If
the biggest challenge in making your travel plans is keeping the kids
entertained, these cities provide exciting attractions that your kids — or
you, for that matter — won’t soon forget.
Orlando
Orlando
is the world’s most popular tourist destination, and with numerous amusement
parks, resorts and outdoor adventures, it’s easy to see why.
Disney
World – home of Mickey Mouse, Aladdin and Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride – is
perhaps the most famous theme park in the world.
Here, you can relive the experience of seeing the Magic Kingdom for the
first time, riding Space Mountain or watching your first Main Street Electrical
Parade.
If
you plan to stay at one of Disney’s world-famous theme resorts, you’ll want
to allow plenty of time to see the following attractions:
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Pirates
of the Caribbean cruise in Adventureland;
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Disney-MGM
Studios;
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Pleasure
Island;
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World
Showcase at EPCOT Center; and
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safari
rides through Animal Kingdom.
Universal
Studios Florida is also located in Orlando and features behind-the-scenes tours
of some of your favorite television shows and movie sets. And Sea World will
thrill young animal lovers with daily shows featuring talented whales, dolphins
and other sea creatures.
Cincinnati
The Queen City is chock full of attractions that are
bound to educate and fascinate visitors of all ages.
Cincinnati’s many attractions emphasize education and
history as well as edge-of-your-seat excitement. For example,
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The Cincinnati Fire Museum has everything from vintage
fire trucks to modern day pumpers and hook-and-ladders.
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The Museum Center at Union Terminal boasts three more
museums and an OmniMax theater.
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The new
Cinergy Children's Museum entertains and educates kids from infancy through
age 10, focusing on interactive exhibits that can be touched and played
with.
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The Museum of Natural History and Science has a
replica of the city during the Ice Age and the History Museum recreates
riverfront life in the 1850s.
But if your taste is close to exhilaration than
exhibition, the Cincinnati Zoo and Kings Island amusement park will fit the bill
perfectly. The world-famous zoo will thrill youngsters with its white Bengal
tigers and other rare species on
display, including Ganesh, the
first elephant born in Ohio since the days of the woolly mammoth.
Kings Island offers three large roller coasters — Outer
Limits, the Beast and the Vortex — and a suspended high-speed coaster with
hair-raising turns. Nearby, theme-park aficionados can enjoy
the WaterWorks water park, Hanna-Barbera Land and the Coney Island water
park.
Los Angeles
Los Angeles is not only the entertainment capital of the
world, it is perhaps the most kid-friendly city in America. From theme parks to
movie studios, there is plenty of amusement for the young and for the young at
heart.
Disneyland, the first Disney theme park, is smaller than
Orlando’s Disney World, but just as popular. Most of the rides are identical
to those at Disney World, such as Space Tours and Pirates of the Caribbean. Six
Flags Magic Mountain, which has one of the world’s largest wooden roller
coasters, and Hurricane Harbor,
featuring water slides and wave pools, are nearby.
A trip to Los Angeles would not be complete without a tour
of one of the Hollywood movie studios. All of the studios feature entertainment
exhibits, souvenir shops and thrill rides, but each studio maintains its own
identity with special attractions.
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At Universal Studios Hollywood, in addition to back
lots and sound stages, you can see Norman Bates’ home from Psycho, meet
E.T. and come face-to-face with Jaws in a special tram tour.
The Universal CityWalk, is a glitzy complex of movie theaters, stores
and eateries with carnival amusements for the kids and eclectic street
performers that are bound to delight any child.
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Warner Brothers Studios is home to some of your
favorite animated characters and features special attractions starring Bugs
Bunny, Daffy Duck and Porky Pig.
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The Paramount Studios lot includes the famed RKO and
Desilu studios, the production company founded by Desi Arnaz and Lucille
Ball.
In addition to Disneyland and the movie studios,
Knott’s Berry Farm and Los Angeles’ famed beaches offer more fun in the sun.
Kids can spend the day enjoying thrill rides, live musicals, Ghost Town and Camp
Snoopy at Knott’s Berry Farm, or they can pig out at one of the many food
stands on the boardwalk at Venice Beach.
Wisconsin Dells
Wisconsin
Dells and Baraboo, Wisconsin, have been a well-kept secret to Midwesterners for
years. The Wisconsin Dells recreational area and Circus World Museum are a
popular vacation destination
that entices kids with everything from clowns to camping.
Wisconsin
Dells has over 5,000 campsites and
a plethora of hotels, cabins, resorts and bed-and-breakfast inns. It is also a
popular destination for those traveling with trailers or recreational vehicles.
The Dells River District has an assortment of retail shops, restaurants and
exhibits that recall the area’s riverfront heritage and history.
The
Circus World Museum in nearby Baraboo is world-famous, with exhibits, parades
and live shows attracting thousands of visitors each day. The museum is a great
place for special events that kids won’t want to miss, from the salute to the
Ringling Brothers Circus to the Great Circus Train and Parade to a fabulous
Fourth of July fireworks spectacular.
Circus
World Museum is open year-round, with indoor exhibits celebrating 200 years of
the life under the big top (from October through May) and outdoor events (May
through September) including live circus performances.
Dallas
The
Dallas area – which includes neighboring Fort Worth and nearby Arlington,
Texas – is great for introducing your kids to educational and cultural
attractions, when you’re not screaming down a roller coaster or picnicking at
the lake, that is.
Dallas
has its share of educational and cultural sites as well as outdoor recreation
and heart-pounding amusement parks. Must-sees in Dallas include the Dallas Zoo
and its Wilds of Africa exhibit, which includes more than 90 species of wild
animals in six separate habitats, and the Dallas World Aquarium.
Nature
lovers can enjoy hiking, fishing and picnicking at White Rock Lake or the Dallas
Nature Center or taking a stroll through Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens.
The Fort Worth Zoo is known for its recreations of wild animal habitats and
features the World of Primates, a lush gorilla exhibit.
Thrill-seekers
will enjoy Six flags Over Texas, the oldest Six Flags amusement park in the
country. Roller coasters like the Texas Giant and the Flashback will keep your
pulse pounding while water rides will help cool you off during the hot Texas
summers.
There
is much more to see in the Dallas area that will give your kids memories of a
lifetime. They can:
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cheer
on the Texas Rangers at The Ballpark in Arlington;
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tour
the House of Horrors exhibit at The Palace of Wax museum in Grand Prairie;
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watch
a television show being filmed at the Movie Studios of Las Colinas; or
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spend
an afternoon at the video arcade at Six Flags Hurricane Harbor.