{"id":40955,"date":"2015-12-26T23:02:44","date_gmt":"2015-12-27T05:02:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/?p=40955"},"modified":"2018-02-27T17:23:46","modified_gmt":"2018-02-27T23:23:46","slug":"8-great-kid-friendly-destinations-for-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/8-great-kid-friendly-destinations-for-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"8 great kid-friendly destinations for 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

Is your family getting so tired of the same old, same old vacation plan that your kids end up spending most of the time staring at their iPads? If you’re looking to shake up the family vacation, here are 8 great kid-friendly destinations for 2016.<\/p>\n

Related: Cool family cruise perks kids will love<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"legoland-florida\"

Legoland | Flickr CC: VisitCentralFL<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Winter Haven, Florida<\/h3>\n

Other than a break from a brutal winter, just why would anyone pack their little ones into the family caravan and trek on down to this town<\/a> of just 35,000 people situated between coastal Tampa and Disney-obsessed Orlando? One word: Legoland. With the success of the 2014 film, a sequel on the way and a 152-room resort that opened last year, now is the time to ditch the mouse and surrender a few days to this theme park, water park and botanicalgarden all rolled into one.<\/p>\n

\"london

Lion cubs at the London Zoo | Flickr CC: Cable27<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

London, England<\/h3>\n

Britain’s swinging capital<\/a> has always been a winner with families what with its double decker buses, energetic theater scene and reliance on the English language. But beginning in 2016 you can even take your family on safari there. The London Zoo is in the process of constructing luxury lodges just steps away from its new 27,000 square foot lion enclosure. Each of the nine cabins include a private veranda and both a private morning and evening tour. Family nights are geared toward children.<\/p>\n

\"yellowstone<\/center><\/p>\n

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming<\/h3>\n

Why Wyoming? Simply put, some of the biggest news on every travel enthusiast’s radar is that the National Parks Service will be turning 100 in 2016 and each will celebrate in its own way. As the oldest park in the entire system, Yellowstone<\/a> celebrates its centennial with the recent addition of five new eco-friendly lodges which means even more room for families to explore its many splendors including canyons, rivers, forests and geysers\u2014like Old Faithful plus wild animals galore such as antelope, bears, bison, elk and wolves.<\/p>\n

\"ziplining<\/center><\/p>\n

Costa Rica<\/h3>\n

This Central American country has everything kids love including exotic animals, volcanoes, miles of beaches and much more and the one thing parents love\u2014relative safety. Costa Rica<\/a> is a stable country where the highest crime is theft according to a 2015 State Department report. Check the entire gang into a kid-friendly luxury resort like the Four Seasons Costa Rica situated on the Papagayo Peninsula or spend a few days zip lining through a rain forest or watching sea turtles lay their eggs.<\/p>\n

\"maggie

Maggie Daley Park in Chicago | Flickr CC: Daniel X. O’Neil<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Chicago, IL<\/h3>\n

The City of Big Shoulders<\/a> embarked on a series of parks projects that came to fruition in 2015. Maggie Daley Park is a centrally located patch of green space featuring an ice skating ribbon andkids area called the Play Garden with cool features like the Wave Lawn, the Harbor, the Watering Hole, the Slide Crater, the Enchanted Forest and the Sea. For a nature-oriented adventure, take the family to the recently ribbon-cut park at Northerly Island and feel like your in the middle of nowhere or head inland and bike the bustling 606 built atop an old El line.<\/p>\n

Related: Best bests \u2013 fun things to so with kids in New York City<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"cabos<\/center><\/p>\n

Los Cabos, Mexico<\/h3>\n

In 2014 Hurricane Odile struck the resorts of Los Cabos<\/a> in the southernmost tip of the country’s Baja Peninsula leaving a trail of ruin in its wake. One year later the area has rebounded making 2016 a perfect time to once again pay it a visit. Check out the family-friendly, all-inclusive Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos which sits upon the sea of Cortez and entices the little ones with amenities geared just for them including a kids pool, an open-air theater with family shows, a tree house for kids and a seasonal opportunity to release baby sea turtles into the ocean.<\/p>\n

\"polar<\/center><\/p>\n

Churchill, Canada<\/h3>\n

Could the release of summer blockbusters like Ice Age 3<\/em> and Norm of the North<\/em> (about a polar who loses his home to global warming) inspire a frigid family vacation? We think so, and if that’s the case families should look no further than the tiny town of Churchill in the Manitoba province in Canada<\/a> where the prime tourist activity is polar bear spotting. Winters can be brutal, but summer tours include polar bear sightings, plus a chance to swim with beluga whales and many resorts are family friendly.<\/p>\n

\"Hogwarts

Hogwarts Castle | Flickr CC: Ruth Hartnup<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Universal City, CA<\/h3>\n

West Coast families no longer have to make the long haul to swampy Florida for a taste of Harry Potter magic. At long last, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is coming to Universal Studios in Southern California<\/a> and bringing with it Hogsmeade village, the 3-D attraction “Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey” and “Flight of the Hippogriff,” the first outdoor roller coaster at Universal Studios\u00a0Hollywood. Meanwhile, lovely Griffith Park, gorgeous Santa Monica, the Grove, Hollywood and many more attractions are all within a stone’s throw.<\/p>\n

