Indoor Play Spaces - Pitstops for Kids

Six kid-friendly tourist attractions to visit in Pigeon Forge

November 9, 2020 By Amy Hagstrom

Travel can be challenging right now. If you decide traveling is right for your family, be sure to social distance, wear masks, and quarantine upon your return.

If you’re ready to hit the road and take your family on an adventurer’s journey, here are six incredible kid-friendly tourist attractions to visit in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

Ziplining through the Great Smoky Mountains

One of the best adventures your kids can enjoy in Pigeon Forge is a ziplining tour in Great Smoky Mountain National Park. The adrenaline rush of swinging above the treetops on a hanging wire is pure exhilaration. Besides the fun and action-packed ziplining experience, your family can also discover the forest’s diverse wildlife, breathtaking streams, and indigenous flowering plants.

Fat Daddy Arcade

Fat Daddy Arcade is the real definition of having fun and building strong family bonds. Packed with all sorts of classical games and fun things like the milk jug toss, dueling basketball hoops, the Clown, Plinko, and more, this one’s always a hit with kids. This event offers you an opportunity to have fun with your family and still win big.

Take a Hike

There is no better way to spend a summer afternoon with the kids than to connect with Mother Nature. The beautiful and welcoming hiking trails provide the best kids adventure and what you need to enjoy a peaceful hike with your loved ones.

Furthermore, exploring new places and unlocking new experiences is an excellent way to stay active, spend quality time, and bond with your family. With some snacks and drinks, you’re ready to hit the trail and explore the fascinating scenic routes in the Forge area.

Xtreme Racing Center

Your trip to the Forge area isn’t complete without the kids visiting the Xtreme center. The Xtreme center is dedicated to providing tourists with the ultimate Pigeon Forge go-kart excursion with various thrilling course alternatives. The track is also packed with exciting adventures, narrow straightaways, and winding turns. Your children will treasure and appreciate the time spent zooming around the sharp corners of the race tracks and competing for first place forever.

Watch the Island Show Fountain

The Island show fountain is a state-of-the-art presentation that showcases a beautiful water dance and light. The exhibition is carefully choreographed to a stunning fourteen pieces of music. Over 89 vertical nozzles cause movement and six motion-based nozzles also form detailed water sprays that dance to the music.

The Titanic Museum

How about giving your kids a bit of a history lesson? Visiting the Titanic museum is a pure eye-opener. You and your family will learn more about the titanic ship, its crew, and passengers. You will have an opportunity to walk your family through the inside and experience how it felt like to walk the cabins, hallways, grand staircases, and parlors. Visit the memorial room to discover the 2,208 names on the historic wall and let the kids connect with history.

Final word

Road tripping is indeed a one-of-the-kind adventure. Besides unlocking new experiences, road trips can improve family bonds. However, you should be aware of the mishaps that might occur when road tripping with your kids and figure out how to combat them. You may need to carry car spare parts and medicine in case of a car breakdown or if one of your family members gets car sick.

Louisville Kentucky with kids

June 20, 2019 By Amy Hagstrom

Sometimes planning a big trip is just more than a family can handle in a year. This year our family decided to take a road trip to Louisville, Kentucky, and see what the city had to offer kids. It turns out the answer is: quite a lot!

Mega Caverns:

Housed in an abandoned limestone mine, this attraction is the reason we picked Louisville. Half of the immense cavern is devoted to underground storage (including Warner Brothers’ Batman movies), but the other half is developed for underground play. The more timid among the family can take a tram ride while thrill-seekers explore a bike course, a ropes course, and the world’s only underground ziplines. Zipping underground really is a totally different experience. It’s dark, of course, though not as dark as you might expect; the company has set up mood lighting throughout, including the “zipline to hell,” which is set up to look like a magma field. From that, you can probably intuit that the experience is mixed in with humor. There were a couple of places where the takeoff or landing platforms were a little too narrow and on the edge of the chasm for my comfort, but the guides were very competent. It was a great experience.

Kentucky Kingdom:

Louisville’s amusement park is heavy on rollercoasters and other high thrill rides. There is a small area for little ones, but if your kids are not roller coaster riders, the primary draw will be the water park. The park rides and water attractions are mixed together. One notable water attraction is the “water coaster,” in which the initial drop on a raft provides the momentum for a series of hills and valleys. If you’re coming from out of state, look online for a ticket special. We got a discounted admission rate, with a second consecutive day for free, and unlimited drinks via wristband.

