Vacations Blog

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.

Sometimes it’s just more fun to kick it without the boys.  These Southern California attractions are great places to get away to with all the girls for some shopping, giggling and fun-having.  You can meet up with the guys for dinner.

1. Downtown Disney and Disney California Adventure – Downtown and DCA cater to a more grown-up feel, complete with alcohol and adult-only restaurants.  While your guy might insist on spending a good part of the day in FastPass for Magic Mountain in Disneyland, you and the girls can enjoy your Disney day with some name-brand shopping and wine tasting.
2. San Diego Wild Animal Park – It’s a slower type of experience, but pretending to be on Safari with your best girlfriends will make going home to your own warm bed that much more satisfying.
3. Balboa Park in San Diego – Museums, shopping, cafes, gourmet restaurants… Balboa Park is a great place to spend an afternoon with the girls getting cultured.  Plus, its in the heart of San Diego so you can get in some beach laying and shopping in the morning!
4. Universal Studios City Walk – No need to spend the day waiting with your guys to ride the Simpson’s ride!  Instead, save the entrance fee and enjoy the hip atmosphere and great shopping of City Walk with the girls.  From dining to clubs to Coach, City Walk has all a girl could want.
5. Hollywood Boulevard and Groman’s Chinese Theater – Face it, the guys just don’t understand why you want to find Shirley Temple’s star or why you swoon when your feet fit in Marilyn Monroe’s footprints.  It’s a girl thing.  Take in a chick flick while you’re there and enjoy the old-Hollywood feel of the Mann theater.

Here’s to the Girls!

Thanks to nanotron for the picture of Universal City Walk!

From guest blogger Marsha Takeda-Morrison of Sweatpantsmom

Happy Earth Day! Are you drinking your organic coffee out of your recyclable cup while driving your Prius to work today? Yeah, me neither. And I’m not going to lie and say I spent the weekend hugging my ficus or working on my compost pile, either. In fact, I don’t even have a compost pile, unless you count that heap of decomposing chicken bones and orange rinds out in my yard that are leftover from my last barbecue. Read More »