photo credit: karindalziel

You won’t have to look for miles for places to take your kids when visiting the Mile High City. Here’s a good cross-section.

Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave
Cattle driver, fur trapper, gold miner, army scout and showman, William F Cody lived the life of the old West and then packaged it and took it on the road.

Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show used real-life cowboys and Indians like Sitting Bull to reenact scenes from frontier life. The show traveled throughout the country and across the pond where Cody and his troupe appeared at Queen Victoria’s Jubilee celebration. The museum features bows and arrows belonging to Sitting Bull, costumes featured in the show and a collection of firearms. The “Kids’ Cowboy Corral” allows children to design a brand, dress as a cowboy, sit in a saddle and try to lasso a calf.

The museum is open seven days a week from 9 am to 5 pm from May through October. It’s closed Mondays from November to April when it closes at 4 pm. Admission is $3 for adults, $2 for seniors and $1 for children 6 to 15.  photo credit: Jami Dwyer

Butterfly Pavilion
The nation’s only stand alone non-profit insect zoo features exhibits of invertebrates around the world, including:

• Wings over the Tropics is a 7,000 square-foot tropical rain forest, with more than 1,200 live butterflies and 350 plant species from around the world.
• Crawl-A-See-’Em allows you to get up close and personal with with tarantulas, leaf insects, scorpions, beetles and giant millipedes. Children so inclined can actually hold Rosie, the pavilion’s Chilean rosehair tarantula
• Get Shrunk allows visitors to walk through a world of giant moving insects.

Admission is $7.95 for adults; $4.95 for children ages 3 - 12; and $5.95 for adults over age 62. The pavilion is open daily from 9 am to 5 pm.  photo credit: bensonkua

The Children’s Museum of Denver
Features 11 interactive “playscapes’ for children from infants to age 8. Exhibits include:

• The Assembly Plant, designed for children, ages 4 through 8, allows children to work with recycled tools.
• ARTS a la Carte lets children put on a puppet show.
• My Market takes children on a trip through a market where they learn about healthy foods and nutrition.
• Ready, Vet, Go! is a kid-friendly veterinarian clinic.

Admission is $5.50 for one-year-olds , $7.50 for ages 2-59 and $5.50 for visitors age 60 and up. Open 9 am to 4 pm Monday through Friday; 10 am to 5 pm, Saturdays and Sundays.

Clear Creek History Park
This three-acre park includes two log cabins, several animal barns, a blacksmith’s shop, and a one-room schoolhouse from the 1870s. The park is home to many of the original buildings from the old Pearce Ranch in Golden Gate Canyon, which were moved here in the late 1990s. The park is open Tuesday–Saturday 10 am–4:30pm and Sundays 11 am–3pm from June through August. In May and September it’s open Saturdays 10 am–4:30 pm. Admission is $2 for kids age 6-18, $2.50 for seniors and $3 for adults.

The Colorado Railroad Museum
The museum features more than 100 locomotives and cars exhibited in three buildings on 15 acres of land near Golden, Colorado about 10 miles from Denver.

The museum building is a replica of an 1880 railroad depot and houses thousands of photographs and documents detailing the history of the region and the railway–it’s the largest known collection of historic records, mementos, artifacts, and pictures of Colorado railroads.

The Roundhouse was built to represent a small division point on a prosperous railroad. IT features an inspection pit and drop pit in stall one, a machine shop and a four-rail turntable.

Coors field

The ball travels nine percent further here, thanks to the stadium’s mile-high altitude. Tours of Coors Field are available at noon and 2 pm on Monday-Saturday during the season and Monday Wednesday, Friday and Saturday during the off season. The tours include the dugout, the visitor’s clubhouse, and the press, club and suite levels. Tickets are $6 for adults, $5 for seniors 55 and older and $4 for children 3-12.  photo credit: ChazWags

Denver Botanic Gardens
Twenty-three acres of outdoor and indoor gardens, many of which are models of drought-tolerance and showcase the plants that thrive in Western gardens. There’s also a traditional Japanese garden, herb garden, water garden, fragrance garden, and a garden inspired by Monet.