Mark Payton’s Glass Center:

This is probably not a place that would come up on a list of “must-do,” but it was one of our favorite stops. Adults (and possibly older kids) can work directly with Mark to make a glass creation using the blowtorch and melting techniques. I made an “imploded glass” flower. Younger kids can make their own “fused glass” creations, which means gluing down crushed glass or cutting out shapes and making mosaics. Note: these require at least overnight and in some cases, several days for firing in the kiln, so be aware that you may have to have projects shipped home. But what a great, not-kitschy souvenir!

Rauch Planetarium:

Housed at the University of Louisville campus, the planetarium hosts movies and laser shows. Check the schedule as the days and shows vary. There’s also a small science hall displaying meteor rocks and a sliding timeline of space exploration. If the director’s around, you’ll get an in-depth personal tour. The courtyard’s sidewalk is imprinted with the planets, proportionally sized, including the rounded outer wall, which represents the size of the sun. It’s a great way to give kids a visual sense of the size of the solar system. On a sunny day, you can use a telescope in the courtyard to project the image of the sun onto the ground.

Big Four Bridge and Waterfront Park:

This bike-and-pedestrian bridge offers lovely views of the river and a two-mile walk if you start at the end of one approach ramp and go to the end of the opposite side. Bike rentals are available at the foot of the bridge, and you can connect to a trail that will take you to a state park. Be sure to leave time to let the kids play at the extensive playground at the foot of the bridge—multiple play structure and a big spray park, including a dumping bucket. Bonus: there are picnic tables beneath shelters so parents can sit, and there are trees everywhere for shade.

Churchill Downs & Kentucky Derby Museum:

The museum is pricey, so be sure to plan enough time to do it justice. You’ll see hats, dresses, starting chutes, and get lots of background. Honestly, the museum was not the kids’ favorite stop of the week. However, check the schedule for night racing at Churchill Downs. The kids really enjoyed watching the races and placing small bets.

Eating Local in Louisville:

For us, finding good food is half the fun. We ate big lunches at local restaurants that came highly recommended, and we didn’t strike out once all week. If your kids are willing to try something besides the golden arches, try these:

Yummy Pollo: Peruvian chicken, seasoned and charcoal-rotisserie-roasted, sold in quarters, halves or wholes, with sides. We can’t say enough about how good everything was—from the two kinds of fried rice (cilantro-lime and chicken), green beans, steamed mixed vegetables, pasta salad, and more. They also sell coconut cookies that were crumbly and delicious. And not expensive!

The Café: this was recommended to us as “the kind of place you’d go for a girls’ day out.” You’ll pay more for this meal, but it’s well worth it. They serve breakfast all day, plus a wide variety of sandwiches, soups and salads. The atmosphere is a fun mix of upscale classy and eclectic, with old, non-matching chandeliers and furniture and huge musical theater posters on the walls.

Jason’s Deli: a family-owned business with an option for all-you-can-eat salad bar as well as a wide variety of sandwiches and pastas.
The Macaron Bar: If you’ve never tried a macaron, this is the place to start, but at $2.25 each, it’s definitely a splurge. Our favorites were the chocolate and vanilla, but they had a wide variety of flavors (pistachio, chocolate raspberry, etc.)

We enjoyed our time in Louisville so much, we’re contemplating a return trip next year, so we have time to explore the nature areas and historical sites outside the city proper. If you’re within driving distance, we highly recommend it!

Fun things for families in San Francisco

June 27, 2018 By Amy Hagstrom

San Francisco is one of the top destinations on the West Coast for families! With so much history, culture, and fun activities there’s so much to see and do no matter what your family is interested in! Traveling with kids can be stressful, that’s why it’s so important to plan activities in advance so you always have fun things planned! Hiring airport transfers to SFO should also be a part of your plan if you want a hassle-free travel going to your preferred destination and back to the airport. Once in the city, whether you opt for Bike Rentals San Francisco or a children’s museum, you’re guaranteed to have a great time with the entire family!

Bike Rentals

San Francisco is such a gorgeous city, it’s perfect for exploring by bike! You can find a variety of bike rentals that are perfect for families. With kid equipment, tandem bikes, and surrey’s, there are a lot of ways to elevate your bike experience. Tour the bay area with the sea breeze at your side! Ride bikes to your favorite attractions or just tour your favorite park in a new way. You’ll feel like a local in no time.

