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cfa83
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Not sure where to post this, sorry if it's in the wrong place.
We always take our family vacation in Feb. We have been going to DisneyWorld the past few years. With 6 kids it has never gotten old. Each year their experiences are seen with new eyes. There is something for everyone.
My husband suggested we try somewhere else. He suggested skiing, but frankly he or I would end up tag teaming to stay indoors with the younger bambinos on a daily basis. Hmmm. 4 walls, unfamiliar territory... 
Any suggestions? We are all excited about going to Disney again but I am open to hear any ideas.
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Linda
Married to an incredible man, mother to 6 precious (and I mean precious) children: Grace, Michael, John, Faith, Hope and Andrew
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Becky Parker
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Ever thought of camping?
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Becky
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5athome
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We sound similar -- we usually make an annual trip to Disney for family vacation. I find it is most relaxing because there is always something for everyone, new shows, etc. We did go skiing 2 years ago and it was very much a switch off of my dh and I with the kids and the kids in lessons. It was a fun vacation but just not the same.
Have you considered combining Disney adventures? Maybe a few days in the parks and then finish out your week at their resort in Vero Beach FL? I think they also have a locale on the Outer Banks? Or the cruise?
Can you plan different things for your trip than what you have done in the past? One year we went and only did water parks.
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Margaret
ds '93, dd '96, ds '99,
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ds '08
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cfa83
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| Posted: Sept 07 2007 at 11:46am | IP Logged
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Thanks Becky and Margaret. My dh and the boys will be going canoeing and camping next week. We lovvvvvvvvve date nights.  Sometimes it will be with one child or Daddy with the boys only, Mommy with the girls only. It is soooo fun. It makes all of us feel *special*.
The Disney vacation works for us so well because of the variety of ages AND we all get to stay together. Disney makes it so easy when you have little ones (parent switch off on rides).
The cruise would be too much $$$ for our size family. Cha Ching. We have combined Disney with beaches before when we used to drive there. We fly now because it was just too much fun  driving, stoping, starting, taking twice as long to get there, are we there yet, get your lugage, pack your lugage, get back in your seat, buckle up. You get what I mean.
We have not signed up for Disney adventures though. We stay at a different resort each year. The Moderate and Deluxe are an entity of themselves. We have a lovely time visiting the resorts themselves.
I have always wanted to talk to *real* person concerning the Disney Adventures. How long have you all been part of them? Where have you gone? Was it worth it?
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Linda
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5athome
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Linda:
I am afraid my wording mislead you - I just meant adventures on your own at Disney. I know see that they do have a new travel service called that, hence the confusion.
May I ask what your favorite resort has been? My girls and I just spent some time at the Polynesian and loved it. With the Disney Magical Express, we had free shuttle back and forth to the airport and they took care of our baggage both ways so travel was a dream!
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Margaret
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teachingmyown
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My dream is to be able to visit either some historic sites or natural landmarks. How about a week in Williamsburg VA? There is a place there called Great Wolf Lodge. It is an indoor water park. You could combine play time there with daily trips to Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown. Williamsburg even has a home educators week at the end of February.
Or maybe a natural landmark in a warm climate? I don't know where you are starting from, but there are so many beautiful places to see in this country. I haven't been to any, but I read about them in books.
For us, Disney would be a big treat. Our yearly vacation consists of staying in a relative's house on a deserted lake in the middle of nowhere. Not too exotic!
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Molly
wife to Court & mom to ds '91, dd '96, ds '97, dds '99, '01, '03, '06, and dss '07 and 01/20/11
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teachingmom
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teachingmyown wrote:
| Or maybe a natural landmark in a warm climate? |
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Yes, I thought of that too, Molly. I would recommend the Southwest with a visit to the Grand Canyon. That was a great vacation for us!
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cfa83
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Those ideas sound great! I went to Williamsburg when I was a girl scout. Our troop leaders decided to have us arrive in costume (it must have been '76). What a hoot. 
I will look into both of those.
Molly, we do *everything* on a shoe string budget. There are two things I will lose sleep over and have a difficult time dealing with; debt and a messy house. Suffice it to say we got the debt thing controlled. The house...well.  I don't handle debt well. It is not my friend and I actually feel stressed getting close to it. So I stay as far away as I can. Having said that, we live on a shoe string budget! 
