Other Family Vacations

[carwesty]

My family usually travels to Disney every year for Spring Break. This year, we are considering other options, while it is so hard to even think about, we love going to Disney. We have 3 kids, ages: 9, 7 and 2. We have been going on our Spring Break for the last 7 years. And my husband grew up going every year when his grandparents retired to Orlando. Anyway, where else do you go on Spring Break, if not Disney? Ours is the 1st week of April and we don't want anything cold. We would like to stay in the states and will be traveling from Indiana either by car or plane, depending on distance. Any suggestions on places that would be family oriented or should we stick to our usual Disney vacation? I always visit these boards for the best Disney tips and know you guys might have some great ideas! Thanks.

Christy

 

[Abbracio]

We just got back from our FIRST trip to Disney.
I truely don't know what is better than Disney. I've been to a lot of places and WOW - it's going to be hard to compete with that place.

However - here are a few suggestions:

San Antonio, TX - has Sea world, Alamo, Six Flags nearby, The river Walk, Zoo/Aquarium, etc....

Branson MO - It has Silver Dollar City, and other stuff to do, though water rides won't be open in April.

Since you leave out that direction, you have probably already been to Hershey Pennsylvania. That's on my list of places to go to with my kids.


Chattanooga TN - There are several things to do: GREAT aquarium, GREAT Children's Museum, Rock City (kind of cheesy), Ruby Falls (realllly cheesy),

Then of course, the gulf coast of Florida is GREAT: Destin, Fort Walton Beach,

Good Luck
Kathryn

 

[Yzerbear19]

Washington DC. The Smithsonian museums are awesome though the American History musuem is closed until 2008. The Zoo is beautiful and FREE! Almost anywhere you go in DC is free. The Holocaust Musuem is a very moving experience, but your children are probably too young for that.

I'll add some more later.

 

[Yzerbear19]

Chattanooga TN - There are several things to do: GREAT aquarium, GREAT Children's Museum, Rock City (kind of cheesy), Ruby Falls (realllly cheesy)

Also Lookout Mountain is pretty cool. We always stopped there on our way back to Michigan from Florida. This was actually my first Civil War battlefield.

 

[Plutofan1]

We love to go to Williamsburg, VA. There is Colonial Williamsburg and Busch Gardens Europe which we looooooooooooove!

 

[cdrn1]

How about Boston? Are your kids old enough to have a budding interest in history? Walking the Freedom Trail is pretty cool, and there are water-related activities to enjoy as well (whale-watching tours, a wonderful aquarium) and lots of other things to see and do.
Also, kids+beaches=nonstop fun. The Gulf Shores area is full of beautiful beaches and fun stuff to do.

 

[Cool-Beans]

...we are considering other options...

Other options?! You can go somewhere else? Oh, wait!!! I get it! It's a joke!

For a second there, I thought it was possible to vacation somewhere besides WDW!

You joker!

 

[aviva5675]

We had alot of fun in the Smokey Mountains. We stayed in Asheville NC and drove around the area seeing alot of things. Not huge hikers so you don't have to do just that...

 

[momoflizandains]

I second Hershey and Williamsburg. I live near Charlottesville, Virginia in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Many vacation here year round. There is Massanutten ski resort which has a large indoor water park. Monticello and the University of Virginia are also here. There are many historic sights and much natural beauty. Williamsburg is just two hours down the road for more fun, and Washington DC is just 1.5 hours away. Take a road trip to Virginia!!

BTW, we tried to "not do Disney" one year and thought we''d take a shorter, less expensive vacation. We ended up spending the same amount in four days that we would've spent on a week in Disney. At Disney you pay one amount for all of your entertainment. At other places, you have to pay multiple times for activities and entertainment which ADD UP!

 

[tripletots]

Williamsburg is great! Jamestown is there also. Va Beach is only an hour away and Washington DC is 3 hours away. There is a lot to do in Virginia plus a lot of history. But the weather can be very unpredictable in the spring. It can be cold and windy! I just don't know if a 7 and 2 year old would be into history. I'm in Richmond and I would head south! I think a relaxing week on the Gulf playing in the sand and ocean water would be awesome for the little ones.