California Academy of Sciences

Though the California Academy of Sciences sounds like it might not have many things for kids and families, it’s actually one of the best things to do in San Francisco. The California Academy of Sciences has things like a four-story rainforest walkthrough as well as a planetarium. Explore the deep blue sea with the Steinhart Aquarium or experience an earthquake with the earthquake simulator. With a lot of attractions and hands-on activities for kids, it’s the perfect way to spend a day!

Exploratorium

For more of an educational experience, spend a few hours exploring the San Francisco Exploratorium! Specifically designed for kids of all ages, you’ll learn about things like natural disasters, electricity, and engineering all under one roof! With so much to see and do and a rotating list of exhibits, this museum is particularly perfect for families!

Pier 45

Pier 45 in Fisherman’s Wharf is home to one of San Francisco’s most historic attractions! You can tour a real WWII submarine which now calls Pier 45 home. This submarine went on a total of 6 missions in its lifetime and it’s still intact as a floating museum! For kids interested in submarines and history, this is a great way to spend a few hours! See the USS Pampanito for yourself to step into a real piece of US history.

The Coastal Trail

For outdoor enthusiasts, take in a perfect day in San Francisco by walking the Coastal Trail! This is a San Francisco staple which starts at SF Presidio and goes all the way to Ocean Beach. You can start or stop anywhere on the trail, and you’ll want to bring your camera! You can capture the best views of the Golden Gate Bridge as well as the beautiful blue water down below! Even if you don’t enjoy hiking usually, this is a trail you and your family won’t want to miss!

Ride the Cable Cars

Who said family-friendly activities have to cost a lot of money? Hop aboard one of the many cable cars in the city and go for a ride! While there are many lines to choose from, one of the local favorites is the Powell/Hyde line. This line goes from Union Square to Fisherman’s Wharf and it’s known for its stunning city views! You’ll also get to ride down one of the steepest streets in the city. Your kids might even think it’s a ride!

Are you ready to take a great trip to San Francisco with your family? Known as one of the most family-friendly cities in California, you can’t go wrong with a trip to San Francisco! With so much to see and do, not to mention stunning views, you’ll want to come back again and again!

Estes Park with kids: What to do in downtown Estes Park

September 27, 2017 By Amy Hagstrom

While you’re in Estes Park with kids enjoying the mountains, be sure to carve out some time to explore the downtown area of this fabulous destination.

Fun City:

I would be remiss if I didn’t start with Estes Park’s ultimate kid-friendly attraction; it was the place my kids remembered best from our first trip, and the place they most wanted to return to. With burlap sack and 3-story twisty slides, miniature golf, go-karts, bumper boats, and more, this is a place you won’t want to miss. And trust me, you couldn’t miss it, even if you wanted to. It’s right next to the highway on the way to Bear Lake. Pricing is per attraction, and you load a swipe card in advance. Take advantage of the value cards—$57 worth of rides for $50, or $120 for $100.

Feeding the Family:

For low-fuss, fast-service food, try Bob & Tony’s Pizza (124 W. Elkhorn). The pizza is decent and the atmosphere is fabulous, with walls of signed bricks and an arcade with pool, air hockey, foosball and racing games at the back. You order and pick up at the counter, so it’s very low-fuss and family-friendly.

If you’re more in the mood for burgers, go for Penelope’s World Famous Burgers, which really are pretty scrumptious, though you’ll pay more for the quality. It’s a fun, old-fashioned place with small tables and a modern version of a jukebox. (229 W. Elkhorn)

Sugar Rush:

What downtown tourist area would be complete without a slew of sweet shops? The Danish Cone factory makes waffle cones on site; several others offer big, soft cookies and candy-making. There’s also a taffy shop, and don’t forget the old-fashioned candy store, which sells bulk candy by the piece or by the pound, including some you haven’t seen since you were a kid. (Candy cigarettes, anyone?)