My sister ask me the same question about which one has been our favorite. I can sincerely say we don't have a favorite. We have thoroughly enjoyed them all. They are so unique from each other and offer so much for everyone in the family you can't miss no matter which one you stay at.
Where we have stayed at the Disney :
Caribbean Beach Resort
Port Orleans Resort - French Quarter
Port Orleans Resort - Riverside
Animal Kingdom Lodge
Gaylord Resort
Swan and Dolphin Resort
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Linda
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cathhomeschool
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Have you thought of going west instead of east? We've been to Legoland twice now (on coast north of San Diego, but you could drive down from LA too). It is very family oriented and we have loved it. Of course, we have all boys.
Margaret -- have your girls enjoyed Legoland?
Tickets are more reasonable if you purchase the 3 month passes available through Costco.com (and you don't have to be a member). The three month passes there are less than 2 Day tickets at the gate.
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cfa83
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Hi Janette,
Michael has been asking us to go there two years in a row. Is it smack in the middle (more or less) between LA and San Diego? Are there other main parks nearby?
I will have to tell Michael your guys have been there twice! He will want to hitch a ride.
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Linda
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Barbara C.
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I've heard that Wisconsin Dells (Great Wolf Lodge) and St. Louis are supposed to be really good. I think in St. Louis many of the museums and the zoo are free.
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5athome
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| Posted: Sept 08 2007 at 11:27am | IP Logged
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Janette et al:
Legoland and San Diego would be a great idea. My girls (and boys) love it there! We recently combined San Diego & Anaheim and it was a great trip - I think it only took us about 90 min to get between to 2 in non-traffic. There are lots of theme parks in those areas to hit -- Legoland is the best in our children's opinion but there is also Sea World, Scripps Aquarium, Disneyland, Disney California, Knotts Berry, San Diego Zoo & Wild Life Park, Universal, etc.
I grew up in St Louis and it is also a good vacation spot. Many of the museums & the zoo are free. The Children's Museum is top notch. Anheuser Busch has a free, family friendly animal park with shows and petting areas & a train ride through an animal preserve. Just outside of St Louis Ralston Purina has a farm with hayrides, play areas, animals, and a dog show. In the summer, the MUNY theater productions are top notch Broadway type shows in the evening & there is a section in the back that are free seating.
HTH
Margaret
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Margaret
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cfa83
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This is sounding really good.  It would be a definite change for us. My dh and I went to San Diego two years ago on business/vacation. I did not realize Anaheim was as close as it is.
If we end up going to Disney this year, we had planned to stay in the hotel that feels like the west (can't remember the name). Friends of our go to that resort every year and rave about it. I like change.
Janette,
Did you all make any of the side trips mentioned by Margaret? How would you all plan this?
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Linda
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ann@home
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I was also going to suggest going west to Disneyland and then adding in Legoland and a few beaches.
But you could easily skip Disney and do Legoland (they have homeschool days posted already for next spring at discount price of $17), Seaworld and the San Diego Zoo.
These are all great places to see and you can get some great hotel deals at that time of year. They are all close enough that you could stay at 1 hotel and drive to each one.
There are always beaches and other historical sites around the area too that are free or cheap.
We're going to Disneyland, Legoland, and a beach or 2 for our vacation Dec 8 :)
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Ann, Full-time Mama of a 10yr old Lego master, 7yr old DIVA, 4yr old King of the Mountain and one more in June '09!
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5athome
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Just a hotel plug if people need an idea in San Diego -- earlier this year we stayed really reasonably in a 2 bedroom suite at the Staybridge Suites Rancho Bernardo Area. The price was very reasonable, the hot breakfast was fabulous, and it was new & spotless. The location is right near shopping/food places in a suburban type area - inland from the beach so it is cheaper but quick highway access up north to Legoland or south/west to the beaches, sea world, etc. One bedroom had a queen, the other had 2 doubles, plus the sofa in the living room.
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Margaret
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cfa83
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We JUSTTTTT started using priceline.com. on a trip two weeks ago. WOW! My brother told me they always stay in 4/5 star hotels for Holiday Inn prices or lower. We tried it and BANG! Just like he said. If anyone hasn't tried it yet, give it a whirl.
