OT: Storyland/Santa's Village... too babyish for a 9 yr old?

[kldmom2000]

We aren't going to be able to do Disney this year since my mom was diagnosed with metatastic breast cancer @ age 57 in Dec. and I don't want to venture far from her ....so we're staying local and doing 2 mini-3 night vacations close to home. We live in MA and will be hitting Cape Cod of course for 3 nights in July and then we'll head up to North Conway for 3 nights in August.... We have 2 girls-ages 6 and almost 9 (turns 9 in July). We're going to hit Canobie Lake again on our way up to NH but I was considering Storyland or Santa's Village since we've never taken our girls (I went as a child but DH never did). DH claims after Disney, anything else stinks He thinks both parks will be too "young" for our older DD (mind you, she's still very much into playing with dolls and playing make-believe w/ her younger sis) Do you think that's the case? Should I not bother trying to convince DH? I haven't been in over 25 yrs, so I have no idea what they're like now....

Any other suggestions on things to do? We're probably going to stay @ the N. Conway Grand Hotel next to the outlets.... we always venture along the Kanc. Hwy and do mini-hikes and let the girls swim/play in the lower falls. I haven't done anything else as far as the Hobo Railway thing, Six Gun City, Polar caves, etc.... with them either. Any opinions???

Thanks for your input!!!!

 

[MichelleinMaine]

By all admission, my DS is a "young" 13 year old. He's still in his room playing with Legos and listening to Disney soundtracks while others in his class are out dating. (I'm NOT complaining, mind you! ) He's also not much of a thrill seeker ride-wise. Little roller coasters and log flumes are fine with him.

I also have a DD who'll be 9 in Sept.

We do SL and/or SV every summer and they both still like it. (I just asked DS and he said he hopes we can go to SL this year, lol.) It's not Disney, but I think both parks are very nicely done. On the positive side, it's "not Disney" with the crowds and prices are quite reasonable for food, etc.

Both places have expanded since we were kids. ST has strayed a bit from just the nursery rhyme theme. (The new rides have little to do with actual stories. Nothing wrong with that, in your instance, probably helps to be not-so-baby.) I think I lean a bit towards liking Storyland more (I've been there more often). Santa's Village does have the uniqueness of the whole Christmas in the summer going for it though. That's fun too. (And there is plenty to do there.)

We've never done Hobo Railway, but of course you'll have Conway Scenic Railway right in town. They have different length trips you can take around. I've also never done Polar Caves. Lost River is similar though (not sure why it was always there we went, lol.) I think either would be fun to do.

The Alpine Slide is right near Storyland in Barlett, as well. We did that 2 years ago and the kids loved it. We just did one run, but you can get multirun or all day passes. (They have a water slide you could do also.)

 

[Bowen9475]

We also live in Massachusetts and have been to both of those parks several times, most recently last summer when our kids were 11, 9 and 5. All three of them like both parks but we all prefer Santa's Village because we love the Christmas theme and it has never been really crowded. Before going I had said that I thought last year would be our last visit to Story Land anyway because I felt they were outgrowing it and they were all disappointed to think we wouldn't be back, so who knows - maybe we haven't been on our last trip there. I do think we will definitely return to Santa's Village either way, maybe even this summer. Have fun with whatever you decide to do. We have also visited the Alpine Slide/water slide a few years back, Clark's Trading Post several years ago and Whale's Tale waterpark last year. We have enjoyed our days at all of these places too.

 

[emh1129]

We just went on Memorial Day weekend.
I don't think Santa's Village would be too young for her. We enjoyed it (it's true that it's no Disney but it was still fun).
I've heard great things about the hotel you mentioned, but we used priceline and got the Hampton Inn in Littleton for $45 a night. It was a great hotel. About 35 mins to Santa's Village.
Just a thought, in case you're on a budget.

 

[lindsmom]

We love StoryLand - DD (7 1/2) is disappointed we might not make it this year. Last year was her first on bamboo chutes (she's afraid of splash mountain , so she loved the smaller chutes.) There are plenty of "pre - tween) rides, and like others have posted it's a refreshing change from the "disney-fied" park. Cheaper, wholesome...

We didn't like Santa's village - we felt it was rundown and shabby, and the bugs were brutal! I think they were overdue for a mosquito spraying or something. Also we stay in Glen and it's just too convenient to zip over to storyland for a half day (afternoon) followed by the free day next day. Good Deal!

We stayed at that hotel a few years back - it was beautiful!

Last year we did the lunch train from Conway Scenic Railroad - that was fun, as well as the year before we went on the short ride (45 min) to Conway, but we paid a few extra dollars to ride on the back of the train - fun!

We went letterboxing @ Cranmore, and visited the Glen Ellis falls - free stops both, and the Jackson falls are beautiful as well.

 

[TinaLala]

I've been to SL and SV for the past 10 years and honestly it's me who doesn't want to go back. I don't mind SV because I like the Christmas feeling in July, but SL I just can't do it. My girls DD6 and DD9 would go back in a heart beat and I do believe there are enough rides there to keep a 9yo happy, but I just can't do it.

