Taboo vacation question

[ctnurse]

Where have you taken your family besides WDW. We are looking for some place warm and all inclusive for Jan. DS will be 22 months old. We were going to disney but have decided to wait until next fall. We went to Mexico in June so dont want to go back there but any other ideas would be great.
Melissa (still pouting about not going to wdw)

 

[Livie's Mommy]

I have never been before, but what about the Beaches family resorts? I think they are in Jamaica and Turks and Caicos. The yhave the Sesame Street characters there, I believe, and they seem really kid-friendly. I would like to try this sometime.

http://www.beaches.com/

 

[crisi]

We loved our cruise. We did Disney - which is expensive - but there are a lot of lovely cruise ships out there.

January is tough with a 22 month old. Really few places are close to the U.S. and reliably warm - Bahamas or Mexico. If you don't mind long plane rides you can get farther (there is a lovely Club Med in Thailand.....)

There is always the "other coast of Mexico." I understand that Baja can be a completely different experience than Cozumel.

 

[Eyore4Ever149]

How about Vero Beach? I know it's still technically "Disney" but I dont think you will find it overly Disney. I know a family of 4 who went and LOVED it. I might like to try it myself!

Also, My parents took my brother and I to The Elbow Beach Club in Bermuda when I was in first grade and again when I was in 4th. It was a wonderful vacation. We rented mopeds to travel around the island, Mom went horseback riding on the beach, Dad went snorkeling with my brother, we ate all our meals at the resort, 25 years later my parents still say it was their best family vacation. The Resort is of course still in business today and is beautiful!

 

[DisneyGrandParents]

Cruises are fabulous. Royal Caribbean is our first choice. Just not Carnival. Never done a Disney cruise as they are very expe$ive. . .

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

We've taken the kids to The Beaches Resort in Turks and Caicos.

The first time we went our DS was just about your DS's age, that was 5 years ago. Then we went last November again. DS was 6 and DD was 16 1/2 months. We had alot of fun. The childrens program is awesome , even for a child your sons age.
There is also a Beaches in Jamaica. We've never stayed there, but DH and I visited it when we were at another resort not far from there. It looks very nice also. Any questions, feel free to PM me.

 

[eternaldisneyfan]

Seaworld has good shows, walkthrough exhibits (I like the manatees), a couple thrill rides, dolphin interaction (feeding for a couple dollars or trainer for a day), and special dinner shows. We really enjoyed our trip to Seaworld.

Christamae

 

[estherhead]

I vote for a Carnival cruise. Their Camp Carnival is the only one that takes 24 month olds and above, diapers or not. It was AWESOME!!!! We are going again in 4 weeks. Yippee!

 

[PatricenPete]

We are leaving on Friday for a cruise on Royal Caribbean - i will give you a full report when we get home

 

[missymagic]

I have been to Turkes & Caicos also. Beautiful white powder sand beaches. Kids program was great! Not a whole lot to do. But if relaxing and sand is what you want then it is great. Nothing to do outside of resort, the island is only so many miles long.

Paradise Island, Bahamas is always nice but it tends to be a little cooler in the winter months.

Cruises are always fun also. Unfortunately my girls would never stay in the childrens programs they would cry and not stop so they would page me to come get them.

You said you have been to Mexico already . But we went to Playa Del Carmen and stayed at a pretty cool resort. Beautiful pool w/ cabanas.

Aruba is always warm also but their isn't a whole lot to do you pretty much beach nad pool it. You can rent a jeep and tour the island but that takes less than a day.

My theory is you can have a great vacation anywhere as long as you can relax and take in the surroundings of your family's enjoyment!!!

 

[Livie's Mommy]

We are leaving on Friday for a cruise on Royal Caribbean - i will give you a full report when we get home

Have a great trip....I am soooo jealous!!

 

[100AcreWood]

Our last WDW vacation is set for December. After that I promised dh to take 2 years off - gasp!

Here's my list. Things I've heard about from other folks that sound great!

1. Royal Carrribean cruise
2. The Keys
3. Hilton Head, SC

Good luck! I'm trying to talk dh into booking a RC cruise (4 nights). I know when I return from Disney in December I'll need another vacation on the books!

 

[D L and K's Mom]

We did a few days at Vero Beach. We had a great time on the first day but unfortunatly .....there was a hurricane and it sort of ruined our stay. Everything closed . The programs at VEro Beach looked great and it was nice to have the small kitchen. I would love to do it again minus the hurricane!

 

[Diz-Mommy]

I know this is still in the Florida tourist trap, but I LOVE Discovery Cove, its Sea World's sister park. It isn't a walk all over till your feet fall off place. There are no rides, just fun relaxing beach type things. Lots of animal encounters if your children love getting up close to things. I really wish we were going this trip, but I think our little guy wouldn't love the water too much yet. The pools that have tropical fish, dolphins, or sting rays are kept pretty cool ( about 70 degrees I think ).

So if your little one loves playing in the water, and getting up close to tropical fish, I think he would love it. It's sort of only a one day attraction though, so you'd probably be forced to find something Disney to do too...whoops!

 

[amarberry]

I'm struggling with the same issue...where else to go on vacation with a 1.5 year old besides Disney! We did a cruise last spring when DD was about 9 months old. It was fine, but I don't think that we will do another cruise with her until she is a little older. Most cruise lines don't let kids in swim diapers in the pool and the two hour dinner every night was a little too much for her.

I don't want to hijack this thread, but does anybody have any vacation suggestions for a family with a 1.5 year old who would like to go somewhere warmer than Chicago in January, but don't like sitting around on a beach? We need an active vacation! My DH seemed less than enthusiastic about returning to Disney in January/February.