ok, it's time to plan our vacation. in past years we have gone to King's Island, oodles of water parks, cross country from TX or Cali, and then in the mid-west.

Since we are a large family we often have to get 2 room with one being a suite. Of course, we collect Holiday Inn points but still the cost can be wicked high. In October we stayed in Gatlinburg, and we rented a cabin (more like a luxury cabin home) for like $400 which was super cheap! It has a hot tub and everything which was so nice. Once, in Atlanta, we stayed at some hotel that had 2 master suites, a LR with pull out couch, and a full kitchen. We got it for a sweet deal on Orbitz :)

So, where to stay and what to do? We love water parks. Most of the kids (except Jake) really love theme parks. *I* don't like theme parks because I always get stuck with the baby and I can't ride rides because I had back surgery a few years ago and it's the only think my doc told me not to do. But, you know, I have to do what makes the masses happy LOL.

Ugh, hotels always get us on trips so we usually don't even bother... Cabins and camping (we sold our pop-up trailer because it only slept 6 and it just was not big enough so we are back to a tent this year- purchasing a mack daddy big one when tax return comes). We love to camp and hike, etc. and the kids were missing getting to go. We stayed in State Park cabins and that was fun but we ended up doing a lot of tv watching because they all have cable and we don't at home LOL.

This year we are doing more camping throughout the spring and fall and staying in a cabin (this is an annual event) for the 4th of July with my dad and some cousins!!

we don't vacation LOL

We want to take a vacation as a family... but when I priced Disney, it was going to be over $12K for a week. The 5 day passes alone were over $1200! eeks. Of course, I was pricing in June - because that would be between dh's school ending and him getting his next assignment. We don't know where we will be moving in June - so we can't really make plans. AND... we don't know if dh will be deployed once he gets to his new station.

So... we have about $5K set aside... not sure if we will ever get a real family vacation, but it's there. :P

Heather, we did Disneyland a couple of years ago and wouldn't go for 5 days. We saw DL one day and California Adventure another day. It was plenty.

Downtown Disney is shopping and walking and free(!). We enjoyed that just as much.

We stayed off property with a shuttle that drove us to the park.

I'm sure the 12k experience was fabulous, but I'm not sorry at all that we didn't spend that much. Granted we were off season and got a "local" discount, but I think we spent about $800 total with travel time too.

I really do enjoy theme parks, but I cannot imagine staying one week visiting one. :lol: That place is a real racket.

There is also a whole bunch of fun stuff to do in that area that doesn't cost so much.

Another fun thing to do if you are "fly by the seat of your pants" kind of people :lol: , is to sign up for places like Sherman's travel or Travelzoo. They have all sorts of last minute deals. So, you can plan the time of your vacations, but leave the actual place open. I think we'll try to do a Winter vacation like this next year. Often times, airfare and hotels are all-inclusive. You pay extra for the extra things you need.

We travel quite a bit for a large family. It's a big part of our lives. We'll be heading to IN next week.

Stacy, it was Disney World in FL. We figured a day at Epcot, Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and then two days to go back. The difference between a 3 day and 5 day pass wasn't much at all. And, Austin is over 10, so he had to have an adult ticket, too. :P


But - we don't know when we could go anyway. DH finishes school in June, then we will be moving. I do NOT want to vacation in between a move. Taking side trips along the way, yes... full blown vacation, no.

We have a US map up on the wall and have marked all of our routes in black sharpie. There are only really two areas of the US that we haven't seen as a family (simply through the process of moving across the country for military assignments) - New England and the Southwest.

We did take a short vacation to Niagara Falls in November of 05. It was a lot of fun. We lived about 2-3 hours from there, so we went up one day, stayed overnight and left the following afternoon. It was nice - but not long enough. We do day trips quite often - we figure if we are stationed somewhere, we should see as much as we can while we are here. A few weeks ago we went to Charleston, SC for the day. We also want to head to Atlanta while we are here. But... only weekend/day trips because dh can't take any leave while he is in school. :P

we travel a bunch-it's just something we like to do. I really wanted to go to an indoor water park because last time we went to a normal one we got rained out. any suggestions?

We are thinking of going to David's cousin's wedding in BC this summer. The plan would be to drive, as airfine for a family of 7 would kills us. It would be cheaper for all us to fly to London, then to fly from Ottawa(or even drive to Toronto and fly from there) to BC. I believe the plan is to stay in hotels on the way to BC, we will be driving state side not Canada. Then in BC David wants to stay at the hotel the wedding is at, I found a cottage company with very very nice cottages that are the same price as the hotel, but they have 4 bedrooms, a nice large kitchen and washer and dryer! Then on the way home, I want to go to the LLLI conference as we will b driving in that area at the right time.
Other vacations have be to the cottage of a family friend from my childhood. My younger brother is still bestfriend with their son, and told my brother that we are like family and could use it. It's on a small lake, there is no hot water, or shower. It is small, but a lot of sleeping areas(two pull out sofa's, 3 sets on bunk beds, and a double bed, and mats). Now there is a indoor toilet! We canoe to the beach. It is great!

