Coke Rewards- Six Flags Instant Win Game

[Small Town Princess]

Has anyone had any luck winning the Six Flags Instant Win Game at My Coke Rewards? If so, would you share what time of day you played? Any other strategy advice?

We are planning the cheapest of cheap St Louis Vacation for Aug 7-10. It's one of those things where we probably shouldn't go anywhere, but it's been such a lousy 2 years (son's illness, hospitals, flood, job loss, every appliance in the house deciding to break, etc, etc.) There just has to be a bright spot somewhere. If I can't go to Disney (boo-hoo) then maybe we can swing a short, close-by trip.

It looks like St Louis has so many FREE activites. Except Six Flags of course. I know it's a shot in the dark, but someone has to win... right?

 

[SarahKate]

Sorry for all of the hardships your family has had!

St. Louis is a great place and there are some things you can do there for free/low cost. Unfortunately, I can't tell you anything about the Six Flags thing.

A couple of places to go that won't break the bank would be St. Louis Zoo, Grant's Park, and the Science Center.

The zoo admission is free, but you do have to pay for parking (unless you get there early and can score a spot on the street). They also have a children's zoo that does have an additional cost, but not required.

Grant's Park is free, they do charge for parking but I don't recall it being super expensive. You can also get free GROWN UP drinks there. Last time we went, I asked for a sample of a wine cooler and they gave me a whole one.

Science Center is also free, however, there are exhibits and shows that have a cost to them. We normally don't do any of the shows, the regular part of the center is fine by us!

I wrote an article for a local website last year about St. Louis that has some more information on these places. Here's the link: http://springfieldmoms.org/st-louis-day-trips-and-attractions/

And there are lots of people on the DIS who live in the STL area who might be able to give you ideas of the My Coke Rewards thing. Hope you enjoy your visit!!

 

[Small Town Princess]

Loved your article! So much great information and tips.

We are definately going to try and get to the Zoo, Science Center, Grant's Farm and the arch.

If we have time I wondered about Purnia Farms, the brewery, Union Station and history museum.

The Drury hotel sounds great with the free hot breakfast and evening kickback. Rates are very reasonable too.

I think are food splurges will be Fitz's & Old Spaghetti Factory.

I am busy collecting coupons and trying to find discounts. Thanks so much!!! I really appreciate your help!

 

[SarahKate]

I'm glad you liked the article! It took a long time to pull it all together, but I thought it was worth it since so many families in our neck of the woods go to STL.


I don't know much about Purina Farms or the Brewery......I think with P.F. you have to have reservations in advance. I've heard good comments about it, but can't share any personal experiences.

As far as Union Station goes, we don't really go there anymore. It's a neat building, but in my opinion the shops aren't much. There are plenty of other places out in the 'burbs where we'd rather go shopping!

If you couldn't tell from the article, we are very biased to Drury and that's the ONLY chain we'll stay at there. Have stayed at Chesterfield (a little out of the way but doesn't bother us at all) and Creve Couer that's on Olive & I-270 (this one's a little more convenient to the city attractions). You can't beat their value w/ the hot food, drinks, wi-fi, etc. and they are always very nice there and room/hotel super clean.

I haven't been to ALL of the restaurants I listed there but Fitz's is definitely a more budget-friendly place to go. For us to go there (2 adults, 1 kid) it's maybe around $25. Have never had a bad meal there.

Also, I didn't catch the age of your kids but the Magic House is really neat. You can get a buy-one-get-one free coupon online too. Just get there early because it gets crowded fast!

You guys will have a great time! STL is a wonderful city and things are usually pretty easy to get to, especially if you kind of have things planned out a little.

 

[dturner]

I won Six Flags tickets with the Coke game last year but last year they let you try 50 times a day; this year it's only 5 times a day and I haven't been lucky at all. I"ve played early in the AM, late at night and during the day, no luck for me.

 

[LizinSTL]

Loved your article! So much great information and tips.

We are definately going to try and get to the Zoo, Science Center, Grant's Farm and the arch.

If we have time I wondered about Purnia Farms, the brewery, Union Station and history museum.

The Drury hotel sounds great with the free hot breakfast and evening kickback. Rates are very reasonable too.

I think are food splurges will be Fitz's & Old Spaghetti Factory.

I am busy collecting coupons and trying to find discounts. Thanks so much!!! I really appreciate your help!

Skip Purina Farms unless you are staying in Eureka. It's cool but not really worth the trip. Love the brewery tour. Very cool and if you go, stop by Gus' Pretzels and grab a pretzel bratwurst.

