Tag Archives: vacation

Rain could not wash out our fun at Busch Gardens Williamsburg

Consistently named as one of the most beautiful theme parks in the world, Busch Gardens Williamsburg draws millions of visitors every year. Designed to feel like a condensed tour of Europe, the park features several lands that each pay homage to a unique country including England, France, Italy and Germany.

While the areas do play into some cultural stereotypes (think men in lederhosen in the German area), Busch Gardens succeeds in capturing the charm and spirit of the countries that inspire the rides and landscapes.

I visited Busch Gardens several times as a child, and like most kids, was more focused on the rides then the landscape design of the park. I thought it was cool that there were different lands, yet didn’t appreciate the beauty of my surroundings.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg Was Just As Beautiful As I Remembered

When my husband and I took our kids to Busch Gardens as part of a vacation to Virginia Beach, I wanted to be more mindful of the park and absorb all the effort the designers made to create a unique experience. From the moment we arrived, I was reminded of my childhood time at the park. All the beautiful details of the buildings and thoughtful design of the walkways create a warm and welcoming atmosphere.

Going In The Middle Of The Week Was A Smart Choice

We chose to visit the park in the middle of the week, to help minimize the potential for encountering a huge crowd. Considering this was in the middle of summer break for most schools in the United States, we knew the park wouldn’t be empty, however, we were confident a Tuesday visit would be better than going over the weekend. When we arrived at the park in the morning, we were hardly the first ones there, but had no trouble getting onto our first ride of the day. We waited maybe 15 minutes at most to ride the Verbolten roller coaster.

The New Straddle Coaster, “DarKoaster,” Was A Hit

The next ride we decided to try was the new Darkoaster, an indoor straddle coaster, which claims to be the first of its kind. Being the newest and most anticipated ride of the season, this coaster had the longest wait time. As we waited the 30 minutes or so to get on the ride, our youngest decided the coaster seemed to scary for him (he was nervous about being in the dark and the scary images projected during the ride. I volunteered to leave with him, admittedly bummed I couldn’t experience the ride.

Lunch Was Satisfying

After my son and husband came off the ride, we were ready for lunch, and headed over to eat in the huge German biergarten-like food hall which was close by (as we were already in the German section of the park). I don’t want to make this post about the food, so I will say I thought the food was OK, but my husband enjoyed it.

Rain Shuts Down Rides, Doesn’t Stop The Fun

Neither of my kids wanted to try out the bigger coasters, much to my chagrin, but hey, this wasn’t about me. Instead, we agreed to check out the water rides, which were my favorite as a child.

Right at this time, however, an announcer came on and said that severe weather in the area meant that all rides and even the tram out of the park had to shut down. Though at the time, I felt nary a raindrop, sure enough, within the next hour the rain started coming down.

We did what any family would do, seek shelter in a wine shop. To be fair, it happened to be the closest building at the time. Of course, while my husband and I were trying to stay dry, our kids were having an absolute ball playing in the rain. It was like a bonus water ride!

No Ride Access Means Time To Explore Other Park Features

Unable to leave the park, we made the most of it, and waited out the storm. The rain stopped, however, for safety reasons, the rides remained closed. During this time, we enjoyed some ice cream and explored the grounds, taking time to admire the animals and other interesting features of the park.

After about two hours, the rides re-opened, and, by this point the crowd had thinned out even more. We had little wait time in getting onto Roman Rapids and Escape From Pompeii, which were both just as fun and cheesy as I remembered from the 90s.

Rides Re-Opened And We Finished With Favorites

After we finished with those two rides, we were all ready to wrap up. Some may think we didn’t take advantage of our time, yet I feel like we got to experience the park in a unique way.

Before we left, my husband and son agreed I had to try the Darkoaster, so I went on with my oldest, while my husband and youngest enjoyed the swings. I am happy I got the chance to go on this coaster. The experience was filled with exciting twists and the visual elements were stunning.

If you ever find yourself caught in a storm at Busch Gardens, don’t fret, an amazing time can still be had.

a child touching father s face

5 tips for a better family vacation

Memorial Day weekend is almost here, bringing the unofficial start of summer and the start of vacation season.

With two children ages eight and ten, my husband and I have experienced many family vacations, and, over the years, I have picked up some helpful tips to make these trips more enjoyable.

Pack Smart

Packing smart doesn’t mean skimping on what you need for a trip. It means being mindful of what you must have on a trip in order to make it as enjoyable experience as possible. For some families, electronics are a must to ensure a calm and peaceful journey, for others, disconnecting is important. Some families prefer to bring their own outdoor gear, others find it better to rent at their destination.

When packing you need to think about the benefits and disadvantages of each item you bring. Whether traveling by car, plane or train, you never have infinite space, so being mindful matters.

If you have more stuff than you can handle and you must have certain items on your trip, consider shipping to your hotel. Often this costs less than paying extra baggage fees (if traveling by air) and is easy enough to arrange. When my family went on a trip sponsored by my husband’s company, I knew I couldn’t pack all the diapers and other items I needed for my youngest, who was an infant at the time. I was able to coordinate the shipment of diapers and other products to the hotel and everything was there on arrival.

