I think it’s fair if you offer alternatives. I absolutely refuse to go to the mall, ever. I won’t go to a dirty, packed-with-bodies, ugly structure with neon lights and blaring music. My children love ugly malls, so my DH indulges them. On my time, we go to botanical gardens, art museums and big open, green parks.

Tell your DH to have fun at the bowling alley, you’ll take the kids next time (somewhere nice).

We have done almost an identical trip in Breck. Crested Butte is a great option. We like to stay in town or Skyland/Buckhorn ranch which is 2 miles outside of town but we rent bikes and the kids can ride bikes. Fantasy Ranch Stables offers trail rides on the mountain and there are a few stables in nearby Gunnison that offer equestrian experiences for kids as young as 3. Three Rivers rafting offers white water rafting family trips even for kids as young as 3. They have a float and dine option where you raft for 1-2 hours to a popular Italian restaurant that’s on the water called Garlic Mike’s. It’s a really beautiful setting and great old school Italian and cocktail bars with views. We go standup paddle boarding at several of the gorgeous lakes within minutes of the town. There are multiple rental places for paddle boards and bikes. There are public tennis and pickleball courts and several airbnbs includes the balls and rackets.There are children yoga classes offered in many studios. There’s a few nice day spas too. We let our children do the Mountain Experience at the base of the ski mountain which included bungee trampoline rides, rock climbing and panning for gold. They will do this all day and you can sit and enjoy a coffee or beer while watching them. The town itself is very quaint and pretty lined with colorful, Victorian homes and unique shops and restaurants with flower box lined patios and is nice to just walk around and have dinner and get an ice cream from Tin Cup or chocolate covered apple from Rocky Mountain chocolates. There is a wonderful book store and toy store the kids enjoy going and picking out something. There are hikes for all levels including toddlers. There is a popular storybook hike that tells a different part of the story at each stop and a children’s museum geared towards kids who are even 3 or 4 as well as a really nice public library with basketball courts and playgrounds. There are also a number of childcare options including drop in date nights at various fitness and yoga studios and the mountain itself has daily camps you can sign your kids up for that they do adventure and nature activities from age 4. Our airbnb includes puzzles and board games, a hot tub and a firepit to make s’mores. Several days a week in the summer the mountain offers free outdoor concerts in the evening. Restaurants you would enjoy with kids are Secret Stash pizza and Public House which is a mountain pub with a kids menu. It’s a relaxing trip and we prefer it to the beach with children now that we have gone a few years. We still go to the beach every year but it’s something different and we tend to spend less than we do in beach towns.

Anonymous wrote:Can Colorado person provide details on these trips? What towns and what lodging? I’ll take the itinerary and book it today.

We like Breckenridge and stay at Beaver Run resort. The year after covid was not quite as clean as I could have been but it’s improved again. I think the towns struggled to maintain staff, but the problem has been resolved. If your kids are young there is the Moutain Top Children’s Museum for rainy days, which are unusual. For small kids three is a cute short hike behind the ice skating rink to see the giant troll - my kids enjoyed that when they were little. There is also wading in the Blue River right along Main St, which my kids liked. As they got older we go a bit further hiking, rent mountain bikes, canoes, or stand up paddle boards. E-bikes have gotten very popular, but not really our thing. There is also Epic Discovery at the top of the gondola, but I find it crowded and suffers from the same problems of other amusement parks. We took the kids a couple times, but I don’t recommend it. It is worth taking the chair lift up and having lunch on the deck of the restaurant up there though.

At the resort there is swimming and an arcade, if the kids are into it. I can tolerate that arcade, because it’s never crowded and it’s something to do after a long day. It’s also kinda retro and reminds me of the 80s and isn’t dirty in an arcade sense. It’s not too expensive and you can walk pretty much everywhere from there. There is also some nice hiking on the Burro trail right outside your door. If you take the trail you can also go wading in the creek in a nice area where there are never any other kids. When my younger one was toddler I would go there because the water was so calm I didn’t have to worry about her. That’s where she learned to skim a stone. We also tie sticks together and race them under the bridge there, which is endless old fashioned fun for my kids. Horseback riding and trail riding is also a short hike behind the building at Breck stables.