We love the architecture of Union Station and adore the history museum. Very cool exhibits there. There's a special exhibit right now of Vatican Art but it is pricey to get in (free on Tuesdays though, I think)

 

[Disneycrazymom]

The Muny in forest Park has free seats. I think the show for your week is Footloose. Pick up some fast food and go early to get a seat. It is a really nice evening! http://www.muny.org/

Edited to add that the Cards have several ticket deals going on too. http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/stl/ticketing/ticketfest.jsp

 

[disney*mom*82]

Just want to put my plug in for Drury, we always (well when we can) stay at a Drury, actually just returned from one yesterday. They do have a discount rate, stlfun, it is usually the best rate you can get, also, right now they are doing a deal if you stay Saturday, you get Sunday for $49.99 or $59.99. We try to do that when possible, also sometimes online you can find a free upgrade coupon, we usually have good luck getting upgraded to a suite for no additional charge.

The Drury, Forest Park, is on the same exit as the zoo, so close to the scince center and a pretty good area, it is a very nice Drury! We have stayed there several times.

You can always make brakfast and dinner out of the food they have at Drury. And I reccomend if you are lookin for something sweat, go to Ted Drews for ice cream. It is excellent and there are coupons for BOGO in the Drury magazines or online.

 

[GoofyMomInOhio]

Has anyone had any luck winning the Six Flags Instant Win Game at My Coke Rewards? If so, would you share what time of day you played? Any other strategy advice?

We are planning the cheapest of cheap St Louis Vacation for Aug 7-10. It's one of those things where we probably shouldn't go anywhere, but it's been such a lousy 2 years (son's illness, hospitals, flood, job loss, every appliance in the house deciding to break, etc, etc.) There just has to be a bright spot somewhere. If I can't go to Disney (boo-hoo) then maybe we can swing a short, close-by trip.

It looks like St Louis has so many FREE activites. Except Six Flags of course. I know it's a shot in the dark, but someone has to win... right?

Did you see the post about the free Cardinals tickets? I think there might be a game or 2 during your trip. Not sure if you are baseball fans or not but the info is on the Cardinals website and on the budget board.
On another note, we were supposed to go to Disney for spring break this year but my DH spent about 4 months working in York, PA and we couldn't get away. The kids and I drove out to stay with him for break and had a blast. We did a dairy farm, Hershey World (not the amusement park), Gettysburg, Philly, etc, etc. At the end of the trip, my DS looked at me and said that was the best vacation ever other than Disney. We centered it around low cost and mostly free activities. The kids are still talking about it and want to try other cities. I hope you enjoy yourself and have a magical getaway!

 

[SarahKate]

Disney Mom 82 - that is a great deal for Drury, I hadn't heard about that one yet!

DH is actually trying to get us down to STL the weekend of 8/7 and he came across the coupon code "SUPER" and he got a 1-nite rate of $79.99 (I think at Chesterfield). That location's a little out of the way, but it's soooooo nice. We've never asked them at the desk re: an upgrade so maybe we'll have to do that next time!

We're already talking about our plans. Definitely going to go to Ted Drewes this time and also would like to go to Crown Candy Kitchen (ice cream 2x in a day though! yikes!).

I also concur about being able to make meals out of the food there. We stayed 2 nites over the New Year and it was great. The free alcoholic beverages is wonderful.....you get two for each nite, so I ended up getting four since DH doesn't drink. They switch up the evening food every nite so that's a plus. The breakfast is wonderful too.....

It's crazy when one of your most favorite parts of the trip is the HOTEL.

Is there something going on in STL this weekend? We checked and the cheapest we could find is $126 a nite.....but when he changed to NEXT weekend, it dropped down to $79.99/nite!

 

[Small Town Princess]

I decided on the Drury near Forest Park since it was closest to most of the activities we have planned. After much research the cheapest rate I was able to get was $142.49 for Sat and $115.99 for Sun and Mon. It was the e-Saver rate plus they let me use AAA on top of that. It brought Sat rate down a few dollars.

In the confirmation it gave the kickback schedule and it looks really YUMMY! It also says we can each get 3 adult beverages per evening.

 

[Small Town Princess]

Did you see the post about the free Cardinals tickets? I think there might be a game or 2 during your trip. Not sure if you are baseball fans or not but the info is on the Cardinals website and on the budget board.
QUOTE]

Bummer, the Cards are out of town that weekend. Would have loved to get my hands on some free tickets. My son (8) and daughter (11) would have been in heaven.

