Year: 2012

2013 BOGO Ski Free Lift Tickets via Shell Gas Stations

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Ski Free Logo

Cold, snow, and frost may not get most people too excited. Heck, I am not even that big of fan of living in the Cleveland tundra. However, the one aspect of winter that does excite me is skiing, especially after last seasons mild winter. What excites me even more is that Bug (3) is finally of the age where I can teach him, and hopefully he enjoys, skiing.

I have hopes of getting to take Bug to some of the local bunny hills and having some of the professionals teach him a thing or two before he heads out onto the trails with me. I know there will be some apprehension to get over, but hopefully he can conquer that fear and learn the fun of hightailing it down a hill.

For those in areas with actual snow mountains, scoring a deal on free or cheap tickets may be more difficult. For the past several years (here is the 2012 Ski Free offer for reference), there has been an offer through Shell Gas Stations of buy one, get one lift tickets with the purchase of 10 gallons of gasoline. The promotion starts January 2, 2013.

Please find below the list of 2013 participating properties of the Ski Free offer.

California

ALPINE MEADOWS SKI RESORT
Valid: Jan 2 – Apr 6: Tuesday – Thursday; Apr 7 – Closing: Sunday – Friday
Blackouts: 1/19-21, 2/16-23

CHINA PEAK
Valid: Sunday – Friday
Blackouts: 1/20-21, 2/17-18

HOMEWOOD MOUNTAIN RESORT
Valid: Sunday – Friday
Blackouts: 1/19-21, 2/16-18

SIERRA-AT-TAHOE
Valid: Jan 7 – Mar 9: Monday – Friday; Mar 10 – Apr 19: Sunday – Friday
Blackouts: 1/2-6, 1/19-21, 2/16-22
Blackout: None

MT. SHASTA ski park
Valid: Tuesdays: 9am – 4pm; Thursdays: 3pm – 9pm
Blackout: None

SQUAW VALLEY
Valid: Jan 2 – Apr 6: Tuesday – Thursday; Apr 7 – Closing: Sunday – Friday
Blackouts: 1/19-21, 2/16-23

Colorado

COPPER MOUNTAIN
Valid: 7 Days a Week
Blackouts: 3/9-16

CRESTED BUTTE
Valid: 7 Days a Week
Blackouts: 2/16-17, 3/10-13

LOVELAND SKI AREA
Valid: Sunday – Thursday
Blackouts: 1/19-21, 2/16-18, 3/24-28

MONARCH MOUNTAIN
Valid: 7 Days a Week
Blackouts: 1/19-20, 2/16-17, 3/9-23

POWDERHORN
Valid: Tuesday – Thursday
Blackout: None

WINTER PARK RESORT
Valid: Monday – Friday
Blackouts: 1/2-4, 1/21, 2/18, 3/11-15, 3/25-29

Michigan

Swiss Valley Ski Area
Valid: Jan & Feb: Sunday thru Friday; March: 7 Days a Week
Blackout: None

Timber Ridge
Valid: Sunday thru Friday; Saturday after 4pm
Blackout: None

Mt. Brighton Ski Area
Valid: Monday & Tuesday / All Day; Wednesday thru Friday / Day Only; Sat. after 6pm & Sun. after 5pm
Blackout: None

Apple Mountain
Valid: 7 Days a Week
Blackout: None

Cannonsburg Ski Area
Valid: 7 Days a Week
Blackout: None

Snow Snake Mountain
Valid: Mondays Only
Blackout: None

Boyne Highlands
Valid: Sunday thru Friday
Blackout: 1/19-21, 2/16-18

Boyne Mountain
Valid: Sunday thru Friday
Blackout: 1/19-21,, 2/16-18

Caberfae Peaks Ski Resort
Valid: Jan & Feb: Sunday thru Friday; Saturday after 5pm; March: 7 Days a Week
Blackout: 2/17

Cross Country Ski Headquarters
Valid: 7 Days a Week
Blackout: None

Crystal Mountain
Valid: Jan & Feb: Monday thru Thursday; March: 7 Day a Week
Blackout: 1/21, 2/18

Hanson Hills
Valid: Saturday and Sunday
Blackout: None

The Homestead Resort
Valid: Friday thru Sunday
Blackout: 1/19-21, 2/16-18

Mt. Holiday Ski Area
Valid: Sunday thru Friday
Blackout: 1/19-21, 2/16-18

Nub’s Nob Ski Area
Valid: Tuesdays Only
Blackout: None

Shanty Creek Resort
Valid: Jan & Feb: Fridays & Sundays; March: 7 Days a week
Blackout: 2/15-18

Treetops Resort
Valid: Friday & Sunday All Day
Thursday & Saturday, after 4pm
Blackout: 1/19-21, 2/16-18

Big Powderhorn Mountain
Valid: 7 Days a Week
Blackout: 1/19-21, 2/16-18

Blackjack Ski Resort
Valid: Sunday thru Friday
Blackout: 1/20, 2/20

Marquette Mountain Ski Area
Valid: Sunday thru Friday after 9:30 am
Blackout: 1/19-21, 2/16-18

