NC spring break suggestions?

[mrsklamc]

We were thinking great wolf lodge possibly but one night for a group our size would be almost $600. Any suggestions? Open to about anything.

 

[torinsmom]

How big is the group? GWL is cool, but it is probably so high because of spring break.

 

[MSSANDRA]

Myrtle Beach???- Maybe a little crazy but that is life at the beach!

I am going to check some rates for us there , will let you know what I find!

 

[mrsklamc]

How big is the group? GWL is cool, but it is probably so high because of spring break.

Yes, and there are enough of us that we would need 2 rooms. 4 adults, 2 'tweens', 2 toddlers, and a baby. It's really not too bad I guess when you consider it's a hotel AND a waterpark but DH and I are going to have to cover my sister's family's part because they are having a hard time due to multiple pay cuts. Plus, I know there are lots of add-ons available and I don't want the kids to feel deprived since they have already had to cut back so much at home anyway.

 

[torinsmom]

9 people for $600 isn't too bad. You'd get to spend two days at the waterpark with one night's hotel. They have fridges and microwaves in the room, so you could bring food to save a little money. Check Williamsburg VA; sometimes it is cheaper than Concord.

I wouldn't do Myrtle Beach in March/April. The water at our beaches doesn't really warm up until June. I guess there is the aquarium and the other entertainment stuff if you like that though.

If you're looking toward Charlotte, Carowinds might be fun. It might be close to what you'd spend at GWL though, and you're at the mercy of the weather and crowds.

We never did the add-ons, except for Magiquest(once). The water park is more than enough. I think the kids would have a blast just with that. No way they'd feel deprived.

 

[marie1203]

For $600 for nine it is hard to beat even if you went to Myrtle beach to get in the attractions with that many people it will be way more than that. Maybe try to do a camping trip?

 

[disprincessatheart]

How about the nc zoo? Its pretty big. You might Want to do a few day trips instead of one larger trip. If you're already staying with your family and don't need the hotel room, id do a day at carowinds, one at the zoo and maybe one at concord mills mall (I haven't been but I understand they have a lot of activity things - go karts, mini golf, etc). Not counting food I think you could do all of those for your group for less than $600.

 

[torinsmom]

If you are somewhere closer to the middle of the state, you could also do the NC Museum of Life and Science in Durhamhttp://www.ncmls.org/. You could spend a whole day there easily. It's about an hour from there to the NC Zoo, or an hour the other way to an animal reserve I like more than the zoo called Noah's Landing.http://www.noahslanding2x2.com, or there is the Lazy 5 ranch a little further westhttp://www.lazy5ranch.com where you can actually drive through or ride on a horse drawn wagon.

Raleigh has the Museum of Natural Sciencehttp://naturalsciences.org/ and also Marbles Kids Museumhttp://www.marbleskidsmuseum.org/

 

[mrsklamc]

Thanks for the great suggestions, everyone!
They live between Durham and Greensboro so pretty central to lots of things.

Anyone know of any hotels with nice indoor pools?

 

[torinsmom]

Thanks for the great suggestions, everyone!
They live between Durham and Greensboro so pretty central to lots of things.

Anyone know of any hotels with nice indoor pools?

Do they live in Hillsborough? That's where I live

Here's one with an indoor pool in Durham

http://doubletree1.hilton.com/en_US/dt/hotel/RDUIIDT-DoubleTree-Suites-by-Hilton-Hotel-Raleigh-Durham-North-Carolina/index.do

and here's one in Graham with an indoor pool

http://www.comfortsuites.com/hotel-graham-north_carolina-NC367

I'm sure there are more around as well.

 

[cheekymonkey]

We are in NC as well-Raleigh. I think we are going camping at Myrtle Beach. Very low cost-fun for us because we like to camp. Myrtle Beach State park has GREAT rates. There are several other camping parks with indoor pools as well.

 

[sharlon]

At the same exit as the GWL is an Embassy Suites with an indoor pool. Concord Mills mall is also at that exit and it has a Speedpark. Nearby is Lowe's Motor Speedway, so if any of the family is into racing, they could visit some of the race shops.

 

[ILuvMulan]

Also, Discovery Place science museum is in downtown Charlotte. (about 20 minutes from concord mills) Wonderful place with an IMAX theater. If you have a membership to your local zoo or science center and it has a reciprocity program you may be able to get in half price or free. http://www.discoveryplace.org/

 

[mrsklamc]

I figured I'd bump this thread because all you North Carolinians are already here!

