Family night at Gatti's

As a part of the U.S. Family Guide bloggers, I was invited to write a review for our local Gatti's. Located at 2921 Pat Booker Road in Universal City, Gatti's offers a fun, family experience for all ages. 

We went around noon this time and it wasn't so busy. But there were parties going on as it was towards the weekend.  

You can reserve rooms for parties and fun occasions. They also have multiple dining rooms. One of the dining rooms has a large TV where movies play to provide entertainment for the kids while you dine. We chose the Quiet Dining room.

Food choices are abundant.

They have various types of pasta and sauces to choose from, a salad bar, myriads of pizza flavors that are ever changing throughout the day, and a dessert set up.

Some of my personal favorites were the Italian type pasta and jalapeño pepperoni pizza. My oldest son devoured a plate of spaghetti right off the start.

Normally I can't get him to be as enthusiastic when I make it at home... My younger son loved the macaroni and cheese. Apparently I don't make that right either since he had far more gusto for Gatti's than he has for mine. They have baked potatoes and even potato salad that was pretty good. 

From the drink choices, I really loved that there were 4 types of tea to choose from. I chose green tea, though you have regular sweet and unsweet as well as Nestea Raspberry to choose from. 

As with any buffet-providing restaurant, clean plates are never ending. You finish one, dump in a receptacle for such and grab a fresh one. 

There is a huge game room to play in.

Games are typically .25 or 50¢ each though some cost more, such as the bumper cars or (my favorite) Fruit Ninja

which are $1 or more.

You can either purchase a game card, or use cash to pay for the games.

There's a little something for everyone. One of our favorites was the Goal Rush.

You get a set amount of balls and you have to toss/roll them upward and into various point value "goals". We ended up playing it over a few times. 

There are plenty of ticket-rewarding games. Tickets can be used to redeem prizes.

The ticket machines were having issues counting and adding credit to the cards. So the lines were a bit long. But that's to be expected with such a high volume of people using them daily. 

It was a great experience for my family. And if you sign up for the Gatti's newsletter, you can receive emails letting you know what the latest deals are. 

Summer Time Fun at Schlitterbahn!

If there is one water park I love bringing the family to, it would have to be Schlitterbahn! The rides, the water, free parking, bring your picnic! Need I say more? I think I do actually. They also have great promotions. Which means a lot for families these days. Vacations can be pretty pricey. But staying at a Schlitterbahn resort doesn't have to be. Thanks to my connections with the US Family guide as a mommy blogger, I'm getting to share these deals with you and will hopefully be allowed to share a review post if we get selected to make a trip there. 

Check out the promotions they have running here:
South Padre Island
Galveston
New Braunsfels
I'd have to say that New Braunfels is my favorite! Not just because of how close it is to home, but because we each find things we enjoy there. Plus some rides connect to the river, they recycle the water and cut back on waste. 
Below is fun information that was provided on the various parks.  
Key News for Schlitterbahn:
Every park has a fact sheet on our newsroom, but here are some fast facts.
Schlitterbahn New Braunfels is our flagship park and is America's #1 waterpark for 18 years and has won awards for the best waterpark, best waterpark ride (The Master Blaster) and best new ride (Dragon's Revenge.)
Schlitterbahn has been the birthplace of nearly every waterpark ride innovation including the world's first uphill water coaster and the inland surfing ride, the Boogie Bahn.

Every park has a claim to fame:
- New Braunfels - World's longest tube ride; America's Favorite Waterpark.
- South Padre Island - World's first Transportainment system where interconnected rivers are queue lines for rider, this way you never have to leave your tube!
- Galveston - Building the world's tallest water coaster.
- Kansas City - World's tallest water slide.
- Corpus Christi - Longest river system in Texas.

Green Facts on our South Padre Beach Resort:
Ropes: Over three miles of 3-inch mooring ropes from dozens of former ships have been painstakingly wrapped around giant concrete structural poles on our Sea 4ever 10,000 square foot patio.

Green House: The retractable roof over our indoor waterpark was built from a large greenhouse - an old Schultz nursery.
Lobby Check in Counter: Built from salvaged walnut trees which were pulled from a road project in Kansas.

Parapet Walls: The hatch covers came off a famous US Troop carrier the John E. Pope and are used on parapet walls and also to make tables. Over 500 are on site.

Chandeliers: The beautiful chandeliers hanging in the Sea 4ever event patio were salvaged from an aging Vegas hotel. Our team glued shells to them and hung in the ceiling.