 

[Disney Crazy Family]

We just got back from a trip to dollywood and atlanta great things to
do dollywood atlanta acquarium atlanta zoo martin luther kings
special area lots to do

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

Los Angeles and/or San Diego. That way you can still get your Disney fix.

 

[01Sweetpea]

Take a CRUISE!!!

Last year we took a cruise and I am HOOKED!!! I'm trying to convince DH we need to vacation at WDW every other year and during the "off" years we should cruise!!!

We went to the Western Caribbean last year out of Tampa, and now I'm looking at an 8 day Eastern Caribbean out of NY (port close to home).

My kids LOVED the cruise and wanted to cruise this year instead of WDW, but that wasn't happening. I do need my Disney fix every other year...if we can afford it.

 

[LaraK]

I live about a half hour from DC now and grew up in the city and I will have to admit (grudgingly) that it is a good place for out-of-towners. That week may be pretty crowded though, I think the Cherry Blossoms may be peaking around then (absolutely beautiful, but locals avoid it like the plague...too crowded).

Williamsburg is nice, but is better when it's a little warmer and you can add all the local parks (King's Dominion is pretty close, Busch Gardens is in Williamsburg and has a really great waterpark).

I don't know that Hershey is open that early in the season, I think it opens in late April/May.

How about the east coast of Florida? St. Augustine is beautiful. The Kennedy Space Center, etc... The other option is to give US a shot.

 

[EeyoresBuddy]

We loved going on a cruise, but we do not have kids. If your not going to WDW with small children maybe a Disney Cruise!

 

[Yzerbear19]

Chicago is another great option. Your kids would probably enjoy the Shedd Aquarium, Field Museum, Museum of Science and Industry, Lincoln Park Zoo, Navy Pier. If you have any daughters there is also the American Girl store.

I live about a half hour from DC now and grew up in the city and I will have to admit (grudgingly) that it is a good place for out-of-towners. That week may be pretty crowded though, I think the Cherry Blossoms may be peaking around then (absolutely beautiful, but locals avoid it like the plague...too crowded).

Thats true about the Cherry Blossoms. That is probably a very busy time to go.
Though one thing in DC's favor that I really like is that the public transportation system in the city is really good. When we were there in June we drove down from Sharpsburg, Maryland, parked the car at the hotel and then didn't use it for the next 4 days. We rode the metro everywhere. It was so much easier than driving around.

The National Zoo in DC has the cutest baby panda, Tai Shan. He is so fun to watch and likes to ham it up for the camera. They just opened the new Panda exhibit there so it should be a lot better. They've been working on it for at least 2 years since it was under construction when we went in 2004.

 

[runner26.2]

Another vote for Williamsburg. We went to Williamsburg this past summer. What a tremendous place to visit. So much to do. A week wasnt' even close to enough time. We're actually going back in 2007 because the DK's want to go again.

There are sooooo many different things to do to keep people with any interests occupied for a week or more.

pm me if you want more details.

 

[Becky521]

Here's another vote for Williamsburg. My daughter was 8 when we went and she loved it so your 7 & 9 year olds should be fine.

My husband is a history buff so we have also visited Plymoth Plantation and Gettysburg, Pa.

 

[TheWog]

I also vote for a cruise. Althought it doesn't meet your criteria of staying in the US it is a great vacation. Disney offers them as well as many other lines. Some of the other lines, have water parks, surfing, roller blading, ice skating, rock walls etc right on the ships. Costs I have found to be comparable to our upcoming Disney trip (many factors can effect price thought). Check it out.

 

[Yzerbear19]

Here is the link to Williamsburg's website:

http://www.history.org/

That is one place I would really like to go see, but haven't got there yet.

My husband is a history buff so we have also visited Plymoth Plantation and Gettysburg, Pa.

Gettysburg is neat too, but I'm not sure if its for really young children. My sister and I are thinking of going back since we only took pictures of 28% of the monuments. We missed quite a bit. There is a lot to see there.