We just got back from our family vacation, driving from Long Island to Washington DC, then to Pennsylvania for some theme parks. Because I have 7 relatives from my husband’s side of the family visiting from the Phillipines, it was hard to organize all of us. We were happy to drive but had already been all over the Northeast. My husband’s mother is afraid to fly anywhere, and my father-in-law is afraid of cruise ships.
I really appreciate all the advice you gave me and your other vacation ideas. We did rent a big van, put everyone in it, then I used the familytravelforum articles I read about this region to plan the itinerary. The driving was fun because there were a lot of us to take turns and we ate and played all sorts of car games. The roads werent’ too bad and highway road stands have gotten to be much more fun places to stop and take a bathroom break.
Washington was fun and hot, but lots of museums, though they are free. After 3 days my kids really wanted some thrill rides. I have to say, Dorney Park (http://www.dorneypark.com/) is just so much better a deal than Hershey’s! My kids are too big for Sesame Place, but we always used to go there and love it.
6 Flags in New Jersey charges 3 admissions, one for the park, the safari and one for the waterpark. It was almost $100 for each of us to spend the day and see what we wanted.
Now, at Hersheys (http://www.hersheypark.com), you have to pay separately for the water park, and in summer, that’s where you want to be. It’s a very nice place but it is much more expensive.
We loved Dorney Park because the water park and rides are altogether. They had enough coasters that my son was happy and his sister had plenty of smaller rides for her. I love the wave pool, so I just stayed there all day. I rented a cabana and put my mother-in-law there to watch all of our things. It was in the shade. From inside, she could lie down and still see the kids, and I didn’t have to pay for any lockers to put our towels, bags and change of clothes.
We stayed there all day and just relaxed, i would recommend it to any family, especially one with a big group like mine. It’s called Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom | 3830 Dorney Park Road | Allentown, PA 18104 | (610) 395-3724
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