Need a Great Fall Family Vacation Idea

[Mr. SR500]

Every year we go to Ocean City, MD for vacation. We love it! I bike, kids have a blast, love the beach, action at the boardwalk, and nice relaxed pace of going there every year.

This year schedules are crazy, no summer vacation. We are thinking of going Fall break or around Thanksgiving. Thought of Disney, or maybe a cruise. Would like a nice vacation, but don't want to break the bank. We don't camp either.

We live in Indiana, and could fly (ie. Disney). Kids are 8 and 5. Any ideas?

Many Thanks

[mimitabby]

with kids the ages yours are, you could drive 5 miles and camp in tents and they'd love it.
Have you all been to Canada? foreign country and all that?
Is money part of the equation?
remember, school CAN be missed without missing much, particularly in Sept/oct where at least in Seattle, the teachers are still "reviewing" last year's stuff.

[Tuckervill]

I vote cruise. Quite wonderful. Fly somewhere way south (we flew to Puerto Rico and got on the boat there), to guarantee fabulous weather.

Karen

[Hub]

Ditto what Tuckerville said, we booked a Princess cruise for this October woo hoo!

[Aggie_Ama]

We went to Disneyworld last fall (arrived the Saturday after Thanksgiving) and it was awesome! The first day was a little crowded but Monday-Friday was dead. The longest wait was about 20 minutes and many times we walked right up. Most of the northerners were using the pools and waterparks! Check Disney's off times, they have cheaper rates.

Texas is wonderful in the fall, still warm here. I think Carnival, Norwegian and Princess cruise lines leave out of Galveston in the fall.

[Pedal Wench]

Grand Canyon!!! We LOVE it out there, and the weather in the fall is ideal. Everyone goes to the South Rim, but I would suggest checking out the North Rim for a few days. Combine it with Zion and Bryce, and you'll be blown away everywhere you look.

[Mr. SR500]

Thanks - keep them coming! I think we priced Disney at $4300 to stay in the park, so that would be the high end. I do have a cousin in Canada, so could be cool, but weather might be bad. We also lived in East TN and haven't been back since we had the kids, so could be fun as well. I like the cruise, because the kids have never seen the clear water in the Caribbean.

[Mr. Bloom]

We did Disney when the kids were 4 and 7; that was the perfect age range for the kids. Staying in the park was well worth it just to get into the park early and if you're willing to take them out of school...even better to avoid the crowds.

BUT, for the entire trip, the thing that we had the most fun doing was renting the little mini-boats on the Lagoon at The Polynesian. If we had just done that and only that, the trip would have been worth it!

Flying from Columbus or Indy to Orlando should be easy...

Cruises are better for older kids IMHO.

[makbike]

Check out the state parks in your area! They often have lots of activities planned for kids and their lodges are quite comfy!

[Tuckervill]

Man, you couldn't PAY me to take a kid younger than 7 to Disneyworld. We took our then 12-yo there 2 years ago in March. What we remember most about the other people there were parents screaming, spanking and griping at their kids and the kids screaming and whining and NOT having a good time. I have low tolerance for parents being mean to kids, and amusement parks seem to bring it out in some of them.

That said, we LOVED Disneyworld. LOVED it. But I don't ever have to go back. I could go on a cruise every year, though. I've heard the Disney cruises are fantastic.

Karen

[sundial]

Hilton Head, SC, is a favorite destination for many families.

[SlowButSteady]

The Smokey Mountains are beautiful in the fall, especially around Asheville, NC. There is the Biltmore House, Blue Ridge Parkway, climbing, rafting. Great Smokey Mountains National Park is a little west of there.

[indigoiis]

New England in the fall. Go hike the huts up in NH! So much fun and the kids get their wiggles out.