Best place to visit outside DL or WDW in U.S.?

[KCmike]

Just wondering what everyone here thinks would be a good place to take my family if we were trying to get away from Disney next year? We live in KC and we visited California (DL), Florida (WDW), Chicago, Minnesota, and our four state area. We really loved Yosemite this year and was thinking of another National Park but am really not sure. I would love to hear what others do on there "non Disney Park" years?

I was also wondering if anyone has done any of the Disney Resorts like Hilton Head Island or Vero Beach that Disney has on their vacation club. We are not DVC members but these looked interesting.

Can't wait to hear what you guys think.

 

[Judy from Boise]

Washington DC
Yellowstone
California coast

 

[ACDSNY]

Our favorites right now are:
Northern CA Coast (Salt Point - Fort Bragg)
Kauai
Alaska
Monterey, CA
San Diego, CA

 

[ACDSNY]

I was also wondering if anyone has done any of the Disney Resorts like Hilton Head Island or Vero Beach that Disney has on their vacation club. We are not DVC members but these looked interesting.

We also enjoyed Vero Beach, I would suggest checking out renting points from a DVC member if you are interested in either of the DVC resorts.

 

[Grumpy'sWife4Ever]

On our list of places we want to go (but have yet to see) are:

Washington DC

Yellowstone

San Francisco (both DH and I have been, as singles without kids)

NYC

And various places around our home state of Oregon, there is LOTS to see here!

We have been to:

Yosemite, which as you know is awesome

Crater Lake - very cool!

Mt St Helens - very very cool!!

The San Juan Islands in Washington - just beautiful!

 

[eduk8r26]

Places I've been

Boston, Colonial Williamsburg and Busch Gardens, Washington D.C. Wisconsin Dells, Yellowstone

 

[kaoden39]

Being from California I have to concur on the California coastline. Highway 1 has got to be one of the most beautiful drives. Yes, it is a very winding road but it is just breath taking. The southern part of the coast for the beaches and the northern part of the state the beaches are more stark but just as beautiful and if you time it right you can follow the whales while they migrate the coastline. There are so many nice state parks that you can visit too, not to mention you can visit the famous California Redwoods. And San Francisco.

 

[Sherwin]

Rent a summer beach house on the Oregon Coast for a couple of nights.

You'll love it.

 

[PinkBudgie]

One year we went to Oregon.

We went to the Oregon Caves which were very cool and stayed at a very old hotel on the park property.

Then went on to Crater Lake. This is an old volcano that now has a lake in the top. You can take a boat ride around the lake and they tell you about it as you go. If you want you can get off and hike on Wizard Island. There is even snow around the Crater Lake park in the middle of summer! And yes, it was warm. This was very neat for my kids who had never seen snow before!

Another year we went to the Orgeon Coast. We played on the sand dunes, and took a tour in a giant dune buggy the size of a big bus.

 

[KCmike]

So my wife told me tonight she is thinking a cruise is in order. We have NEVER done this before. Where would be the best place to go for a first timer? I know there are ports in Galveston (thinking we could drive down there) and of course Florida (maybe too close to WDW for our own good ).

Which cruise line have any of my fellow dis-sers been on?

I think we would like to go somewhere warm for a first time (no Alaska for a newbie).

Can't wait to hear your suggestions.

 

[kaoden39]

So my wife told me tonight she is thinking a cruise is in order. We have NEVER done this before. Where would be the best place to go for a first timer? I know there are ports in Galveston (thinking we could drive down there) and of course Florida (maybe too close to WDW for our own good ).

Which cruise line have any of my fellow dis-sers been on?

I think we would like to go somewhere warm for a first time (no Alaska for a newbie).

Can't wait to hear your suggestions.

Well, you could always do the land sea Disney cruise. Also there are cruises that leave out of San Francisco so you could enjoy a day or two there.

 

[lntsmom]

How about the cruise down the Mississippi? It might not be what your wife was dreaming of, but the last time I read about it it sounded like great fun...a bit of Americana. And, since it ends up in Louisiana, you might be able to sneak in a side trip to WDW before you head home.

BTW...I was going to suggest Omaha. No kidding. My kids LOVE the zoo. You can do paddle boat rides. If you have little ones they have a great children's museum. Their water park is great fun. There's that fun spaghetti place to eat. I know most of America would never think of Omaha, but when we lived in KC it was our favorite get-away!

 

[basketballmom]

How about the cruise down the Mississippi? It might not be what your wife was dreaming of, but the last time I read about it it sounded like great fun...a bit of Americana. And, since it ends up in Louisiana, you might be able to sneak in a side trip to WDW before you head home.