Anonymous wrote:Look into Colorado for the summer, especially the mountain towns. It’s surprisingly affordable in my opinion, especially compared to many of the beach destinations and there’s nothing cheesy or gross about it. The weather is always incredible so everything is more enjoyable. Some activities my kids enjoy are mountain biking or riding bikes, horseback riding, whitewater rafting, fishing, the ski mountain adventure parks which have “gold panning”, rock climbing walls, trampoline bungees, coasters through the mountains, going in the hot tub, making s’mores, getting hot cocoa at the coffee shops and the towns are usually great with family friendly restaurants and toy and ice cream shops. There’s a lot of options if things to do for children and my husband and I enjoy many of the activities myself.

Couldn’t agree more!

Kids are 14 and 8 and we go to Breck every summer for a month at least for the last 10 years. So many things to do. Even the children’s indoor play museum is clean.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP- I was you. Hang in there. Kids love tacky places. They just do. Chuck E Cheese, disney, those trampoline places, those indoor game places.

I promise you they will grow out of it and you can go back to standards.

What age do they outgrow this? I just want to take them to Nantucket or London but it feels like it’s a long time off that they’d enjoy that.

My kids love both of those places -- the beach and the city. My philosophy is to bring the kids on your vacation, not go on the kids' vacation. They don't "need" a gross amusement park or grody trash boardwalk beach to have fun.
My kids have fun if there is 1) water or nature (a pool, a beach, forest, parks) 2) good food and 3) an internet connection. If we are in the city, they need outings like museums (more science or kid based than art) or public parks.

We will never go on a cruise or go to six flags because I don't want to. But will I take them to Bar Harbor, the Italian Riviera and New York City? Yes.

I feel sad for your kid. No 11 year old prefers the French Riviera to 6 Flags.

DP

You’re probably right, but my kids will never know. My kids have never and will never go to 6 flags. I cannot handle the other clientele. Disney was enough for an amusement park and once was enough for me. I’d rather go abroad, skiing, surfing, scuba diving, on a jungle trip, etc - so many other less gross places to go.

Anonymous wrote:Please give specific examples of where you have been that was filthy.

Amusement park is too general. Disney for example is VERY clean. As is the small amusement park in Howard County off of I-70. I'm sure some Six Flags could use more cleaning, but I think it's park specific.

NP
DIsney is clean FOR AN AMUSEMENT PARK. It’s not that clean. One still has to sit on sweaty seats someone was just in etc. I also hate all public pools, even the “clean” one at my country club, although I will get in like once.a year. I also hate arcades and all those things where my kids have to touch buttons and things with other people’s germs all over them. The people that frequent those places are not very clean and i see them wiping their mouth and nose with their hands and touching buttons. Gross. I am a bit of a germophobe, and I know it. I’d rather go for a bike ride or walk in the park or places where we don’t have to touch other people’s germs so much. I also don’t like being around garbage, so clean parks please.

Take over vacation planning. You’ve received some great suggestions here that will make you, your kids & DH happy - tell DH that you are taking the reins for next trip.

My 2 cents - London is great, Nantucket is boring for anyone under 50. But a Boston-Cape Cod trip would be fun for your family - aquarium, duck boats, beaches, nature preserves, whale watch, water parks.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP- I was you. Hang in there. Kids love tacky places. They just do. Chuck E Cheese, disney, those trampoline places, those indoor game places.

I promise you they will grow out of it and you can go back to standards.

What age do they outgrow this? I just want to take them to Nantucket or London but it feels like it’s a long time off that they’d enjoy that.

My kids love both of those places -- the beach and the city. My philosophy is to bring the kids on your vacation, not go on the kids' vacation. They don't "need" a gross amusement park or grody trash boardwalk beach to have fun.
My kids have fun if there is 1) water or nature (a pool, a beach, forest, parks) 2) good food and 3) an internet connection. If we are in the city, they need outings like museums (more science or kid based than art) or public parks.

We will never go on a cruise or go to six flags because I don't want to. But will I take them to Bar Harbor, the Italian Riviera and New York City? Yes.

I feel sad for your kid. No 11 year old prefers the French Riviera to 6 Flags.

Six flag is actual garbage. Waiting in super long lines in the heat, broken rides, etc.

Take your kid to France and go to Asterix Parc. Best of both worlds.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP- I was you. Hang in there. Kids love tacky places. They just do. Chuck E Cheese, disney, those trampoline places, those indoor game places.

I promise you they will grow out of it and you can go back to standards.