Waterslides: Yes, even some of the water slides were recycled. The water slides in our indoor park came from a park in Cleveland Ohio, were salvaged, refurbished, and re-installed.
Handrails: An old Dutchman Downs Stadium was the source for all the handrails.

Loblolly Pines: In 2011, a major wildfire raged through Bastrop County, Texas in September. Three separate fires started during Labor Day weekend and by the time it was controlled, it destroyed 1,691 homes and burned over 34,000 acres of land including the vast majority of Bastrop State Park's 5,900 acres of Loblolly Pines. The Lost Pines Forest, thought to have originated in or before the Pleistocene era, was also heavily impacted.
For safety, the burned pines had to be removed. These scorched trees were destined for the grinder who would have turned them into mulch. Jeff Henry, with Schlitterbahn, offered to take the fallen trees, then had them milled, beginning the process of transforming the pines from scorched wood to the most dramatic feature throughout the Schlitterbahn Beach Resort at South Padre.

FYI: You'll also find the pines all over Schlitterbahn New Braunfels - look for the pine paneling in the Riverbend cabins and the lovely furniture pieces here and there. We'll try to point them out during your tour.

Where you will find the Bastrop Pines in the South Padre Beach Resort:
- Rooms: In most rooms the cabinets, coffee tables, nightstands, and headboards are made from the Bastrop Loblolly Pines.
- Dining areas: Large tables are made from the Loblolly Pines.
- Lobby: The large tree stump tables by the doors leading to the heated pool are from the fire, as is the siding along many of the interior walls.
- External: The siding on the outside walls of the resort are made from Loblolly Pines.

Something I thought was amazing - It's The Year of Anniversaries!
World's Most Award Winning Uphill Water Coaster, The Master Blaster, turns 20: The Schlitterbahn New Braunfels park is home to a guest favorite, the world famous Master Blaster. Built in 1996, this 2.5 minute ride is over 65 feet tall and sends guests on an exhilarating ride down two, 3 story drops. It is easily the most iconic uphill water coaster in the world. Have you ridden the Master Blaster yet?

Its officially SUMMER!!!

I don't about where you live, but it has been feeling summer for a little while now. Texas heat has settled heavy and dry with a strong drought. We carry water everywhere. We bring along the sunscreen because we know that sun is burning straight through us just by walking outside.
On the positive side, water parks are in full swing! Time to get out and splash with the family. I can't tell you how excited my family is to be going out some time. My kids are water babies through and through. Add some slides and wave pools... Ahh summer heaven!

I'm happy to offer you all a way to share in the fun this summer. For those of you in and around the San Antonio area, or if you are coming down for a summer vacation, you can save $5 off at Splashtown in San Antonio with this coupon!!! This is good for $5 off a child or adult admission before 4PM. Its valid for up to 6 people at a time. And it expires 9/14/14. So come on down and have fun with us! Share this deal with your friends and family. Lets keep cool.

Here is some information to plan your trip with:

Splashtown San Antonio is 20 landscaped acres of cool, clean water excitement!

Location - Just 3 minutes north of downtown San Antonio

Information - Our Family Waterpark has something fun for everyone!!!

* Over 50 Rides & Attractions
* FREE Life Jackets
* Covered Public Picnic Area
* Restaurant & Concessions
* Dive-In Movies
* Lockers for Rent
* Professionally Trained Lifeguards
* FREE Parking
* Restrooms with Shower Facilities
* Souvenir Shop
* Special Events

Sorry, NO outside food or beverage allowed in the park. No pets allowed. Swim Diapers required in park.

Splashtown Accepts Discover, Master Card, Visa, American Express and Cash.

Our family day at Adventure Landing Shipwreck Island Waterpark!

Since I'm a part of the US Family Guide blogger team, I was recently given the chance to review a day at the newly opened Adventure Landing Shipwreck Island water park at Jacksonville Beach. I took my husband and two younger brothers with me for a day of family fun. We left our home early in the morning so that we would get there close to opening time. I find this time to be best as the lines are shorter, the park is at its cleanest, and I can park closer to the entrance (after so much fun, everyone is exhausted and dragging their feet when its time to go).
Adventure Landing has a few rules that you should know of:

Food options include two things: you can bring your own food but leave it in a cooler in your car or eat at the food venues they offer. We ate at the Wave Riders Grill since the Cantina was closed. It can be a little pricey I'll admit. We fed four with just under $40. I really liked some of the options they had though. I ordered the Grilled Chicken Wrap. It had white meat chicken strips, slightly crispy cucumbers, fresh lettuce, and tomato chunks.

