Couponing with Rachel

Saving you money as you shop!

SpongeBob: Sponge Out of Water Movie – FUN For the Whole Family!

by Leave a Comment

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are my own.

Have you taken your family to see SpongeBob: Sponge Out of Water yet? Don’t miss this family friendly movie that’s FUN for kids of any age!

My hubby took my boys opening weekend and they all had a great “boys night out”. In fact, my middle son’s review of the movie was that it was “the best movie he’s ever seen”!  We loved it so much that we’ll be heading out to the theaters again this weekend to see it.

Lorain County locals, did you know that this movie is playing at Amherst Cinemas? Seats for any show are only $4 and their concession prices can’t be beat!  Grab the family and head out for a fun family night this weekend!




Castaway Bay – A Tropical Oasis All Year!

by 100 Comments

Castaway Bay Resort review and giveaway
Disclaimer: This is not a paid post and all opinions are my own. Thanks to Castaway Bay for giving me tickets for review and giveaway.

UPDATE:  The giveaway is now over. The winner is Steven Mosley!  Steven, please check your email.

It’s downright FREEZING here in Ohio but a couple weeks ago my family enjoyed a weekend away at Castaway Bay Resort where it’s always a balmy 82 degrees!

Castaway Bay is located in Sandusky, Ohio, right outside the entrance of Cedar Point and conveniently located to area highways. This indoor waterpark and resort boasts overnight accommodations, restaurants, an arcade and so much more. As soon as you walk through the doors the large pirate ship complete with singing parrots is sure to put you into the tropical mood!

Accommodations:

Our room had two comfy beds, large bathroom, mini refrigerator, microwave and screened balcony.  Of course, it was a little too cold to enjoy that last amenity but the view was gorgeous!  We did need an extra bed for our family of five but a roll away was brought up when asked and fit perfectly in our room (additional fee may apply).

Castaway Bay starfish room

Castaway room balcony

While my hubby and I enjoyed relaxing in the room, our kiddos were itching to get to the park. Before we left, we transferred our cooler snacks and drinks in the refrigerator so they’d be ready when we got back to our room. It was really convenient and money saver to have this feature!

The Waterpark:

Our first stop was the Castaway Bay wave pool where we frolicked in the warm waters and jumped in the waves.  This was an area the whole family enjoyed from my youngest to the oldest.  There are chairs surrounding this zero entry area so even if you don’t get in, you can sit and dip your toes in.

castaway bay wave pool a

Another favorite was the indoor/outdoor hot tub.  The weekend we visited Winter Storm Linus blew through so it was so fun to enjoy a soak while snow was falling all around.  It was so relaxing to let the jets massage my aching muscles and bask in the warm waters. This area was open to our whole family but children under a certain height do need accompanied by and adult.

castaway bay hot tub
This was the first year that both of my oldest boys were brave enough to try out the waterslides and this was the first time that I felt comfortable to go down myself. Losing weight has been liberating to me both physically and mentally and it was a joy to do something my boys wanted to do!

Castaway Bay offers slides for both the younger ones and those young at heart.  In fact one called Rendezvous Run, is a rousing 35-foot-high, 520-foot-long water roller coaster that propels you uphill using water jets. Of course, this Cedar Point waterpark is going to have a COASTER WATERSLIDE!

castaway bay waterpark sandusky
If you have little ones you won’t want to miss the Lookout Lagoon Family Funhouse which features pint sized slides, bridges, water guns and a 1000 gallon tipping bucket. They also offer Toddler Tide Pool with smaller slides and a zero entry pool and Creature Cove which offers basketball hoops and numerous flotation devices.  Our family spent a lot of time in this area just swimming about.

Restaurants:

If you get hungry, you don’t have to go far as Castaway Bay Big hosts the eatery Daddy’s Snack Shack inside the waterpark. Their menu items include pizza, wings and breadsticks, hot dogs, warm pretzels, soft serve ice cream and more.  Our family ordered a large pizza and we had enough to take back to our room to eat later.

