Family Travel Boards

Max · 05-10-2009, 02:01 PM

There is the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in Portland, Oregon. Not far from there (the beach is popular with small kids anyway) is the Tillamook Cheese Factory and the Air Museum in Tillamook (the Spruce Goose is there). As you head down the coast there are hundreds of kid-friendly attractions, from the Devil's punchbowl and Depoe Bay's waterfront, to Newport Bay's Ripley's Believe it or Not, the Wax Museum, Undersea Gardens, etc. and of course the Oregon Coast Aquarium, keep going and you'll find the Sea Lion caves.

That should be enough to keep anyone busy for a while. If you need any specifics on places to eat or stay, let me know.

Logan · 07-22-2009, 06:51 AM

I would also recommend visiting the Smokies and going to Gatlinburg to the aquarium and other fun musuems. The mini-golf options are very unique and my little ones really enjoyed them.

You can read more about Wisconsin Dells, the Smokies, and other family travel destinations at my blog at www.FunAndEducationalFamilyTravelTips.com

MarinasMommy · 08-02-2009, 04:12 PM

We recently took our daugter to Great Wolf Lodge for her 3rd birthday. GREAT IDEA!

More than half of the waterpark is toddler friendly - even toddler sized water slides. Entire thing is family friendly. One family flat-bottom tube ride is so family friendly that as long as they are big enough to hold on, they can ride! And it's great that you can stay inside out of the sun or snow!

There are themed restaurants, arcades, full service spa (and even a version for kids!). Every morning and evening there are pajama friendly story times followed by a clock tower show. There is a Cub Club area for young kids with arts and crafts and games. You almost don't even have to leave the resort!

Locations:
Concord, NC
Grand Mound, WA
Grapevine, TX
Kansas City, KS
Mason, OH
Niagara Falls, Canada
Pocono Mountains, PA
Sandusky, OH
Sheboygan, WI
Traverse City, MI
Williamsburg, VA
Wisconsin Dells, WI

We used repeat visitor coupon code GREEN from a friend of ours and got a significant % off!!

We went to the Mason, OH location which is right next to Kings Island amusement park, which is also a great source of endless family fun!

lauras · 11-04-2009, 02:55 PM

Just make sure that whenever you stop as you're traveling, whether in an airport or in the car, that you give toddlers plenty of time to run around and run off steam. If you can exhaust them, your travels will be easier. And skip the city visits to museums with toddlers. It's torture for them unless you time it just right and visit during their naptime and they actually fall asleep.

We were recently in NYC and visited a couple of museums where out-of-town parents with toddlers had hoped to catch a museum show. They kids were miserable and the parents even more miserable. They would have been better off waiting until the kids were older or leaving them at home or simply changing the places they visited to more kid-friendly places. Toddlers need lots of exercise and hate being chained to the stroller for very long.

lori854 · 11-06-2009, 09:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Max

There is the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in Portland, Oregon. Not far from there (the beach is popular with small kids anyway) is the Tillamook Cheese Factory and the Air Museum in Tillamook (the Spruce Goose is there). As you head down the coast there are hundreds of kid-friendly attractions, from the Devil's punchbowl and Depoe Bay's waterfront, to Newport Bay's Ripley's Believe it or Not, the Wax Museum, Undersea Gardens, etc. and of course the Oregon Coast Aquarium, keep going and you'll find the Sea Lion caves.

That should be enough to keep anyone busy for a while. If you need any specifics on places to eat or stay, let me know.

We love the Oregon Coast and used to vacation there every summer growing up. A great place for kids is Seaside, OR. There are plenty of great ocean front hotels to stay at and everything is walking distance to the 'downtown' area. There is an aquarium, bumper cars, putt-putt golf, an arcade, merry-go-round, etc. One breakfast place, not to miss, is Pig-in-a-Pancake. It's nothing fancy, but the food is good and for some reason, my kids LOVED it.

Just a short drive from Seaside is Canon Beach with a more upscale shopping and dining experience. I love this little town, but it's not as kid friendly.

Have fun in Oregon. I now live in Texas and miss the trips to the beach. Last summer was the first time back to the Oregon Coast in many year.

lori854 · 11-06-2009, 09:56 AM

We also loved Great Wolf Lodge. My kids, 3 & 5, had a great time. We spent 3 days and 2 nights there over spring break and they still didn't want to leave. It was so cold during the week that we didn't leave the resort from the time we walked in the door. We went back this summer for my son's birthday and enjoyed using the outside park as well. Lot's of fun to be had at GWL.

lori854 · 11-10-2009, 10:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by neuromri

Any suggestions on places to go with a toddler?

Thks in advance

I guess it depends on how old your toddler is. If you're looking for something close to home, here are some things we did with my boys that they loved:
*story time at the local library
*trips to the zoo
*trips to the museum (ours has a great area for kids)
*lunch at the park - we'd eat lunch up in one of the tall "hide-out" areas
*pet stores - usually I combined this with an errand for our dog
*The arboretum has fun insects and beautiful flowers and walking paths. Ours has a pond and the boys like to watch the fish.

Trips-
Always a good idea to find a hotel/resort with something fun to do. I find that just playing at the pool can be fun and make them tired enough for a nap.
*Ski trips are fun - put them in a toddler ski school.
*Beach vacations are low key and fun. Just be sure to bring lots of sun screen.
*Disney was a lot of fun for my 4 & 6 yr. olds, but we still tried to make it back for an afternoon nap. Might be a tough trip if they aren't potty trained.
*All inclusive resorts are nice too. Especially nice if you can put them in a 'kid camp' for part of the day.

ilove2travel · 11-10-2009, 11:40 PM

I agree that Disney is really too much for a toddler. They are too young to appreciate it for the full day. Wait til they are a little older. I can't tell you how many tired and cranky parents I've seen at Disney pushing tired toddlers around. I've always thought that it 's the parents who can't wait to go to Disney with their toddlers and they think it will be magical for their child but it's overwhelming and exhausting. It's expensive too!

lauras · 11-10-2009, 11:43 PM

Yep, Disney can definitely be too much for a toddler. And I've not found many resorts that have kids programs for the toddler age group. Most of the resort kids' programs are for children starting around age 5. The exception to that is ski areas, where there are often childcare programs for many ages, including infants and toddlers. Some Club Meds have toddler programs as do a few other places, but it's not all that common. And parents of toddlers need a break more than anyone!