Best Family Vacation You've Been On? Disney? Cruise? All Inclusive?

We love Silver Dollar City in Branson. We generally rent a condo or cabin for a few days and do the park. It has a lot of cool stuff for kids and adults. My 3 year old LOVED going down into the Marvel Cave, which is an hour cave to walk through and she did it almost all by herself. Branson also has a lot of other cool things like a Ripley's Believe it or Not museum, a Titanic museum, and a neat Butterfly palace where you can hang out with live butterflies.

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Deffinitley Disney; fun for whole family. I have stayed at the Best Western and Ramada Inn at the main gate and we just walked in from there (very convenient; though the accomadations werent pretty, but it is about Disneyland afterall). I also stayed at the Jolley Roger....its ok, but there are cheaper closer locations. We typically stay anywhere from 3-5 days; we are from AZ and it is kindof pointless to just go for a day.

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My all time favorite family vacations are the ones where we have rented a house right on the beach and just hung out. I love the feeling of being at home and the room of it all, not to mention the access to the kitchen...that makes a lot of difference, I think. I grew up going to the beach every weekend, so for me it feels like home and is relaxing and entertaining at the same time!

We have 5 kids, ages 19, 16, 7, 5 and 2. We have rented houses in San Diego, Ca.... Long Beach, Ca. (right next to where I grew up)...Santa Barbara, Ca... Malibu, Ca...and in Lincoln City, Or. They were all wonderful in there own way (IMO,Oregon beaches should not be considered beaches b/c it's too cold to swim :)...but whatever) my kids loved skin boarding and taking surfing lessons, as well as snorkeling and flying kites! Building sandcastles is always fun and can occupy the lil' ones for HOURS!! We always stay for a minimum of 7 days but never more than 12 days...but that's just us, that seems to be plenty of time for us to relax, have fun, explore the city, eat lots of crab and then pack up before anyone gets bored, homesick and/or sick of seafood and sand being everywhere:)

I don't use any one website...I usually just start "Google-ing" vacation rentals in the designated city and see what I can find...but to me that part is fun! I usually book it at least a 8 months in advance to allow for plenty of time to save $ , come up with a game plan and I love the excitement of having something to look forward to!

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With young children, I've found the easiest and most enjoyable vacation spot is the beach. Rent a house or stay at a kid-friendly hotel on the ocean. The kids will be happy for hours playing in the sand and water. Very low-key, relaxing and fun for everyone!

I would save something more expensive like Disney until they are a little older and can appreciate it more.

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OMG three small children, DO NOT do Disney or cruise. When my
children were small, all a year apart, (4) we did things that they would
enjoy. Is the vacation for you or for them. If for you then do an inclusive
or cruise. If it is truly for them, I would find something age appropriate.
Make it fun for them.

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I don't have 3 little ones, but I have done Disney with a family group and we had kids ages 2, 3, and 4. We all had a blast. We stayed on Walt Disney World property, so my friend had the option of taking her two back to the hotel for a nap. Most of the time the kids took naps in their strollers and did great. We always do a least 5 days. That way we have 1 full day in each park. ( We will also fly in the day before and sleep at an offsite hotel so the next day we get there early at the first park) When we went in the group we stayed at the All Stars resorts. If you go I suggest getting the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World and Birnbaum's Walt Disney World for Kids. I think you can find the older ones in the library sometimes. If you can, go during off season, its less expensive and less crowded. We loved going in October and April. We were there in February too and it was a nice warm up for us. Good luck and have a great family trip.

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I went on the Disney Cruise the first year it came out! we did the 4 day in land 3 day at sea excursion, and IT WAS THE BEST!!! i know now almost 13 years later the have greatly improved! i know they have more ships now and more points of destinations! when we went we stayed at the swan/dolphin hotel on the disney resort. i would still greatly recommend it even after all these years

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Depends what time of year you are looking to go. We've been to Myrtle Beach, SC and that is a lot of fun. We also went to Cape Cod on a regular basis during the summers when we lived in MA and our friends had a summer cottage in Dennisport (Chatham Bars Inn in Chatham is very nice). We have a time share on Block Island off the Rhode Island coast that we are at the first full week of August every year and we love it.

We are hoping to do Disney World with the Disney Cruise this winter. Another year I want to do to one of Beaches resorts (Jamaica or Turks and Caicos). Atlantis in the Bahamas looks like a lot of fun too. I figure you can't go wrong if it involves a beach.

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Any vacation is a good vacation as far as I am concerned, but my favorites are the all-inclusives. I love the beach and so do the kids, my husband can go and come as he pleases. There always lots of activities on site, but for me the big thing is not having to worry about food and snacks. Everyone can eat what they want when they want. It is just relaxing. I have also done Disney a couple times which is also fantastic in a different way. It is this magical world that is all about the kids. In my opinion, it is definately worth staying on-site and having a park-hopper ticket. I always liked relaxing in the morning and being at the park all day. It is expensive and some people feel the need to get their money's worth by going from sun-up to sun-down, but it really is hard with little ones to go the whole day. I also like going for a week so there can be some rest time. Lastly, the least expensive is the beach cottage and still a favorite.
Have fun and let us know what you choose.
C.

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We rented a house on the beach in Maine with some other family members. The kids loved playing on the beach or hiking every day. We picked berries, got live lobsters for dinner and cooked meals together. It was SO fun and relaxing!

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