appears and tests the young Jedi on their technique.

This was probably Little J's favorite experience so far. I have no doubt he will remember this for a long time!

Quick tip: If you have done this in the past, the way the Jedi trainees are picked has changed. As of last week, the Jedi are no longer picked out of the audience. Kids line up before the show and only the first 15 kids are allowed in the show. The line grows quickly and by 10 am, kids were already picked for the 1:30 show. (And they have to stay in line the whole time or forfeit their spot.) If you would like your child to participate, I recommend arriving at the park before it opens and then going straight for the Star Tours area immediately when the gates open.

Inside Hollywood Studio's American Idol Experience

Are you a fan of the reality TV show American Idol? I definitely am and have seen almost every episode since the first season. Have you ever fantasized about trying out for the show and wondered how you'd do? If you have (and you're 14 or over), the American Idol Experience at Disney's Hollywood Studios is for you!

You start out in this room with a quick 30 second A Capella audition. You can choose any song, but you'd better be good because they don't let just anyone through.

If your audition is successful, you will move onto the Coke lounge where you can choose from a long list of crowd-pleasing songs. Ipods are provided in case you need to brush up on the melody and words of your chosen song.

After you are confident (sort of) with your song, you move onto this room where a vocal coach will work with you to perfect your sound and give you a few winning tips.

Then it's off to the Idol Lounge to relax (yeah, right!) and run through a few last minute reviews of your song.

But wait! You're not going out on stage looking like THAT are you?? Luckily, the kind folks in hair and makeup are experts at helping you "enhance your natural beauty" (their words, not mine). You'll be looking like the next Idol in no time.

Before you know it, it's time for the show and this nice host will be introducing you to the excited studio audience.

You'll sing your song and then - the moment of truth...the judges' reviews.

Most of the judges' comments are right on target - except for the gentleman to the far right. He is Disney's version of Simon and always has a ready insult, no matter how good the singer!

If you are the winning contestant, you compete in the big finale show at the end of the day. The winner of the finale is given the "Dream Ticket" which allows the holder to skip to the front of the line of any real American Idol audition held anywhere in the country. (You are responsible for getting yourself to the audition.)

So make sure you check out Hollywood Studio's American Idol experience and good luck break a leg!!

Goin' Wild at Disney's Animal Kingdom

We spent Wednesday at Animal Kingdom. Last year, I remember this being my least favorite park. I think it probably had a lot to do with the fact that it was HOT and rainy, because we had a blast this year!

We headed right over to Expedition Everest which is an amazing roller coaster (as long as you don't mind racing backwards in the dark). After two rides on Everest, my stomach informed me that it had enough already, so I sat the next two rides out. Little J was still ready for more after his four times, so we promised him we'd be back and set off to explore.

The next ride Little J wanted to check out was Dinosaur, which was a bit tamer speed-wise but rather jerky and bumpy. If you have back or neck issues, you might want to skip this one. The special effects and dino-bots are very cool and Little J loved being scared by all the excitement.

We spent the day finding great shows and rides and finished up with many trips down the river on the Kali River Rapids. We were wet and happy as we left to go hunt, I mean find, dinner.

We decided to stick with the Dinosaur theme and went to T-Rex in Downtown Disney. Run by the folks who run the Rainforest Cafe, the restaurant is full of dinosaurs who come to life every so often and make a LOT of noise. A must for those who have kids who love dinosaurs, the restaurant offers a wide variety of meals and a very unique experience.

Just one of the things that Disney does absolutely right...

Today was a day spent at Epcot (or as Little J calls it "The Place with the Giant Golf Ball"). We had a blast *literally* at Mission Space where we launched on a mission to Mars. The 2G blast off almost cost me my breakfast, but the guys rode it over and over.

Next we sped around test driving GM vehicles at Test Track. If you are going to do this ride, FastPass it early as it fills up quickly. Next we headed over to Soarin' to go hang-gliding across the US. It's like an IMAX movie on steriods!

We also had fun riding Spaceship Earth and The Seas with Nemo and Friends. We spent the entire day and never even made it to the area with the other countries. It's a good thing we have another Epcot day planned next week!

Now, I don't know about you, but I have somehow become the family photographer. It's great in one way, because I am always on the lookout for a good photo op. Unfortunately, this means that we have a ton of photos of Little J or Little J with Big J, but not many of the three of us.

One thing I LOVE about the Disney theme parks is the PhotoPass. If you are planning a trip to Disney, absolutely plan on getting a PhotoPass. The way it works is like this: there are photographers stationed around all of the parks. They are near all of the best places to take pictures; in front of the castle, near the ball at Epcot, by the sorcerer's hat at Hollywood Studios and by all of the characters. The photographer will take your family's picture - you know, with ALL of you in it - and scan your PhotoPass card. All of the pictures go directly to your account and you can view them each night when you return to your resort. They also have special little add-ons where they can add effects and characters to your pictures so that it looks like you are interacting with them.

At the end of your vacation, you select which photos you would like OR order all of them on CD for $149.95. There is no limit to the number of photos you can include and the pictures are then yours to do with what you please. Be sure the check the "special offers" section of the website for added savings! (If you are staying at a Disney Resort, check to see if a PhotoPass discount is available.)