Shopping:

Kitschy t-shirts, pens, mugs, wind chimes, blown glass, Disney figurines, bohemian clothes, toys—you name it, you can probably find it in downtown Estes. Naturally, this means Downtown Estes Park gets very busy in the summertime, with foot traffic on the sidewalks competing with the stream of cars headed to the Beaver Meadows entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park. There’s lots of free parking, but prepared for slow traffic. Estes Park has a free shuttle; take advantage of it if you can. One thing I liked was the fact that the city has officers directing traffic at the major intersections in the downtown, and every cycle of the lights, they stop vehicle traffic so that pedestrians can cross—diagonally, even!

Free with kids:

Let’s be honest: with kids, ‘free’ is an important consideration.

Pikas in the Park: Keep the kids active and entertained trying to puzzle out the clues that help them complete this downtown scavenger hunt for bronze statues of the tiny mammal known as a pika.
The Riverwalk: Lining the back side of the main shopping drag, you’ll find this lovely pathway, with sculptures, fountains, and places to sit and watch the rushing mountain stream tumble past rounded rocks. You’ll also find a small play structure, too.
Performance Park: Just west of the downtown strip, this lovely amphitheater sits alongside Fall River. During the high season, there are free concerts on Thursday nights here. Bring blankets and lawn chairs.
The Birch Ruins inhabit an outcropping above downtown, with gorgeous views of Lake Estes and both the major corridors into the national Park. The walking trail, accessed from the parking lot behind the police station, takes you through a small nature preserve and then up the hill to the ruins.

Doing ‘grownup stuff’ with kids in tow:

For the most part, even the adult attractions in Estes Park are refreshingly kid-friendly. To wit:

The Slab, a no-frills, good-food outdoor pub which offers lawn games, Bingo, and Jenga as well as live music and adult beverages.
Snowy Peaks Winery, just a stone’s throw from Fun City, which lets kids do juice tastings while their parents taste the more fermented variety. They also have a play room in one corner and a lounge area with tons of board games. If you get rained out, take the family, buy a glass of Colorado wine, and spend a couple of hours together.

What are your “must-do” items in Estes Park?

Aerial adventure in St. Louis: Go Ape-St. Louis

June 9, 2017 By Amy Hagstrom

Driving through beautiful Creve Coeur Lake Memorial Park in St. Louis, you could be forgiven for thinking you’ve stumbled across an Ewok village. Actually, it’s Go Ape-St. Louis, an aerial obstacle course with ziplines.

The Go Ape experience

Our treetop adventure began with check-in at the red barn, where the attendant holds keys, wallets, and phones behind the counter for safe keeping. Before we headed out, a guide took us through safety training. Participants are responsible for securing themselves to the lines at every point during the adventure. That sounded intimidating to me, but the training was straightforward and thorough.

We started with a ground-level mockup of the safety systems used throughout the course, including the instructional signage posted at every crossing. Once the guide had checked our comprehension, we walked to the first station. It is low to the ground; for those who are unsure if they’re going to be able to handle the experience, this serves as a test site. If, after going through this first station, you don’t want to proceed, Go Ape offers a refund.

None of us quit, though. We went through one at a time so the guide could ensure we knew what we were doing. Then we were released to explore the course at our own pace.

Think of Go Ape as an aerial obstacle course. Each site begins with a rope ladder and ends with a zipline, but in between, we navigated bridges, swinging platforms, hanging rings, and more. (You do get a rest between—there are platforms between every component). As our guide said, what makes this fun is having to earn the zipline rides.

Obstacles are rated from easy to extreme, and any time there’s an “extreme,” there’s also an easier option. We took all the “extreme” paths, and I found it more physically demanding than I had anticipated. But I never felt in danger or even particularly aware of the height, because at all times, I was tethered to a safety line. I knew if I lost my balance, I’d only fall a foot or two at most. In fact, most of the time you can choose to take the easy way out and glide from one tree to the next, using the safety harness. But where’s the fun in that?

The single exception to the “short fall” is Go Ape’s central attraction: the Tarzan swing, which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: a long arc across open space that ends in a net you have to climb to achieve the platform on the far side. There are actually two, and the first is a warmup for the second. That second is a doozy, but if you chicken out at the last moment, there’s a bypass. (I’m proud to say I made the jump. Although my 12-year-old showed me up by doing it twice.)

Video of the Tarzan swing:

Note age limits: Although some Go Ape locations have a course for younger kids, St. Louis does not—yet, at least. Here, it is open to ages 10 and up. One adult (18+) must be in the treetops for every two children ages 10-15. 16-17 year olds don’t need a chaperone on site, but they will need a waiver signed by a parent or guardian.

