If you have been looking at taking your family on a Disney Cruise, you know that for most of them you now need passports. We learned that the hard way! Passports are one thing that most people do not think about when they make their travel budgets but the reality is that they can be a little bit expensive depending on how many you need and how fast you need them. My daughters are only 8 and 10 and we have already had to get them a second passport each because they expire in only 5 years when you are under 16.

Did you know that it can take months to get a passport depending upon where you go? We used to go to the Post Office but my friend Adam introduced me to VisaHQ.com and they have some really great alternatives for getting expedited U.S. passports. You can get them in as little as 1-2 business days if you need them quickly. They actually offer a range of services from passports to Visas and I was lucky enough to get a coupon code!

From now through September 30, you can use coupon code SUNSHINE10 to get 10% off of the service fees for passports purchased through VisaHQ.com. Even though we don’t currently have a trip planned, we went ahead and ordered new ones for our kids because we would rather be safe than sorry if an opportunity presents itself!

The time has come again to apply to be a part of the Walt Disney World Moms Panel. Applications will be taken from September 12 through September 16. In addition to Walt Disney World, they will also be choosing for the following panels:

If you haven’t signed up for Mamapedia yet, now is a great time! They are giving away a 7-day Caribbean Cruise on Norwegian Cruise Line. Norwegian offers fun kids and teens programs, Wii™ on a two story screen, pools for kids of all ages and even Nickelodeon™ at Sea – with activities and entertainment from your favorite Nickelodeon characters like SpongeBob and Dora the Explorer.

The grand prize winner will receive: 7-day Caribbean Cruise for a Family of Four from Norwegian Cruise Line. This wonderful family vacation consists of 7 days aboard either Norwegian Epic or Norwegian Jewel. Cruise round-trip from New York or Miami to the Caribbean or Bahamas & Florida for the ideal family vacation. Plus $2000 cash to use however you like (for example, use it on your trip toward airfare, incidentals, excursions, etc). The approximate value of this prize is $5,500.

Other prizes include a $750 Visa Gift Card and $50 Mamapedia Sweet Deals credits.

Sign up for Mamapedia today and get entered to win this terrific family vacation. Contest ends April 15. Plus, get 10% Off Your First MamaPedia SweetDeals Purchase with code: APRIL10 (save up to $10).

Did you know that Nature Valley is a sponsor of the National Parks Project? Hundreds of millions of people have visited America’s parks, and the National Parks Project exists to help restore and preserve them so that future generations will have the same opportunity. Nature Valley has teamed up with Patricia Shultz, author of “1,000 Places to See Before You Die,” to support the parks. When you buy specially marked packages of Nature Valley Bars and mail in the wrappers, Nature Valley will not only recycle the wrappers but will also donate .10 per wrapper to the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) (up to $600,000). You can find out more about the project at PreservetheParks.com. Not only does the site have great information about the information, but it also links to some great photos of places like Yellowstone National Park and Grand Canyon National Park.

I was lucky enough to receive a package from Nature Valley and MyBlogSpark the other day that contained a box of Nature Valley Oats ‘n Honey Granola Bars, mini backpack, a compass, a solar-powered key chain flash light, a reusable water bottle, and a copy of Shultz’s book. I was going to take a picture of it all, but my kids at the granola bars so fast that all I have left are wrappers! It was surprising to me because although I eat a lot of granola bars, my kids have never shown any interest in them before. It’s perfect timing because now I know that I can buy them for their lunchboxes this year. We were particularly excited that there were BoxTops on the box because our school collects them.

I’m not the only lucky one because Nature Valley and MyBlogSpark are going to give one of my lucky readers a package just like mine!

To Enter:

1) Leave a comment below telling us what you think about the National Parks Project (one entry).

2) Twitter about the contest and leave a comment below with your Tweet (one entry).

3) Sign up for our newsletter on the right and leave a comment below (e-mail will be verified) (one entry).

4) Blog about this contest and leave your link to the post below (two entries).

Drawing will take place August 19 at noon Eastern. Must be a US Resident, age 18 or older to enter. Winner will be notified via e-mail and have 24 hours to respond or a new winner will be selected.

Edited: Congrats to our winner, Lawanna Wheatly!

Every now and then when my kids are watching television I scream out “pause the TV”! It’s usually because I happen to catch a commercial for a great contest. Today while they were watching Suite Life on Deck I heard “win a Disney Cruise.” If there were ever a moment to pause, this was one of them.

Here are the details:

One Grand Prize: A 7 night Disney Cruise Line vacation for winner and 3 guests leaving from Los Angeles, CA and taken aboard the Disney Wonder to Disney’s Mexican Riviera itinerary. Includes air fare if you live more than 200 miles from LA. Plus a Toy Story 3: The Video Game for the Wii™ console system.

