Where else besides WDW do you take a Toddler on Vacation?

[Jen32113]

We did the beach last year with our, then, 20 month old. HE LOVED IT! Not a ton of different activities but I made sure we had a lot of beach and pool time. We also found a close play ground and took him there a couple of times. Every picture I have of him at the beach, he looks like he is having a complete blast!
We live close to Disney and often do 5 or 6 long weekend trips a year so when deciding on our '08 vacation, DH wanted to do something different. We will be going up to the Smokey Mountains. There are quite a few things to do for a child his age. But as a previous poster said, as long as my DS has a rock and some water to throw it into - he's cool.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

Sandals is the adults only couples resorts.

Beaches is the family version of the same chain of resorts. We've done Beaches Turks and Caicos twice with the kids. First time we went DS was a little over 2, second time we went DD was a little shy of 2.

We totally loved it and would go back in a heartbeat. If you need specific info, feel free to PM me.

 

[afinnteach]

Hi,
We take our kids to Chautauqua in western NY each summer. It is a quiet and relaxing vacation vs. Disney which I think of as power loaded with excitement and exhausting (in a good way!) If you don't know anything about it, it is an enclosed Victorian community on Lake Chautauqua (originally founded as a Methodist camp for training Sunday school teachers. While religion is a component of the community, I wouldn't let not being Methodist deter a visit! We're don't!). They have their own theatre, opera company, symphony, dance troupe, and daily lectures (both academic and religious) Each week has a theme. Chautauqua is a definate throw back to a slower time. Some condos/rooms come with no air, no tv, no phone (although you CAN get all of those in your accomodations). There is a large plaza (think grassy area) in the center that has free WiFi and families can often be found throwing a frisbee or riding bikes. There are all kinds of boating activities, several beaches and for the preschool set there is a Children's school (I think you have to be 3 to attend and it is for a 1/2 day). When they start going to school (first grade) there is boys and girls club, so the kids are away most of the day doing fun, supervised and safe things! That frees up the adults to attend lectures, classes, or just relax and read/talk/do whatever!

It is definately a "different" sort of place, but worth going!
A.

 

[RumpleMom]

You might want to consider Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort.

It is beautiful, very relaxing and kid/family friendly. The main resort which has a pool and numerous activities is located on Broad Creek.

Disney's Beach House is about 1 mile away on the ocean. You can get there by car with ample parking available, Disney shuttle or bike on a tree lined path. There is another pool here, counter service food, restrooms and an air conditioned room for relaxing or games.

The resort mascot is Shadow, a lovable dog who accompanies B'lou Crabbe for Storytelling.

There is a lot more about HHI, but this is a good start to help you decide if you want to investigate further.

 

[TinkandAriel]

I'm going to second the White Mountains Region of NH....Santa's Village, Storyland, Clark's Trading Post, water parks, train rides, mini golf...there's so much to do and the area is so pretty. I love going to NH.

 

[GoinToDisney]

As someone from PA, I give a thumbs up to Hersheypark and the surrounding area. There is a lot of kid friendly stuff here. The park is clean and family friendly.

I would not go to Sesame Place! I have never been but have heard first hand reports that were terrible! I actually have never heard one good thing about the place.

As others have said, the beach is always a fun place for kids too.

Good luck - I am sure you will have a blast no matter what you decide!

Wow! I have to say that I totally disagree about Sesame Place. We live about an hour away and have been going with lots of things to do since my dd was a year old. She LOVES it there. We make the hour drive at least 10 times a season because it is so much fun. It used to be mostly for older kids, but it has changed so much, and there are tons of rides, shows a parade, meet and greets, etc.. It is enough to keep you busy just with the dry rides, but when you add the water rides, you really benefit from more than one day. If you go the the website, they tell you other places that are nearby. Is it as magical as Disney, well, no. There is no place that compares to Disney World in my mind. However, it is great for a 3 year-old. We have had season passes for 3 years and already bought our 4th for next year. I have a lot of friends who also like to bring their toddlers/preschoolers there. I do recommend going on a weekday to avoid crowds and get there early. If you do a character breakfast, it is a great way to meet the characters and be in the park early.

We also go to the Jersey shore, but if I had to choose between the 2, I'd vote Sesame Place.

 

[cinjam]

Another vote for Hershey Park. We went two summers ago and had a wonderful time (kids were 1.5 & 4.5 at the time).

We are from NJ, and we have a summer house at the shore. As other posters have said, it is a huge hit because of the beach!

From personal experience I will say do not go to Sesame Place. I learned my lesson, not once, but twice with my older son. I would never go back there.

 

[02AggieGirl]

We've taken our kids to Rocky Mountain National Park. They love just being outside.

Again, like most people have said, the beach.