BTW...I was going to suggest Omaha. No kidding. My kids LOVE the zoo. You can do paddle boat rides. If you have little ones they have a great children's museum. Their water park is great fun. There's that fun spaghetti place to eat. I know most of America would never think of Omaha, but when we lived in KC it was our favorite get-away!

This is very good to hear!! We are leaving tomorrow on vacation. We are spending our first night in Omaha and going to the zoo Tuesday morning. It looks so cool online, and I was trying to find something to do between home and the Mall of America, which is our second stop. From there, we are going to Mount Rushmore. We are doing something new since DH said no to a Disney family vacation
BTW...What fun spaghetti place???? Wondering where to eat supper.

 

[lntsmom]

This is very good to hear!! We are leaving tomorrow on vacation. We are spending our first night in Omaha and going to the zoo Tuesday morning. It looks so cool online, and I was trying to find something to do between home and the Mall of America, which is our second stop. From there, we are going to Mount Rushmore. We are doing something new since DH said no to a Disney family vacation
BTW...What fun spaghetti place???? Wondering where to eat supper.

Here's a link to the spaghetti place: http://www.spagworks.com/ You can do tours, and the food was good when we were there.

One place we've heard so much good about, that may be more kid friendly, is the Amazing Pizza Machine. http://www.amazingpizzamachine.com/ Friends from KC told us it was really a great time. Sadly, we didn't have time on our last trip to fit it in.

My boys are going back next month to visit with my uncle and aunt...I'm hoping they'll take them!

 

[KCmike]

I agree with the Omaha Zoo being a great visit. For me its been you've seen one zoo you've seen them all but we did go a few years back when the kids were younger and we had a good time. It's well set up.

It's weird. My Dad passed away about a month ago and my wife and I told each other that we wouldn't do California again as we have been to DL the past three years and we've done San Diego, LA, and now NoCal but my Mom wanted to see our Hotel Del Coronado video footage and expressed interest in that for next year. I know she is very lonely right now and it just breaks my heart. It looks like a California trip might be in my future once again. Maybe I could stay down in San Diego again and take a short day trip to Catalina or something. Who knows? Unfortunately Obama has taken away my child tax credit for next year so we won't get the good tax returns we have in the past.

When do they start cruising out of LA for the Disney ships?

 

[tiggercraZ]

We are also from the midwest and loved our trip to Pennsylvania. We tried to stop in each state and do something to break up the long drive. Our favorites were Hershey PA, Liberty bell in Philly, ocean in New Jersey, Statue of Liberty (ferry from New Jersey) and ended with Niagra Falls (US & Canadian views). The kids really enjoyed this trip.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

While every vacation I've taken since 1998 has been to either Anaheim or Orlando, I have fond memories of other places my family went to when I was growing up.

While we lived in Utah, we visited Yellowstone every year we didn't go to Disneyland. While I haven't been back there in over 20 years, it was a great place to visit.

Washington, DC is also incredible. There's so much history there and the Smithsonian is really neat.

It may be out of the U.S., but one year my family traveled up the Oregon and Washington coasts to see some of those sites and spent a day or two in Vancouver, BC. It was really beautiful.

 

[SGTGoofy]

try a "staycation" and explore everything your home town has to offer. who knows you may learn something new

 

[nunzia]

There are places to go that don't include 'Disney' in the name?????

Seriously..my kids loved Sea World and the beaches and we all enjoyed San Antonio. If your kids are old enough to appreciate it, Washington DC is wonderful. I'd love to go back. When I was a kid (they even had cars then) we would go to Santa Cruz (California) and do the redwoods and such. Lake Tahoe is great also, for outdoorsey stuff. Amazingly, I think you may want to visit New Mexico. As much as I whine, there are some nice things to do around where I am. Carlsbad Caverns is amazing..don't miss the bat flight, of course Roswell has the whole alien thing, and around me is White Sands, Space Hall and lots of mountain activities. If you come at the right time of the year you can go to Trinity site.
I would like to return to Napa and Sonoma for a peacful vacation and one day try Hilton Head..so many places to go!

 

[teacherlisa1978]

When not at Disney I'm a beach girl. Seaside Oregon is great to familes. One of my favorite family vacations was to Myrtle Beach. We don't have beach towns like that in the Northwest and I loved it. Of course we also drove down to WDW afterwards...I'm also on board with everyone who said DC. And Hawaii is great for kids, too. Have fun!