Ground Level at Go Ape:

If your family is like mine, your spouse and most of your kids wouldn’t touch an aerial obstacle course with a ten-foot pole. Never fear. Adjacent to the red barn is a spray park and a really nice playground. And if the family wants walk along at ground level and watch their more adventurous counterparts, they can do that, too. You’ll also find employees roaming the course to offer support and suggestions to those in the treetops.

The rope ladders at the start of each site are enclosed within a locked fence; you have to have a code to enter. Inside, Go Ape provides water and paper cups as well as educational signage about conservation, endangered species and information about the trees and undergrowth surrounding you.

Making a day of it:

A treetop adventure lasts 2-3 hours. But because Go Ape partners with state and local parks, there’s always more to do in the immediate vicinity. In St. Louis’ Creve Coeur Memorial Park, you can supplement your treetop adventure with fishing, kayaking, canoeing, dirt biking, or disc golf.

Preparing for your treetop adventure:

Wear jeans and sneakers, and bring gloves. You can go without, but your skin will be happier if you have them. If you forget, Go Ape sells gloves on site.

Hours/Admission:

Hours vary, but Go Ape is generally open March through November. Your best bet is to book online ahead of time. Walk-ins are accepted, but having a reservation guarantees a spot when you arrive. Check out their FAQ page to get more details.

Location:

Go Ape is located at 13219 Streetcar Dr., Maryland Heights, MO 63043. Parking is free on site.

My son and I enjoyed our treetop adventure as guests of Go Ape, but our enthusiasm for the experience is all ours.

A Visit To St. Louis’ City Museum

December 16, 2016 By Amy Hagstrom

When you hear the words “City Museum,” you might picture a building devoted to recording and educating the public about the history of a city—in this case, St. Louis, Missouri. You would be wrong. The building does contain bas-reliefs and barrels, retired safe deposit boxes and a vault—pieces of the city’s history. But you won’t find a single interpretive sign, because the City Museum is a three-story indoor-outdoor adventure playground built from salvage items.

Inside City Museum, you will find:

a three-story tree house with spiderweb netting and tunnels around the roots
hidey-holes, under-the-floor tunnels, behind-the-walls mazes, and wire mesh tube passages linking lower floors to upper floors, and from one play area to the next
a ‘circus’ with trapeze performances
a kiddie train and art area
a skateboard-like park (without skateboards)
the ‘enchanted caves’ featuring a pipe organ played by a live musician as well as a central shaft with spiral staircases to access the 5-and 10-story slides

The outdoor courtyard offers:

Two suspended airplanes, with wire-mesh cage-ladders and staircases leading to them
a castle tower with dungeon
slides
ball pits

On the roof (open weather permitting; requires an additional fee):

a Ferris wheel
more slides
a school bus protruding from the corner
a three-story dome with a cage fitted to the underside for climbing

The City Museum is an explorer’s paradise. Tunnels, hidey-holes and mazes are packed into every nook and cranny. Your kids (and you!) can spend all day exploring and not see everything.

Safety at City Museum:

About now, readers are probably wondering about safety. Rest assured, the museum is exceptionally well-designed. Yes, you will be very high off the ground. Yes, the cage-ladders are wire mesh. But they are very sturdy. The only two mishaps in our day involved head bumps at ground level; both times, staff members had ice packs on hand.

Getting the most out of your visit:

Adults: Come with an openness to adventure! Most pathways are big enough for adults (though they’re definitely a better size for kids). It’s a big place, and virtually everything is connected to everything else via tunnel or hidey hole. You can’t sit in one place and see every possible exit point, so plan to explore alongside your kids.
If you or your kids have severe issues with heights or enclosed spaces, this place might not be your cup of tea.
Lose the jewelry and wear long pants and sneakers. You’ll be on your knees a lot, and sandals will get caught on the wire mesh. In the winter, make use of the coat check to travel light.
In certain areas, even teens must have an adult on hand for entry.
Identify a meeting place in case someone gets lost.
Use the sharpies at the front desk to write your phone number on the admission wristbands, so if a child does get lost, s/he can ask an adult to call you. (Keep your phone in your pocket on vibrate. You’ll never hear it ring.)
Plan to spend as much time as you possibly can. My crew and I spent six hours there. My four-year-old had his fill after about four, but the older kids would have stayed until the museum closed.
There ARE some height restrictions. Check them out here.
There are no maps, because there is no point. The matrix is fabulously complex. It’s a place to be explored, not navigated.
Explore the website before going; it has lots of useful information.