If you are a bit hungier, hop into Mango Mike’s! This buffet style restaurant offers both breakfast and dinner menus at separate times.  We went for the breakfast buffet and it had everything that breakfast lovers would want including pancakes, bacon, eggs, hashbrowns, yogurt, muffins, cereal and more.  There were choices galore!  The restaurant has huge windows that show off the gorgeous views outside so be sure to pick a window seat.


Castaway Bay restaurants

The Arcade:

Last year when we came to Castaway Bay, we missed the Arcade, so this year we were sure to check it out. I was really surprised how large it was inside and how many different games that they offered. Castaway Bay makes it super easy for you and loads all the tickets you earn right on your card.  With three little boys this makes it so convenient.

When it came time to redeem our tickets, my boys were all able to pick our a few prizes to take home. This was their favorite part but man, did they take a LONG time to decide with so many choices.  I guess we won a little too much…not that they were complaining.

castaway bay arcade
Hotel Breakers Renovations:

While we attended the Cedar Point event, I was able to attend a blogger event in the evening.  I was blown away and super excited to hear about the renovations being make to Cedar Point’s gorgeous Hotel Breaker’s Hotel.  Located on the mile-long Cedar Point beach, Hotel Breakers is completing it’s 2-year transformation and turning it into an updated resort that we will marvel at.

Hotel Breakers will boast a new entrance portal, newly-furnished and remodeled rooms with LCD TV’s, new furniture, bedding and décor, and many other amenities and offerings. Additional enhancements include a new Starbucks and the Surf Lounge bar inside the famous rotunda, widened exterior green space with panoramic views of Lake Erie and an outdoor water play area with zero depth entry and splash features.

hotel breakers 2015

Other amenities include two pools and Jacuzzis, access to the Cedar Point Beach and Boardwalk, a gift shop, arcade, exercise room, three restaurants, Early Entry (access to some of the biggest rides and coasters before the park opens to the general public), discounted Cedar Point admission tickets and complimentary Wi-Fi.  Reservations for the 2015 season can be placed now online at cedarpoint.com/hotelbreakers or by phone at (419) 627-2106.

CASTAWAY BAY DISCOUNT CODE

Want to stay at Castaway Bay? Here’s a money-saving discount code for Castaway Bay! You can get the “Room, Waterpark and Breakfast Buffet Package” starting at $149 (now through May 2, 2015) when you use the promo code BLOG! Reservations can be made online at castawaybay.com or by calling 419.627.2106.

GIVEAWAY:

Castaway Bay provided me with FOUR (4) Day Pass Vouchers to GIVE AWAY (giveaway over) to one lucky Couponing With Rachel reader! Good luck!




Cedar Point Tickets Deal – President’s Day 2015

by Leave a Comment

cedar point ticket giveaway a

Cedar Point is hosting a President’s Day Weekend Sale

Hop over to their website where you can grab TWO any day Cedar Point tickets for only $62 ! That makes each ticket only $31 each!  With your ticket, you’ll enjoy a day of fun and thrills, including your favorite roller coaster, the all new floorless coaster Rougarou, and more!

This is a great price for Cedar Point tickets! If live anywhere near Cedar Point and are thinking about getting a season pass, check out this post on why Cedar Point season passes are an AWESOME deal!

Keep in mind that these tickets are only valid through 6/30/15.




Monster Jam Cleveland – Meet the Drivers and See the Trucks FREE!

by Leave a Comment

monster jam 2015

**Want more deals?  Find me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!***

Monster Jam is coming to Cleveland this weekend, February 14th and 15th!  If you haven’t gotten your tickets yet, check out this post!  There is an awesome deal for a 4 pack of tickets to the Sunday, 2/15 show!