Every month features a special, self-guided “What’s Blooming Tour” that highlights certain parts of the collection. September’s tour, for example, focuses on trees. There’s also a special Cornfield Maze every fall.

The conservatory houses thousands of species of tropical and subtropical plants. Orchids share space with a collection of plants used for food, fibers, dyes, building materials, and medicines.

The museum is open every day from 9 am to 5 pm. Admission is $10.50 for adults; $7.50 for adults over 60 and $6 for children from 4-15.

Denver Firefighters Museum
Your kids can try on firefighting equipment, slide down a pole and ride a fire truck designed for kids here in the historic Fire Station No. 1. Built in 1909, the museum site was one of the largest firehouses in Denver, occupying 11,000 square feet and housing men, fire engines and horses. Firefighting equipment dating to 1866, historic photos and newspaper clippings are also on display.

The museum in Monday through Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm. Admission $6 for adults, $5 for seniors and students and $4 for children 12 and under.

Denver Museum of Nature and Science
The museum focuses on six areas of science: anthropology, health science, geology, paleontology, space science, and zoology. Dioramas, gems and minerals, Egyptian mummies and fossils are all on display here in a variety of exhibitions:

• At Coors Mineral Hall you can follow a mine shaft into a silver mine or see Colorado’s Sweet Home Minewith its six-foot wall of blood-red rhodochrosite crystals. In the historical mining section you’ll see Tom’s Baby, an eight-pound nugget of crystallized gold unearthed in Breckenridge in 1887.
• Extreme Ice, which runs through November 2, features the videos and photos of James Balog who’s been systematically photographing 27 glaciers around the world.
• The Discovery Zone is an interactive display that allows children to put on a puppet show, dig for fossils or perform an experiment .

The museum is open from 9 am to 5 pm daily. Admission is $11 for adults, $6 for seniors, students and children ages 3 to 18.

Denver Zoo
More than 700 species of animals call this place home including endangered cheetahs, Komodo dragons, and western lowland gorillas. The zoo has long been an innovator in recreating realistic habitats: Bear Mountain, built in 1918, was the first animal exhibit in the United States constructed of simulated concrete rocks.

From April 1-October 31, the zoo is open from 9 am to 6 pm. From November 1-March 31, the zoo’s hours are 10 am to 5 pm. Tickets for ages 12-64 are $12 in summer and $9 in winter, seniors pay $9 and $7 respectively while tickets for children 3-11 go for $7 and $5.

Genesee Park
Your kids can get a chance to see the buffalo roam from the hiking trails of this nature preserve 20 miles outside of Denver. Facilities in the park include charcoal grills, picnic areas, bison and elk enclosures, scenic overlooks, a softball field and volleyball courts.

Heritage Square
A reconstructed Colorado mining town from the 1870s, this square has an old fort, elaborate Victorian buildings and storefronts, shops, restaurants, and a cabaret theater. Amusement-park rides, a water slide, a bungee tower, go-carts, miniature golf, miniature railroad, and an alpine slide are some of the other attractions. The center features more than 35 specialty shops and restaurants. Admission is free, though tickets are required for many individual attractions.

The Ski Train
No matter what the season, the ski train is running. Departing from Union Station, the two-hour ride crosses under the continental divide, passes through 28 tunnels and breathtaking mountain scenery as it wends its way to the Winter Park ski lift. Riders can choose between coach, club or retreat tickets.

Tiny Town Rail Road
Created at the site of the Denver-Leadville stagecoach stop by George Turner, who built the city in 1915 to amuse his daughter. All the buildings are built to be one-sixth the size of a normal building, making Tiny Town a “kid-sized village.” Admission is $5 for adults $5, $3 for children 2-12. For another dollar you can take the kid-sized steam locomotive for a trip past the town’s 100 colorful buildings. Tiny Town is open 10am - 5pm daily from Memorial Day through Labor Day and weekends only in May and September.