Accessibility:

A few areas can accommodate a wheelchair/stroller, but in general, expect to be on foot. We didn’t bring our daughter, who wears knee-high orthotics; she would have had trouble getting around. During our visit, however, I did see a family with a visually impaired child navigating the outdoor matrix with the help of a touch cane.

Shopping/Food:

The gift shop offers souvenirs and clothing. Parents—one particularly useful item offered is knee pads! Those wire meshes can be rough on grownups! Also check out the Shoelace Factory for brightly-colored laces made using vintage factory machines.
Five eating establishments run the gamut from “circus fare” (popcorn, cotton candy, hot dogs) to sandwiches, salads, pizzas, and doughnuts. One even offers alcoholic beverages. Some are only open seasonally, so check the website.

Hours/Admission:

The City Museum is open Wednesday and Thursday from 9-5, Friday and Saturday 9 to midnight, and Sunday 11-5. Admission is $12 for ages 3 and up, with an extra $5 fee to visit the roof. Admission is discounted after 5 on Friday or Saturday, and annual memberships are available. The outdoor areas are open only in good weather. There’s lots to explore indoors, but if you can, plan around the weather.

Getting there:

The City Museum is at 750 North 16th Street, St. Louis, MO. Two parking lots are available adjacent to the building for $5.

My family and I visited as guests of the City Museum; our opinions are our own.

Kansas City with kids: LEGOLAND Discovery Center and Sea Life

September 14, 2015 By Amy Hagstrom

Ready to explore Kansas City with kids? Kansas City, Missouri’s Crown Center is a year-round draw for families, in part because of two high-profile attractions: LEGOLAND and Sea Life.

LEGOLAND Discovery Center:

A visit to LEGOLAND Discovery Center-Kansas City begins with a short demonstration of how the iconic bricks are made. Afterward, guests can opt to ride the Kingdom Quest laser ride, an instant hit for the video gamers in your family. Caution: this is a now-or-never proposition. You won’t be able to come back to it later, which can be tough on kids who need time to warm up to a new environment.

The day of our visit, our Star Wars-loving crew was over the moon to find a room dedicated to Episode IV (A New Hope). The detail is everything you would expect of LEGO. On one side of the Death Star, kids can try their hand at blasting TIE fighters.

Next door, we lost the ten-year-old to a large Ewok Village construction set. He didn’t resurface until we pried him away for a 4D movie. In the meantime, the younger kids found the play place and Earthquake Tables, where we tried to build earthquake-proof structures out of LEGO. (Although any child will tell you it’s far more fun to try to make them fall down!)

Kids can also build and test race cars, and there’s an area devoted to LEGO Friends as well as Merlin’s Apprentice, a carnival-style ride. Height restrictions apply, but the employee running the ride was very accommodating to families with small children.

LEGOLAND is a high-stimulus attraction, and my three-year-old was a little overwhelmed. But he found his niche in a sandbox-style pit filled with Junior LEGO cars—one of several sprinkled through the facility for free play.

We arrived early on a school day; even so, the building reached critical mass well before noon. It can be chaotic, so it’s a good idea to have a low adult-child ratio in your party. Plan to spend a minimum of three hours. Outside food and drink are not allowed, and re-entry is not permitted; however, there is a cafe inside. Admission is limited and often sells out, so I recommend booking online ahead of time. Online tickets start at $15.30* for both adults and kids (2 and under are free).

Sea Life:

If you need a breather after the high-power intensity of LEGOLAND, Sea Life is just the ticket. From the moment the doors open, the low lighting and ethereal music transports visitors to another world.

The displays are beautifully designed and lit, and the aquarium is set up to guide the flow of traffic along a set pathway through the facility, which makes it easy to keep track of kids. Each child receives a passbook with activities and room for stamps to mark their progress through the aquarium.

Sea Life’s marquee attraction is the pair of walk-through tunnels in the shark and ray tank, but the kids will also love the “bubble” indentations in the center of several of the tanks., where they can get right in the middle of the marine action. A touch pool holds starfish and crabs, and a raised deck lets you look down on stingrays from above.

