OT: Other family vacation ideas - DO I DARE??

[RichNKatHolly]

OK, maybe I'll get in trouble here for this, but I was wondering what other family vacations you Disers were doing besides Disney. We have a DS5 and DD2. I'd love to do Ireland with the extended family but think DD may be too young yet.

How about these family resorts? We love the caribbean, etc. Any ideas would be great! I'm making a large book of plans that we can choose from each year. This Nov/Dec will be our last trip to Disney for a bit.

Thanks!!

 

[momx2]

I'd love to hear the replies also. We have APs good through May 2006. After that we are done for a while also. We will have done 10 trips in 5 years by then. Time to go somewhere else for a while.

We have thought about Hawaii, but it is sooo expensive to fly there. So I don't know. I think we have got our kids expecting too much since we have been to Disney so much. I have 2 DDs 7 and 4. I just don't know how much they'd enjoy Yosemite, etc. I'd love any ideas!

 

[polyfan]

We went on a 7 night cruise over Easter week. We leave this Thursday for a 4 night cruise. My boys are 6 and 9- they love the cruises as much as Disney.

 

[fiveacesmmb]

We took our kids....8 years old, and 5 months at the time......we drove there from Chicago suburbs. Went through The Badlands, and then on to Custer Park in South Dakota. Wow!!!!! Was it great!!!! The scenery is so incredible!!! Largest pine tree stands I've ever seen. We rented a beautiful cabin in the park for one week. My daughter went horse back riding several times. We took her to a wolly mammouth dig site.....the real thing.....went on a chuck wagon cook out in the canyon. When you are driving in the park, herds of buffalo come right up to your car. Unbelieveable!!! Mt. Rushmore was just beautiful as well. It was a truly unforgettable trip!!!! Also stayed at the Spearfish Canyon Lodge.....also truly beautiful!

 

[rt2dz]

Cruises (even non-Disney) are wonderful, but their kids programs usually require age 3 and potty trained. Club med is really good, especially if you like beaches. Europe, I imagine, is wonderful. We were going to do a French Canal cruise but I had gotten pregnant.

I personally love Mackinac Island (and the surrounding UP of MI). Wisonsin Dells are fun. Grand Canyon. Hitting national parks. OK has a lot of wonderful things connected to Native American Culture.

I would suggest going to each states tourist board via the web and asking for travel info. You can be really surprised at what may be available for vacation, even with toddlers! You may even find some wonderful weekend trips or day trips close to home. Heck, I was surprised to learn about how much there is to do for kids in New Orleans.

 

[fiveacesmmb]

Also took the kids to San Francisco last summer. Got airfare on ATA from Chicago for 126.00 PP. Stayed on the wharf.....took tour down to Pebble Beach and 17mile drive. Holy cow!!!! Pebble Beach was incredible!!! Went to Monterrey...went to the aquarium.....really great. Voted #1 destination for kids. Had lunch right on the ocean. Also went to Carmel. Did all the sites in and around San Francisco....kids were 9 and 1 at the time. One year old got motion sickness all over San Fran. On the plane there, one the cable car, on the tour bus, and on my daughters head when we went back to the airport for our flight home. Yuk!!! It's kinda funny when I think about it now. But it was still a great trip.

 

[RichNKatHolly]

Super great ideas. I LOVE cruises too. Such a great way to see alot in one week or so. We now have Norwegian (spelling) leaving from NY all year round so that may be wonderful for us. I am partial to Royal Caribbean though.

San Fran is beautiful - well, at least it was to DH and I on our honeymoon. That's a great idea too!

LOVE the idea of going out west to staying at a ranch or something. Even VT to stay on a working farm (DH didn't like that one too much as he does alot of physical labor at work).

For me, I just never think I'm really on vacation until I see that white sand and crystal blue water. Love Grand Cayman and Jamacia. Has anyone visited those all inclusives?

Thanks for all the advice. I'm printing out each and every idea!!!!

BTW, we also thought of opening a map and letting the kids just point to someplace! And a drive along route 66 would be fun!!

 

[RichNKatHolly]

Also took the kids to San Francisco last summer. Got airfare on ATA from Chicago for 126.00 PP. Stayed on the wharf.....took tour down to Pebble Beach and 17mile drive. Holy cow!!!! Pebble Beach was incredible!!! Went to Monterrey...went to the aquarium.....really great. Voted #1 destination for kids. Had lunch right on the ocean. Also went to Carmel. Did all the sites in and around San Francisco....kids were 9 and 1 at the time. One year old got motion sickness all over San Fran. On the plane there, one the cable car, on the tour bus, and on my daughters head when we went back to the airport for our flight home. Yuk!!! It's kinda funny when I think about it now. But it was still a great trip.