What age do they outgrow this? I just want to take them to Nantucket or London but it feels like it’s a long time off that they’d enjoy that.

My kids love both of those places -- the beach and the city. My philosophy is to bring the kids on your vacation, not go on the kids' vacation. They don't "need" a gross amusement park or grody trash boardwalk beach to have fun.
My kids have fun if there is 1) water or nature (a pool, a beach, forest, parks) 2) good food and 3) an internet connection. If we are in the city, they need outings like museums (more science or kid based than art) or public parks.

We will never go on a cruise or go to six flags because I don't want to. But will I take them to Bar Harbor, the Italian Riviera and New York City? Yes.

I feel sad for your kid. No 11 year old prefers the French Riviera to 6 Flags.

I think that is a vast generalization. One of my 2 tweens would *absolutely*make that choice. Try some other simplistic generalization next time.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP- I was you. Hang in there. Kids love tacky places. They just do. Chuck E Cheese, disney, those trampoline places, those indoor game places.

I promise you they will grow out of it and you can go back to standards.

What age do they outgrow this? I just want to take them to Nantucket or London but it feels like it’s a long time off that they’d enjoy that.

My kids love both of those places -- the beach and the city. My philosophy is to bring the kids on your vacation, not go on the kids' vacation. They don't "need" a gross amusement park or grody trash boardwalk beach to have fun.
My kids have fun if there is 1) water or nature (a pool, a beach, forest, parks) 2) good food and 3) an internet connection. If we are in the city, they need outings like museums (more science or kid based than art) or public parks.

We will never go on a cruise or go to six flags because I don't want to. But will I take them to Bar Harbor, the Italian Riviera and New York City? Yes.

I feel sad for your kid. No 11 year old prefers the French Riviera to 6 Flags.

You do know that you can go to both places, right?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ocean City is gross. Find a place with no fried dough for sale.
Sounds like a price point problem. Or a cheapskate planner.
Find a place that kids will enjoy and that also has a nice hotel and spa nearby. Does it have to have rides?

About the only good thing Ocean City has going for it is that the boardwalk food is actually good compared to the hell of amusement park food. The fries, soft serve, funnel cake, real lemonade…

Ocean City NJ and Ocean City MD are very different. Not sure folks are talking about the same place.

Things don't have to be amusement parks to be fun. My kid is 11 and has been to Legoland in FL, Busch Gardens in VA, Rye Playland in NY, and Dutch Wonderland and Hershey Park in PA. But we've also been to over 30 National Parks and almost all the Virginia State Parks.

When you go to Virginia Beach, for instance, you're not stuck staying in some junky hotel downtown and spending the day on the Boardwalk. We've spent a few hours there, but our favorite thing to do is ride our bikes on the beach from Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge to False Cape State Park. We first did it when my kid was 5.

I say all that to say...YOU can research alternatives. Shenandoah National Park is close to DC and has great hikes for kids. Stop at Apple House for the best Apple butter cinnamon doughnuts, go for a morning hike, go to a ranger program, have a picnic.

The kids will be old enough to go to amusement parks with just your husband soon. It's on YOU to find things that you love that don't feel gross to you.

Anonymous wrote:Thank you all. Yes, we are in a Jersey Shore / Ocean City type place. Appreciate that this is just a phase and we were kind of backed into this situation given some stuff I can’t really elaborate on. Also thanks for the recommendations on Busch and Disney. I’m all for the kids getting their adrenaline rush but I can’t do the constant state of decay and grossness anymore.

Yeah, those are two places to never go.

Anonymous wrote:So your husband sounds like a cheap miser and is pinching pennies rather than booking nice places. Stop letting him plan the vacations if they aren't up to your standards.

Sounds more like he’s gearing his vacations towards what kids like rather than what adults like. We’ve done that plenty of times. Going to carnivals and amusement parks and boardwalks. But I draw the line at dumpy hotels.

Do the kids like his outings? Did he grow up having to be careful with money? Was he like this before kids? Is it a money thing for him? Have you suggested other types or trips? What type of tips would you like to be taking, and can you afford them, and would the rest of the family enjoy it?

I was a little spoiled when it came to travel compared to DH and early on in our relationship I had to be clear about what kind of places I wouldn't stay in (didn't have to be a 4 star hotel, but also not a roadside motel that smelled like mildew). We liked the same general activities, but certain components needed to be adjusted.