Well, we do Disneyworld an average of once a year. For US it's worth it - but I can see how other families might enjoy something else. With our kids being relatively small, it's one way for us to have something we love to do (fine dining and broadway shows) with something they love to do (small rides and character interaction). It's one of the few times that everyone is happy.

We really like the Disneyworld Cabins. LMK if anyone wants our thread of pictures and I'll go hunt it down. There is a queen/full murphy bed in the living room, another in the bedroom and bunks - so it comfortably sleeps 6 (we had JB in the pack and play next to us).

That's if you want to stay onsite. (There are water parks and theme parks in abudance) within short bus trips.

Disneyland and California Adventure we didn't love - well, we didn't love Disneyland. Too crowded, too congested. Everything was closer together, though. California Adventure was fun - took maybe two good half days to see everything we wanted to see. It's like the top rides of all the WDW parks combined into two parks. (But we still missed a lot of our favorite shoes and attractions).

Is WDW worth $12K? No way. But you can do it cheaper. The cabins are a good start, if you can get a special. However, the best way IMO is to rent a vacation home. Not only at WDW, but everywhere. ..VRBOŽ is Vacation Rentals by OwnerŽ Vacation Homes Rentals by Owner (http://www.vrbo.com) has great leads. We paid around $100 a night for a four bedroom, three bath, with private inground pool and spa and full kitchen/dining room. There was an attached garage with washer and dryer, too. It was like being at home - and it took us MAYBE a grand total of ten minutes to get from our front door to the tram in the parking lot every day.

The only reason we did the cabins this time was the special with prepaid dining plan. We paid somewhere around $4,000 for the whole thing including food in the cabins.

We have also had a great time in Destin, FL - they have beautiful beaches that rival our stay in Maui when I was a teen. The Holiday Inn Destin has family suites (a king bed and bunks) that we squeezed into pre-Jackson. Piper was in a pack and play and J was in our bed. We probably couldn't do it again, though. However, there is a designated private area of the beach that is kept clean and a nice boardwalk and outdoor pool as well as an indoor pool. I'd love to find a house on the beach in Destin, but it's so overly populated now - the strip is like Vegas to me ;). The kids had fun there for a day or two, but then got very hot and bored. (Too young to really enjoy the ocean, except my oldest who boogy boarded).

We also enjoyed the Savannah area - we stayed in the Holiday Inn on Hilton Head. The hotel was nice - it had a king bed and pull-out full sized bed with beautiful oceanfront views and walkout patios. the beach was very close and nice to walk by. Free breakfast buffet for the kids. :) The drive to Savannah wasn't too bad. If I had it to do over again, I would have taken a trolley tour. We thought they were tourist-y, but overheard a few while taking photographs of the square and they had great historical info on the mansions.

San Diego is also a great spot - we drove down from Anaheim. Oh - when we were in Anaheim we stayed in the Residence Inn (by Marriot) on Clementine. It was a family penthouse - two stories including 14 steps up to the king loft bedroom. Upstairs was the king bed and a full bath. Downstairs was a queen/twin bunk in a bedroom with its own bath - and a pull-out sleeper sofa in the living room to sleep two more. We were all SO spread out it was lovely. The only time in a hotel where we weren't on top of eachother and going crazy when we were stuck in the room. I highly recommend Residence Inn for big families. We've stopped doing Holiday Inn now and are doing Marriot rewards points from here on out :)

Well, we do Disneyworld an average of once a year. For US it's worth it - but I can see how other families might enjoy something else. With our kids being relatively small, it's one way for us to have something we love to do (fine dining and broadway shows) with something they love to do (small rides and character interaction). It's one of the few times that everyone is happy.


see, when you are all diplomatic like this, it makes me look like a -itch. :lol: Seriously though, I cannot imagine spending every vacation in the same place. I keep thinking: "The world is so huge! I must see it all!" :lol: You have a very valid point though and you clearly enjoy Disney and your family while you are t here.

I'll be back to post some of my other cheaper travel ideas. My girly just had a blow out. It will require rubber gloves, salad tongs, a bath, and maybe a load of laundry.

we travel a bunch-it's just something we like to do. I really wanted to go to an indoor water park because last time we went to a normal one we got rained out. any suggestions?

Sorry, I'm not a big family mama but am butting in anyway ... what about the Great Wolf Lodge? Great Wolf Lodge - Welcome to America's Largest Family of Indoor Waterparks (http://www.greatwolf.com/)

We went last summer and it was SO fun. We want to go back, but not while I'm pregnant cause the chlorine smell is too strong.