California--done Monterey Bay Aquarium, San Francisco and botanical gardens, children's museum.

 

[GoinToDisney]

I was just wondering... what is there not to love about Sesame Place? I can't figure out why some people don't like it... unless they are expecting Disney.

 

[brandylouwho]

I second the ocean, most of the little kids I know love it.

I agree. We are not fortunate enough to live anywhere near the ocean, but we took our 2 year old to Jamaica and it was a blast. The beach is the biggest sandbox there is. We stayed at a Beaches Resort, so they had a few Sesame Street Character interactions throughout the day.

You can pretty much take a 2 year old anywhere, you just see different sights and do things a little differently than if you went without a little kid.

You can check out area children's museums, zoos, things like that. Train rides, boat rides, animals are all big hits in our family. Hotels with indoor water parks or at least nice pool areas always score well too. Instead of a romantic dinner we go to Chuck E Cheese. You get the picture.

Next weekend we are taking our 2 kids (now 6 mos & almost 4 yrs) to the Osthoff Resort in Elkhart Lake, WI. They have an "Old World Christmas Market" for mommy to shop at and cookie decorating, ornament making & Sunday Brunch with St Nick & his Reindeer for the kids. I am sure many resorts have family friendly acitivities throughout the year too.

What ever you do--have fun!

 

[brandylouwho]

I though of Hersey Park, but that is more of a weekend thing, really looking for a place that is truly geared for kids. This is why I originally planned WDW because there is no place in the world that is as child friendly as there. Thinking more along the lines of say "Atlantis" in Bahamas, or Sandals, anyone every been in either? Another problem is he will just be turning 3 that month so he will not really be old enough to go to the kids activities.

Actually I forgot to explain in my last post...Beaches is the family version of Sandals. It was loads of fun. They had Sesame Street Characters, and 3 is old enough to go to the "daycare" unless they changed their rules this year. (we went in 2006). At first I felt guilty for sending our 2 year old to a daycare while we were on a family vacation, but I think she enjoyed an hour or two each day in the AC with normal kid toys, tv, etc and we enjoyed an hour or two on the beach truly relaxing (not having to watch her).

She was too young for most of the organized kid activities but she did do story time with Elmo and we all went to watch some silly dance party with characters, stuff like that. Mostly we swam and played in the sand. It was the most relaxing vacation I ever had. When I am at Disney I can't lounge around all day, there is too much to see & do.

We stayed at Beaches Sandy Bay (in Negril). Beaches Negril was larger, newer and probably nicer in many people's opinions, but we loved Sandy Bay. The smaller size of the resort was a plus for us and we could walk or take a bus to use Beaches Negril's waterpark and restaraunts for free.

Next time I want to try Beaches Turks & Caicos. But our next few big trips will be to Disney.

 

[irene_dsc]

Well, pretty much all of our family vacations (up until our WDW one!) have been visiting family and/or friends, so that has been the deciding factor. I will say that one huge hit at that age, especially for my ds, is any sort of train museum or train garden or model train exhibit. They have them all over the place, tho some are better than others. Some of my favorites were the train museum near Boulder, CO (I forget the exact town), the train museum in Union, IL (far, far northwest suburbs of Chicago), the train garden at the Chicago Botanic Gardens, and the model trains at the Museum of Science & Industry in Chicago (can you tell where I live, lol?).

I'll also second Cape Cod as a good family vacation spot - we went there last summer with my parents, sister & BIL, visiting my dad's best friends. Lots of interesting places to visit besides the beach - Sandwich Glass Museum (started ds' fascination with glassblowing), Heritage Gardens (with a carousel and old cars to interest the kids), hiking, etc.

 

[TJA]

Awesome thread -- I'm marking this one for my own reference. I have a few suggestions to add to the mix:

~Bush Gardens in Virginia, also has a Great Wolf Lodge nearby with the indoor water park, also a lot of historical venues, also Virginia Beach 45 minutes away -- so a lot to do all in one area.

~Dutch Wonderland is truly a fun little park perfect for toddlers. We just went this past summer and our girls (age 4) loved, loved, loved this park. It's very cute and most rides and attractions are geared towards this age. Check out the website. There are amish buggy rides and several amish-style restaurants, all kinds of activities and things to do. Lots of good shopping outlets too. Hershey Park is about an hour away, I believe.

~Poconos. We've stayed in an adult section and really enjoyed it there. I have read and heard about a section of Poconos geared towards families and it sounds enticing to me.

~Niagara Falls -- we haven't been there in a few years, but last trip we had a falls-view room and it was amazing. There is a boat you can go on called maid of the mist, or something like that. All sorts of shops and activities, Ripleys Believe it or Not, stuff like that.

 

[crl]

Just subscribing for the info.

Thanks to those who have posted!