Great Wolf Lodge Grapevine, Texas review!

This pic seems to summarize

what we do for fun- GWL, Texas Longhorns, & Disney

I had planned on finishing up the lengthy budgeting needed for the June Disney trip when my step kids decided to come down and visit from Oklahoma for the weekend.  Since we were already scheduled to be off on Good Friday, April 18th.  I decided I would try and see if we could possibly get a room at Great Wolf Lodge.  I hadn't a column in my vacation budget for last minute visits from the step kids!  I saw that staying just Thursday night was 1/3 less than staying on Friday night.  I decided that would be good and we could bring our own food.  We had a standard family suite, including tax for $249.  This included 4 water park passes.  I applied for 2 of the 3 available upgrades and received 1.  We had the late 2 pm checkout and I paid $56 for it.  It was worth it because we stayed until 2 pm and then went home exhausted.  We were on our 8th stay at Great Wolf Lodge so, we continued to receive our VIP perks!  We had a tray of goodies in our room and a noon checkout (instead of the standard 11).


We love taking these group photos.  I have several over
the years with the kids.  This pic seems to summarize
what we do for fun- GWL, Texas Longhorns, & Disney


Things have changed at Great Wolf Lodge in the year since our last visit:
1.  Pictures from the water park rides are no longer available to add to your wristband for printing later.  (the one below right is from our trip in 2010 and is the only time all 3 have been at the same time)
2.  The Crocs station was moved to a very small section in the back of the Bear Essentials Swim Shop.

It's still a lot of fun to go there even though the kids are older (16, 19, 21).  We first started going to GWL in 2009 and while some things have changed, the fun hasn't!  We might have to celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary there- no kids allowed!

Now, I need to get back to planning my Disney Star Wars Weekend in June!

Cheers!

Disney Star Wars Weekends- comparing options- time share? hotel? dining plan?

I have been several times to Florida for their incredible Star Wars Weekends.  I hadn't planned on going this year but a friend of mine pointed out that Mark Hamill is going to be there.  Who is Mark Hamill you ask?  He was Luke Skywalker, beloved hero.  He is making his first ever appearance at Star Wars Weekends at Disney World this year.

(image from http://screenrant.com/carrie-fisher-mark-hamill-getting-fit-star-wars-episode-7/)

It brings me to my dilemma- how can I spring on another Disney trip after I just came back from one barely three weeks ago?  Well, it's time to do some serious budgeting.  I only have two paychecks to make this trip happen.  I have April and May.  We are talking about just going for that weekend.  My friend will drive because he has a company car.  This is well and fine but leaves me having to fly since I will have school that Friday, June 6.  Ideally, I would take a red eye flight so that I could spend the entire day at the park before having to check into hotel at 4.  Obviously, this isn't an option if I have to give a final exam to students!

My favorite sites for all things Disney are Mousesavers and for budgeting Couponing to Disney 

Anticipated costs:

$400- plane ticket

Hotel

34 vacation points through my Disney Vacation Club account or should I rent my points out through David's rental system or WDW Points and use the proceeds to stay at a lower priced hotel?  I already booked a deluxe studio at Old Key West for the weekend but I could use the proceeds to stay at Pop Century and have about $90 leftover that I could use towards meals

Meals

dining plan or no dining plan is the question.  I'm a big fan of the dining plan when I travel by myself or in a small group.  When I take my husband and his kids, I prefer to try and save some money on meals by buying groceries local.

This year they are offering some unique experiences that will correspond with Star Wars Weekends

• Star Wars Dine-In Galactic Breakfast! for $47.99 which uses 2 table service dining credits
• Jedi Mickey’s Star Wars Dine at Hollywood and Vine for $55.99 which uses 2 table service credits
• Jedi Mickey’s Star Wars Dine at Hollywood and Vine with Fantasmic! for $59.99 which uses 2 table service credits

I registered for the breakfast and the dinner with Fantasmic.  It seemed silly not to spend the extra $4 for reserved seating for awesome show that is Fantasmic.  So, should we spend the money or should we use the Disney Dining Plan.  There are three different options for the dining plan.

Quick Service $41.99 includes 2 quick service meals, 1 refillable mug, 1 snack is not an option this time

Standard $60.64 includes 1 table service, 1 quick service, 1 mug, 1 snack is not an option this time

Deluxe $109.54 for 3 meals (table or quick), 1 mug, 3 snacks is what we are considering.

I'll be looking at how the meal plan versus cash stacks up since I do get discounts for DVC (Disney Vacation Club) and annual passholder. I'll post the results of my calculations this week.

Cheers!

Using Edmodo in the classroom and with clubs you sponsor!

Have you tried Edmodo yet?  I find it very helpful in the classroom as we are not allowed to use Facebook because of cyberbullying.  We were using Facebook for a club chapter that I sponsor- the National Honor Society.  You might have heard of it.  I enjoy being the sponsor but when students began posting about their classmates (and me!), there was nothing we could do because it didn't come from anything the school district can control.  That is why we are encouraged to use Edmodo.

https://www.edmodo.com/ 

Edmodo allows teachers and students to interact in a monitored environment.

Benefits of Edmodo:
1.  individual classroom accounts- can send messages to 1 class or multiple sections of a class type
2.  post assignments and notes for students
3.  can post 'in advance'- you can schedule a date for 3 weeks from now for an assignemnt
4.  create quizzes
5.  quizzes can be randomized!
6.  quizzes can be graded automatically
7.  export grades into Excel for easy transference into your gradebook

Modern Marvels Engineering!

You can use this in your classroom.  I recommend posting a link for the video on your class's Edmodo page so that if someone is absent, they can still check out their assignments.  I like showing Modern Marvels Engineering because I believe they provide educational value while showing students something that they are familiar with in their daily lives.Modern Marvels Brooklyn Bridge

Online there is also lesson plans that you can use to go with this program. http://www.history.com/classroom-study-guides