Archive for 2010

Spirit Airlines thinks this is acceptable. What do you think? Sure it frees up the security lines a little bit and helps the lines move quicker but at what cost?  Spirit Airlines is charging $30  for those that pay in advance and $45 for passengers who wait until they get to the boarding gate to pay. Apparently Spirit offers the lowest prices compared to the rest of the airlines and they feel that the fees are not that big of a deal.

This new revenue model that airlines are putting into effect is one way to cut off the amount of bags passengers bring with them. One wonders if this will cause passengers to go to other airlines that do not charge a fee.  Do you think it will catch on with the bigger airline companies? Or will this be a blunder that goes down in the Spirit Airlines’ record  books? Post your opinions and comments below.

Check here to watch the news story to hear what other customers had to say Spirit Airlines News Story

From July 1st until August 31st, fans of the Sundance Vacations fan page on Facebook had the opportunity to submit a favorite vacation photo for a chance to win a  four day/three night cruise for 2 to a choice of either the Bahamas or Mexico. The trip included a round trip airfare for 2 not to exceed $800.00 in total airfare from any major airport originating from eligible states, 1 night stay in the port city, a departure from Miami or Port  Canaveral Florida for the Bahamas or a departure from Los Angeles California for Mexico.

For two months fans submitted their stories and favorite vacation photo for a chance to win! Once the submission period was over on August 31st, the voting period was open for three weeks. Fans rushed to vote for their favorite vacation photo and story. Just this past Wednesday on September 22nd Jennifer Clark of Carlisle, PA was crowned the winner with the most votes. Congratulations to Jennifer Clark!

Here is the vacation photo that Jennifer submitted for the contest. The photo was taken at Ocean City with her son.

Sundance Vacations spices up the Mohegan Sun’s patio deck concert series.  Sundance has teamed up with 105 The River and Mohegan Sun for their concert deck series giving away 1000 dollars in free play at their outdoor concerts.  Fans of local bands lined up for their chance at their shot of winning casino free play.  Be sure to tune in to 105 The River to hear about the great promotions that we are doing at the Casino.

$500 Winner Michael Kretschner

(Photo Coming Soon!)

$100 Winners Joanne Tenneriello and Rose Kucharski

$100 Winner Frank Galella

$100 Winner David Callarini

$100 Winner Barbara Armbruster

Congratulations to the winners of the free play cards for Mohegan Sun Casino sponsored by 105 River Radio Station, Mohegan Sun Casino and Sundance Vacations.

The Grand Prize winner of $500 is Marco Trolani

$100 winner Robert Scholl

$100 winners Marlene Cannon and Jean Koscielski

$100 winner Alan Brzozowski

$100 winner Eugene Cholish

On Wednesday August 25, 2010, Sundance Vacations presented the latest Sundance Vacations giveaway grand prize to Gina Fish and her family of East Stroudsburg with a VIP New York Yankees Stadium tour and gift package.  Gina Fish, who was accompanied by her family, was presented with the prize on the third base line at the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees PNC Field in Moosic, PA just before the Yankees took on the Rochester Red Wings.

The prize that Gina won includes the VIP New York Yankees Stadium tour to take place this Saturday, four tickets to see the New York Yankees play the Toronto Blue Jays on September 5^th in New York City, five New York Yankees hats, five New York Yankees t-shirts, two New York Yankees autographed baseballs by Curtis Granderson and Nick Swisher, a Scranton/Wilkes-Barre autographed baseball bat by the entire team and other New York and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees goodies.

After the presentation, Gina and her family took to their seats right behind home plate to watch the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees beat the Rochester Red Wings 3-2.

Snow Ridge Village in Pennsylvania’s famed Pocono Mountains is the ideal spot to connect with nature, whether framed by the majestic snow covered peaks in winter or surrounded by the lush, verdant trees in the spring.

You can experience all that each season offers at this fantastic home away from home. In addition to all of the usual amenities, such as a full kitchen, this property also has a fireplace! The resort also provides free daytime shuttle service to Jack Frost and transport for night skiing to Big Boulder.  Also, take a dip in the swimming pool located at Big Boulder – complimentary pool passes are provided.

Ski the nearby slopes, or enjoy fishing and hiking in quiet serenity at sparkling Lake Harmony. With its awe inspiring beauty and an abundance of year-round activities, it’s no wonder that Snow Ridge Village is one of our most popular destinations.

Looking for an authentic Hawaiian getaway? Hotel Molokai offers an old-Hawaii feel, but with modern conveniences! The beautiful island of Molokai, known as the birth place of hula and called the “Friendly Isle,” is a rural, relaxed paradise boasting the world’s highest sea cliffs and the tallest waterfall in Hawaii.

This home property is located at Kamiloloa Beach, only five minutes from the island’s largest city, Kaunakakai. The oceanfront property resides adjacent to Hawaii’s only barrier reef and is reminiscent of a South Seas-style resort with its Polynesian village of bungalows. Many units offer convenient kitchens with new appliances. High-speed Inernet and cable television are available in each room; an Internet Kiosk is provided in the lobby for guests wishing to leave their laptops at home. There is also a freshwater pool onsite, overlooking the island of Lanai.

Be sure to dine oceanside at Hotel Molokai’s open-air restaurant, Hula Shores, which hosts nightly Hawaiian entertainment. Each week, the weekend begins with Hula Shores’ Aloha Friday Sunset Celebration. Na Kupuna, Hawaiian “aunties” who entertain through music, hula and mana’o (wisdom), share lore, feats and values of island culture. Artisan wares are for sale and a live band plays all evening.