There are also several play areas; when we visited, one of them was devoted to the Octonauts. Our only problem in this area was that the competing video animatronics made it hard to hear the game instructions.

Admission:

Sea Life-Kansas City advance tickets start at $15 for adults and $11 for kids 3-12*. You can see the whole aquarium in around an hour and a half, but you won’t exhaust the possibilities for learning and enjoyment in that length of time. If you can, give yourself time to read the displays, which are on video monitors rather than static boards, and attend some of the educational talks that are spread throughout the day.

Better yet, take advantage of the combination tickets that offer admission to both Sea Life and LEGOLAND, which share a building, a ticket counter, and gift shop. Start your day by exploring the lower-stimulus Sea Life, then switch over to LEGOLAND and return to the aquarium if your pack has time and energy.

Hours:

Sea Life-Kansas City and LEGOLAND open daily* at 10 and close at 5 p.m. Sunday through Thursdayand 6p.m. Friday and Saturday. However, Sea Life remains open to guests already inside for two more hours.

*Note: Hours and ticket prices fluctuate by season and holiday, so check the website for the most up to date info.

Directions:

Crown Center is located in the heart of Kansas City at 2450 Grand Blvd. Full directions to Crown Center.

Our family visited Sea Life and LEGOLAND as guests of Visit KC in exchange for an honest review.

Medicine Hat Family Leisure Centre

July 21, 2014 By Amy Hagstrom

When we arrived in Medicine Hat with energized kids and several hours to kill before bedtime, we made the awesome discovery (as tourists) of the Medicine Hat Family Leisure Centre. This city-run recreation centre is located on 57 acres, and includes a massive indoor water play and pool facility, called Kinsmen Aquatic Park. Tip: it’s always a good idea to look up leisure centers or recreation centers when you enter a new town!

The Kinsmen Aquatic Park pool facility includes:

a large free-form recreation pool filled with fun floating toys and a rafts that turns into a wave pool at set intervals
a kiddie pool with floating Lego-style building blocks to play with
a large hot tub
a current stream area (where the water flows fast)
a diving area with high and low dives
a tube water slide several stories high
a rope swing
a lap pool
a water polo pool

Seriously. All this! And we discovered it simply by checking the city parks and rec page when we arrived in town. Always check these types of pages for local fun (or ask a local)!

Also on-site are a hockey ring (indoor), fitness centre, outdoor soccer pitches, a large play structure, a lighted sports field, baseball diamonds, and a BMX park.

Food services:

There is a snack bar with (less than healthy) snack and quick food options, plus vending machines and an ice cream bar cooler. Families could easily picnic on-site in nice weather.

Hours of operation:

General hours are found by calling the swimming hotline at 403-502-8571. Be sure to also check the Kinsmen page for event information. Some pools or activities may be closed for a tournament or meet. Generally, the facility stays open nightly to 8 pm or 9 pm.

Admission:

We paid $20 for a family admission (two adults and all kids in the same household). Adults not swimming do not pay admission to enter. Towels can be purchased for about $5, so remember to bring some, but if you forget, you’re covered (literally).

Directions:

We used Google Maps to find the centre, because streets change names frequently in Medicine Hat, and we are easily confused. However, the address listed is 2000 Division Ave N.

Read more about our road trip through the Wild West of Alberta!

Portland Children’s Museum

March 31, 2014 By Amy Hagstrom

The Portland Children’s Museum is one of the best places to spend a rainy morning or afternoon with young kids in Portland. For better or for worse, the word is out, and this excellent museum can get very crowded. Before describing any of the many reasons to visit, I have to start my Portland Children’s Museum review by saying, ‘Get there early!’ Every time we stop by, we get there at opening at 9 am, and practically have the place to ourselves for about the first hour.

Now, why visit? With 12 main exhibits ranging from a play grocery store, a stage with working lights, curtain, and ticket booth, workshops and multi-level climbing and play spaces, baby and toddler sections, story times and planned events, and a wonderful water play area, Portland Children’s Museum is sure to keep kids 0-12 happy, happy, happy.

My own kids are starting to ‘age out’, but I’m hesitant to use that term, because on a very recent visit, our 12-year-old had a great time in both the Garage (a building and creation space using recycled materials) and in the clay studio. While kids of any age (with parental supervision) can try their hand at clay, kids do need to be 5 and up to enter the Garage (due to the use of glue guns and hammers and nails). I love the inclusion of this room to keep the attention of older kids!