 

[SarahKate]

Man, we've never paid more than $100 for a room at a Drury. I think you're paying more of a premium because of it being in Forest Park.

Being that it's the Budget Board I just have to mention that the one in Creve Couer is a VERY easy drive to Forest Park. I put in 2 nites (August 7 - same nite we're going!) and used the "super" code and it's $71.99 a nite. It just seems like you're paying a pretty big price difference. This one is right on the interstate, you just go down I-270 and get on I-64 East. Google Maps says it's 12 miles, but it's almost 100% interstate.

Of course, you are the ultimate boss of your trip and I'm not trying to be pushy, just trying to save you some bucks that you could use for other fun stuff.

 

[LizinSTL]

Man, we've never paid more than $100 for a room at a Drury. I think you're paying more of a premium because of it being in Forest Park.

Being that it's the Budget Board I just have to mention that the one in Creve Couer is a VERY easy drive to Forest Park. I put in 2 nites (August 7 - same nite we're going!) and used the "super" code and it's $71.99 a nite. It just seems like you're paying a pretty big price difference. This one is right on the interstate, you just go down I-270 and get on I-64 East. Google Maps says it's 12 miles, but it's almost 100% interstate.

Of course, you are the ultimate boss of your trip and I'm not trying to be pushy, just trying to save you some bucks that you could use for other fun stuff.

It's not in Forest Park, it's just near Forest Park. It's the best location if you plan to do mostly stuff in Forest Park. Well worth the extra $$ to save the drive time. Heck, many of us stay on property at WDW and pay a bit more for the convenience, right ?

The Drury at Forest Park is new. Beautiful. The restaurant in the hotel is terrific http://www.bartolinosrestaurants.com/specialoffers.htm They update their offers frequently. If you think you'll eat there, join their VIP club and get a $5 coupon.

Also- print these Drury coupons before you go...
https://wwwc.druryhotels.com/content/stlvacationsavings.aspx

or http://www.familyattractionscard.com/ for other decent coupons.

 

[tinkerbell615]

Just want to put my plug in for Drury, we always (well when we can) stay at a Drury, actually just returned from one yesterday. They do have a discount rate, stlfun, it is usually the best rate you can get, also, right now they are doing a deal if you stay Saturday, you get Sunday for $49.99 or $59.99. We try to do that when possible, also sometimes online you can find a free upgrade coupon, we usually have good luck getting upgraded to a suite for no additional charge.

The Drury, Forest Park, is on the same exit as the zoo, so close to the scince center and a pretty good area, it is a very nice Drury! We have stayed there several times.

You can always make brakfast and dinner out of the food they have at Drury. And I reccomend if you are lookin for something sweat, go to Ted Drews for ice cream. It is excellent and there are coupons for BOGO in the Drury magazines or online.

Just wanted to ask about the codes and the deals you are using at Drury. When I go to their website, I am getting much high rates for the 2nd weekend in August. Where to you put the codes. Can you tell me how you get the other deal you were talking about.

Thanks OP for this thread. My mom wants to go somewhere for the weekend and St. Louis seems like a great place to take her.

 

[Small Town Princess]

Thanks to everyone for all of the great advice. I really appreciate it!

 

[SarahKate]

Just wanted to ask about the codes and the deals you are using at Drury. When I go to their website, I am getting much high rates for the 2nd weekend in August. Where to you put the codes. Can you tell me how you get the other deal you were talking about.

Thanks OP for this thread. My mom wants to go somewhere for the weekend and St. Louis seems like a great place to take her.

Hi Tinkerbell.....

Go to the Drury site and click on Reservation, then New Reservation. Put in your dates, city, etc. On the right side, you'll see a drop-down box that says "Rate". Click on that and you'll see an option that says "Promotional Rate". Once you select this you'll see a blank field to put in your coupon/promo code.

The ones I have used in the past are "STLFUN", "FUN" and right now there's one called "SUPER".

You have to kind of experiment and look at ALL the different price differences, compare to their weekend and web specials and/or AAA pricing (if you have a AAA membership).

When I was looking at the weekend of August 7-8, it looked like the rate for Sunday night was higher than Saturday. I'm not sure why that is.

You guys will have a wonderful time! Great place.

 

[ouran92]

Nope never tried it... sorry

 

[Small Town Princess]

I WON! I WON! I WON!!!!!
Today at 4:40 PM Central time! Dreams do come true!!!

 

[mrsklamc]

I'm so glad for you; the only thing I've ever won was a week at CSR from that LMT promo and I ended up not being able to go.