Yeah, I can vouch for that. DS threw up all over DC and DD threw up her way through our Disney cruise in January. She was still nursing so it wasn't terrible, we just kept a towel handy. She was over the stomach bug, but oy those reflux babies throw up for another 4-5 days after that! Still a great trip though, but isn't every trip?!!

 

[estherhead]

We can't afford two major vacations a year, so we rent a house on the beach for a week with other families. One year we managed on only $250.00 for an entire week! I swear that was cheaper than being at home.

We are planning on doing major travelling with our girls, all around the USA and to Europe and perhaps China (my dh is learning Chinese.) However, my first remembered vacation was when I was 6 yrs old and I am the youngest. We went to Israel. I remember tons of it (of course, it's a bit odd as it's from a child's view and I'm now an adult so the things I remember are weird. Like I know what it feels like to pee in the Dead Sea. Not many people can say that. Very painful, not many people would WANT to say that. LOL!!! ) Anyway, my youngest is 3.5 and I've kind of got this magic number in my mind: 3 more years and we'll do a serious trip. When our oldest is 8 and youngest 6.5. Hopefully we'll just keep on a going! Then we'll start on Disney again when they are teenagers. I just think from 8-16 trips should be mainly educational and for me, Disney is mainly fun (even though I know it's educational too, it's not the same as actually seeing Big Ben or touring the White House.)

 

[cruiserkaren]

For me, I just never think I'm really on vacation until I see that white sand and crystal blue water. Love Grand Cayman and Jamacia. Has anyone visited those all inclusives?

!

This past January DH and I went to an all-inclusive in Jamaica. (My Christmas gift, DD stayed with my parents.) It was the Wyndham Rose Hall Resort and Country Club. It was great. The rooms were your basic standard hotel rooms but the grounds were beautiful. They have a GREAT water park for kids, lot of hot tubs. The water park had water slides, a zero entry pool, and a lazy river. It also had walking paths and bridges over the pools. I'd like to take DD there when she's a bit older. There were TONS of kids there and they all seemed to be having a ball. HTH

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

We took ours to England, Wales, and France when they were 3.5 and 17 months. I figure--they have kids who live in those places, so there has got to be something for my kids to do. We even visited a playmate in Wales who lived briefly in our area. They visited Florida just this week and we hung out again!

I took the youngest to Hawaii when she was just shy of 2 and we had a blast. Our next family trip is Hawaii in october 2006.

The world is your playground--take your kids and explore. While you will be limited in that you can't do things just for adults--many things do appeal to wide audience ranges.

In the Louvre--they have directional signs with the Mona Lisa to make it easy to find her. So DD's job was to find those signs. After we found Mona Lisa ("but mommmm---I can't see the Mona Lisa, they're in my way! LOL!") it was time to find Venus De Milo. We were losing her quick--she was ready to go...so we played a game of find the naked butt. It is amazing how many greek statues have their butt showing. It kept her interested until I could see Venus.

If you can afford a family resort--that is wonderful! We are staying at Hilton Hawaiian Village when we go

 

[RichNKatHolly]

Thanks for all the GREAT info. So glad I posted, we have so many good ideas now. BEfore this, my ideas basically were all located in the US (Chicago, Grand Caynon, Lake Tahoe-again, it's beautiful in the summer).

I'm interested as to peeing inthe Dead Sea Those are the funny things that kids tend to remember. You must have had a wonderful childhood. That is what I'm trying to provide for my children. We often have debates in our family because we do travel alot, but we do not own a home. I'm sure I would get plenty of debate here too, but my kids are happy, healthy, secure and will be well traveled (at least that's my plan).

Lisa Loves Pooh - I've been bumping into your posts everywhere. Thanks for the kind advice. We intend to follow it to the fullest!!

 

[JennaTX]

Great thread and great ideas! My children are also 5 and 2, and we are going back to WDW next year, but after that I think we will try something else.

Has anyone ever gone on the all-inclusive family vacations, like Sandals, etc? Just wondering how those worked out.

I plan on taking DD (who is 5) in the next year or two to NYC after Thanksgiving to see all of the Christmas decorations, etc.

Also this year after our trip to WDW my DH had a famiy reunion in Grayton Beach, FL (near Destin). We actually stayed at the Grayton State Park where they have around 20 or so cabins. They cost around $110 per night and have two bedrooms, one bath, a kitchen, etc. They are a very short walk from the beach, and you could not beat the price, they were great, and the kids loved it!