Here's what he told me: Look at the prices of the whatever star level of hotels you want to stay in, in the area you need to be at. Take half the price and add just a little more. He always gets accepted. With priceline, you can either accept a preset price at the hotel you choose OR set your own price and pick the star level you choose  (but not which hotel). What you do get is the star level you choose. If your picking a 4/5 star, you're staying in a nice hotel at great prices.
We tried it just recently as I mentioned and we *very* pleased with the price and the hotel. We paid $65 for a 4 star hotel (with valet parking; my kids got a kick out of that one).
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Linda
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cathhomeschool
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cfa83 wrote:
Janette,
Did you all make any of the side trips mentioned by Margaret? How would you all plan this? |
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Both of our trips were made because of family obligations. The first time we went was almost 6 years ago. We were in San Diego for 3 days and spent one day at Legoland, one day Sea World, one day San Diego Zoo. (Stayed at a beautiful KOA cabin. It's great if you have 3 or 4 kids and like the fresh air. With more children you need a larger cabin, and then a hotel is probably cheaper.) This past May we went again and stayed a bit longer (but also had wedding commitments while there). We went to the zoo again but skipped Sea World (because we can go in San Antonio and we were limited with days in San Diego). We spent 2 days at Legoland, and still didn't see it all. (The boys would have gladly gone for three days.) We went to Casa Beach (Children's Pool) to see the seals, to the Maritime Museum to see sailing vessels (including the ship Russell Crowe captained in Master and Commander. And we spent a day with friends and visited the Mariam Mother of Life Shrine. We also just puttered around and toured the historic downtown/gas lamp area.
I've heard that Coronado Island is a nice place to visit too, but we've never been there.
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Janette (4 boys - 22, 21, 15, 14)
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cathhomeschool
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Planning: I'd figure out how many days you want to spend, then make a list of places that you all really want to go, and pick to top few. Keep in mind that some places are closed on certain days. (Like Legoland is closed on Tuesdays, I believe. So check that stuff before you get there!) The nice thing about San Diego is that it doesn't take too long to get to these places. We usually allow one full day for each "major" thing (like zoo, aquariums, etc).
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Janette (4 boys - 22, 21, 15, 14)
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cfa83
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Janette, I was justtttttttt thinking about you as I always do on 9/11. Gosh, memories. You were so kind to me. I remember being pregnant with Hope and in that very sleepy part of my pregnacy (you get too much of it on one end and not enough on the other ). My kids still have vivid memories at your house that fateful morning. Sureal.
Hmph.
Vacations. I know DisneyWorld has down times during the year when it comes to crowds (our favorite time to go). Does anyone know how to find out if it's the same at Legoland, Disneyland etc?
Janette, you remember Donna and Skip of course. Donna told me yyyyyears ago that they would go somewhere for the weekend whenever it was their child's birthday.
We adopted that idea and do it for everyone in the family. We took the idea and specialized it for the birthday person. Each person picks where and what they would like to do for the weekend. The stipulation is that it has to be out of town and within reasonable $$. Everyone picks something unique to them the rest of us never would have put on our "let's go here lists". It's a win, win situation because not only does the birthday person have alllll this attention on them (on top of the picks of the weekend) but everyone has a great weekend *and* there's no clean up on aisle 4.
Michael has been wanting to go to Legoland for his birthday the past two years. We have been going to DisneyWorld celebrating Grace and Faith's (both birthdays the second week of Feburary). Andrew's birthday was supposed to me smack in the middle of the girls (making birhtday vacation week really easy). But noooooooo, he had to come 7 weeks early! Needless to say, we all have fun. Michael birthday is in March. A bad time for crowds. I know he will not mind celebrating early. Last year he picked Houston's Space Center. Always fun.
I've got to figure out the logistics. Thinking out loud on this one. We will just combine the celebrations (albeit a month early for Michael). Okay, where do I get info on what are all the picks to choose from proximity wise for Legoland etc.? I will google each of the places you mentioned Janette.
Has anyone been to Disneyland the past few years that happens to be reading this message? How different is it from DisneyWorld?
Thanks again.
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Linda
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cfa83
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Ann and Margaret,
Which beaches do you recommend that will be close to where we need to be staying at?
Margaret and Barbara,
I'm still looking into St. Louis. Not for our Feb. trip but some other time of the year. When would be a good "off time" to visit. I do not want to visit when it's cold.  Unless we are going skiing, I'm not packing anything I don't have to.
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Linda
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: Family vacations
