Favorite non-Disney Vacation Spot

[Mickey4Us]

I am so sorry to say that I can't afford 2 trips a year to WDW so I usually go someplace else in the summer months. Does anyone have any favorite spots? I live on the East Coast (NY) and have 2 kids (ages 4 and 17 months). Nothing compares to Disney but we all have to make due ;) .
So far we have tried: Cape May NJ, Philly PA and Virginia Beach. Looking for more ideas.

Thanks!

[LisaS]

Try North!! New England has so much to offer - from the excitement and history of Boston, to the beaches of Cape Cod - the mountains and lakes of New Hampshire, the rolling green hills of Vermont and my very favorite - the wonderful rocky coast of Maine especially Acadia National Park and all if it's wonderful natural environment! Oh, and don't forget Newport, RI and Mystic, CT, too!!

[PixiePrincess]

I am so sorry to say that I can't afford 2 trips a year to WDW so I usually go someplace else in the summer months. Does anyone have any favorite spots? I live on the East Coast (NY) and have 2 kids (ages 4 and 17 months). Nothing compares to Disney but we all have to make due ;) .
So far we have tried: Cape May NJ, Philly PA and Virginia Beach. Looking for more ideas.

Thanks!


Well, when I was growing up my grandmother lived in York Beach Maine. She lived right on the ocean. So my first suggestion would be York Beach Maine. :lol: You could stay at the Anchorage... my grandmother used to manage that hotel for years and I worked there many summers. You could drive up to Kennebunk, where President Bush lives, you could stop in Ogunquit and shop, Old Orchard Beach is nice area to walk around. It's all close enough together to enjoy during your visit.
I would LOVE to go there again w/ my kids. It's been 13 years but Erin won't go north. :mad: He claims the only direction our car can travel 'on vacation' is south to WDW. If Maine wasn't a 18 hour drive, I'd take the kids myself... but that ain't happening. We haven't been back home to NY in 13 years either... again, Erin refusing to travel anywhere but WDW. To some degree that is annoying!
If you do go to Maine, stop in at my aunt's house and have a cup of coffee and give her a big hug for me. :lol:

[Rosebud]

There are so many wonderful places in New England and close by. Although right now your kids are at a tricky age, but in a few years lots and lots to do.

I'm guessing you are looking for ideas for week long trips.

Idea #1 - I would stay in Sturbridge, MA. From there many short trips to various places...

Sturbridge Village - they often have special themes, so I would try to pick a fun one for the 4 year old. We used to camp in the area and were members so went often. A couple of times we went for July 4th - they allow you to (or they did) bring in a picnic basket/cooler and set it up on the town green. You can enjoy a picnic lunch there and enjoy the festivities. The only thing about that though, is the Villagers would be having a feast nearby and you may be drooling over their food and wishing you had planned to eat in the Tavern or the "fast food" place.
EcoTarium in Worcester - Indoor Outdoor museum. Hands on science experiements, Polar Bears and more.
Brimfield Antiques Show - 1 week in May, July, Sept. Largest outdoor antiques show. It is actually many different fields and "shows" some are free, some you pay to get into.
Little further away, but not bad...
Deerfield, MA - Visit the Yankee Candle Factory Store - not just a regular Yankee Candle Store. Down the road is an Indoor Butterfly place (Magic Wings).
1 or 2 Exits past Deerfield is the Mohawk Trail. You could explore that a bit - Shelburne Falls and the Bridge of Flowers, Glacial Potholes (used to be able to swim there, but last time I went it was pretty blocked off and it wasn't during the day, so don't know if people still do). They have a few little stores to poke around in there.
Sturbridge itself has a few different little stores to poke around in too.
Springfield, MA - 1 exit on MA Pike - Forest Park Zoo (although the few animals at EcoTarium would probably be enough).
Not too far away is Six Flags New England, which includes a waterpark.
Sturbridge Host Hotel - indoor/outdoor pool lakeside with paddle boats and other activities. I've never stayed there, but I think this is a place my friend used to go to - I remember he said they sometimes had kids special weekends with all kinds of things going on.

