place for young children

[sonomom Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close sonomom]

Im thinking ahead and will soon have to follow a school schedule. So i would love opinions about where to travel to with a 5 1/2 y/o and 4 y/o. We live in AZ and are often going to S. Cali so somewhere other then that. I would like to know a fun place to go and best time of year preferably in the US.

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

Hilton Head, SC in summer. It's incredibly family friendly without being Disney-esque. We took our kids there for years, until they outgrew it and needed more of a teen scene.

[Hobbitess Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Hobbitess]

I think Christmas Mountain Village, in Wisconsin Dells, would work for you. They have an indoor pool geared toward kids just that age, as well as a number of outdoor pools, paddle boats on a little pond, mini golf (not spectacular, but free), etc., plus my kids got a kick out of running through the pine trees near the entrance.

Wisconsin Dells itself is hopelessly touristy, but I suspect you can find plenty to do there. There're water parks and family play center kinda things galore, but when my kids were the age of yours I think I would have gone for the Deer Park first and the Tommy Bartlett Exploratory second. Although they would have been pretty happy just hanging out at the resort and taking walks and whatnot for a couple of days. Some kids those ages would like the boat tours but I wouldn't have risked it with my kids. I like Witches Gulch, which you can get to without the boat tour if you want a taste of what made Wisconsin Dells famous, but some little ones find it pretty spooky. There's also a river walk with nice views of the Dells, and a number of state parks around if you all are into that.

Christmas Mountain Village also has daily scheduled activities as I recall (most Bluegreen resorts do), for free or a nominal fee, if your kids are into that sort of thing. Everything from making your own sundaes to making an art project; you get a schedule when you check in. Some people really get into those. We always intend to do that sort of thing and drool over the schedule when we arrive, but then get too busy and have yet to actually do any.

[mdurette Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close mdurette]

A bit of a trip - but New Hampshire in very nice. If you stay in Central New Hampshire in the White Mountains region there are plenty of kid friendly places to go along with all the "nature" you will get from being in the mountains.

There is Storyland, Santa's Village, Clarks Trading Post, Six Gun City just to name a few off the top of my head.