Checking out 21st-century resort kids’ programs
Hyatt heralded the movement toward kid-friendly resorts 22 years ago when it started the Camp Hyatt program here… Today you’ll find innovative programs at resorts across the country and beyond
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LET’S CELEBRATE!
Birthday, anniversary, wedding, good report card, Mother’s Day, being back home safe after a military deployment … whatever you want to celebrate on your next vacation, you’ll not only get feted like a VIP but also save some significant bucks
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Staying healthy right now away from home
The swine flu news is making us nervous — very nervous — just when millions of us are planning our much-needed summer vacations. But that doesn’t mean we should grab the kids and huddle under the covers.
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On the old-fashioned train to the Grand Canyon
It’s that rare vacation moment when everyone is happy at the same time. And all it took was an old-fashioned train in a remote Arizona town and a singing cowboy leading the kids in a spirited rendition of “Old MacDonald Had a Farm.”
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Becoming Junior Rangers in the National Parks
Everyone who sees the kids with the badges prominently displayed on their shirts are effusive in their praise, which makes the kids all the more pleased with themselves.
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To Innsbruck and beyond
Who says kids will be bored in Europe? Not in Austria. There’s plenty of culture and history — kids can dress up as royals, in fact, at the Schonbrunn Palace
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LAST DAY IN ARIZONA — Meet Lance, Bailey and Sonora
DAY SIX (April 4, 2009) — Lance is a Hawk, Bailey a turkey vulture and Sonora a two year-old Bald Eagle. The kids’ eyes are…
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HARD AT WORK ON VACATION AT CAMP HYATT
DAY FIVE (At the Hyatt Scottsdale) — The kids are hard at work — on vacation. They are crafting elaborate sand creations at the small…
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SWEARING IN THE NEW JUNIOR RANGERS
“This is Grand Canyon National Park, not Jurassic park,” she says, holding up a plastic dinosaur. “This is the closest you’ll get to a dinosaur!”
We’re about to go on a ranger — led fossil hunt and there are thousands of fossils to be found, she tells the crowd that includes at least two dozen kids. But there are no dinosaur bones here — these fossils are a lot older! -
AT THE GRAND CANYON
I look around and see all kinds of families — from around the world here to experience what is widely considered one of the wonders of the world. It was set aside as a national monument by Theodore Roosevelt in 1908 and became a national park in 1919. It remains one of the most visited parks.
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ON THE TRAIN TO THE GRAND CANYON
Today, the train once again carries more than 200,000 passengers to the Canyon 60 miles and 2.5 hours from Williams. Some will return the same afternoon. My cousins — -Jayme and Mike Sitzman and Ethan, 6, and Hannah,4, and I have decided to overnight at the canyon so we have more time to “explore,” as Ethan says.
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DAY ONE OF A TRIP TO THE GRAND CANYON
DAY ONE (Tuesday, March 31, 2009) — The Purple People Eater; Qutie (well it’s a four year old’s turn); Rhinoceros; Tickle Monster… by the time…
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Destinations | Families & Groups | Food and Dining | Lodging | Parks & Outdoors | Snow Vacations | Travel Diaries
THE FUN NEVER STOPS IN PARK CITY
Take your pick — you can ride a lift up the chairlift at any of Park City’s three resorts and go mountain biking or hiking. Deer Valley alone has a mountain bike school as well as 50 dedicated trails. There are mid-mountain hiking trails that connect the resorts and the Olympic Park — 27 miles! –where incidentally locals turn out in force on Saturday afternoons to watch Ski jumpers practice their jumps, landing in a pool at the bottom.
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Teaching kids about food along the way in San Francisco
The beautifully restored Ferry Building Marketplace, built in 1898, is a must see for foodies of all ages.
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A TOUR OF PARK CITY MOUNTAIN
DAY TWO — It’s the last weekend in March and we’re knee-deep in fresh powder. Park City Mountain Resort got something like 18 fresh inches…
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THREE DAYS IN AND AROUND PARK CITY, UTAH
DAY ONE (March 27, 2009) == MMM… maybe we should skip straight to desert. There’s not one but three kinds of chocolate fondue — white…
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On a cruise for the first time
More than 1.6 million kids cruised last year and that number continues to increase…
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DAY IN INNSBRUCK AND AT SWAROVSKI KRISTALLWELTEN
Here there literally is a crystal wonderland — a labyrinth created by international artists that use crystal as an art form in 14 Chambers of Wonder, with paintings, sculptures and installations. We loved Jim Whiting’s Mechanical Theater with the dancing pants and the man’s torso that comes apart to reveal his insides that are all glittering crystals.
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A WALK IN THE WOODS
I decide I want to see what else this tiny resort village has to offer so I decide to go on a walk in the woods with engaging ski pro Alois Gstrein, who was raised here on a farm and has lived here all his life, now with his wife and new baby. His entire family – parents, two brothers, two sisters — all live here.
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SITTING IN THE ALPINE SUN
DAY 4 — The sky is post card blue. The Alps look like they are covered in marshmallow fluff with Oreo crumbles underneath. We’re sitting…