U.S. Mint
Originally opened in the mid-1800s to change gold and silver found by miners in the surrounding hills into coins and ingots, the Denver facility was bought by the US Treasury in 1863. It wasn’t until 1906 that the Denver facility began actually minting coins. Free 20-minute tours show visitors how blank ore becomes coins. Tours start every hour on the hour and are available from 8 am to 2 pm Monday through Friday. You might want to plan ahead if you’d like to take your kids to see where money is made; the mint allows walk-in visitors on first-com, first-served basis, but you can reserve a date up to two months in advance.

Water World
America’s largest water park contains 40 water rides, including two wave pools, a river rapids for inner-tubing, water slides and a play area for small children. The park is open from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

• Comments (0)

photo credit: stu_spivack

From gardens to science museums to World War II submarines, Cleveland boasts a number of great places for you to see with your kids in tow. Here’s a look at some of the best.

Cayahuga Valley Scenic Railroad
Ride the rails from Cleveland to Akron, and Canton while enjoying the views of Ohio’s only national park, the Cayahuga Valley National Park.

Many different trips are offered, from round-trip train rides under two hours to longer trips that include a ranger-led hike. Some excursions offer the chance to visit Hale Farm & Village, Stan Hywet, the National Inventors Hall of Fame, Akron Zoo, Quaker Square, or the Hartville Flea Market and Hartville Marketplace. Trains leave from Rockside Station (Independence), Peninsula Depot Visitor Center, and Akron Northside Station. Call (800) 468-4070 for more information.

Children’s Museum of Cleveland
Dedicated to children up to eight years of age, the museum hosts numerous traveling exhibits as well as several permanent exhibits such as “Splish Splash,” which teaches children about water transportation, weather and the earth’s water systems. It features a two-story climbing structure, a kaleidoscope and the Weather Forecast Center where children learn how water affects the weather. They can also use the anchor desk to present their own forecast in front of a camera.

Open from 10 am to 5 pm daily, admission is $7 for children aged 1-12 and $6 for anyone 13 and under.

Cleveland Botanical Garden

photo credit: Eddie~S

Ten gardens and a conservatory are among the attractions here which include the Hershey Children’s Garden, a Japanese Garden featuring a dry rock stream, the Mary Ann Sears Swetland Rose Garden, Western Reserve Herb Society Garden, a Woodland Garden, Elizabeth and Nona Evans Restorative Garden, Campsey-Stauffer Gateway Garden, and the CK Patrick Perennial Garden.

The Eleanor Armstrong Smith Glasshouse features two displays: The Spiny Desert of Madagascar and the Lush Forest of Costa Rica. In the latter, you can see 50 different native butterflies, which are released into the ecosystem every day at 2 pm. In the former, you’ll see native plants plus a variety of creatures seen nowhere else on earth:

One of the stars of our amazing collection of animals is the Oustalet’s chameleon. The longest chameleon in the word, the Oustalet’s chameleon has eyes that operate independently, giving it the ability to focus on two different objects at the same time.

Quite the opposite is true for the hedgehog-like tenrec, which is almost completely blind. The tenrec compensates for its poor sight with heightened senses, including super-sensitive whiskers.

The yellow-throated plated lizard has several unique body adaptations as well. Hard body plates serve as a natural source of protection, as do the head plates connected to its skull. The yellow-throated plated lizard can grow to almost 18 inches in length, but its tail makes up almost two-thirds of that length.

Equally as impressive is the radiated tortoise that you’ll see feely roaming about the spiny desert section of the Glasshouse. Hailed as one most beautiful tortoises in the world, it can live to be 50 years old.

From April through October, the garden is open Monday - Saturday from 10am to 5:00 pm and on Sundays from Noon to 5 pm. On Wednesday the garden stays open until 9 pm. Admission is $7.50 for adults, $5.50 for seniors and members of groups of 15 or more, and $3 for children 3-12. During the winter months, the garden is closed on Mondays. Hershey Children’s Garden closes for the winter on November 1.

Cleveland Metroparks Zoo

photo credit: Yvonne in Willowick Ohio

One of the oldest in the United States, the zoo maintains a collection of domestic and exotic animals from around the world, including the largest collection of primate species in North America. The zoo is also a botanic garden.