If you are on the fence on getting tickets, there are THREE opportunities to see a couple Monster Jam trucks up close and personal this week:

scooby doo monster jam cleveland appearance

#1 TODAY – Thursday, 2/12

WHO: Scooby DooTM Truck Appearance with athlete Bailey Shea
WHERE: PetSmart Charities® Everyday Adoption Center: 6870 Ridge Road, Parma, OH 44129
TIME: 2PM-6PM

Come check out the COOLEST thing on four wheels and the CUTEST things on four legs! Monster Jam athlete Bailey Shea and her 10,000 Monster truck Scooby DooTM will spend Thursday afternoon greeting fans, signing autographs and taking pictures at the PetSmart Charities® Everyday Adoption Center (EAC) in Parma. The truck appearance is in conjunction with a week-long promotion at the Cleveland Animal Protective League (APL), where anyone who adopts an animal at the APL or EAC between February 9th and February 14th will receive two vouchers valid for a Monster Jam performance!


cleveland monster jam appearance#2 TOMORROW – Friday 2/13

WHO:  Monster Energy Truck Appearance with athlete Coty Saucier
WHERE: Walmart #2073, 10000 Brookpark Rd., Brooklyn, OH  44130
TIME: 2PM-6PM

#3 TOMORROW – Friday 2/13

WHO:   Max D Truck Appearance with athlete Morgan Kane
WHERE: MetroPCS: 13395 Snow Rd., Brook Park, Ohio 44142
TIME: 3PM-7PM




Dave & Busters – A Perfect Family Day of Fun!

by 75 Comments

Dave and Buster's Westlake 1

Disclosure: This not a paid post. A huge thanks to Dave & Buster’s for hosting my family for the evening and offering the giveaway to my readers. All opinions are my own.

GIVEAWAY OVER!  Congrats to Nichole Suderman and Shannon Cessna. Ladies, please check your emails!

It’s the middle of winter here in Ohio but there are still tons of things to do with the family.  Grab the kiddos (or kids at heart) and run to Dave & Busters in Westlake, Ohio where you can enjoy a day or night of family fun!  Did you know that the Westlake location is one of the biggest Dave & Buster’s around?

Recently, my family and I spent the evening at Dave & Buster’s in Westlake, Ohio.  We enjoyed a fabulous dinner and spent some much needed family time playing games and winning tickets…lots of tickets! Before we get to the games thought let’s first talk about the mouth watering food.

Dave & Buster's Westlake, Ohio b

DINNER:
Dave & Buster’s menu has a bevy of delicious choices that are sure to suit every taste. From scrumptious appetizers to full meals there is truly something for everyone.  The only problem you may have is how many choices their are. If you’d like to see all that they offer, just pull up their menu online.  I loved that I could research online before going to dinner.

When we arrived for dinner we were offered different areas to sit from the quiet dining area to tables right in the middle of the fun.  With having three rowdy boys, we knew the game room would be the best place for us. It was nice to sit through dinner not having to shush the boys throughout.  In fact, with the games so close by, we allowed them to get up to check out the nearest game right next to our table. It definitely kept them occupied throughout the meal.

Dave and Buster's Westlake, Ohio 3

When it came time to order each of my boys chose their standard favorites, including macaroni and cheese, chicken fingers, and cheeseburger and fries. I was overjoyed to see all that Dave & Buster’s offered a 600 calories and under section on their menu along with superb salads.  In fact Dave & Buster’s offers a full menu carrying everything from wings to New York strip steaks.

To start off our meal we choose two of Dave & Buster’s best selling appetizers,The Triple Play which included mozzarella sticks, buffalo wings and potato skins and the Pretzel Dogs.  The Triple Play had a nice selection and the Pretzel dogs which are all-beef franks wrapped in sweet pretzel dough and served with spicy habañero sauce, were a huge hit with my whole family.   If you have a chance, you have to order the unique Pretzel Dogs. You won’t regret it.