It was satisfying and came to about $5.50. A hamburger was about the same price and nothing special. My brother ordered a small fry and soft pretzel that was altogether about $5.50 as well. Drinks are sold separately unless you make your order a combo in which case you have to add $3.69 for a small drink (which is a regular size at most other vendors) and a small fry. The fry sizes impressed me.

They were a little above average and tasted better than most you would get at a fast food restaurant. But enough about food (don't want to make every hungry here). Some items are better than others but prepare yourself for higher prices in that department.

The staff throughout the park was extremely friendly. Everywhere we went, we were met with smiles and several even asked how we were doing as we walked by. For a recreational park of this kind, I have never encountered such a great group. They have life guards posted everywhere watching everyone and making sure it was safe. 
They do check your bags to make sure you aren't bringing in anything that is prohibited or dangerous. I wouldn't want someone sneaking in a 6 pack, would you? There are no alcoholic drinks allowed. I personally appreciated this as I don't think liquor and water slides with kids around makes a good mixture. You may bring water in clear bottles only.

Bring towels if you plan on doing the golf or games as well as the water park. We did only the water park and preferred to be hands-free. With the summer sun bearing down you, the water dries really quick unless you are going from ride to ride (in which case, you'll stay wet anyways).

Always remember sunscreen. I slathered us thick before entering the park and am still a little red. So if you can rent a locker or make a trip to the car, double or triple your dose! Especially when going to a water park. The sun bakes your skin but really cooks you when you're wet.

Parking is free! If you are an early bird like we were, not only will you get to park close to the entrance (less walking after a long day of fun) but less lines at the attractions. The down side to being early was that some areas had colder water to deal with but after getting in and moving around it wasn't so bad. And actually, we found out those areas stay a little more chilly than the others anyhow.

If you want to rent a locker, its $5 for the day plus a $5 deposit that will be returned once you turn in the key.

Ride requirements: certain attractions do require you to be a certain height. At the end of some of the slides there would be a deep amount of water for you to drop into.  The Hurricane for instance, has you slide around then fall into a sphere-shaped bowl that you slide around before dropping through a funnel-type exit into an 8 feet deep pool of water. You have to be 48 inches tall and a very good swimmer for that one.

After taking a consensus of everyone present, we agreed the best one was The Rage ride. It's a long slide that uses the force of water to propel you along as you hold on for dear life to a figure 8 inner tube. You can ride alone or with someone. It was so much fun, we went on it about 4-5 times!

Coming in second place was the main attraction at the center of the park, the Shipwreck Island Play Village. You could get lost, but only if you wanted to! There were water cannons, places where the kids could run and play in and around it, plus several slides. There were three levels of high ones as well as some normal kiddie slides.

We also enjoyed just lazily floating along the Little St. Johns River in inner tubes. It provides a nice cool down in the midst of so much action. Another good resting area we liked was Typhoon Lagoon. Its a wave pool that periodically starts up and creates man-made waves that you can bounce along with.
They have another ride that only one of our small group dared to attempt; the Hydro Half Pipe. You know what a half pipe is, right? Skateboarders use them to do tricks. This was a huge one that had water on it and you slid down one side and up the other on an inner tube until you lost momentum and stopped in the middle. Incredibly scary! But many enjoyed it.
Eye of the Storm was another scary one. You slide on a curvy slide with no inner tube until you come to a sphere-like bowl that you swirl around like a twister about once or twice and then fall through a hole in the bottom into an 8 feet deep pool before swimming out to the steps. My brothers tried it once and didn't want to have another go.
And if Dad likes such things - they have a promotion for dads to swim free! Just check out the details here. Other specials and coupons can be found on their website as well. Also, you can get a deal for reading my blog! "Adventure Landing & Shipwreck Island Waterpark is The Place to Play!  Stay cool in the summer at Northeast Florida's largest water park.  Enjoy rides from mild to wild, including a Kiddie Play Area, Wave Pool and Lazy River!  Practice your putting skills on our Miniature Golf Courses, twist and turn in the Go-Karts, practice your swing inside our Batting Cages or perfect your gaming skills in our Mega Arcade.  Don't miss our Wacky Worm Rollercoaster and Frog Hopper - rides perfect for younger kids!  And, don't forget to stop by and feed the alligators!  Affordable family fun...so close to home.  My Readers Save $5 with http://www.jacksonvillefamilyguide.com/coupon.php?bid=11088&lid=13938&dealid=1158®ionid=312"
Overall, it was an amazing day! We had a blast, got a little redness going on... and had enough of a workout just climbing steps, walking, and holding on with everything we had. You can sit around lazing in the sun with your feet in the pools or you can find muscles you forgot you had while you squeal and laugh through all the cool attractions.