Favorite exhibits include the African elephants, the “Wolf Wilderness” exhibit and the Rain Forest, a two-acre, two-story indoor tropical oasis with more than 6,000 plants and over 600 animals from the tropical regions of Asia, Africa, and the Americas.

The zoo is open every day except Christmas and New Year’s Day. Admission is $10 for adults and $6 for children under 12 from april through October. The rest of the year, admission is $7 for adults and $5 for children.

Cleveland Museum of Natural History

You’ll find a variety of exhibits here covering everything from dinosaurs to moon rocks to Foucault’s pendulum. A favorite permanent exhibit is “Lucy,” the partial skeleton of 3.2 million-year-old Australopithecus afarensis discovered in 1974 by a group of scientists that included the museum’s then curator, Donald Johanson. The remains of this species of human ancestor have provided valuable clues as to when and why humans began to walk upright and evolve larger brains. Visitors can see a cast of the original skeletal materials and reconstruction of what Lucy’s full skeleton might have looked.

The museum also houses a planetarium and a wildlife center.

Admission is $9 for adults; $7 for seniors, college students with ID, seniors and kids aged 7 to 18; and $6 for kids 3-6.

Cleveland Police Museum

The museum’s permanent exhibits look at all aspects of policing. Inside the museum you will find a countless number of fascinating firsts that the Cleveland Police have developed; like the very first police call box, or the first closed circuit camera which was used in banks to photograph unsuspecting criminals. Thousands of old photos and intriguing stories of the officers that were a part of the solutions are found here as well.

Visitors can learn about the history of policing as well as famous crimes that have taken place in Ohio. Some displays, like the Death Masks of victims of the notorious “torso murderer,” may be too graphic for very young visitors.

The museum is open from 10 am to 4 pm, Monday-Friday.

Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum
The Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum, showcases nearly 200 antique, vintage, and classic automobiles, motorcycles, bicycles, automobile culture and aircraft. The Crawford collection is one of the top ten in the nation, according to Car Collector magazine. The Crawford also holds a dozen historically significant airplanes.

If you plan ahead, you can also arrange to take a guided tour of the Macedonia Preservation Facility which stores vehicles not currently on display in the museum and oversized vehicles in the collection that are too large to be displayed in the Crawford.

The Crawford s open Monday through Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm and Sunday, noon to 5 pm. Admission is $8.50 for adults, $7.50 for seniors, and $5.00 for students. The admission fee includes entry to the History Museum and Library and Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum. The fee to park in the museum lot is $8.

Dittrick Museum of Medical History

The museum focuses on the development of medicine in the greater Cleveland area. Exhibits include: Diagnostic Instruments, Doctor’s Office 1870s, Doctor’s Office 1930’s, Early Medical Practice and Education, Hospital Medicine, 1865-1920, Laboratory Medicine 1865-1920, Microscopes, Pharmacy 1880’s, Medicine 1895-1950, Surgery and Obstetrics Instruments.

The museum is open from 10 am to 5 pm, Monday-Friday. Admission is free.

Great Lakes Science Center

photo credit: RobotSkirts

This museum has more than 400 hands on exhibits including an eight-foot-high indoor tornado; the Bridge of Fire, a static generator generates 200,000 volts of electric current and causes your hair to stand on end; an information technology gallery that allows visitors to manipulate digital images and ride a virtual hang glider; and an entire floor devoted to the environment of the Great Lakes.

The center is open from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm daily. There are a variety of admission packages.

NASA Glenn Research Center Visitor Center

The center features six galleries with interactive displays and exhibits. Visitors can participate in a countdown to a shuttle launch, pilot their own supersonic jet or conduct mocrogravity experiments. A tribute to Ohio native John Glenn features hoto exhibits, spacecraft models and two spacesuit replicas.

The visitor center is open every day, except New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Call (216) 433-2000 for more information.

Progressive (formerly Jacobs) Field Tour

photo credit: ConspiracyofHappiness

Even if you’re not a fan of the Cleveland Indians, the tour is worth the trip. Tours leave from the Cleveland Indians Team shop and tour the following areas: The Bullpen, the Press Box, a Party Suite, the Club Lounge, the Indians Dugout, Heritage Park and the indoor batting cages. The tours are wheelchair accessible.

