How we spent the 4th of July weekend.

Hope everyone had a Happy 4th of July and week that followed. My family and I decided to go Kings Island Amusement Park for several days after the 4th of July. Then we got busy with work and activities I am just now getting to where I post this wonderful post. Well we decided to brave the rainy 4th of July weekend and go thrill riding. I think this was the best decision we could ever make. The park had very few people in it. We never really was in the rain.
Since Mason is about a 2 hour drive from our house, I got us a hotel room at the Holiday Inn Express in Mason, OH,  loved the hotel and everything about it. Our room had a mini fridge, microwave and a flat screen TV. This hotel offered a free continental breakfast for everyday of our stay. I will have to say the food was very good. The best thing was that they had an indoor pool. The pool was small but it worked just fine for my little one. Every morning, expect for our last morning  it was pouring the rain, so my daughter would swim after breakfast, then by late afternoon the sun was out and we hit the amusement park. As you can see below the standard double room was very comfy and clean. This hotel should not be marked as a 2 1/2 star hotel, by the travel sites. I think it should be at least a 3 star. I would definitely stay here again.

Do to the rain Kings Island had to cancel their big 4th of July firework show that was suppose to be the night of the 4th, until the 5th. Bummer for everyone who braved the pouring rain that day just to see the firework show. But it worked in our advantage, all I can say is we got lucky and we got to see the firework show the next night. We had the perfect place to watch the fire works. We went to the Reds Hall of Fame resturant inside the park and got a table outside. They were having half price wings at that time so the food and view was great. During the firework show we could see shadows of Diamond Back running, the Vortex and the Wind Seeker. I have to say it was really awesome seeing it from where we were sitting. Kings Island did put on a good firework show that night.

The whitish blur is the Wind Seeker ride.

Before the fireworks started that night we paid extra to go thru the Dinosaur Alive Exhibit and watched the 3D movie. If you have little ones this is something great to to thru. The 3D movie in my opinion was not worth paying the extra money for. Just buy the ticket for the exhibit. My daughter thought most of the dinosaurs were real. The dinosaur made noises by roaring and they moved their mouths and eyes. Below is just a few pics of the dinosaurs. I hope I matched up their names correctly. They also offered a Dig Site, but it so muddy due to all the rain, we bypassed that. This is a great learning exhibit for any child.

We had a very good three days in Mason Oh. Our last day there, we were able to soak in the sun at the water park, before heading back home. I guess it pays to have season passes. Because this trip saved us a ton of money and it basically paid for our season passes. What did you all do on the 4th and the week following it? Did you go on any vacations or small trips?


Please note I was not paid anything or did not receive anything for writing this post. Everything in this post was my honest thoughts.