 

[Darcy03231]

We went to Santa's Village last summer. It was my youngest niece was 4 at the time, the next was 10, the next 13 and my son, who was 14 (almost 15), along with me, my sister and my mom. All of the kids ended up having a good time. DS and my oldest niece went off by themselves and kept in touch via cell phone. The 10 y.o. had a lot of fun, as did the 4 y.o. and all the adults. We prefer Santa's Village over Storyland. I think there's more to do there for all ages.

 

[Micka Mouse]

We have gone the past 3 years, and my girls really enjoy it. They talk about it all the time. SV is by far our favorite , and much cheaper than SL (unless you do the 1/2 day and return the next day as PP stated). We also went to Clark's Trading Post, which was alot of fun, but it was brutally hot that day. The most fun we have is when we pull over and walk in the rivers. I have great pics from playing there. We also "climbed MT. Washington", which was really cool. We didn't go to Whale's Tale Waterpark, but I heard it was fun for kids!

 

[tarabelle13]

Personally I think story land would be too baby-ish. We brought my daughter to storyland when she was 3, 4 and 5 and this year she asking to go somewhere else. We usually do the park in a half day.

Clarks trading post has stuff for older kids, but again, not a full day park.

Just my opinion

 

[kevschickee]

We are actually going to storyland in 2 weeks. IMO SL is a little too young for a 9 year old but SV is great for that age group

 

[dizneechic]

What about heading out to western MA and doing 6 flags New England. They have a great water park which you could probably spend a day at, and then the rides are a bit more thrill oriented vs what you think may be too young up in NH. If you plan it sometime during the last 2 weeks of September (there is no school Mon 9/28 because of Yom Kippur) you could also take a day and hit the Big E.

Anyhow between SL and SV, we've done both and my kids still constantly talk about Santa's Villiage. They love filling out their alphabet card and have to track down every machine for the stamps. It has the vibe of the old fashioned amusement parks, certainly not high tech and fancy but a good old fashioned park. My dd4 is obsessed with the princess castle at SL, and talks about that daily. I think that will end though when she visits Disney for the 1st time.

 

[Schmeck]

I think the 9 yr old will have fun on the Polar Coaster, the Bamboo Chutes, and the Raft Ride at Storyland. I know I do!

 

[PatsMom]

DD still enjoyed Storyland and Santa's Village very much at 9 even after a few Disney trips. In fact, she is now 17 and will go to Storyland with my youngest nieces and has a good time with them. Santa's Village we don't do as often because it was a longer ride - it was a once a summer thing. Our weekend place (now year round home) is just a few miles from Storyland. We used to get season passes. In addition to the raft ride, the flume ride and the small roller coaster, older kids like the Turtle Twirl - a tilt a whirl kind of ride. Both places let you bring in a cooler and picnic which I always liked the since food just isn't all that great.

The hotel near the outlets is nice I hear and has several swimming pools. Certainly convenient if you want to shop. But the restaurant choices right there aren't the greatest. You can definitely walk to Applebee's (not a favorite of ours) or to Brandli's in Settler's Green. Brandli's has pizza and other italian dishes - table service available after 4 in the afternoon. Food is OK but not wonderful. Short drive away there are many better restaurants. If you are at Storyland at closing time, avoid the intersection of routes 16 and 302 by heading north to Jackson for dinner. The Red Fox is very family friendly and the food is OK. And by the time you are done, the mile long backup at Glen Corner will be gone. Or if you PM me, I'll tell you a way those of us who live here avoid that intersection at Storyland closing time! If you want to eat at the Red Parka (one of our favorites) get there half an hour before closing time.

Depending on when you are coming, there is a new hotel opening in North Conway - a Residence Inn I think. I don't think they will have a water park. Either the Hampton Inn or the Red Jacket might be a good choice with kids though - they both do have indoor water parks that are very nice.

Clark's is nice - kind of a half day thing. But if you are taking a day trip over the Kanc anyhow, it is something fun to do at the other end. But if you don't want to do the Kanc for the scenery or hiking, it is kind of a long drive. Around 10 miles from North Conway to the highway and then another 35 miles or so across to Lincoln. Santa's Village is also a bit of a haul from North Conway but a pretty drive. No matter which way you go - one way will take you through Crawford Notch, the other through Pinkham Notch.

The Alpine Slide at Attitash is tons of fun. Its another place where we used to have season passes when DD was younger. If you get a day pass, it will include the water slides.

 

[dancin'girl]

What your planning was our vacation last year!!!!

We stayed at the North Conway Grand and thought it was great!!! They had activities each night for the kids - free - including crafts, movies and make your own ice cream sundaes! It was fun to have these activities before bedtime. We also liked having the outlets right outside the door and DD loved the playground. We never actually used the pools, but they looked nice. They also had tennis courts which DH would have taken advantage of if we had more time. The restaurant was OK. Pretty pricy, but it was convenient to be able to eat right at the hotel (the waits to get into the local resaturants, especially the Muddy Moose, were crazy!) They offered free breakfast for the kids, so we had the breakfast each morning. Lots to choose from. We liked the make your own waffles!