Tours are available Monday-Friday at !:30 pm, Saturdays at 10:30 am, 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 pm from April 14 - June 6 and in September. From June 7-30, July and August, tours are available
Monday through Saturday every hour from 10:30 am until 1:30 pm. Admission is $7.50 for adults and $5.50 for seniors and kids 14 and under.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

photo credit: Frank Steele

Made up of thousands of artifacts, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum’s permanent collection features a number of exhibits, including:

• 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll
• Music of Ohio
• On the Charts
• Jimi Hendrix
• Rock and Roll’s Early Years
• R-E-S-P-E-C-T
• Hall of Fame
• Architects of Rock
• The Roots of Rock and Roll
• Rockin’ All Over the World
• The Evolution of Audio Technology

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is open 363 days a year, every day from 10 am to 5:30 pm. On Wednesdays, you can tour the Museum until 9 p.m. Closed Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Rockefeller Greenhouse

Initially used solely for growing the plants used to landscape City parks and gardens, the greenhouse has evolved into a Botanical garden with specialty plant collections, seasonal floral displays and theme gardens, including:

• The Japanese Garden: Developed in the 1960s, this garden recreates a Japanese courtyard with bamboo hut and pond. Of special interest is the Dawn Redwood tree, which was grown from one of six seeds brought from Japan.
• The Betty Ott Talking Garden: Plants here are chosen for their appeal to all the senses. A raised bed invites visitors to touch and smell the plants, and signs give information in Braille type. This is one of only a few such gardens in the country.
• The Mall: A traditional formal garden with clipped hedges and corner statues representing the four seasons.
• The Latin American Garden: A showcase for cacti, succulents, flowering plants and tropical fruits found in Central and South America.
• The Peace Garden features an old-fashioned gazebo as well as rose, herb, and perennial gardens.

The greenhouse is open daily from 10 am to 4 pm. Parking and admission are free.

Steamship William G. Mather Museum

photo credit: laszlo-photo

The William G. Mather is a retired Great Lakes bulk freighter built in Detroit by the Great Lakes Engineering Works, River Rouge, Michigan in 1925. The flagship for the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company, the Mather remained an active part of the fleet until 1980.

Visitors can explore the ship’s living quarters, the pilothouse, galley, and four-story engine room.

USS Cod Submarine

photo credit: Elfboy

A World War II submarine docked on Lake Erie, the USS Cod is designated Cod a National Historic Landmark and dedicated to the submariners who lost their lives during the 100 year history of the United States Navy Submarine Force.

Considered one of the finest restored submarines on display, the Cod is the only U.S. submarine that has not had stairways and doors cut into her pressure hull for public access. Instead, visitors use the same vertical ladders and hatches that were used by her crew. All of the vessel’s seven war patrols were designated as “successful” and the submarine received seven battle stars and was credited with having sunk a total of 26,985 tons of Japanese shipping.

The submarine is open for visitors daily from May through September from 10 am to 5 pm. Admission is $6 for adults, $5 for senions and $3 for students and military with ID.

• Comments (0)

photo credit: dougww

Whether your idea of fun is a safari, a water slide or a mountain hike, Atlanta has a theme park for you. Here’s a look:

American Adventures
This member of the Six Flags group features 14 rides for children 12 and under.

Bumper cars, balloon rides, mini golf, a super slide and swirling teacups are among the attractions. The whole family can let loose in the Foam Factory, a multilevel fun house with foam balls that visitors can catapult from launchers, turbo blasters, targets, turrets, and giant dumpsters.

All-day passes go for $19.99. Three hour passes are also available and visitors can purchase tickets for individual rides, too.

• Continue reading or Comments (1)

photo credit: Michael (mx5tx)

People who are planning a visit to San Antonio almost always put a few of the same basic attractions on their lists of things to see. They make plans to walk along the San Antonio Riverwalk. They make it a point to go check out The Alamo and the historic landmarks associated with it. They spend an evening at The Majestic Theater or the Arneson River Theater. These are all great things to do on a trip to San Antonio but they aren’t necessarily the things that you would especially want to see if you were traveling to the area with your all-ages family.