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

We took our children, DS (7) and DD(14 months at the time) to the Beaches resort on the islands of Turks and Caicos last November. This was our second trip there. We also visited when DS was 2. And DH and I visit Sandals periodically also. Our children had a blast. DS LOVED the kids club and would have went 24/7 if we let him. DD loved the pool and beach. The staff is the greatest and very attentive and friendly with the children. There are many activities and really is geared more toward children than adults, which was fine with us. We, as a family, even won first place in the sandcastle building contest. Really a great place. We want to take the kids to the Beaches resort in Negril Jamaica next. We visited it when DH and I were in Jamaica in May. It looks very nice. They just put in some water slides and a lazy river. Any questions, feel free to PM me.

 

[RichNKatHolly]

Great thread and great ideas! My children are also 5 and 2, and we are going back to WDW next year, but after that I think we will try something else.

Has anyone ever gone on the all-inclusive family vacations, like Sandals, etc? Just wondering how those worked out.

I plan on taking DD (who is 5) in the next year or two to NYC after Thanksgiving to see all of the Christmas decorations, etc.

Also this year after our trip to WDW my DH had a famiy reunion in Grayton Beach, FL (near Destin). We actually stayed at the Grayton State Park where they have around 20 or so cabins. They cost around $110 per night and have two bedrooms, one bath, a kitchen, etc. They are a very short walk from the beach, and you could not beat the price, they were great, and the kids loved it!

We live in NYC and the kids LOVE to go into Manhattan. They now have some really nice hotels that are family friendly too. You will have a great time. Even without the decorations, there is just so much to do. Enjoy your planning.

I've heard of Destin alot lately. I will have to add it to our destinations list. Sounds like a nice inexpensive trip!

 

[Kilted_Yank]

If you are interested in educational family travel, allow me to suggest Williamsburg, Virginia.

Colonial Williamsburg is the most hands-on place in the
United States to learn about the colonial era just prior to the American Revo;lution. The entire town has been recreated to look as it did in 1774, just on the eve of revolution.

There are working farms, mills, and the homes of prominent citizens of the day are open to the public (you'll have to have passes, but they aren't very expensive). Interpretors in period costume are friendly and always willing to interact with the public and remain in character in order to help visitors understand what they are seeing and hearing.

Colonial Williamsburg is just a hop skip and a jump from the original Jamestown settlement, and the Yorktown national battlefield.

Lest you think this is too history-heavy (I admit it, I am a history geek), Williamsburg is also home to Busch Gardens theme park, and Water Country USA (a water park).

Have a look at Williamsburg... you will love it as much as we do.

 

[jrjac]

1. BEACHES ALL-INCLUSIVE FAMILY RESORTS are on our list to check out!

2. DEFINITELY A CRUISE! We took a cruise a few months ago-that was fantastic. (I think I am one of the very few people out there that just loved Jamaica!) Royal Caribbean seems perfect for families. Other ships have kids activities and they have adult activities yet RC seems to be the one for us next cruise as we want FAMILY activities.
Guess the idea of all-inclusive trips really appeal to us. So stressfree!!!!

14 days and we're off to DISNEY!

 

[JennaTX]

roliepolieoliefan: glad to hear that your family had such great trips! Since ours are almost 3 and 6, we are looking for something more geared to the family, so it sounds like it would be good for us.

RichNKatHolly: I know DD would love it, but I will admit to being a bit selfish in this idea, I have never been to NYC, DH doesn't really care about going, so I thought during Christmas would be a great time!!

 

[alicenwonder99]

We're planning a trip to DL in January 2006 (see sig line), but now we're talking about maybe going on a cruise. My kids are aged (in Jan 2006): 18, 7, and 5. We told dd18 she could bring a friend along if we go on a cruise. I've never been on a cruise before, does anyone have a great kid/teen friendly cruise they could recommend (not Disney)? Also, how is it cruising in January? We would have to go the first week of January because dd18 is a senior in high school and that is her break.

A great family vacation we took when our oldest was around 9 (before the other children were born), was to Mammouth Caves in Kentucky. That was a very fun trip.

Mary

 

[hipporina]

We are going to WDW (1 month from today!) for probably the last time for a few trips. As much as I love WDW, there is a whole lot else to do out there. Our next trip will most likely be another National Park trip. DH and I went on a big National Park trip in 2002 before we got any of our kids. We visited Mesa Verde, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Rocky Mountain, Grand Teton, and the ultimate, Yellowstone.

I was finishing up all my videos recently (burning them to DVD) and my kids were fascinated by Yellowstone. I can't wait to go back.