Idea #2 - Southern, ME
First thing to do is eat lots of lobster and steamers
Besides exploring the various beaches and beach stores..
The stores at Perkins Cove and a walk along Marginal Way - nice walk along sort of a cliff, but easy walk.
Lots of choices of boat rides.
Seashore Trolley Museum, Kennebunkport
Funtown & Splashtown, in Saco
Hiking at Rachel Carson Wildlife Refuge
Explore one of the old Forts
Desert of Maine - very campy tourist trap, but fun nonetheless (in Freeport)
The shops in Freeport or Kittery

Idea #3 Boston
Lots to see and do.
Science Museum
Children's Museum
Numerous boat tours
Trolley Tours
Boat Tours
Freedom Trail
Lots of good food (must not forget Mike's Pastry in North End)

[Robin]

My favorite is Mid Coast Maine. If I could, I'd live most of the year here in Orlando, but spend the hottest months of the summer up in Maine.

There are a number of motels on the coast which have housekeeping cottages. The place we stay (my friends go every year) is on Penopscot Bay, and there's plenty of place for the kids to run around and play. We pretty much go for rest and relaxation... and food and shopping. I love spending Sunday morning exploring the flea markets in Searsport. Lots of local stuff to do, but mostly we shop, eat and relax.

[Timon]

That's easy. A cruise to Bermuda. I love the cruise and Bermuda. We've done it twice and we may be doing it again next year.

[Ursulinda]

How about upstate New York? The Adirondacks are filled with beautiful lakes and associated activities. There are motels, cottages, campgrounds for every purse. just NOT Saratoga in August!

[MJTinNH]

My second favorite spot would be Ogunquit Maine. Nice beach, walk the marginal way and different restaurants. Also within a one hour drive for me.:D

[GloriaK]

My husband and I love to travel to Boston and Cape Cod. We can arrive at the airport take the subway or a bus to our destination and never have to have a rental car. I love to just walk around Boston taking in the sights and finding new dining spots.

[jacobandlukesmom]

My families favorite place other than WDW is Myrtle Beach. There are wonderful hotels and a great miracle strip with wonderful rides and the waves at the beach are totally AWESOME. Just thinking about it makes me want to grab my beach chair and a good book and listen to the waves crash onto the sand.:girlLounge:

Now if you want a nice quiet place that not too populated you should try Perdido Key, FL. The beaches are beautiful and my boys loved to catch night crabs on the beach every night. This is a very peaceful place and we really like it too.

[Ursulinda]

Is Endwell near Binghamton? Have you done the carousel circuit? With an early start and a picnic lunch, that's good for a VERY fun day, six carousels and ending up at the children's museum.

[mickeefan]

Unfortunatly this is not too close to you, but our non Disney favorite is the Outer Banks of N.C. where we are as I type this. It's beautiful out, but very windy and the ocean is really rough.I took this from the walkway at the end of our deck

http://tagrel.com/photopost/data/500/DSC00998-OB1.jpg

[Mickey4Us]

Is Endwell near Binghamton? Have you done the carousel circuit? With an early start and a picnic lunch, that's good for a VERY fun day, six carousels and ending up at the children's museum.

Yes it is just outside of Binghamton. We love to ride the carousels and we do the circuit every summer. We usually end the circuit with the Ross Park Zoo or the Discovery Center. My son just doesn't understand why other places charge to ride the carousels......Again, Again mom!

[BillJ]

Williamsburg, Virginia!

Williamsburg is our second favorite place to vist and is the location of the Collge of William & Mary. Williamsburg served as the Colonial Capitol of Virginia from the end of 17th century until the end of The American Revolution.

Williamsburg is also the home of Busch Gardens theme park, and Water Country, USA. If you like theme parks and water parks, Williamsburg has them for you.

Another big draw for many people is the shopping. Williamsburg is a shopping Mecca for many people (my wife included). there are no shortages of Malls and outlet malls in the town.

Um... did I mention food? There are tons and tons and tons of great places to eat in Williamsburg.

Lastly, and most importantly to us, Williamsburg is the home of the Colonial Williamsburg trust. The trust, started by a fellow named Rockefeller was begun to restore and preserve the historic nature of the colonial part of town. The colonial area has been kept true to period archetecturally as much as possible, and is occupied by persons employed by the trust to serve as historical interpreters. If you enjoy the history of this country, you will probably enjoy Williamsburg, as there is no place where American history is so tangible to such a degree.

Additionally, Williamsburg is only a short drive from Yorktown, Virginia, where the last great battle of the American Revolution was fought. In Yorktown, you can see many of the actual cannon that were used during the siege, as well as some of the preserved earthworks used by the American forces as well as those of the besieged British. You might also see military history buffs like me, wandering around the battlefied alternatel staring into space and muttering to ourselves ;)

Williamsburg is also a short drive from Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in Virginia.

