Disney Vacation Club..What A Great Decision!

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A view from our DVC room at The Boardwalk!
Disney Vacation Club

Once a year our family tries to take a wonderful vacation to Disney World in Florida. Almost fifteen years ago, my husband and I purchased a time share through Disney called Disney Vacation Club. At that time we had a 6 year old and we spent a lot of time in Florida. Well, fourteen years later we now are a family of five, with a 20,12 and 4 year old and we still try to spend time in Florida.
We would not be able to vacation at Walt Disney World without Disney Vacation Club. The club is based on points and different than other timeshares because there is no set time to use your points. It’s not based on a week or a time frame. When you want to visit Disney, you simply call and make a reservation. You can use as little as 10 points to reserve a room, depending on the time of year you travel. We always travel during July and August, so our room generally goes for about 14-20 points. Of course with a larger family you need a larger room, or as we do, we book two rooms. The buy-in to DVC (Disney Vacation Club) is 150 points.
The rooms are beautiful no matter what resort you choose to stay at. You are free to book at any of the DVC resorts on Disney property. Since we booked our vacation just days before we left, we ended up moving from resort to resort in order to stay where we wanted. Other resorts were available for the entire length of our stay, be we chose to skip around! Disney moves your luggage from one hotel to the next, so you just check out in the morning and your luggage meets you when you check into the next resort.
Boardwalk Room
Our View from the Contemporery Resort

Our family loves Disney World, but since it is a little pricey, we tend to spend some time at the resorts which have their own activities and wonderful pools, each with a unique slide! 

The Disney Vacation Club is not just for trips to Disney! We have used our points to stay in NYC, Hershey and other locations. With DVC you can find a location anywhere in the world! The latest resort is in the final stages now in Hawaii. The DVC points can also be used at the Disneyland resorts!
Every year when we visit Florida my husband and I agree that buying into DVC was one of our smartest decisions. Without it, our vacation would be in our living room! 

Our Savannah Room at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge.

If you want to check out Disney Vacation Club just click on the link. If you have any questions about it, you can write them below or email me at dianes@macaronikid.com . If you do decide to buy in…please tell them Diane Sullivan sent you! 

AMC IMAX at Clifton Commons Win a Family 4 Pack and IMAX Gift Pack! Contest ends Friday 8/26

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AMC IMAX at Clifton Commons 
Win a Family 4 Pack of Tix to Hubble 3D and IMAX Gift Pack! 24 Hour Contest!
Something new and exciting is about to hit Clifton Commons! If 
your family is anything like mine, it seems like we are always at
the movies! With three children 4, 12, and 20, we span the movie circut! When our family heard about a new IMAX opening we definitely were a little more than thrilled!

 On September 9th, 2011 a brand new IMAX is about to open at the AMC Clifton Commons 16! Wow, it’s going to be great to have an IMAX in our
back yard! Our family is so excited to check it out. On August 27th we will be checking out the new theater! We love movies and never pass up a chance to see a movie in IMAX! Now we can do it more than ever.
The addition of IMAX at AMC Clifton Commons 16 continues AMC’s dedication to offering the best and broadest menu of entertainment choices for guests seeking an unparalleled experience. Guests at AMC Clifton Commons 16 will take in the world’s most immersive cinematic experience when CONTAGION: The IMAX Experience opens September 9. The movie has been digitally re-mastered into IMAX’s format exclusively for presentation in the IMAX auditorium.

The IMAX theatre at AMC Clifton Commons 16 will feature Hollywood’s biggest movies that have been digitally re-mastered into IMAX’s format.

Other upcoming Hollywood movies to be released in IMAX format include: REAL STEEL (October 7), PUSS In BOOTS (November 4), HAPPY FEET 2 (November 18), MISSION IMPOSSIBLE (December 16) and THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN (December 28..My birthday! Sounds like a great plan!)



Enter now to win an IMAX gift pack and family four pack of tickets to a special screening of HUBBLE 3D at the brand new IMAX Theater at AMC Clifton Commons 16 on this Saturday August 27th at 9am. 


 The new IMAX theatre at AMC Clifton Commons 16 is located at 405 Route 3 E, Clifton, NJ 07014-1911.


IMAX Gift Pack must be picked up at theater on Saturday, Aug 27th at 9am, along with the tickets.


To enter:
Let me know you want the tickets on twitter, facebook, or below in the comment section! 


For entries:
Let me know you want IMAX tickets to Clifton Commons:
Twitter: Please Follow on Twitter and leave a comment!
@MacKidNewarkNJ
@3decades3kids


Facebook:Please LIKE the page on FB and leave a comment!
3decades3kids
NewarkMacaroniKid

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Subscribe to the newsletter:
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Good Luck!
This contest will end Friday, August 26th at 6pm. The winner will be contacted immediately and must respond by 10 pm with their name, so tickets can be held at the theater. Good Luck. It is the winner’s responsibility to pick up the IMAX gift pack at Clifton Commons IMAX on Saturday, August 27th, 9am. Good Luck! 18+ please.