Mt. Zion Ski Hill
Valid: 7 Days a Week
Blackout: None

Pine Mountain Resort
Valid: Monday thru Friday
Blackout: 1/21, 2/18

Mont Ripley
Valid: 7 Days a Week
Blackout: 1/19, 2/16

Oregon

Anthony Lakes Mountain Resort
Valid: Fridays only
Blackout: None

Hoodoo Ski Area
Valid: Thursdays, 9am-4pm; Friday – Saturday, 4pm-9pm
Blackout: None

Mt. Ashland
Valid: Jan 10 – Mar 15: Thursday – Friday, 3pm-9pm
Blackout: None

Mt. Hood Meadows Ski Resort
Valid: Jan 2 – Mar 7: Wednesday – Thursday, 3pm-9pm
Blackout: None

Mt. Hood Ski Bowl
Valid: Wednesdays, 9pm-10pm; Fridays, 9am-4pm
Blackout: None

Timberline Lodge
Valid: Jan 2 – Apr 19: Tuesdays, All Day; Jan 2 – End of Night Season: Friday – Saturday, 4pm-10pm
Blackouts: 3/19, 3/26

Taking part in this offer could save a family a substantial amount of money during the 2013 ski season. If you see Bug and I on the slopes this season, be sure to yell out…

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Afloat in the Classic Disneyland Peter Pan’s Flight Ride

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On Peter Pan’s Flight ride at Disneyland (and Disney World), you “soar high above the rooftops of London aboard a pirate galleon on an adventure to Never Land.”

120610 Peter Pan's Flight Exterior

“With a sprinkling of Tinker Bell’s fairy dust, away they all flew, heading for Never Land.”

120610 Peter Pan's Flight Sign

The Peter Pan ride, no matter whether it is at Disneyland or Disney World, is always such long of a wait to get on. All of the Fantasyland attractions are very popular when visiting the parks, but this one, in my opinion, always seems to have the most continuous, long waits.

Fortunately for the InACents family, we get into the parks early, and before the majority of the crowds. So we hit up all the Fantasyland rides as soon as we get there so they are out of the way.

120610 Peter Pan's Flight Mural 1 120610 Peter Pan's Flight Mural 2 120610 Peter Pan's Flight Mural 3

While riding in your flying boat, have you noticed the blocks on the floor in the first scene of the children’s room? If you look carefully, you will see they spell Disney and Peter Pan in a creative fashion.

One of the main difference between the ride at Disneyland and it’s predecessor at Disney World is how you load into the boats. At Disneyland, the boats are stopped at the platform for you to enter, whereas Disney World’s entry is on a continuously moving platform.

While the Disneyland version of the Peter Pan ride was the first to open (July 17, 1955), Disney World (October 3, 1971), Tokyo Disneyland (1983) and Disneyland Paris (1992) also have Peter Pan’s Flight attraction.

The original design and construction of Peter Pan’s Flight did not include Peter at all, because you were acting as Peter, flying through the scenes. Years later, Peter Pan was added after guest confusion.

I love the Disney dark rides, like Peter Pan’s Flight. However, I have always had one problem with them. They are too short. You quickly get whipped around the scenes, trying to immerse yourself into the story, yet everything is at such a fast pace, and then the ride is over.

While there are pluses to the whole fast ride experience, as it allows guests to move through the queue and onto other attractions, the overall experience is lost at such a rapid pace. Everytime I think back to our experiences in Fantasyland (at either park), I recall how fast we jumped from ride to ride, just to get them out of the way before the crowds. If you wait till later in the day, you could spend the better part of an afternoon in Fantasyland, and with limited time in the parks, it is not always feasible for a family.

Regardless, Peter Pan’s Flight is a classic, Disney ride, and a great feature to be sprinkled with pixie dust.

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Churn in the New Year with the Community Based Barclay’s Ring Card

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A stark reality of the credit card world is lots of people carry a balance, and thus pay interest to the issuers. As a result, lots of readers are in search for better options to keep their overall costs down. The Barclaycard® Ring MasterCard® hopes to step in and be the answer for those interested in paying down their bills and hopefully eliminating carrying a balance in the future.

To start off with, the Ring card comes with zero balance transfer fees and no annual fee. Then, Barclays is committed to providing a low interest rate on the card, currently 8%.

The best part of the card though comes in the form of the money that the Ring community brings in and how it is redistributed. A portion of the profits are returned to the customer, where you then have the option of keep your share or donate the money to charity.

I rather like the open book concept, where “each month you will see how the collective Barclaycard Ring community is performing, how [they] make money, [their] expenses and what portion of the estimated profits can be shared through the Giveback™ program.”

Overall, I think this is a really interesting product for those carrying balances, since your involvement in the program can help keep you focused on getting rid of those balances and even having enough left over to make a difference to a charity.

We are an affiliate of the Barclay’s Ring card, which does provide us with a commission, but all opinions expressed are those of InACents. If you appreciate our service and use our links, thank you!

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