Where ELSE do you vacation??

[dansamy]

Does beach camping count? :-D
My boys are in Scouts. We have an impressive array of gear for "primitive" camping...

 

[msmama]

I told my 5 year old that we had to pick somewhere other than Florida to vacation this year. He said that we should go to Disney and legoland in California instead. So that's what we are doing this year (well, next year, but this school year).

 

[phoebusII]

The national parks are a wonderful place to expand your horizons. Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Glacier, Yosemite, the list can go on and on. I still remember my son's reaction the first time he set foot in a national park. He was so wide-eyed and kept repeating "I'm so happy". Just make sure they've settled the budget in D.C. and that the parks are open again.

 

[jac1976]

We are another cruise loving family. DS is 8 and DD is 5. We did Alaska a few years ago and loved it. We have cruised on DCL once, and it was fantastic, but would not do it again unless we were really looking for the Disney experience. If you are more interested in the destinations, I don't think it is worth the increase in price.

One of my children's other favorite places is Costa Rica. We have found the people there to be extremely friendly and they showered my kids with attention. My son got to go zip-lining and he still talks about it 3 years later! They also loved Panama. (They enjoyed the canal and the rainforests.)

In the US, we go up to New Hampshire a lot. We do a lot of hiking in the summer.

Our next vacation is a few days in London followed by a week long cruise through the Norweigan fjords.

 

[bjscheel]

We've done:
Colorado Springs area
Wisconsin Dells
Branson
Anaheim/San Diego

My kids would gladly go back to any of those places. They loved being at the ocean at San Diego, even more than Disneyland.

Have thought about Yellowstone, Smoky Mountains, etc. Will probably do a national park for our next non-Disney trip.

However, we haven't been to WDW since 2011 and everybody is really getting the itch to go back. Even DD15 who was the one wanting to go other places. We did, and now she's ready to go back. And DH doesn't like to drive on vacation. So it's probably going to be the choice for 2014.

 

[xipetotec]

Do I dare ask?? Where is your favorite family vacation spot? We are a family of five (kids ages 7, 4, 2) that LOVE Disney but thinking of exploring other options for a get away this coming winter.

Thanks!!
-Kelly

We go to WDW ervery two years. ( though I wiggle in more if I can if our other trips take us anywhere close ). Every other year is something different.

One year, we went to Mexico. 3 years ago we did a California road trip. You can BET i weaseled in a couple of days at DisneyLAND during that time. Though I sadly was outvoted on seeing the Walt Disney Family Museum. This year, we did a cruise and in March, back at Disney. Still no decisions on where we'll be going in 2015.

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Have you been to North Conway, NH? Your kids are good ages for Storyland, and then just a bit further north, Santa's Village. It is not Disney, but it is a nice quick family trip. We are huge fans of Santa's Village -- plenty of room to spread out, a lot of fun rides, shows, etc., and Santa! North Conway has outlet malls, state parks, skiling, it's really a great desination, particularly in the summer.

As a family we have also enjoyed cruising (DCL, Norwegian and RC), and trips to Montreal and Washington DC. I would wait until your kids are a bit older for city exploration trips -- but if they are adventurous that could be great fun. That said, your kids are also the perfect age for the Providence Zoo -- fun as a day trip, or a great city for an overnight or two.

Maria

 

[Minnesota!]

We did San Diego for the first time this summer and really liked it! We stayed in Mission Valley and the place we stayed was great, but if we go back, we would definitely choose to be closer to the water - right in Mission Beach or something. Sea World was great, Mission Beach was outstanding, loved the Trolley Ride, Coronado, etc.

I had hoped to go to San Antonio with the kids this March, but we are remodeling some parts of the house instead. Oh well. Always 2015...

 

[robinb]

We travel to other Disney parks . We also saw the local sights in France, Hong Kong and Japan. We also love going to Hawaii.

 

[PWammy]

Generally the Caribbean; it's just my daughter and I so it's pretty easy to cruise or do landtrips pretty inexpensively. We've done the Disney cruise to Bahamas, probably won't do that itinerary again, but might try a longer one next year. Cheap Caribbean is an excellent site to search, you can filter family friendly resorts.

 

[North of Mouse]

Do I dare ask?? Where is your favorite family vacation spot? We are a family of five (kids ages 7, 4, 2) that LOVE Disney but thinking of exploring other options for a get away this coming winter.

Thanks!!
-Kelly

As much as we have always enjoyed Disney, we always take trips to favorite National Parks, usually to Great Smokys in TN and Acadia in Maine. There are many other places that we have combined into very nice trips also. I am not a 'winter' person so usually don't do much traveling then, unless it's within the deep south.

 

[MissouriPrincess]

We live a couple of hours from Branson, MO/ Silver Dollar City, so we visit there about three times per year. We are planning a Disney trip this June, but we have also been to these places for our bigger trips--

Smokies/Pigeon Forge
Chicago/ Springfield IL
Colorado Springs
Minneapolis/ Followed Mississippi River north

Planning trip for South Dakota for 2015
Washington DC and California are on our wish lists!