Any different suggestions for summer? (We did end up going to Great Wolf and had a great time.)

Edit- I guess there are still lots of great suggestions on here that work for summer and winter. Probably will shoot for a day at wet n wild in Greensboro and a day of something else.

 

[MSSANDRA]

The Boone area is nice. About 2 hours from Charlotte. ASU is located there. Nearby there is Grandfather Mountain, Tweetsie, Lenville Falls and Caves, Zips lines, rafting, hiking and just cooler, at least, mountain air.

 

[mrsklamc]

If you are somewhere closer to the middle of the state, you could also do the NC Museum of Life and Science in Durhamhttp://www.ncmls.org/. You could spend a whole day there easily. It's about an hour from there to the NC Zoo, or an hour the other way to an animal reserve I like more than the zoo called Noah's Landing.http://www.noahslanding2x2.com, or there is the Lazy 5 ranch a little further westhttp://www.lazy5ranch.com where you can actually drive through or ride on a horse drawn wagon.

Raleigh has the Museum of Natural Sciencehttp://naturalsciences.org/ and also Marbles Kids Museumhttp://www.marbleskidsmuseum.org/

I am digging through these- would the museums be over the heads of 3 year olds do you think?

There's a LOT to read- but I'm thinking either Marble's children's museum or the NC museum of life and science. Any thoughts? Will Marble's still be entertaining for a 14 year old?

 

[nemofans]

Oh, I'll jump in too. I have been thinking of going to either NC or SC for a summer getaway. We fly SWA, so it would be either Raleigh or Charleston. We love visiting museums & zoos in different cities. Thanks for listing the 2 kids museums in Raleigh! They sound like fun. What else is there to do in Raleigh? Would we need a rental car to get around?

 

[torinsmom]

I am digging through these- would the museums be over the heads of 3 year olds do you think?

There's a LOT to read- but I'm thinking either Marble's children's museum or the NC museum of life and science. Any thoughts? Will Marble's still be entertaining for a 14 year old?

There is a lot to do at the Museum of Life and Science for all ages. They have a playground, a music area, a barnyard, a butterfly house, bears, lemurs, an area where you can control little sail boats and "catch the wind", a train, a dinosaur trail with a fossil digging area and a couple more areas outside. Then inside there is a big area of Keva planks to build with and all kinds of interactive stuff--space, rocks, music, balls, dress up, etc, etc. I think the whole family would have fun.

I don't know too much about Marbles, but I think it might be too little kid oriented for the 14 year old. Right around the corner is the NC Museum of Natural Science, though, and it is free. It's a pretty cool museum that appeals to all ages. Right across the courtyard from that is the Museum of History, which is pretty interesting as well.

 

[hannahdrewmom]

There is a lot to do at the Museum of Life and Science for all ages. They have a playground, a music area, a barnyard, a butterfly house, bears, lemurs, an area where you can control little sail boats and "catch the wind", a train, a dinosaur trail with a fossil digging area and a couple more areas outside. Then inside there is a big area of Keva planks to build with and all kinds of interactive stuff--space, rocks, music, balls, dress up, etc, etc. I think the whole family would have fun.

I don't know too much about Marbles, but I think it might be too little kid oriented for the 14 year old. Right around the corner is the NC Museum of Natural Science, though, and it is free. It's a pretty cool museum that appeals to all ages. Right across the courtyard from that is the Museum of History, which is pretty interesting as well.

I agree with the Museum of Life and Science... although alot of the good stuff (according to my kids ) is outside... which is really HOT right now!
But there is some stuff inside that will mainly be geared toward your older child.

We LOVE marbles... but my kids are preschoolers. I don't think there would be much for a 14 year old there other than the imax theater. It is in downtown though and you could also go to the natural science museum or history museum which is like 3 blocks away from marbles and right next to one another and are both free. So you might be able to do both!

 

[torinsmom]

I agree with the Museum of Life and Science... although alot of the good stuff (according to my kids ) is outside... which is really HOT right now!
But there is some stuff inside that will mainly be geared toward your older child.

We LOVE marbles... but my kids are preschoolers. I don't think there would be much for a 14 year old there other than the imax theater. It is in downtown though and you could also go to the natural science museum or history museum which is like 3 blocks away from marbles and right next to one another and are both free. So you might be able to do both!

They are looking at spring break though, so shouldn't be too warm then. Could be the opposite, depending on when their spring break is.