Non-WDW vacation ideas??

[lovethattink]

We are stuck in the same rut. We go the same places over and over again, but we never tire of them.

Wildwood, NJ----we love the boardwalk, the Cape May County Zoo, the beach. Although it seems the beach grows more every year.

St. Augustine, Fl--love the history, the tram tours, museums. We stay at a motel in Vilano Beach, which is just a 5 minute drive to historical St. Augustine.

Hershey, Pa----We love Hershey Park.


We have been to Cedar Point in Ohio many times. It is a great amuzement park, especially if you enjoy coasters. Once when dh was on magnum, I watched him go up the hill. Eventually, he disappeared into the clouds.

 

[cocowum]

We are trying to come up with a vacation this year that is not wdw.

J/K

 

[ncbyrne]

Having been to a lot of places, WDW is the best.

But may I reccomend going to Niagara Falls? We live about 45 miles away and go there often.

Very nice, just watch for the spiders at night. HUGE and everywhere!

We stop for two days in Niagara Falls every year on our way across Ontario to Michigan. I have not ever seen a spider! With this news (and the fact that passports will be necessary next year), we will probably drive across Rt 80 instead, bypassing your area altogether!

 

[bkaz]

We live in MO also and here are a few favorites (although I must confess we go to the same places over and over and one is Upstate New York...a solid two day drive!):

Gulf Shores/Fort Morgan, Alabama - a drive that can be done in two "short" days or one long (about 13 hours) - you can do the beach, or drive over to Pensacola to see an airplane museum, or up to Mobile to see a Navy ship, or into town for some shopping and amusement parks

Michigan - Great in July, probably not warm enough in June. If you're near Lake Michigan you can experience the beach, you can climb huge sand dunes near the Indiana/Michigan border, there are lots of lakes to enjoy. You could even combine this with Chicago...Shedd's Aquarium/Oceanarium would be a big hit with the kids I would think

If you want to splurge we LOVE Big Cedar Lodge near Branson, but we haven't actually been there with kids because it is pricey. Really cool resort though on Table Rock Lake...you probably know of it already!

Indianapolis' Children's Museum is really cool...amazing dinosaur exhibits. We were thinking of a weekend outing there to see that and the zoo.

 

[tndisneyfan]

Tennessee is really nice if you aren't the beachy sort. The Gatlinburg area offers Dollywood, water parks, outlets, themed restaurants, Ripley's Aquarium, etc, etc, etc! I think the surrounding mountain areas would offer a lot as well. You can go with a rental cabin with a hot tub, or do the big hotel with an indoor water park. Tons to offer!

I totally agree. We live not far from the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area. We rarely stay overnight but we take several days trips a year. There is alot of different stuff to do in this area.

 

[CleveRocks]

We stop for two days in Niagara Falls every year on our way across Ontario to Michigan. I have not ever seen a spider! With this news (and the fact that passports will be necessary next year), we will probably drive across Rt 80 instead, bypassing your area altogether!

passports are necessary only for air travel or cruises -- crossing the border by car doesn't require a passport.

 

[LoriMomx5]

I don't know what part of Missouri you are from, but we love Branson. We live in Arkansas and have 5 children (10 years down to 4 years). We have season passes for Silver Dollar City and it is a very family friendly park with something for everyone. I also LOVE Big Cedar Lodge. My husband and I have gone without kids and it is a great place. Other areas we are interested in that I am researching for a family vacation are the same as already posted- Gatlinburg TN, Wyoming,Montana and South Dakota for National Parks, Wisconson Dells, Colorado and possibly California. We love the outdoors almost as much as WDW and camp alot as a family. Hope you and your family have a wonderful vacation this year whatever option you choose. Lori

 

[Mortlives]

St. Augustine, Fl--love the history, the tram tours, museums. We stay at a motel in Vilano Beach, which is just a 5 minute drive to historical St. Augustine.

We just got back from St. Augustine (again). We normally stay at the Monterey Inn (bayfront location, in the historic district, AAA, cheeeeap). This time we stayed at Pirate Haus (middle of the historic district, pancake breakfast included, pirate themed premises, themed rooms, super cheeeeap ). Love it. Tons of stuff to do. Took 3 prolonged visits to do everything we wanted to.

 

[Epcot Mom]

You guys are AWESOME!!!! Even some locals with things relative to the midwest! I love these boards. We are in mourning here with the idea of not going to wdw for a full year but this thread has given us hope we can have fun with our kids outside of the house of mouse. We'll be anxiously counting until our next trip to wdw but thanks for all the great diversions in the meantime!

Epcot Mom