OT - Anyone been to Storyland in North Conway, NH?

[capitalmom]

We're thinking about going for a long weekend in June - combining some outlet shopping with something fun for the kids. Trying to decide between North Conway/Storyland and Lake George, NY/Six Flags (though I think our kids are probably a bit young for Six Flags). Any advice? Any reccomendations on where to stay in North Conway?

 

[soxfan11901]

There was another thread in the regular community forum regarding North Conway so you might want to check that out as well.

Storyland would be perfect for your kids ages, especially the 6yr old, as it caters to the younger kids. We've been a few times, most recently when my kids were 5 and 9 and the 5yr old was able to ride all the rides, so no issues with being too short. It's a good size, not too small that you feel you wasted your money, but you can do it all in a day without the kids getting too tired.
Also, in the past if you went after 3pm then you could return for free the following day.

You may want to check out Santa's Village as well. Also fun for the smaller kids.

For lodging it may depend what location you want be in. The main rd through town (though only about 1.5miles long) has two quite different characters to it. The northern end is where the village is. Think quaint shops and restaurants. The southern end is where most of the outlets are.

When we stay it is at the Eastern Slope Inn which is on the northern end. We mostly stay here since we can do timeshare exchange here. There is the main hotel and also separate suite buildings (which are newer). The main hotel is nice, but it is also over 70yrs old and set up much differently than newer hotels. Think small rooms, narrow hallways, and the decor doesn't seem to have changed since it was built. But it is clean and quaint with that Grand Old Mountain Resort type feel.

Toward the southern end are the newer hotels. The Red Jacket Resort and the Hampton Inn both have indoor waterparks. The Holiday Inn Express is located right in front of the largest congregation of outlets at Settler's Green Outlet Mall. The Comfort Inn and Residence Inn are also nice places to stay near the outlets.

I don't know what part of June you are going, but be aware that the main road through North Conway is a major avenue for people coming to camp in the White Mountains/Mount Washington area. If you're coming early June prior to schools closing for summer it will be much less busy than after schools get out. On a busy summer weekend the main road can become almost a parking lot at times, so keep that in mind for which end of the road you want to stay at.

Hope all goes well.

 

[Honeystar120608]

We are in NB, and debated heading back to North Conway this summer. Instead we are going to PEI, but it was a hard decision.
I don't know a thing about that location in NY, all I can say is go to North Conway. It's SO nice there. Drive around and enjoy the scenery. Santa's Village is fun, the kids will love it. Not as big as Story Land, but fun. The drive up is really gorgeous as well.
Story land is awesome. There is a train that goes around the park too. The circus is really neat. The food is decent, we have such fond memories of going when the kids were just little 2 and 3. But they really want to go back. But, since we are doing DW in Sept I said no. lol Stick a little closer to home.
Outlet shopping is nice, they have it beautifully set up. Restaurants are good too!
We stayed in a cute little motel on the main strip and we loved it. If you'd like the name of the place just pm me. The pictures on their website don't do it justice. (we have always gone on a budget and this place def was awesome)
Also, Thomas the train is going to be there at a certain time. Just looked it up, it's in July http://www.conwayscenic.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.events
Also, you can go out of North Conway and take a tram to the top of a mtn, there are a few you can pick from.
I have yet to go here, but if you are travelling through Vermont, this Italian restaurant has been on the Food Network before and won challenges against some top chefs. http://boves.com/
There is always the drive up Mt Washington. I loved it at the top, but the drive is killer. lol It's steep. My husband was white knuckled the whole drive up. But beautiful. It was so foggy when we got to the top we couldn't see anything. But still really neat. I don't suggest the Cog for smaller children. It is expensive and time consuming.
If you have any questions just PM me