\"discount<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some cool new developments make these the top spots for families.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":47020,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4,28,5,44,31],"tags":[287],"class_list":["post-40955","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-california","category-europe","category-family-travel","category-florida","category-mexico","tag-family"],"acf":{"api_active":null,"api_title":null,"api_excerpt":null,"api_featured_image":null,"api_lob":null},"posts_api_cpm_point":"","yoast_head":"\n8 great kid-friendly destinations for 2016<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Looking where to take the little ones next? Here are 8 great kid-friendly destinations for 2016.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/8-great-kid-friendly-destinations-for-2016\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"8 great kid-friendly destinations for 2016\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Looking where to take the little ones next? Here are 8 great kid-friendly destinations for 2016.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/8-great-kid-friendly-destinations-for-2016\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Orbitz\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Orbitz\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-12-27T05:02:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-02-27T23:23:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/shutterstock_329736722.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"705\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"470\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jason Heidemann\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@jheidemann\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@orbitz\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jason Heidemann\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/8-great-kid-friendly-destinations-for-2016\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/8-great-kid-friendly-destinations-for-2016\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jason Heidemann\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/13baee32443537cb2a544b6fe5402f24\"},\"headline\":\"8 great kid-friendly destinations for 2016\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-12-27T05:02:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-02-27T23:23:46+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/8-great-kid-friendly-destinations-for-2016\/\"},\"wordCount\":856,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/8-great-kid-friendly-destinations-for-2016\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/shutterstock_329736722.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"family\"],\"articleSection\":[\"California\",\"Europe\",\"Family time\",\"Florida\",\"Mexico\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/8-great-kid-friendly-destinations-for-2016\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/8-great-kid-friendly-destinations-for-2016\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/8-great-kid-friendly-destinations-for-2016\/\",\"name\":\"8 great kid-friendly destinations for 2016\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/8-great-kid-friendly-destinations-for-2016\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/8-great-kid-friendly-destinations-for-2016\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/shutterstock_329736722.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-12-27T05:02:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-02-27T23:23:46+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/13baee32443537cb2a544b6fe5402f24\"},\"description\":\"Looking where to take the little ones next? Here are 8 great kid-friendly destinations for 2016.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/8-great-kid-friendly-destinations-for-2016\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/8-great-kid-friendly-destinations-for-2016\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/8-great-kid-friendly-destinations-for-2016\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/shutterstock_329736722.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/shutterstock_329736722.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":667},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/8-great-kid-friendly-destinations-for-2016\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"8 great kid-friendly destinations for 2016\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Orbitz\",\"description\":\"Travel Blog\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/13baee32443537cb2a544b6fe5402f24\",\"name\":\"Jason Heidemann\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Heidemann_headshot.sm_-150x150.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Heidemann_headshot.sm_-150x150.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Jason Heidemann\"},\"description\":\"Jason is a Lead Content Specialist for Expedia Group, and manages content initiatives across numerous Expedia-owned brands. His work has been featured in the Chicago Tribune, Time Out, the Huffington Post, Chicago Magazine, Passport and many others.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/x.com\/jheidemann\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/author\/jheidemann\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"8 great kid-friendly destinations for 2016","description":"Looking where to take the little ones next? Here are 8 great kid-friendly destinations for 2016.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/8-great-kid-friendly-destinations-for-2016\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"8 great kid-friendly destinations for 2016","og_description":"Looking where to take the little ones next? Here are 8 great kid-friendly destinations for 2016.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/8-great-kid-friendly-destinations-for-2016\/","og_site_name":"Orbitz","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Orbitz\/","article_published_time":"2015-12-27T05:02:44+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-02-27T23:23:46+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/shutterstock_329736722.jpg","width":705,"height":470,"type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jason Heidemann","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@jheidemann","twitter_site":"@orbitz","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jason Heidemann","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/8-great-kid-friendly-destinations-for-2016\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/8-great-kid-friendly-destinations-for-2016\/"},"author":{"name":"Jason Heidemann","@id":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/13baee32443537cb2a544b6fe5402f24"},"headline":"8 great kid-friendly destinations for 2016","datePublished":"2015-12-27T05:02:44+00:00","dateModified":"2018-02-27T23:23:46+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/8-great-kid-friendly-destinations-for-2016\/"},"wordCount":856,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/8-great-kid-friendly-destinations-for-2016\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/shutterstock_329736722.jpg","keywords":["family"],"articleSection":["California","Europe","Family time","Florida","Mexico"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/8-great-kid-friendly-destinations-for-2016\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/8-great-kid-friendly-destinations-for-2016\/","url":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/8-great-kid-friendly-destinations-for-2016\/","name":"8 great kid-friendly destinations for 2016","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/8-great-kid-friendly-destinations-for-2016\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/8-great-kid-friendly-destinations-for-2016\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/shutterstock_329736722.jpg","datePublished":"2015-12-27T05:02:44+00:00","dateModified":"2018-02-27T23:23:46+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/13baee32443537cb2a544b6fe5402f24"},"description":"Looking where to take the little ones next? Here are 8 great kid-friendly destinations for 2016.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/8-great-kid-friendly-destinations-for-2016\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/8-great-kid-friendly-destinations-for-2016\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/8-great-kid-friendly-destinations-for-2016\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/shutterstock_329736722.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/shutterstock_329736722.jpg","width":1000,"height":667},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/8-great-kid-friendly-destinations-for-2016\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"8 great kid-friendly destinations for 2016"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/","name":"Orbitz","description":"Travel Blog","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/13baee32443537cb2a544b6fe5402f24","name":"Jason Heidemann","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Heidemann_headshot.sm_-150x150.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Heidemann_headshot.sm_-150x150.jpg","caption":"Jason Heidemann"},"description":"Jason is a Lead Content Specialist for Expedia Group, and manages content initiatives across numerous Expedia-owned brands. His work has been featured in the Chicago Tribune, Time Out, the Huffington Post, Chicago Magazine, Passport and many others.","sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/jheidemann"],"url":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/author\/jheidemann\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/shutterstock_329736722.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40955","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/89"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40955"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40955\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47020"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}