 

[CAFarmerGirl]

We have a travel trailer, so we have seen a lot of state and national parks. There were a lot of beautiful parks through the south on our drive to Florida.

We have also taken the kids to:
San Diego (lots to do)
Cancun (kids loved)
Day/weekend trips to the Bay Area
Tahoe (mostly winter skiing and snow play)
Bear Valley for winter fun

Planning a trip to the Dells, driving through several national parks (Yellowstone, Rushmore, Tetons, etc...) this summer.

Our goal is to drive to all 49 states...Hawaii will have to be without the trailer.

 

[noahdove]

Well, every year we go to Smoketown Pa, for peace, rest and good food...It's in the heart of Amish country and we go a couple of times a year...my DGD age 7 loves to go there...she loves Disney but this is her next favorite spot. In fact, the 31 of this month I will be going there with 2 dear friends...Totally 2 different types of vacations...

 

[kkayluvsdis]

Thanks for all the great responses and suggestions!! Honestly, I get overwhelmed at the thought of planning a non Disney vacation. WDW is just so familiar and predictable. We know we'll have a great time and service will be top notch. Also, my dh hates worrying about driving while on vacation so staying on property is so convenient. That said, our kids enjoyed swimming and hanging around the resort so much this past February when we were in "the world"that it got us thinking maybe a more laid back vacation could be possible.

Lots of you mentioned cruising. We have only done one cruise and it was pre kids. Could it possibly be enjoyable with the ages of our kids? They are 7, 4 and 2. I'm thinking we wouldn't yet be able to take advantage of the"kid clubs"? Any specific cruise line or itinerary suggestions?

Thanks again!!

-Kelly

 

[blessedby3]

Our second favorite vacation spot after WDW is Hilton Head Island. So peaceful and quiet...families instead of rowdy teens We love HHI and were there this past August, but I wouldnt want to go in the winter. We are not really winter vacationers unless it is WDW.

 

[KaLyn]

OBX
Ft. Myers Beach
Clearwater Beach
Myrtle Beach
NYC

Sent from my iPad using the DISBoards app.

 

[kkayluvsdis]

Have you been to North Conway, NH? Your kids are good ages for Storyland, and then just a bit further north, Santa's Village. It is not Disney, but it is a nice quick family trip. We are huge fans of Santa's Village -- plenty of room to spread out, a lot of fun rides, shows, etc., and Santa! North Conway has outlet malls, state parks, skiling, it's really a great desination, particularly in the summer.

As a family we have also enjoyed cruising (DCL, Norwegian and RC), and trips to Montreal and Washington DC. I would wait until your kids are a bit older for city exploration trips -- but if they are adventurous that could be great fun. That said, your kids are also the perfect age for the Providence Zoo -- fun as a day trip, or a great city for an overnight or two.

Maria

We do a trip to NH every summer to celebrate my oldest DD's Birthday. They love Storyland and Santa's Village. I grew up in Maine and we use to go over every Columbus Day weekend when I was a kid. The foliage was always amazing and I have such great memories of those trips. So many fun activities to do in the White Mountain area!

Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Thanks for all the great responses and suggestions!! Honestly, I get overwhelmed at the thought of planning a non Disney vacation. WDW is just so familiar and predictable. We know we'll have a great time and service will be top notch. Also, my dh hates worrying about driving while on vacation so staying on property is so convenient. That said, our kids enjoyed swimming and hanging around the resort so much this past February when we were in "the world"that it got us thinking maybe a more laid back vacation could be possible.

Lots of you mentioned cruising. We have only done one cruise and it was pre kids. Could it possibly be enjoyable with the ages of our kids? They are 7, 4 and 2. I'm thinking we wouldn't yet be able to take advantage of the"kid clubs"? Any specific cruise line or itinerary suggestions?

Thanks again!!

-Kelly

It is unfortunately the most expensive, but the best cruise line with young kids is DCL. We did a land/sea when my ds was 8, and we couldn't get him out of the kids clubs! He was having so much fun he wanted to stay there all the time. I think the 4 yr. old would also love it. I believe the offerings are different for a child who is not yet pottytrained -- so you might want to check into what is available. I know there are options so you would definitely be able to have babysitting if you want to do something that is more appropriate for just the older two. The onboard activities and shows are very family friendly, and pirate night is pretty spectacular. I also have to recommend the "mud treatment" for couples in the spa I'm a big fan of the land/sea because it gives you the best of both worlds -- or you can book the pieces independently and still keep the concept. It is nice to have the WDW transportation to Port Canaveral, too...

Whatever you do, don't take the NCL cruise out of Black Falcon to Bermuda. This is a dud with kids. Kids clubs are ok, but nothing special, and the cruise is not nearly as family friendly as DCL.

Maria

 

[EagleScout]

Another vote for the beach here - and this may sound crazy, but Atlantic CITY boardwalk works well for us as one of our beach destinations - at least for a 3-4 day getaway. Beautiful clean beaches, lots of restaurants, and some fun stuff (the boardwalk hall often has concerts, circus, etc, and frequent outdoor concerts right on boardwalk) - surprising how many kids around. And other than aquarium, which is 5 min drive, never have to move car once parked.