Dave and Buster's Westlake, Ohio c
For our main entrees my hubby and I went two different routes.  As I’m watching what I eat on my weight loss journey, I headed straight to their salad section. Dave and Buster’s didn’t disappoint! While they offer some superb salads, as soon as I saw “The Lawnmower”, I knew that was the one I’d want to dive into.

The Lawnmower salad is layered with fresh romaine and green leaf lettuces, grilled chicken, diced garden vegetables, boiled eggs, bacon bits and bleu cheese crumbles. I will tell you this, I eat a lot of salads but this beauty takes the cake. It’s hands down the best salad I’ve eaten at any restaurant.  This salad is HUGE too so it’s more than large enough to split between a few people who want a dinner salad before their meal. In fact I had enough left over to take home for a couple meals.

The Lawnmower Salad Dave & Buster's
My husband chose the Bacon-Wrapped sirloin Medallions & Grilled Shrimp which looked delicious. OK, it WAS delicious … I stole a bite. This meal comes with marinated medallions of sirloin steak wrapped in bacon, alongside garlic herb shrimp. It is served with a medley of oven-roasted vegetables and potatoes, accompanied with a side of tomato and basil Bruschetta. The steak was full of flavor and extremely tender. My husband said that he will be ordering it again next time we are in.

Dave and Buster's Steak and Shrimp
The kids ended dinner by sharing a strawberry milkshake but by the way they were eyeing the games we knew that we should head out and play!

GAMES:
Dave and Buster’s in Westlake boast over 200 games in their Midway.  These games include old favorites like Skeeball and Big Bass Wheel while introducing new interactive touch screen games such as Cut the Rope and Fruit Ninja. To play the games, you’ll need to grab a Power Card from the host, server or at a kiosk.  I think it’s super convenient that you don’t need to carry around a cup of coins but instead can just swipe your card at each game.

Dave and Buster's Games Westlake

With the look and feel of a casino yet in a family friendly environment, we had a blast jumping from game to game and cheering each other on. While most of the games in the Midway produce tickets which you can turn in to redeem prizes a few are just FUN like the race car and interactive games.  My kiddos REALLY loved the Typhoon interactive ride which they rode twice!

Dave and Buster's WestalkeWINNER’S CIRCLE:

After playing games and winning lots of tickets, my family headed into Dave & Buster’s Winner’s Circle. This HUGE room is chalk full of prizes from cool toys to high-tech gadgets. They boasts prizes such as Apple iPad Airs, Playstation 4’s while still offering low ticket prizes such as candy, bouncy balls and finger traps. Really there is something for everyone! .

Dave and Buster's Cleveland

Dave & Buster’s makes it easy for you to redeem your tickets as instead of feeding them through a ticket taker one by one, all you have to do is dump them into a tub.  It saved us a lot of time not to have to worry about this extra step.  Best of all your redeemed tickets and then loaded to your Power Card so you can choose to redeem them that day or save of for a big prize!

SAVE MONEY at DAVE & BUSTER’S:

Dave & Buster’s wants you to bring the family out without breaking the bank and they offer deals throughout the week!

  • Enjoy 1/2 Price Games every Wednesday from Open to Close* for a limited time only
  • Order the “Eat and Play Combo where you choose from 15 full entrees and get a $10 power card!
  • Join Dave & Buster’s Rewards and get $10 Free game play (w/ purchase of $10 game play) just for joining!
  • Register your Power Card and earn $10 for every $100 you spend on food, beverages and games.

DAVE & BUSTER’S GIVEAWAY: 

Want to join in on the fun at Dave and Buster’s? Two winners will WIN gift cards to Dave & Buster’s in Westlake.  The first place winner will receive $30 and the second place winner will receive $20. You can enter each day! Good luck!




Featured Posts

Coupon Classes

  Hi my name is Rachel and am a stay-at-home mom to three boys here in northeast Ohio.  I've been "couponing" for over 5 years and it has completely … [Click To Find Out More...]