You could never be a -itch ;)

I do love seeing more places. We usually have this conversation:

Let's go somewhere ELSE this year.

Okay, where?

I don't know - beach?

Nah - Piper eats sand and Sky is scared of the ocean.

(it goes on like this with other suggestions).

Then we end with, "no matter where we go, we have to pay X to get there and X to stay there and X to eat there - and at least at WDW there's stuff to keep us BUSY the whole time on top of that" :D

We'd like to do a cruise eventually - Bahaman or Mexico. But, not while they're little. It's too hard to split up right now.

the only reason we do Holiday Inn points is because DH travels for work and he gets to collect points while the company pays for it.

Maybe something like Asheville. I bet *most* of the kids would find the Biltmore Estate interesting. I think I am tired of theme/water parks. I want to do something interesting. We *loved* Gatlinburg! We saw a dinner show, went to the kids museum, and walked downtown. We all really enjoyed that trip :)

Our big vaction has been Disney World once every 2 years since 2003. We would be "scheduled" to go back this year, but decided to wait another year when the baby will be about 2.

Our last trip was with a family of 6(4 kids all 7 and under). We had 5 day park hoppers, but stayed offsite at the Nick Hotel, which is just down the street from WDW. We saved approx. $200/nite staying there vs. on site at one of the hotels that would accomodate a family our size. I think we may try the cabins next time. Anyway, we go at the end of September. It is off season, so everything is cheaper and less crowded.

Outside of big vacations, we do lots of little day trips. We go up to Sleeping Bear Dunes in MI at the end of every summer for the day(it is a 3 hour drive for us) and stuff along those lines. This year I want to hit the zoo and children's museum in Indy, plus maybe hit Chicago and do some stuff there too.

Sorry, I'm not a big family mama but am butting in anyway ... what about the Great Wolf Lodge? Great Wolf Lodge - Welcome to America's Largest Family of Indoor Waterparks (http://www.greatwolf.com/)

We went last summer and it was SO fun. We want to go back, but not while I'm pregnant cause the chlorine smell is too strong.


thanks!

Branson was fun - the lake was beautiful (Table Rock) and we stayed in a two bedroom resort with a covered/enclosed patio overlooking the lake. We had fun at Silver Dollar City and on the Branson Belle riverboat.

We used to do Holiday Inn for his work travel, but he just had to contact the HR department and their work travel agent to let them know that he was going to be staying at the Marriot family of hotels from now on. It was really easy. Does your DH's work require that he stay in Holiday Inns?

Our only family vacations have been the last two summers (before that we just couldn't afford it). Two years ago, we rented a house at the beach (Emerald Isle, NC)....it was on the sound side of the island, but still only a block to walk to the ocean side. It was a 3 bedroom (queen bed in master, two twins in each of the other two bedrooms). We got a great deal on it ($500 for a week during the summer) b/c my dh teaches with a friend of the person that owns it. For us, it saved a lot of money b/c it had a full kitchen and dining area, so we didn't have to eat every meal out. Plus it had a washer and dryer (and clothes line), so we didn't have to pack as much! There was a charcoal grill, so some nights we grilled out. We had a blast! We spent part of each day at the beach (we brought paddle balls, sand castle stuff, books, a beach tent, etc) and part of each day going somewhere...putt-putt golf, sightseeing, etc.

Last year, we did a similar trip, but went to the Outer Banks of NC instead and rented a condo. It was fun to go somewhere different (there's lots of National Parks and stuff to do at the Outer Banks--Wright Brother's Memorial; Kill Devil Hills, Cape Hatteras, etc), but the condo was a bit more cramped than the house.

We rented a house on a lake in NH this year. I'm super excited! There is a hot tub, and a paddleboat and a canoe. All the appliances and dishes pots and pans etc are included. We just have to bring linens and food. And of course clothing for ourselves. *lol* I can't think of a more relaxing way to spend a week with my family vacationing. Not having anything really to worry about. We'll get fresh lobster and crabs and grill grill grill. Plus my mil and fil and my sil and bil and their 6 kids are staying at ahouse across the lake from us. We'll likely go mini golfing at the place down the street and go out for ice cream. put the kids to bed and then dh and I can sit in the hot tub together! hubba hubba! ;)

Branson was fun - the lake was beautiful (Table Rock) and we stayed in a two bedroom resort with a covered/enclosed patio overlooking the lake. We had fun at Silver Dollar City and on the Branson Belle riverboat.

We used to do Holiday Inn for his work travel, but he just had to contact the HR department and their work travel agent to let them know that he was going to be staying at the Marriot family of hotels from now on. It was really easy. Does your DH's work require that he stay in Holiday Inns?

yeah, it has to be Holiday Inn. The company does direct bill with them so that's who he has to use. If there is not a Holiday Inn in the area then they will direct bill for Baymont, but it's not their preference.

I will check out Branson :)