Myrtle Beach Sky Wheel

Myrtle Beach, SC gets lots of attention for being a sunny family destination brimming with beaches, water parks and Southern hospitality. The fun has increased considerably with the opening of the SkyWheel attraction on Myrtle Beach’s new boardwalk. Flying into the airport, you’ll spot the slowing turning wheel, especially at night, when there’s a light show.  But once you get up close, you realize that it’s much more than a fancy ferris wheel. Read More »

See what I did there? To be fair… and we’re talking about fairs. You can’t teach that.

But I digress. It’s state and county fair time, people, and that means all the cotton candy, churros and hastily assembled thrill-rides your stomach can handle. Not to mention your kid’s tummy. That’s always a good time.

In addition to midway games and attractions the fair is always a great place to support the various members of the community. Whether you like pottery, baking or livestock, there is something for everyone. Individual smells may vary.

To find a state or county fair near you take a look at CountyFairgrounds USA. They’ve got more information than I can fit in this post.

Have fun!

This post is part of our UpTake Friday Family Series.

Photo: MadeByMark via Flickr

The recent post on surviving Disneyland triggered an onslaught of emails and tweets (where an onslaught equals three) wanting to know more about Disney’s Fastpass system. Here you go!

The Fastpass (not to be confused with Disney’s PhotoPass) works like this: Certain rides/shows at the Disney parks (list below) offer a Fastpass option that allots a window of time for guests to return to said attraction and bypass the longer stand-by line.

If an attraction offers Fastpass there will be an area somewhere in the vicinity of the entrance or exit (some are harder to find than others) where guests can insert their admission ticket FOR THAT DAY into a machine (each person in a party needs their own pass) and it will return the admission ticket with an additional ticket that is the Fastpass.

Depending on the ride, time of day and crowd levels, the return time (an hour window issued in five minute increments) may be close to the issue time or hours later. With the exception of the World of Color show in Disney’s California Adventure, guests will not be able to get another Fastpass in the Disneyland Resort for at least two hours. Walt Disney World parks will have different rules and exceptions.

Return to the attraction during the time printed on the Fastpass and enter the Fastpass line. A Disney Cast Member (CM) will grant guests access to the line after confirming that their time is correct. (Please note, hold onto the Fastpass as they will be collected by another CM later in the queue). Fastpass holders seldom walk right onto the ride, but the wait time will be considerably less than that of guests in the stand-by line.

Here are the Disneyland Resort rides that offer Fastpass: Read More »

The best way to make Disneyland, and life, more enjoyable: jazz hands.

How to survive Disneyland? That seems kind of silly, doesn’t it? Isn’t surviving Disneyland the same as enjoying Disneyland? I should think so. However, there are some among us (you know who you are) that feel otherwise. They look at a day in a crowded theme park like the rest of us look at a day in the DMV — long lines, too hot and very expensive.  Man, the DMV sucks.

Disneyland, thankfully, doesn’t. To turn that frown upside down I am offering some helpful tips for creating a Disneyland vacation that should make even the most cynical crack the occasional smile (someone buy that person a Grumpy t-shirt). Churros not included. Read More »