Get A Place With A Kitchen

Family travel can be costly, and the idea of spending more on an accommodation that includes a kitchen may seem foolish. Yes, in some cases, your initial trip investment will go up, but the savings on meals, not to mention avoiding the often disastrous experience of dining out with small children is well worth it. Furthermore, vacation rentals are often a better value than standard hotels, and deals can be found if you are flexible with your dates and/or willing to stay further from the main attractions of your destination.

Even though my kids are better at behaving at restaurants these days, I still prefer the having our own space for meals when we travel. I like that we can wake up when we want and not have to worry about finding a place for breakfast or waiting online at a mediocre breakfast buffet. I like that if we don’t have to think about reservations. And, I like that if we want to eat a meal out, we always have the option to do so.

We keep our meals very simple. (Think lots of pasta, cereal and sandwiches), and pack much of what we need ahead of time (if we are driving). At our destination, we will pick up milk and other perishables.

What about all-inclusives? My little experience with all-inclusives has been underwhelming. I appreciate the convenience, but most of the time the food is average at best, and you still run in to a lot of the same challenges you would if you had to rely on restaurants. However, if you must do an all-inclusive, bring some food storage bags and use them to take some extras of things like muffins and bananas to have on hand in case your child wakes up hungry before the buffet opens.

Have A Mix Of Planned And Unplanned Time

There are people who plan every moment of their vacations, and there are people who just want to see what happens. Neither approach is ideal when it comes to family travel. Too many planned activities is exhausting, however, if your family has must-dos on their list, most often you can’t just show up and expect to participate. Popular activities often require reservations ahead of time, often months in advance. Smart planning also takes advantage of things like museum and transit passes.

While it is tempting to fill every moment of your vacation days with something to do, always being on the go can be exhausting. Kids (and adults) need time to recharge, and often the best vacation memories can be made on those “lazy” days.

These laid-back days are also when you are most likely to get the true vibe of wherever you are visiting. Taking it slow allows your family to better experience the local culture, people and environment.

Don’t Make it Just About The Kids

A family vacation is just that, a FAMILY vacation. Everyone, including the adults should enjoy the trip. Of course, there will be activities that are more for the children, and it is OK if that is the main focus of the trip. Just be sure to include activities you enjoy, even if they aren’t what your kids might choose.

As a child I was dragged to many sites I had little interest in, and, yes, I complained. Now that I am an adult, I can appreciate how much I learned from being exposed to interesting and unusual places.

Aim to have at least one activity for each person in your family to enjoy. For you it might be a museum, for your partner, it might be a site of historic significance, for your kids, it might be a candy shop. This gives everyone a chance to experience something they truly enjoy, and opens up the rest of the family to things they may not have chosen to do on their own.

Say Yes More

Vacationing with children is hard enough without stressing over what they eat or getting them to bed. Let them have ice cream every night and stay up well past their normal bedtime. Or, if that much deviation from the routine would be too hard on your family, consider allowing for some small perks like an extra hour of device time or letting your kids purchase a small souvenir item.

Saying yes more opens you up to new possibilities as well. If your kids want to explore a place not on your list, or if you see a tempting roadside eatery, saying, “yes,” may lead to the highlight of your trip.

Traveling with children will never be 100% stress free, but with some careful planning and an open mind, family vacations can be a great experience for all.

Make the most of family travel with these 5 packing tips

By Sandra Aris

Spring and summer travel is here, and parents are ready to get kids out of the house and on the road or in the air. But before kicking off their dream vacation, parents are left with the difficult task of packing for everyone in the family. And while it may be as simple as outfits and skincare for adults, packing for kids requires much more preparation, thought, and consideration.

Continue reading

Screen-free ways to spend a family road trip

As a parent, I tend to be more on the laxer side of the screen time debate. I know letting my kids have an extra 30 minutes on their devices can be just what I need to keep my sanity in check. However, when we travel, I prefer to limit screens as much as possible.

I find that while offering screen time can keep my kids calm and make for an easier trip in the short term, often the stress over devices losing charge, not working, or even inducing nausea make them not worth bringing in the long run.

My family has taken several road trips in our Subaru, the longest being our drive from New York to Ohio when my kids were 6 and 3. While we did endure the occasional whine, my kids were able to manage without a device in their face for a few hours.

We are heading out on the road again, this time to Washington D.C., and I plan to use some of my tested strategies as well as some new ones, to help make the trip a calm and enjoyable experience.

Read on to see my plans for a screen-free road trip.

Continue reading

My Montreal must-dos for families

Montreal is a fabulous city for families. From museums to playgrounds, there is something to satisfy children of all ages. The city, whose customs, culture and vibe is predominantly French, also provides a unique opportunity for American children to experience something new.

Montrealmustdos

On our long weekend in town, my children played with the locals at the park, learned about electricity, saw some old fossils and got a taste of the Montreal lifestyle. Read on to learn more about our journey, as well as pick up some pointers for your own trip. Continue reading

Top tips from our Cooperstown trip

Cooperstown, N.Y., is a dream destination for baseball fans. Because, my baseball-loving husband had never been, and I barely remember my childhood visit, we decided to take a weekend trip to the historic village.

Top Tips from our Cooperstown Trip (2)

With two small kids in tow, we were unsure how much of Cooperstown’s famous sites, we’d be able to enjoy. We were delighted to discover how engaged they were with the history and unique charm of the town. Of course, we had to deal with a few tantrums and crankiness — they are kids after all — but, I left Cooperstown, feeling confident I could recommend a visit to other families. Continue reading