Your Guide to Family-Friendly Day Trips in New Jersey, New York…and Beyond
On our trip to Niagara Falls, we stayed at two different hotels. Our time was limited, and we chose one hotel in the heart of the tourist district, and one that was slightly further away. Here’s our review of both.
Best Western Cairn Croft Hotel
If you’re going to Niagara Falls with kids, you’ll be faced with a long list of things you can do. We went in November, when some of the seasonal activities had ended. That made it a little easier for us to decide what to do. Here’s are some things we’d recommend to do at Niagra Falls with kids.
Niagara boat cruise
We stayed at the Staybridge Suites on our visit to the Corning in Corning Museum of Glass.
We visited Corning NY on a beautiful fall day. While it rained in the morning, these were the sunny skies we got later. Most people visit Corning to see the Corning Museum of Glass (our review here) and even to make their own glass.
If you have time to visit the Gaffer’s District downtown (gaffer being a term used for a glassblower), check it out. You can walk from the Corning Museum of Glass – it takes probably 15 minutes at a good pace. There is parking downtown, though. Continue reading “Visiting Corning New York and the Rockwell Museum”
If you plan a trip to the Corning Museum of Glass with kids, don’t overlook the Make Your Own Glass experience. The kids will be very excited to do this, and to be honest, it’s awesome for adults as well.
Continue reading “Make Your Own Glass Review – Corning Museum of Glass with Kids”
What’s it like to go to the Corning Museum of Glass with kids? I heard its holdings were extensive and one could easily spend a complete day or two there, exploring the galleries. I thought they might be bored. Turns out they loved it. While others could spend days there, our visit was limited to 3 hours (including the “make your own glass” experience – separate post). And that was enough time to see much of the museum, even though we rushed through the very large 35 Centuries of Glass gallery, as the kids were running out of steam.
Interactive Fun Continue reading “Review: Corning Museum of Glass with Kids”
We usually do a NJ corn maze every year, and it’s often the Stony Hill corn maze. This year was no exception. Why Stony Hill? They have a lot of other activities to do there, many included with the basic admission. The corn maze is well done also.
When we went on a recent Saturday, they had live music, which we could hear inside the maze. They also had a face painter. Not sure if you pay extra for that.
This year’s theme is Rutger’s 250th anniversary.
We took our teen daughter to the Museum of Arts and Design recently, curious to check out a smaller Manhattan museum we hadn’t yet been to. I highly recommend taking the free docent tour, which lasts about an hour and gives a good highlight of the exhibits. Of course you can head back to look further before or after you’re done.
It’s not a big museum, so if you’re looking for something manageable with the kids (an hour or less), this is a good option. It’s in Columbus Circle and it’s free for kids 18 and under ($16/adult). They have a number of family programs as well, so check that out when planning your visit.
Continue reading “Review: Museum of Arts and Design with Kids”
I’ve been to a lot of Broadway theaters, but the Gershwin Theater is really made for audiences. Some theaters don’t allow you in before the show, resulting in the long lines you see when walking down the streets around Times Square. Patrons stand out in line, resulting in a rush for the restrooms, rush to get in the door, and concerns about being late even though they are already holding their tickets. So I was thrilled that not only were we allowed in early, but that there was plenty of space and things to do and see before the show (and no line at Will Call 30 minutes before).
Continue reading “Wicked on Broadway: Is it Appropriate for Kids?”
If you’re not familiar with the premise of An Act of God, the show is basically a monologue with God coming to you through the physical body of an actor (in this case Sean Hayes). God riffs on a whole lot of things, including misconceptions about God and the 10 Commandments. And then he introduces a new set of 10 Commandments because he’s pretty sick of the old ones and never intended those to be his greatest hits.
Continue reading “An Act of God Review: Is it Appropriate for Kids?”