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Kid Friendly Vacations

Karen

Karen

Wiggle it, just a little bit!
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I need some help. We've been promising to take our boys (ages 7 and 9) on a family vacation this year. We're aiming for either spring break or early June right after they get out of school. We've promised them a plane ride somewhere. Now we can't figure out where to go. None of us really want to go to Disney, but we're not sure where we do want to go. What has been your best kid friendly vacation? We also need it to be affordable. I'd love to hear any ideas. :)
 
St Louis! That way I could come up and meet you. Lots of free stuff there (the zoo and science center are both free except for parking).

City Museum and Magic House are both supposed to be awesome (I haven't been to either), and it's fun to go up in the arch.
 
Seriously, at this age, my boys just love a water park and lunches at a fast food with prizes! lol
We went to the Shlitterbahn in Texas! It is beyond, so big you have to take a bus to get to the other side, and it's in Texas! YOU can't go wrong with Texas.
 
Washington DC is great for families, especially if you have any history buffs. There's tons to see and do, all sorts of tours if that's your thing, and a ton of museums. My 10 year old absolutely love the Spy Museum. There's a tour through them that he wants to take, we just haven't done it yet. Best thing... there's a lot of free stuff to do in DC. ;)
 
AnneofAlamo said:
Seriously, at this age, my boys just love a water park and lunches at a fast food with prizes! lol
We went to the Shlitterbahn in Texas! It is beyond, so big you have to take a bus to get to the other side, and it's in Texas! YOU can't go wrong with Texas.
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Oh my goodness Anne! That's so weird... My hubby just stumbled on that waterpark right after I posted this and it currently the top of our list. I'm thinking maybe Galveston and New Orleans? DC sounds fun too.

All great ideas! Keep 'em coming.
 
Karen said:
Oh my goodness Anne! That's so weird... My hubby just stumbled on that waterpark right after I posted this and it currently the top of our list. I'm thinking maybe Galveston and New Orleans? DC sounds fun too.

All great ideas! Keep 'em coming.
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You can bring in a cooler with food and they have undercover security. We loved it, and spent all day there!!
 
I third the St Louis idea. I can't remember where you guys live so that might not involve a plane ride. There is a great zoo and science center that are both free and the City Museum would be a huge hit with your boys.

We went to a Great Wolf lodge for a couple of days this summer in Kansas City and my boys loved it.
 
You guys seem like an active family - is Tennessee too close to fly to?! Our family enjoyed renting a cabin in the Smoky Mountains - Pigeon Forge area?! Tons to do and a beautiful area. Hiking one day, dixieland one day, town shopping one day, alpine slide one day, etc....!
 
I second DC. Such a great place to visit, and reasonable too as the museums are free. If the kids don't want to spend much time there, no worries because I didn't spend $20 per person to enter, lol! Mount Vernon is nearby and my kids loved that as well...they all really like learning about history and exploring so DC is a great place to visit.

There is always Myrtle Beach as well = mini golf capital I believe! This was a compromise vacation for us - beach for me during the day, and mini golf for the kids at night. There are lots of housing options there as well so you can find some good deals.
 
Karen I wouldn't do the Galveston Schlitterbahn. We live close by and everyone says the one in San Antonio is WAY better. I haven't been to the Galveston one but I did see it as we drove by and I wasn't that impressed.
 
We went to Glacier National Park this summer and it was amazing! If you are into hiking there are tons of trails - also horseback riding, rafting, etc. Whitefish, Montana is not far from the park and is a cute town to spend some time in - there is also a ski resort nearby that has an alpine slide and ropes course. My girls loved the alpine slide and thought it was so cool that they got to ride a ski lift back up to the top. Only glitch is it is better to go in July because some of the roads inside Glacier don't open until mid June.
 
As a family we love cruising, our first one was Alaska in summer and it was surprisingly affordable ( I think we booked it pretty last minute as they wanted to fill cabins)
 
OH my goodness! Thank you so much for all the great ideas you guys! I'm making a list of all of these and I'll be doing some searching on them online. :)

Jewelle, thanks for the info on the Galveston waterpark. Duly noted! So glad I asked! :)
 
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