The hotel is also a popular place to plan an exotic nuptial getaway. A wedding site is located in the garden, which abounds with tropical plantings.

The other day, we posted a blog post about our favorite summer songs. Many classics made the list including the Beach Boys and Will Smith. To continue with our theme of Top 10 summer favorites, Today we are going to list our top 10 favorite summer movies!!! Making the list includes not only classics about summer living but also those top summer blockbuster hits that defined the summer movie experience in previous years. So kick back, relax and check out our top 10! Hopefully some of your favorites made the list. If not, be sure to comment and let us know your favorite summer movie!

Jaws (1975)

Top 10 Summer Movies:

1. The Dark Knight – How could we have a top ten list of Summer movies without including the critically acclaimed and highly successful sequel to Batman Begins.
2. Jurassic Park – Jurassic Park came out in the early 90′s and was a box office hit. This movie kicked off a trilogy and was a smash at drive-in movie theaters across the country.
3. Dazed and Confused – Dazed and Confused is the summer party film of the century. Taking place in the 1970′s on the last day of the school year, the cast sets off to have the party of their lives.
4. Independence Day – Will Smith makes the list again. Except instead of rapping about “Summertime,” he is too busy taking down evil Aliens that want to destroy mankind. Talk about versatile abilities.
5. Grease – Just as Dazed and Confused takes place at the beginning of the summer, Grease takes place at the end of summer. Summer love, music and dance all take place in this musical about summer in the 1950′s.
6. Spiderman – Another Superhero movie? Of course. Superhero movies tend to blow up the box office. Spiderman was highly marketed and highly received. It ended up being the biggest movie of the summer in 2002.
7. Pirates of the Caribbean -  We all know Johnny Depp makes a great pirate. We also know that pirates put on a great show in Disney. This movie brought the two together and made for an extremely popular movie.
8. The Lion King – Another Disney film? Yes!!! What would a summer movie list be without one of Disney’s classic cartoon movies. The Lion King brought it on the big screen and is one of Disney’s most successful movies to date.
9. Raiders of the Lost Ark – Two words: Harrison Ford.
10. JAWS – The best summer movie has got to be Jaws. Just when everyone was getting ready to have fun at the beach, Jaws goes on a rampage scaring everyone out of the water and into the movie theaters!

If you were planning on hitting up the beach this summer beware of JAWS! Check out the trailer that scared things up during the summer of 1975 and many years to follow!

Music and the summer go extremely well together. Whether you are driving, flying or boating to your favorite location, odds are music will be accompanying you. I felt it was appropriate to create a blog post creating the ultimate summer mix. The list includes a wide range of eclectic summer tunes and is a compilation of 15 Sundance Vacations employees’ favorite summer tracks.

The ultimate summer mix:

Beach Boys – Kocomo
Jimmy Buffet – Margaritaville
Frank Sinatra – Summer Wind
Katy Perry – California Girls
Rupert Holmes – Escape (Pina Colada)
LFO – Summer Girls
The Drifters – Under the Boardwalk
Martha & the Vandellas – Heatwave
Yellowcard – Ocean Avenue
Alice Cooper – School’s Out
The Surfaris – Wipe out
Bryan Adams – Summer Of ’69
Sly & The Family Stone – Hot Fun In The Summertime
John Fogerty – Centerfield

Bonus track: DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince – Summertime

What is your favorite summer track?

On the weekend of July 23rd through the 25th Scott Brunnenmeyer, Director of Operations, joined the nation in honoring the fallen and wounded soldiers at the Families United National Weekend of  Remembrance as Sundance Vacations sponsored the Weekend event.

The event kicked off on Friday night with the Gold Star Family dinner in Washington DC. Families United invited all families that had lost a soldier in Iraq and Afghanistan, which brought over 500 families throughout the country. They bring these families through various events throughout the year; this being the largest event. This was a formal event that seated families together by state for an evening honoring their Heroes and allowing them to share their stories with each other. Among the families at the dinner were top ranking officials, 3 star Generals, Admirals and a keynote by Vice Joint Chief Of Staff General James E. Cartwright.  Wayne Newton, with the USO, also performed at the dinner for the Fallen Soldiers’ families. The honorable Scooter Libby was also present for the dinner.

Scott, who is also a Captain in the Army, said that, “It is amazing to see such great family oriented organizations like Families United that will continue to support the fallen soldiers’ families. It gives great reassurance that if something ever happened that my family would have great support.” On Saturday, they had a wreath laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which Scott said was “the most emotional part of the whole weekend.”

Following the event in the Arlington Cemetery, there was a  “Hero’s Festival” and concert by country singer Aaron Tippin  at Six Flags America. At the festival the families were able spend time with Armed Service members and enjoy a hot and fun-filled day at the amusement park. Throughout the day there were moments of silence and a lunch/picnic for the families.

On Sunday there was a final service at Washington National Cathedral. Many families stayed to attend the nations largest most respected cathedral for a religious service. Throughout the whole weekend across the country many businesses and news stations were taking time to remember our fallen heroes as well. Scott said that “ I am greatly moved that Sundance Vacations decided to sponsor the event and that I was able to be there for it all.”

For more information on Families United check out the website FamiliesUnitedMission.com. The website lists events and ways to get involved. The next event being held is the Pennsylvania Gold Star Family Luncheon, which will be held in Philadelphia on August 14th.