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I love to travel and I have stayed in some crappy hotels and some great hotels. One of my fave hotel chains is Hampton Hotels they are clean, friendly and affordable. Right now they are holding the most AWESOME sweepstakes, the Hampton Chain of Friends Sweepstakes. The winner of this sweepstakes will win a free stay for themselves and…100 friends for a weekend (2 nights) plus $5000 to help pay the taxes for the weekend!

Wow! If I won I would probably hold a weekend blogger retreat in beautiful Venice, Florida and I’d cover the hotel! We could have so much fun shopping on The Ave, playing at the beach and relaxing in the sunshine. How much fun would that be? I love event planning so for me that would be a blast! Would you come if I won? I hope so.

What would you do if you won? Would you host a family reunion? A class reunion? A church retreat? Where would you stay? At the beach? In the mountains? Near an amusement park? So many choices! There are over 1600 Hampton hotels worldwide so…be creative. Click the link above to enter the contest and then leave me a comment letting me know what you would do with your grand prize…I want to know how creative you are!

No purchase is necessary to enter, and you must enter by September 4th, 2010. Limit one daily prize per household. Prizes will be awarded a “Be My Guest Certificates” that don’t expire until December 31st, 2011. Contest is open to residents of the 50 United States, DC, Canada (excluding Quebec), United Kingdom and Mexico.

The post Hampton Inn Chain of Friends Sweepstakes appeared first on The Mom Maven.

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So where do you want to go this fall? Hotels Combined can help you stay for less!

I’d love to head to Gatlinburg, TN in October to enjoy real autumn weather! Spending Thanksgiving in the Big Apple? There are still choice rooms available! Wherever you want to go in the world HotelsCombined can help.

Please follow HotelsCombined on Twitter too!

Thanks to Hotels Combined for sponsoring my hotel and meals at IZEAFest!

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1. Will you have a car while visiting Disney World?
2. Will you be visiting other non-Disney attractions while visiting central Florida?
3. How many people, adults and children, will be traveling in your party?
4. How much time do you plan on spending in your room?
5. What is your per night budget?

Let’s review the answers to the questions.

1. Will you have a car while visiting Disney World?

a) If you will not have a car I suggest you stay on property. If you fly into Orlando International Airport you can use Disney’s Magical Express Service. They will pick you up at the airport and bring you and your luggage to your Disney resort. You must sign up for this service at least 10 days prior to your arrival date.  Also, guests staying on property do not pay the daily $12 parking fee.

b) If you will have a car, don’t mind driving to and from the park each day and paying the parking fee, you can stay off property.

2. Will you be visiting other non-Disney attractions while visiting central Florida?

a) If you will be visiting other non-Disney attractions you will want a car. The estimated taxi fare from Walt Disney World to Universal Studios (14 miles away) is over $32.00!

b) Your other option would be to rent a car for 1-2 days of your vacation. The problem with renting for only part of your vacation is picking up and returning the car plus a short term rental of a small car can easily cost almost $100.

c) If you aren’t planning on visiting other attractions just stay on property and use Disney transportation, it’s free.

3. How many people, adults and children, will be traveling in your party?

a) Most hotel and resort rooms sleep 4 people, some sleep 5-6 in a family suite. How many rooms will you need? Sometimes 2 connecting rooms still costs less than a large suite or DVC property that sleeps 8 or more people.

b) Some people rent vacation homes so that their kids can be in a separate room or accommodate a larger party.

4. How much time do you plan on spending in your room?

a) Are you using the room to sleep, shower and dress? Then you can stay off property or on property in a value resort.

b) Are you all about using the resort amenities? Laying by the pool, going to the spa, renting a pontoon boat? You can stay off or on property but pay close attention to the amenities the particular property offers.

5. What is your per night budget? For this one we re going to assume you are a family of 4, 2 adults and 2 children between the ages of 3-17. You want at least a 3-star hotel from May 4-7, 2009.

a) Orbitz has several 3-star hotels on 192 in Kissimmee (close to Disney) ranging from $48-$100 per night. Most of these properties do not have a restaurant on site and you will need to add $12 per day for parking at the Disney parks.

b) You could stay at a Disney value resort for $68 per night, have a food court on site and free parking.

Other perks of staying on Disney property include discounts on room and ticket packages, ability to purchase the Disney Dining Plan, the very detailed Disney theming, Disney’s top-notch service and the feeling that you are staying in the middle of the magic.

I hope this post has given you some things to think about as you plan your magical Disney vacation. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave me a comment on this post.

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