We would definitely do this vacation again! We really enjoyed ourselves. We liked Santa's Village a little more than Storyland, but would say that your 9 year old would have alot of fun at both places! We found the parks to be very clean and updated. I think we'll be going back to SV this year.
Have fun!

Noticed you asked about 6 Gun City. We drove right by it on the way to SV, but man, it looked like a ghost town! There had to be maybe 20 cars in the parking lot! Don't know how they can stay in business. We didn't stop - maybe someone has been?

 

[ADisneyQueen]

We've gone twice. The last time my girls were 8 and 4 and they loved both parks, especially Santa's Village which I think is nicer. I wish we could go again but we moved and now it is too far away.
I don't recommend Whale's Tale water park. We paid close to$100 to go and the water was ice cold. It was a warm day in the 80's but all we could do was stay in the heated pool. Nothing else was heated, I guess we were too used to Disney waterparks.

 

[teachallday]

Okay you are taking me back to my childhood - Thanks I need that every now and then - What were my memorable family get aways as a child?

Yes I remember (after this discussion) visiting Santa's Village and Storybook Land, but that was more years ago than I care to remember so I am sure they have changed a ton since then. So, others views would be better than mine. The one thing I will say is that I do NOT think your 9 year old is too old for them. Even back then, I liked them after I was 9 (but I was a little immature for my age). These two places however are not places I think about when I recall memorable family trips.

Cape Cod - - we would always stop at Plymoth Plantation, Ocean Spray cranberry bogs, and Edivil Railroad (sp?). Which are all before you reach the Cape. But what I remember the most about my trips to Cape Cod was the family bike trips up and down the Canal (sorry I don't remember the name of the Canal). You know the bridges you cross going onto or off of the Cape, well they are going over a canal from the north to the south side of the cape. On each side there are bike trails you can walk or ride the length of the Canal. If I recall correctly, the one on the Boston side of the Canal is an easier bike trail (much flatter).

Other places to visit in Mass. - We would always go to the various historic places around Mass., there are a ton. In Boston, I enjoyed places like the Science Museum, the aquarium, and the Children's Museum. After traveling around the country I can tell you these are some REALLY good museums for kids. The Big-E in September was always fun (but I would do that as a school field trip, not a family trip). A different experience, but probably one of my most enjoyable as a kid and one I enjoy going back to as an adult, when I travel back to Mass. is Old Sturbridge Village ( www.osv.org ). It is not an amusement park, or a fancy kids place with lots of entertainment, but as a kid I would spend days there exploring. Thinking back to fun family outings around Massachussetts, I think about Old Sturbridge Village first. Amazing how much fun you can have in a place that has no electricity.

Massachussetts is full of places to take the kids. A family outing or vacation does not have to be to some fancy park. Salem, historic sites around Boston, Plymouth, Old Sturbridge Village, Boston Science Museum, Boston Aquarium, Boston Children's Museum, and a handful of odd little places that after the many years since my childhood I can't remember. Have fun staying in New England this summer. I have traveled around the world and across the US. I have lived in New England, the mid-west, and now living in Washington State. Trust me, Massachussetts is a fabulous place to grow up and explore. Enjoy.

 

[TinaLala]

I just wanted to follow up on this thread. DH and I were talking about SV and DD9 and he remembered that last year on of the CM told her that she wouldn't be able to ride some of the rides next year because of her height. So be aware that might deter you from going.

There are some great things in MA and RI to see - children's museum in providence, ri and easton ma.

 

[RadioFanatic]

Not to hijack the thread, but has anyone done Santa's Village in the winter? We're doing polar express over thanksgiving weekend and thought we'd make a stop at santa's village one day while out there? is it as nice in the cold?

 

[dancin'girl]

Radiofanatic- We did SV on the Sat. after Thanksgiving, and it was a madhouse!!!!! Maybe another weekend wouldn't be so crowded. We had visited last summer and it was very nice - not crowded at all, so we thought it would be great to visit when it is actually Christmas season. It wasn't sooo bad, but we would not do it again. DH waited 2 hours in line for us to see Santa. We met DH toward the front of the line. Most folks were doing this. It was just too cold for the kids to be standing out in the cold for that long. We all wore our snowsuits/ski gear. We spent alot of time ducking into gift shops to warm up! Most of the rides are running and the whole place is lit up beautifully. It definitely got you into the holiday spirit! Be prepared for lines, though! Many of the things we were able to do in the summer, we just didn't get t do in winter because of the lines and cold, including the decorate your own gingerbread cookie, which my DD was really looking forward to.
We are returning this summer! So much fun! But no more winter visits for us!

 

[PatsMom]

I just wanted to follow up on this thread. DH and I were talking about SV and DD9 and he remembered that last year on of the CM told her that she wouldn't be able to ride some of the rides next year because of her height. So be aware that might deter you from going.

There are some great things in MA and RI to see - children's museum in providence, ri and easton ma.

I can't think of any rides at SV or Storyland that have a maximum height? There are a few with minimums. Seems like even the really kiddie rides were designed to allow an adult to sit with a small child. I don't know SV as well as Storyland but at Storyland kids under a certain height/age are required to have an adult on the ride with them.