• Continue reading or Comments (0)

Credit: baskyes

Gas prices are already up more than 60 cents a gallon from this time last year–a cost of close to $10 a tank extra. Many predict that the average gas price will be up to $4 by the height of the summer driving season, which can wreak havoc with your vacation plans. Here are some strategies to consider if the price of fuel is causing you to rethink your summer vacation.

• Continue reading or Comments (0)

credit: >WouteR<

A family vacation in San Diego is going to keep you busy. Between the trips to Sea World and the hours spent on the beach, you’re going to have to stop frequently for food to fuel the family’s flagging energy. In order to accommodate this need, numerous family-friendly restaurants offer deals designed to lure you in and keep you coming back. From the most affordable to the most fun, here are some of the best places to go eat with your family on a trip to San Diego.

• Continue reading or Comments (0)

credit: JoshMcConnell

People who are planning to go to Disney World in Orlando, Florida might have a number of different activities on their itineraries. There are several different theme parks associated with Disney World and there are also other attractions in the vicinity that are enjoyed by Disney’s guests. However, people who want to go to the “real” Disney World will make sure that they focus on The Magic Kingdom which is the original Disney theme park that was built in the Orlando region.

• Continue reading or Comments (1)

credit: Gdane

Quick; what’s the first theme park that comes to mind when you think about going to Orlando, Florida? Chances are that you probably thought of Disney World. It’s true that the Disney parks are a really great reason to head to Orlando but that’s hardly the only theme park there for you to enjoy. In fact, many people who have spent time seeking out entertainment in the area will testify to the fact that they prefer the entertainment over at Universal Studios Orlando. The resorts associated with Universal Studios aren’t quite as big as those affiliated with Disney but they come a close second in size and popularity. If you haven’t had a chance to go any further than Disney World when you’ve been in Orlando, you might want to start thinking about booking another trip to see what you missed out on.

• Continue reading or Comments (0)

Atlanta is a city which gets the attention of family travelers for many reasons. For one things, it’s affordable. In comparison with other family travel hot spots, Atlanta’s attractions and accommodations are fairly priced. For another thing, Atlanta is a city which is rich with history and that’s something many parents like to share with their children during educational-but-fun family vacations. As one of the only areas of the Southern United States that has always been a leader in civil rights, Atlanta is a great place to go to teach kids about diversity and the important role it has in American’s history. And finally, Atlanta is fun. It’s a destination that has something to offer to everyone which makes it a good place to go for all ages.

• Continue reading or Comments (0)

Your dog may be one of your best friends, but in years past, he always had to stay home when the rest of the family went on vacation. However, thanks to the Internet, it’s easy to search for an find pet-friendly hotels that will not only allow your furry friend to stay with you, but will cater to him.

• Continue reading or Comments (0)

Disney has big plans for 2008, which they’re calling their “Year of a Million Dreams”. Despite hitting the headlines early this year for banning kids from their gourmet restaurant, they’re heading on into their dream year with a hunt for a new staff member: they’re recruiting a Chief Magic Official who’s going to be “spreading magic” (which sounds basically like doing PR work) during the 2008 celebrations.

You can apply for the CMO job at their special website which includes a Magic Aptitude Test (I took and was told that my character is similar to Mickey Mouse, and I’d make a good CMO). Although it is actually a legitimate job, the requirements sound a little out of the ordinary, as they say candidates should be:

happy, never grumpy; able to easily befriend dwarfs, dogs, monsters and mice; have good manners - but also be able to pillage and plunder with pirates when necessary. Also required: pockets full of pixie dust, an aversion to poisonous apples, an interest in oversized teacups and flying elephants and, most importantly, a belief in all things magical.

Sounds like a job for all of us kids who never really grew up - and who want to do a bit of traveling around the Disney sites. Let us know if you apply!