The layout of the museum is fairly open and free-flowing with the exception of the exhibits toward the back of the building (accessed down a hallway). If you have kids under 6, you’ll probably need to keep them on a short leash, so to speak, so as not to lose sight of them. It’s easy for kids to migrate from one section to the next as their interests dictate (which can be either a good thing and a bad thing, depending on your point of view). There’s space in the lobby to use as a ‘meet up’ place for older kids, but note that the museum’s traveling and temporary exhibits are housed off the lobby too.

New Outdoor Adventure:

During our January 2014 visit, I was lucky enough to get a sneak peak of the new Outdoor Adventure, to open in April 2014. This inviting outdoor space lies adjacent to the museum, and encompasses the downhill slope around to the back of the building. With trees, rocks, trails, and a creek water feature, this space is dedicated to outdoor play…with unlimited options. It warmed my nature-loving heart to hear that the creative team behind the space understood the importance of keeping this area largely under-developed, allowing kids freedom of exploration. While switchback trails do exist up the slope, kids are not restricted to them, and the water feature is meant to be played in, around, and through. A covered wooden group space and amphitheater sits at the bottom of the outdoor space, and at top, digging space and a toddler space will sit adjacent to parent sitting and observing areas. The museum will provide rubber boots and other outdoor gear for play in any season, thanks to local gear donations.

Admission:

Ages 1-54: $10, over 54: $9
If you have a membership to another NW science or children’s museum, it’s likely good for admission for four. Be sure to bring your membership card with you and ask!

Hours:

9 am to 5 pm daily

Dining:

The museum cafe is located in the lobby, and offers very healthy fare for kids and adults, from soups, salads, wraps, and organic snacks.

Directions:

The Portland Children’s Museum is located in Washington Park, easily accessed by car or MAX. The address is 4015 SW Canyon Road, Portland.

Disclosure: As I disclose whenever applicable, we visited the children’s museum as guests of the museum, for the purpose of review. All opinions are our own.

Orlando: Life besides Disney

March 29, 2014 By Amy Hagstrom

When people think of Orlando with kids, Disney World is likely to be one of the first places that spring to mind on the list of “must-dos”, particularly if you’re traveling with children However, there’s so much more on offer in Orlando that people seem to forget about. Alongside the thrills and spills of the theme parks, there are some terrific kid-centric activities that everyone should consider if they’re planning a trip. There are also some good deals on hotels and timeshares in Orlando outside of the Disney sphere, as well as bargains on flights, depending on when you travel.

First thing’s first, you’re definitely going to want to visit some of Florida’s beaches. While Orlando is inland, the coast is only about an hour away, so if you’re going to be renting a car, you may as well go on an old-fashioned trip to the seaside, that most popular of trips! The kids will love the sun, sand, and surf here, and it’ll give you a great excuse to relax and soak up a few rays yourself. Be sure to pack your sunscreen though as temperatures here can soar to a whopping 92°F (33°C) in July. The Siesta Key is the perfect spot for a serene day out, with crisp white sands and clear blue waters.

Just because you’re on holiday, it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t test the kids’ imaginations a little. You can take them to Ripley’s Believe It or Not, where they can put their own grasp of what’s real and what’s imaginary through its pace, and then drop in next door at WonderWorks. The kids will love this completely upside-down building — when you enter you’ll be the wrong way up. Step into the inversion tunnel and you can then head off into more than 100 interactive exhibits that the whole family is sure to love.

This is Orlando and the sun will be beating down on you, so, naturally, you’ll want some time to cool off. Lucky for you, Orlando is home to all kinds of water parks. SeaWorld’s Aquatica is amongst the best, with attractions including the HooRoo Run, a super speedy waterslide that will barely give you chance to scream before you’re plunging into the waters below. While you’re there (not on the slide itself, of course!), you can check out the sea life on display here, which will keep the kids enthralled and maybe even encourage them to learn more about animals.

So there you have it, already plenty of things to do other if Disney World doesn’t tickle your fancy. With a little research, you can find all kinds of extra activities. So, what’s on the agenda?

Photo credit: MarialArtsNomad. The above post is sponsored.