[Mickey4Us]

Thanks Bill.
We went to Busch Gardens Williamsburg last year (loved it!) but we were staying with relatives so we had to spend time with them :p limiting our sight seeing time. I did manage to go to Williamsburg pottery, just scratched the surface and one outlet mall - that was about the most my family would tolerate. I know the kids will appreciate colonial Williamsburg in a few years. We did the Children's museum in Richmond and Vigininia Beach in that trip as well. Both were also fun!

Great tips! Thanks!

[Mickey4Us]

Unfortunatly this is not too close to you, but our non Disney favorite is the Outer Banks of N.C.

Just got a message for MIL that she is planning a family get together somewhere in the outer banks for Thanksgiving so I may need some travel tips! Looks like a long drive.
My first thought is that if I have to drive that far why not continue on to WDW???Hubby would kill me if I voiced that out loud.

Cindy

[Mickey4Us]

Try North!! New England has so much to offer - from the excitement and history of Boston, to the beaches of Cape Cod - the mountains and lakes of New Hampshire, the rolling green hills of Vermont and my very favorite - the wonderful rocky coast of Maine especially Acadia National Park and all if it's wonderful natural environment! Oh, and don't forget Newport, RI and Mystic, CT, too!!

I have a BIL in Boston and the worst part about visiting relatives is that they don't want to do the "touristy" things. They have done it so many times. Plus he doesn't have kids and we have 2 small ones. So the last time we went to visit, I insisted that we arrive a day earlier than we said (we were staying in a hotel) and sight see on our own before meeting them. Best idea yet. We loved the duck tours! So much more to see.

Thanks for reminding me about Mystic. Haven't been there in years but we like it alot. Have not tried Maine or RI yet!

[roodad]

It has been well over three decades since I was last in the Williamsburg area and it sounds like I missed a lot (or it didn't yet exist) when I was there. Sounds like a good place for a trip. I also greatly enjoy kayaking coastal Maine.
My favorite non-Disney vacation is hiking in the UK. The countryside is varied and beautiful and being able to have dinner in a pub and sleep between sheets at the end of the day is a definite advantage over a tent and freeze-dried lumps-o-stuff.
For things closer to home, I greatly enjoy trips to local festivals - Ren Fests, jazz festivals, etc - this weekend it's the Texas Scottish Festival - massed pipe bands, highland games, fiddlers, dancers and great food and beer.

[Belle]

:confused: Favorite Non-Disney vacation spot... :confused:

Is this a trick question??? :mad:

:lol: Actually, Williamsburg and Virginia Beach are brilliant - love them both :)

[TracyMB]

I'm from Boston and one of my favorite vacation spots is Cape Cod. I drive less than an hour to the Sagamore Bridge and once I cross it every bit of stress just dissapears for a week. I prefer staying mid-Cape around the Dennis/Dennisport Area that way you are no more than an hours ride to the Falmouth Steamship Authority to hop the ferry over to the Vinyard or Nantucket for a day, an hour to Provincetown for some great shopping and whale watching excursions or 30 minutes to Hyannis for nightlife. And you won't find beaches any nicer than the National Sea Shore.

I'm only sorry that I'm not renting my usual cottage for 10 days this summer since I'm heading to Seattle instead. Fortunately, my parent have just rented the same place for 2 weeks at the end of August so I'll have a few long weekends there.

I can also vouch that Ogunquit is beautiful and the beach is fabulous. The one downside it that the water is always soooo cold.

[gopherit]

Well, being FROM the south, I naturally vote for it, LOL! Frankly, after visiting the Delaware and Jersey beaches with my more northerly DH's family, I still cannot call them "beaches" - I tell DH that's just where the water meets land and a whooooole lotta people herded up inbetween. Now down south - THOSE are beaches (at least to this Carolina girl, anyway.) Sprawling beaches, slow easy tides, ahhhh. Our family would spend 2 weeks every summer at Myrtle (or a tad further north at Holden Beach, NC). Then, when Myrtle became too dang crowded, we would go to Fripp island - neighbors had a house there. DH and I honeymooned at Kiawah - gorgeous, and very convenient to Charleston SC, which has so much wonderful history and GREAT food. DH and I went to the Disney DVC resort at Hilton Head Island last summer - also great! We can't wait to try Vero Beach in Fla. next. My kids were in absolute awe over the S.C. beaches, LOL. They had only seen the churny, foamy, browner waters of Del. beaches all their little lives. (Now DH, he still thinks it's not a beach without a boardwalk, so maybe for him, Myrtle would be the right blend!)