• Comments (0)

There’s nothing wrong with a Disney vacation, but there are other options for families out there that you should also consider. Especially, if you’ve already experienced a Disney vacation.

• Continue reading or Comments (0)

If you’re planning a family vacation but are a little worried about your child’s safety, here are a few steps you should take to reassure yourself and to guard your child against potential harm.

• Continue reading or Comments (0)

If I asked you to rattle off the names of the top five amusement parks in the world, you’d probably use your own personal ranking scale to come up with a list. But a recent survey figured out the top five amusement parks as judged by visitor numbers, and you might find a couple on the list that you still haven’t got to yet. They are:

• Everland in South Korea: Having just celebrated its 30th birthday, Everland has been going strong for a couple of generations of Koreans. It takes a bit from all cultures and features fun like Halloween and Christmas parties as well as a Euro Festival.

• Tokyo Disneyland in Japan: In fact, it’s not that different to the original Disneyland, it’s just that there are a lot more Japanese people there. Tokyo DisneySea is next door along with a huge hotel complex.

• Disneyland Paris in France: As for Tokyo Disneyland, but there are a lot more French visitors, and Europeans in general since it’s quite centrally located.

• Disneyland in California: The usual suspect. Like all Disneylands it is constantly getting new rides and attractions, and almost 15 million visitors come by each year.

• Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, Florida: Attendance here beats the Californian Disneyland, with around 16.6 million visitors in the last year.

• Comments (0)

How about a family hotspot that’s cool? The kids are sure to love a trip to Toronto’s Hockey Hall of Fame.

• Continue reading or Comments (0)

It’s the most wonderful time of the year… mistletoe hangs in doorways, the scenery is bathed in white, and families gather to celebrate together. Around the winter solstice, cities and towns gear up for their annual winter festivals, the perfect diversions for the entire family.

The winter solstice is celebrated for both religious and secular reasons: for one, it’s our sign that spring is just around the corner, which may be just what we need in the dead of winter. As cold bleeds into slightly less freezing, the New Year is celebrate, most famously in China, but also in the Bahamas and Scotland. As Lent approaches, Rio and New Orlean’s prepare for the biggest parties of the year, through Carnival and Mardi Gras are not the only celebrated around the globe.

Of course, if you don’t want to jump a plane to Shanghai, Rio, or the sunny Caribbean, chances are that a town near you will be having a seasonally-themed party sometime during the next three weeks. Snowman contests, outdoor ice skating, and colorful lighted decorations await you, helping you forget the chill and get into the season, so block out part of your schedule to take part in a winter celebration.

• Comments (0)

When you go on a family vacation, do you pack everything into one big family suitcase? If so, you could be missing out on teaching your kids some important travel skills. And you could also be making it harder on yourself. From the time that your kids are old enough to walk, they’re old enough to bring their own small suitcase on trips with you.

You should make sure that the suitcase is small enough for your child to carry comfortably. Backpacks work well as do kid-sized suitcases on wheels. Since your child grows quickly, you’ll probably want to upgrade the suitcase every couple of years. Shopping for a new one together can even be a part of the annual vacation excitement for your family.

Let your child pack the suitcase (with your help). It should contain things to do during the travel (coloring books and crayons, a small action figure, a personal media player). It should also contain a jacket or sweater. What it should not contain is anything necessary or important such as children’s medication. If the suitcase gets lost in transit, your child will learn an important travel lesson but it shouldn’t be at the cost of safety so all of the important things should go in your bag.

By learning to pack and carry his/her own suitcase, your child will gain skills that will help him or her be an efficient traveler in future years. Plus, unless he gets too tired to carry that backpack, it means that you get some of the burden relieved from your shoulders!

(Photo via flickr cc)

• Comments (0)

There are ways to spend less money on meals when traveling - especially when you are feeding a family that includes small children. Wherever you are traveling should have access to local supermarkets in order for you to stock up on things when you are away from home. When booking your hotel, inquire about the availability of refrigerators in the room. Even if you are required to pay a small fee to rent one, it often is worth it when you consider what you will save on foods you can stock up on.

• Continue reading or Comments (0)