vacation ideas?

[rh71]

4-7 days for week of 10/31 coming up, somewhere WARM and doesn't cost too much to fly (or better yet, drive) from NY.

We'll be taking two 3-year olds.

Too young for Disney? Someone said at least age 6. Been to Miami, not for kids. What about somewhere mid-west/south?

We thought of cruising from NY but anywhere they'd go roundtrip within 7 days from here would not be warm this time of year.

 

[bignateyk]

Florida is cheap. My wife has a conference in Disney in November so I grabbed a plane ticket for like $200 bucks to go down and mooch off her free hotel so we can do Disney for a few days.

 

[bobdole369]

Honestly - When it comes to warmth in October, its gonna be FL or California. Kids aren't really right for the (southwest) national park fest (probably boring). Disney is probably OK but don't expect them to really get it yet right? There is a LOT of stuff to do in Orlando/Kissimmee besides Disney. International drive is filled with kid friendly stuff like arcades, go-karts, theme restaurants, waterparks, etc.

Anywhere else in FL is a no-go - Keys and key west are OK for older kids with the beaches and snorkeling but KW is really a very adult place. Forget about Fort lauderdale - we have absolutely nothing. Tampa has Busch Gardens and the rest of the state is essentially a craphole.

I can't speak much for California, but We did the drive Yosemite down through Monterey and into Vegas via Bakersfield and didn't see anything kid-UNfriendly, it was just a very scenic drive via the PCH. There were seals too.

Atlanta has a massive aquarium and a zoo and is a great city with cheap lodging, unfortunately its 40 degrees there right now.

 

[richardycc]

cruise out of NY on NCL GEM on Oct 30 to Bermuda for 7days, $349 per person + tax and fee inside room.

 

[Oyeve]

FL and either universal or sea world. Disney is a total rippoff and the first 2 I mentioned have much much much cheaper multi day tickets than dizzney.

 

[rh71]

cruise out of NY on NCL GEM on Oct 30 to Bermuda for 7days, $349 per person + tax and fee inside room.

we actually did exactly that when they were 2 (wasn't the best idea)... so been there already.

 

[bobdole369]

Think of that drive though - 1000 miles is 4 tanks of gas = $160 each way - AND a day off each end of your vacation. This limit pretty much puts the farthest we can drive in a vacation that is a week (from Fort Lauderdale) to around the Smoky Mountains. We did DC/VA one year with 10 days off but that was really too far. Your (heh) mileage may vary.

 

[blackdogdeek]

we took the girls to disney when they were 1.5 and 4 years old. they loved it. you can always have the kids watch cars, cars 2, toy story, toy story 2, toy story 3, etc. so that they know many of the characters down there.

 

[Mike Gayner]

New Zealand.

 

[SearchMaster]

New Zealand.

3 year olds LOVE 19 hour flights.

 

[Mike Gayner]

Leave the kids at home with full food bowls and get the neighbour to water them each day.

 

[bignateyk]

Leave the kids at home with full food bowls and get the neighbour to water them each day.

Fuck that. Just leave the toilet seat up for them.

 

[radhak]

At that age (3 years), the issue is not what they'd would like (mostly everything), but what you too would enjoy with them, or at least not be too hassled enabling their enjoyment.

Weather-wise, South Florida is the place to be for all of winter. I used to be in NJ, and cannot describe our bliss the first winter we spent here!

As for things to do, Disney (or Universal or Seaworld) might still have things to enjoy for them, but for that expense, and that crowd, you might want to wait a few years to make it worth the hassle - I suggest 7 or 8 the ideal starting age.

Instead, you could explore visiting places near beaches, so you could spend a lot of time on nice warm sand/water, and also visit. Eg - Sarasota /Naples (west FL) has great (white) beaches, and some nice museums and Zoo. There's this museum called G-Wiz that would keep any kid (and parent) enthralled for most of a day. We have similar museums in Miami and Ft Lauderdale - and they are not boring and musty like some museums I could name; The Discovery & Science museum or the Childrens Museum are all really fun houses. Then there's the Seaquarium in Miami - similar to Sea-world but smaller (and hence, cheaper).

Note - all these activities would involve roaming part of the day in the nice sun, and you will thank me later for that .

Not all of miami beaches are risque, and Ft Lauderdale can be fun any time of the year. The water is warm (unlike the west coast), and there are lots of state parks you could go boating in, and even try out para-sailing.

I don't think you could go wrong just planning to spend time in SoFL, and let things take you where they will. No warm clothes required!

 

[SMOGZINN]

Balmorhea

Probably too far to drive from NY, but you could fly into El Paso and drive 10 down, spend a few days in Balmorhea, a few days in Big Bend national park. Stop in Marfa and see the ghost lights, pretend you are in High Planes Drifter.

 

[IronWing]

Balmorhea

Probably too far to drive from NY, but you could fly into El Paso and drive 10 down, spend a few days in Balmorhea, a few days in Big Bend national park. Stop in Marfa and see the ghost lights, pretend you are in High Planes Drifter.

Better see what burned first.

 

[ultimatebob]

3 year olds LOVE 19 hour flights.

Yeah... and they hate 8+ hour road trips just as much. Feel for ya, OP.