Where would you take your 5 year old for a bday trip?

[Anonymous]

Our DC is turning 5 in January and we're hoping to take a weekend family trip. We were going to do a week in Disney, but now that looks like will be a bit much. We've also thought about doing Great Wolf. Any suggestions for a destination family bday celebration?

TIA!

[Anonymous]

Baltimore? Stay over at Inner Harbor, go to the aquarium, Port Discovery, and the Science Center. Dinner at an Italian restaurant.

[Anonymous]

Does she like to ski? Wintergreen Resort in Virginia is a wonderful weekend get away.

[Anonymous]

I would take any of the cheap/reliable buses to NYC and take your child to a Broadway play. We did that when our DD turned 5 and it was the memory of a lifetime for her.

[Anonymous]

Great Wolf!

Your child will love it and so will you!

[Anonymous]

Philadelphia -- Franklin Institute, Please Touch Museum, Great Adventure Aquarium, Art Museum.

Stay in a hotel with a pool.

[Anonymous]

Possibly somewhere like Philadelphia or Baltimore - but more for a general family vacation then a birthday.

Birthdays we sometimes go out to dinner, and/or on a day trip.

Baltimore has a lot of stuff to do. Train museum, aquarium, children's museum, boat rides, etc. However unlike here everything costs money so that's something to consider.

We haven't gone to Philly yet but the Please Touch Museum is supposed to be a lot of fun.

[Anonymous]

OP here:: Great ideas! We've been to the Inner Harbor, but have not been to all of the sites. Philadelphia or a show in NY sounds like fun, too!

Thanks a lot!

[Anonymous]

Unclear why you aren't doing Disney? Go for just a few days if you don't want to do a whole week. It's the right place at the right age. Do it now!

[Anonymous]

What's your budget? There are ways to save money at Disney. If you could possiblly do Disney, do it!

But Great Wolf is a good idea too.

[Anonymous]

NP.

I want to go to Great Wolf but I heard it was run down and overpriced. Why does everyone keep recommending it?

[Anonymous]

I don't know why people recommend gwl. We ( the parents) really disliked it. We has cockroaches in our room, the beds were terrible and everything was overpriced and dirty. Even our 7 year old complained about the bunk beds being uncomfortable. The kids had a good, but not great time at the waterpark, and aren't begging to go back.

[Anonymous]

I think you are setting yourselves up for disaster. You take him away for his fifth birthday and he's going to expect it every year.

[Anonymous]

How about a picnic at a local park and hike afterward?

[Anonymous]

For a January birthday, the ideas you got are great. I just wanted to chime in about Great Wolf. I haven't been there, but almost everyone I know has and they rave about it. But, they all have multiple kids and travel in groups. So, it's not just parents with one kid. If you are thinking about Great Wolf, go to the website so you get discount information. It's pricey. I love NYC and took my kids at that age who also loved it, but I can't imagine that in January. But then, I'm not a winter person. Have you thought about skiing? Ski Liberty has a kid's ski camp that mine loved.