KinderJet.com - Family Travel Blogs

Everyone knows that when you fly your family down to Florida for vacation, you will have no trouble finding tons of family friendly things to do at every turn. Amusement and water parks abound. Rockets, race cars and rollercoasters. Beaches, beaches and more beaches. You are all set when it comes to keeping the kids happy and having fun.

We have been to Florida a few times, with and without our kids. On our most recent trip, I wanted to find some new experiences for my husband and me, as well as the kids. We spent lots of our time in Tampa, so it was in that area that we made some great discoveries. These are the kind of things you can look for anywhere you take your family.

One of the reasons for planning our recent trip to Florida was the opening of a new Legoland in Winter Haven, Fl. And since our friends who live there hand not been to the new Legoland yet, all plans revolved around Legoland Day. Kids missed school, parents missed work, weather reports were consulted, traffic patterns were taken into consideration, bank accounts were emptied, sunscreen and hats were packed, and off we went to Winter Haven. Yay!

Overall, I would say that we were not as impressed with Legoland Florida as we were in California. But to be fair, Legoland California was our first experience. Overwhelming, exciting and everything new. At Legoland Florida, we found much of the same attractions, with a few variations, but definitely we found everything we love about Legoland!

Let me start by telling you this...we have been to Florida 5 times, and we have been to Kennedy Space Center 4 times. Each time we begin planning our trip, I think "This will be the time we will skip it." But my husband is a space geek, and he always insists we go, and I am never sorry we did. This is the second time the kids have gone, and they seemed to love it just as much as the first time.

We start off on the bus tour, which takes us to secure parts of the facility that are not accessible to the public any other way. The regular bus tour is part of your admission. 

I have to admit, I am not a big car racing fan. Nevertheless, I found myself watching the end of the Daytona 500 yesterday with interest and anticipation. I felt so much more knowledgeable about the race, having thoroughly enjoyed our recent visit to the Daytona International Speedway. This was my husband and my second tour of the facility, but the first time for our older sons, as well the real racing fan of the family, our four year old. And he was not disappointed.

There are gators in Florida, it is a well known fact. And the very best place to catch sight of them (in my opinion) is on the wildlife reserve on which Kennedy Space Center is located.

I saw about a dozen of them along the side of the road. Luckily, this one happened to be lounging next to an intersection where the tour bus stopped. So, we got a good photo!

We have traveled as a couple, traveled with our kids on our own, and traveled with our kids and other, like another family or grandparents and other family members. There are pros and cons to each of those situations. On this trip, we have traveled to a place where we have freinds to visit, another family with two boys, whose ages are not quite the same as our boys. This other family is spending much of our vacation with us, which is great.

We are on our way to our Winter destination of choice this year, Florida, USA. 4 suitcases, 5 carry-ons, 3 DS games, one DVD player, 5 cameras and this new iPad. Posting on this is an experiment for me, so we will see how it goes. I will be trying to update frequently with travel tips and disasters, not that I am predicting any travel disasters. For now, here we are at the gate waaaaay too early. (Got to the airport 3 hours early as suggested by the airline, and no lines in customs or security. Murphy's Travel Law.) Lucky for me, our gate is right beside  Starbucks! 

We are packing up our family of five, and heading to Florida next week, where we will hit the new Legoland, Kennedy Space Centre and Daytona International Speedway. We are not planning on visiting Disney or Universal this trip, because we have been to Florida so many times, and we are looking for soemthing new to experience. Enter Lonely Planet, one of my favourite travel resources. And they have a video to fill in our Travel Video of the Week! Bonus!

Four years ago in February, we spent some time in Florida, including one long, hot day at Kennedy Space Center, to see a shuttle launch. Now that they have launched the last shuttle, I am so glad we stuck it out and got this video! This February, we will return to Florida (why not!?!) and we will make another trek to Kennedy. Maybe no more shuttles will launch, but I still have 3 little boys who love rockets, and shuttles, and space.

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Today is the last official day of Summer. If you are missing it already, and looking for somewhere to take your family where you can enjoy surf, sand and sun, look no further.

Our kids got their Lego Store Calendar in the mail this week, and were excited to show me there is a new Legoland opening in Florida in October. My eyes got big as I contemplated this opportunity to combine two of our family's favourite activities, Lego and travel. What could be better!?!

This summer, the final NASA manned flight to space will happen. The final Space Shuttle Launch will take place in July. It is not too late to take your family and see this historic, and breathtaking, event.

Yay! I have photos of the beach day! Our older boys LOVE the beach, no matter where it is or what the temperature. We were lucky that on the day we planned to go to Tampa, it was sunny and warm. Not hot, but nice enough for some splashing and playing.

Two 6 year olds and a 4 month old in Disney World? If there is anywhere you can travel with little ones with relative ease, it is at a Disney theme park. The real question was, would we make it to the fireworks?

Three years ago, we took our three kids to Florida for a week in February. And our youngest was only 4 months old! What were we thinking??? After the first crazy day at Kennedy Space Center watching the Shuttle launch, we were thinking it was time for a break.

I don't know if it was insanity, lack of sleep or an overwhelming desire to escape Winter. Three years ago, we took our twin 6 year old boys and 4 month old baby (!) to Florida for a week in February. It turned out surprisingly well. Here's how it started...