Disclosure: Review and Giveaway tickets/prize pack were provided by AMC IMAX.

Disney Blitz. Day #2 of 16

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It’s Day #2 of our vacation in Florida. I really love to stay on Disney property and especially at Animal Kingdom Lodge. It is one of my favorite resorts. This morning we checked out of Kidani Village and headed to its neighbor, Jambo House. We checked into the top floor of the lodge, the concierge or club level. The room is beautiful and so is the view and so are the amenities that accompany the club level.
Tomorrow I will post about our day at the lodge at club level, since we will enjoying a day just to hang back and relax.
As for today, it was our first day in the parks! Our first stop was to buy a 10 day base ticket. Since we only do one park a day, we always stick to a basic ticket with no extra features. Our family tradition is to try to spend our first and last park day at Magic Kingdom. We hopped on the Disney bus and headed to Magic Kingdom. Emily was ready to burst when she got a slight glimpse of Cinderella’s Castle! I must admit, the entire family was pretty thrilled.
We headed directly to Main Street USA for a sight everyone in our family just loves, the castle. Even though it was raining we had to grab a quick photo and then we were off to Adventureland. Of course on the way we had a slight detour to stop and see Snow White. Emily could not resist! A sweet conversation between the two friends and we headed to Pirates of the Caribbean, one of my favorite rides and our first ride of the trip!
As luck would have it, minutes after we exited the ride  the parade was about to begin! The scheduled parade did get cancelled due to rain, but a rainy day version took its place! What a super idea from Disney. No one was disappointed with the substitute! 
The rest of our day was spent running between the raindrops! Some our favorite stops were the Haunted Mansion, Winnie the Pooh Ride, Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear and The People Mover!
We ended our night by watching the Electric Night Parade then headed back to AKL for some dinner and fun in the lobby! Dare I say, this trip is already going way too fast!
                                                                                                                                                     



To have your own magical vacation check out:
www.waltdisneyworld.com

Disclosure: All opinions are that of 3decades3kids

Disney Blitz Day #1 of 16

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After our big countdown to Disney, the fun day finally arrived! We headed to Orlando via Jet Blue. Not one complaint about the airline. We even landed close to 10 minutes early!
After landing we followed the signs for Disney’s Magical Express. It was the first time we ever used it, since it’s our first trip without a car! We will be renting a car, but not until next week.
Magical Express was easy to find and took us right to the door of Animal Kingdom Lodge’s Kidani Village. The room is themed in African decor and what a view.
Tomorrow we head over to Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge’s Jambo House. We are looking forward to experiencing the Club Concierge level for a few nights.
Before that we will be heading to Magic Kingdom for the day! Mickey, here we come!



Just Dance Summer Party Limited Edition Review

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Just Dance
Summer Party
Limited Edition
UBISOFT
I am very happy to be a part of UBISOFT’s Ubichamps. Recently I had the opportunity to review Dance Party Summer Party Limited Edition, by UBISOFT and  could not wait to unwrap this game when it arrived! Thank goodness it is a four player game! My children 20,12 and 4 ALL wanted a shot at it. We love to play Wii games together and have fun, so naturally this game went in immediately! The general consensus on Just Dance Summer Party was GREAT!
The music/dance choices include some energetic songs that really get you moving! 
Funkeytown, You Can’t Hurry Love, Mambo No.5, and Kung Fu Fighting were some of our favorites! Of course if you ask my four year old daughter, she just wanted Katy Perry’s Firework over and over and over.
My sons thought it was great how surprise guests made an appearance, especially the Raving Rabbids! I did think that was hilarious myself! 
This game kept us dancing for hours! What I loved about it was how all you need was the Wii Remote! It was simple to operate and fun for ALL ages!
I also thought it was great that as a an added bonus, you could set up 
Just Sweat, and exercise as you dance at  your own level. Burning calories and not even realizing it! I’m SO there! 
So, if you are looking for some summer fun to have by yourself  or as a workout without the feel of one, this game is for you! Maybe you want to PROVE you are the better dancer(which we all know we are) in a dance off. Seems to be a biggie in our house. Just Dance Summer Party Limited Edition is perfect for you. With 23 tracks of great music, you will want to play, or should I say dance over and over again!
Get on your dancing shoes and get ready to rock, grove, laugh and have a blast. Whether you are a Barbie Girl, Born to Be Wild or a Manic, this game is sure to please! Our family had a blast playing Just Dance Summer Party Limited Edition and so will you! Now available at ToysRUs and other retailers.
Disclosure:
Thank you to Ubisoft for sponsoring this blog post. Please http://www.ubi.com/US/default.aspx“>click here to learn more about Ubisoft. I was selected for this sponsorship by the http://www.clevergirlscollective.com/“>Clever Girls Collective. All opinions are my own.