While hotels across the nation are adding amenities and facilities for family travelers, the problem in Orlando is that the hotels are too kid-friendly. They’ve grown so used to catering to kids and families that these Orlando hotels have become attractions in their own right.

Who needs Disney World when you have the Nickelodeon Family Suites with bunk beds, video games, and Spongebob Squarepants on the walls to keep you company in-room. The Nick hotel, as it is known, features two massive pool complexes with a 4 story water tower, a 400 gallon dump tank, seven slides, water jets, climbing nets, themed parties, a video arcade, and a host of other kiddie attractions. And the newest thing they recently added is the 4D theate, where wind, water, bubbles, and scents await you with Spongebob for a virtual sliming.

Then there’s Universal’s Hard Rock Hotel, which sits in the middle of Universal’s resort attractions, and also has its own attractions. So that’s further blurring the line between hotels and kiddie attractions. I mean, they have this gigantic 12,000 sq ft palm lined swimming pool (BTW, there was a bear found hanging around the pool area a few weeks back) with its own sand beach and underwater stereo, interactive fountains, and a 260-foot pool slide. What’s more, there’s a water taxi for hotel guests called the Universal Express which takes you straight through to the other attractions and rides, bypassing the lines.

And don’t even get me started on the Walt Disney World Resort hotels. I could go on listing all the major family hotels and the kiddie attractions they offer, but I think you get the drift. Orlando is pied pipering kids, and they get addicted to this fantasyland world that these resorts and theme parks have created. What ever happened to the good old American family roadtrip?

Photo copyrights – Hard Rock Cafe International, Inc.