75 First Prizes of a Toy Story 3: The Video Game for the Wii™ console system. (ARV: $50).

Contest ends August 15, 2010. Click here to get more details and enter.

The Weather Channel is giving away a Disney Cruise in its Choose and Cruise Sweepstakes. The Grand Prize is a  Disney Cruise Line vacation for 4 people to winner’s choice of the following: 10- or 11-night Mediterranean Cruise, 12-night Northern European Capitals Cruise, 7-night Eastern Caribbean Cruise, or 7-night Western Caribbean Cruise. Grand Prize also includes transportation to the departure port, a stateroom for 4, and $4,500.

Three instant win game prizes will also be given away and include a 4-night DCL Bahamian vacation for 4 people.  You can enter the Sweepstakes and play the Instant Win game twice a day. You can also get extra entries for sharing the contest with your friends. The sweepstakes ends April 2, 2010.

It seems like every other month we are finding a really great Disney contest. The newest contest sponsored by Disney is the “Celebrate You Sweepstakes.” You can enter from now through January 31 but must be a United States resident.

What is the prize? Hold onto your hats. A 5 day/4 night trip for the winner and 3 guests to the Walt Disney World Resort, including hotel accommodations for 3 nights in a standard room, a 1 night stay at the Cinderella Castle Suite, 5-Day Magic Your Way Park Hopper Tickets, services of a VIP Tour Guide for 6 hours, services of a personal itinerary planner to help with planning, a PhotoPass PhotoBook and PhotoCD, a $250 Disney Gift Card for the winner, and airfare for 4 if you live more than 250 miles away.

Just winning a trip to Disney would be amazing. But imagine being one of the few people who gets to spend a night in the Cinderella Castle Suite! It would be an opportunity like no other in your life.

Click here to enter once a day. You can also get more information there about how to enter via text message.

I am a huge fan of Disney cruises. I’ve taken 4 myself and already have another one booked. To me, it is the perfect family vacation. Parents and kids can come together when they want but also do their own thing when they want. My kids have always loved the kids club activities, and I love that I can trust Disney with my kids while I relax.

Hanes is giving away a five-night Disney Cruise to the Bahamas. What I really like about this particular cruise is that it stops twice at Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay. It’s actually the exact same itinerary that I booked for my family for our next DCL vacation! Castaway Cay features its own restaurants (included in the price of the cruise), an adult beach, a kids area, a family beach, and more. You know that place you go to in your head when you need to relax and block out the world? Mine is a hammock at Castaway Cay! Hanes is giving away THREE grand prizes that each consist of a 5-night cruise for 4 people, flights, and airport transfers. The value of each is approximately $7,278.

In addition to the Disney Cruise, Hanes is giving away 100 packages of Hanes socks each week throughout the contest. My kids wear the Hanes so that I can easily tell the difference (Cassie wears the purple coded ones and Jillian wears the blue). The color coded “Hanes” tells me what size they are, which makes separating the socks much easier at laundry time.

I’m excited about this contest because it involves two of my favorite brand names! Click here to get registered before March 31, 2010.

Big news on Good Morning America today! Disney is giving away theme park tickets for people who volunteer. The new program is called “Give a Day, Get a Disney Day.” When you volunteer one day for a participating organization, you will get your choice of a ticket for Disney World or Disneyland. If you cannot use your ticket yourself, you can even donate it to a Disney charity.

Although Disney is obviously getting a lot of publicity out of this and it isn’t costing them much (they’ll likely get more people to visit just because of the promotion), I still think that it is great to see a corporation encouraging people to give back to the community. In particular, this is a good reason to get parents to engage their entire family in a volunteer activity.

In addition to the Give a Day promotion, you can enter to win a free trip to Disney in the “Cheers to Volunteers” Sweepstakes. The grand prize is a 5 day, 4 night vacation for 4 to Walt Disney World or Disneyland. You get bonus entries for Tweeting the contest each day. (ends March 31, 2010)

The program will officially begin January 1, 2010. You must be at least 6 years of age and pre-register for your volunteer service. Of course, there are quite a few details that you will need to check out at disneyparks.com in January, but it looks like a terrific opportunity! You may also want to follow the Disney Parks twitter account to get up to the minute information.

Are you a Disney-loving mom who has visited in the last year and loves to give opinions and feedback about the park? Then you might be perfect for the Walt Disney World Moms Panel! Entries will be taken starting September 10, 2009. You must be able to travel to WDW from December 4-8 for their special training program. After that, you will be responsible for at least 15 written responses per week (regarding WDW travel). More specific information can be found on their site.

Here is the link to bookmark so that you can mark your calendar and apply!

Edited: They are now taking applications! This is always really popular because of the free Disney trip. Applications will be taken through September 20 or whenever they get 20,000–whichever comes first.