The Story Book Gardens and Timbavati Wildlife Park at Wisconsin Dells was probably the attraction that we were the least thrilled about of the places we visited while at the Dells.
The reason for the name “Story Book Gardens” is because there are various spots throughout the park where a large wooden book is open to a certain page containing an exerpt from a fairy tale or other children’s story. Then, there is a small scene located next to the book. For example, there was one place with a giant shoe and children around it for the Old Lady that lived in a shoe. My family teases me and calls me “Shoe” because of that rhyme and because I have four kids, so I had to take a picture of that one.
All in all, however, the story book statues looked a bit ratty and were unimpressive. Also, the landscaping was quite bare when we were there. There was a lady outside planting some annuals. So, I don’t know if we were just too early in the season to see it in its full glory or what. If that was the case, we should have received a discount because this was also one of the most expensive attractions we visited.
We were looking forward to the wildlife park part of this attraction, but the cages were very tiny and they were not created to look like the animal’s natural habitat. We have been to so many wonderful zoos, that this was really quite sad by comparison. On the bright side, there were plenty of opportunities for feeding the animals, including feeding giraffes. You can purchase food in the store that you have to pass through in order to enter the park. We bought two cups and probably could have used more.
I will say this, the park did make for some cute photo opps, so I guess it was worth it for that reason. I will be sharing photos in my next post. But, as far as wildlife parks are concerned, our visit to the Virigina Safari Park was a far cooler experience – I will share more on that at another time!
The most recent family vacation that my family and I went on was a trip to Wisconsin Dells. After having already gone to Disney World earlier this year, we decided to go on a sort of mini-trip to a location that was nearby (unfortunately, my husband doesn’t get much vacation time and I am always using it up with vacations!). So, since we reside in Indiana, a trip to Wisconsin Dells was only about 5 or 6 hours away.
I had never been to the Dells before and I really didn’t expect much from it. In fact, I kind of thought that it would be pretty lame – especially after having gone to Disney. But, we really did enjoy our time there.
Wisconsin Dells is known for its many waterparks. After having watched a travel channel special and finding that two of its water parks were listed as the top ten in the nation, Noahs Ark and the Kalahari resort, I decided to book a stay at the Kalahari. The Kahlahari has both an indoor and outdoor water park. Since we went in early June, it was actually a bit cold to enjoy the outdoor water park. The indoor water park was a whole lot of fun, though, and there were some great play areas that my five-year-old twins could enjoy without concern for their safety.
Althouogh the rooms at the Kalahari were really nice and the water park was great, my family and I likely won’t stay there again. The luxury of staying at a resort with a waterpark is quite costly and turned out not to be worth it for us because we only spent time there on two days of our trip – and, the second day was really more because we wanted to feel like we were getting our money’s worth. If you are planning a trip to the Dells, it might be better to simply plan a stay at a less expensive hotel and save your money for visiting the many sites the Dells has to offer.
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Posted in Great Cities for Family Vacations, Lodging Tips for Family Travel, a, an, and, ark, book, channel, decided, dells, dells , enjoy, finding, indoor, kalahari, noahs, outdoor, park, park , resort, special, stay, the, there wisconsin, time, travel, watched, water, waterparks , wisconsin
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When you visit the Smoky Mountains, a trip to the Ripley’s Aquarium is an absolute must. Your children are certain to be thrilled with the many close encounters they will experience. In addition, there are several great photo opportunities that will provide you with photos that will bring a smile to your face years after your trip – particularly the “aquariums” that allow your children to feel what it is like to be a fish.
When your child jumps into the “aquarium” and pretends to be a fish, this is a great opportunity to test his or her fish knowledge. Ask your child what else he would need if he were really a fish. Then, ask him to describe to you what the life of a fish would be like. Based on this discussion, you can then challenge your child to come up with a non-rhyming poem created from the word “Fish.” To create this poem, simply have your child think of four lines to the poem, with the first line starting with an F, the second starting with an I, the third starting with an S, and the last line starting with an H. The poem can be as silly or serious as you like. For example:
Funny swimming creatures
In and out they weave
Stop and be sure to watch them
How beautiful they are
If your child seems to enjoy this activity, challenge him or her to create similar poems based on the names of the other creatures you encounter during your visit. Then, have your child put them together in a book and illustrate the poems – what a great momento of your trip that would be!
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Posted in Educational Family Travel, Museums for Family Vacations, National Parks to Visit with Kids, a, and, based, book, challenge, child, create, created, fish, fish , illustrate, knowledge , line, lines, non rhyming, poem, poems, similar, starting, the
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