THat said, I would love to take the kids to DC. So much to do there, and so much that's free, thanks to our taxes, LOL! Baltimore can be fun also - nice aquarium, if memory serves. I agree about Williamsburg - also a great family vacation spot. I am eager to try some mountain-places too. A friend at work rents her house at Canaan Valley (WV) and I'd love to try that, take the family skiing for a long wkend.

So many places, never enough time....

[imsal]

we were supposed to go the balitmore aquarium last year but our plans fell through. i hear it is wonderful in the baltimore harbor. not sure about expense, but it's a great family trip. hopefully i'll get there this year some time.

[ddoll]

Oh yes, come to RI and see our beaches and have some chowdah and clamcakes. We RI-ers head to NH between the lakes and the mountains when we need a change of scenery and don't want to go too far.

[pinoch]

When our kids were young, Myrtle Beach was the favorite summer destination. It was a great place to just relax and we found a very family-friendly hotel (Sea Mist) which had a variety of kids' pools/zero entry/water parks. We vacationed there almost yearly from the time DS was 5 until he graduated from HS and DD started going when she was about 6 months.

We often combined that trip with a few days at Willilamsburg on the way back to NE PA. We all enjoyed the area and had lots of fun there, especially at Water Country.

If you're looking for places closer to home, Knoebel's Amusement Park in Elysburg isn't a very long trip for you. There's no admission and there are lots of rides for young kids as well as older, more adventurous ones. If you like camping, there's a campground right there and a very nice pool and swimming area. It's a nice place to spend the day and they have a web site http://www.knoebels.com/.

Barb

[Ursulinda]

How about a cottage at Gilbert Lake state park? My colleague just spent a very eventful week there (during the recent flooding!) But she says it's lovely, with swimming and all.

[Janie]

This thread is an absolutely fantastic and interesting read on non-Disney road trips ideas and tips by people who share their love of Disney, know each other, and live in various locations across the nation.

thank you for starting this thread.

[smallworld0]

That's not a tough question, but the answer might be as the location moves all the time: ANYWHERE THERE'S A STREET ROD SHOW!

Current favorites of DH and me:
Street Rod Nationals, Louisville, KY, Aug 3-6
Shades of the Past, Gatlinburg, TN, Sept 8-10

[Stinkerbelle]

Maybe I'm biased, but I think New Orleans is a great place to visit and we need tourist dollars more now than ever before.

In addition to some of the best food and music in the world and the traditional touristy things to do in the French Quarter (which survived the hurricane just fine) here are some other fun things to do:


Check out our world class zoo:
http://www.auduboninstitute.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Facility_Zoo

or Aquarium
http://www.auduboninstitute.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Facility_Aquarium

And if you are really an Animal lover, this is one of the best experiences ever... the only draw back is you will think the safari at Animal Kingdom is a total rip off. There's nothing that can compare to hand feeding a giraffe. (You will need a rental car to get there.)
http://www.globalwildlife.com/main/index.html

For a more "civilized" way to pass an afternoon check out High Tea at the Windsor Court. The scones and lemon curd are to die for.
http://www.windsorcourthotel.com/web/onor/onor_c4a3_le_salon.jsp

If you have little ones, the Louisiana Children's Museum is a fun place to spend an afternoon.
http://www.lcm.org

You can take an afternoon or dinner cruise on an authentic Riverboat or take a cruise from the Aquarium to the Zoo.
http://www.steamboatnatchez.com/jazzcruise.html

If you aren't lucky enough to be here for Mardi Gras you can still learn all about it and see the floats being built here:
http://www.mardigrasworld.com/

There's lots of great shopping:
http://www.riverwalkmarketplace.com/html/riverwalk.htm or at the many antiques shopes and boutiques in the quarter.

If you want one of the best burgers and some serious libations you'll find them here:
http://www.portofcallneworleans.com/

You'll never run out of things to do here that's for sure.

[Mickey4Us]

Thanks for all the wonderful ideas!
Our trip was on again, off again for several months but at the last minute we decided to go. We were looking forward to a beach vacation where it was somewhat warm and not too far away. We ended up in Ocean City Maryland for a few days and then off to Baltimore, MD for a few more days. Since we couldn't get rooms during the first weekend, we made a quick stop at Sesame Place in PA on the way to OC. We had a great time and there were tons of things to do.