Family Love in NYC

The Chatwal in New York’s Theater District announced a new partnership with baby gear company, UPPAbaby.  The hotel will offer a range of strollers, bassinets and car seats to make your stay extra easy with baby in tow.  This luxury hotel loves families and offers some very unique programs as a result:

ViBabies: Includes a kit filled with a line of all-organic toiletries, a Chatwal Charlie stuffed animal, a bedtime story book and a menu of organic baby purées curated by the hotel’s restaurant, The Lambs Club.

Broadway’s Rising Stars: The new in-room “Dressing Room” trunk is available to borrow in each of The Chatwal’s one-bedroom suites. The trunk is filled with accessories to transform your children into a variety of their favorite Broadway characters.

Juan Knows Best: Your family can navigate the various productions each season with The Chatwal’s theater concierge, Juan Espinal. He can also arrange experiences such as  behind-the-scenes tours at some of Broadway’s theaters, tickets to otherwise sold-out productions, and meet-and-greets with cast favorites.

A “Suite” Stay: The Chatwal’s one-bedroom suite collection includes a murphy bed in the living room, kitchenette and many with a spacious terrace or patio.

Other family friendly amenities and services include free bikes, illustrated city maps, record players in the room, free meals for children and indoor pool.  Your family will receive 25 percent off a second room and free meals for children up to age 12 with the hotel’s Global Excursion package. It also includes a movie night, children’s puppet theater in your room, a Margherita Missoni backpack and a New York City travel journal.  The package is available through September 4.

New Universal Orlando Resort

Universal Studios Orlando’s newest and most affordable resort will open this summer at their Endless Summer resort complex.  The Surfside Inn and Suites, with a beachy, surf vibe, will open on June 27 with 750 rooms.  The resort will also showcase two-bedroom suites with kitchenettes that sleep six, a surfboard shaped pool with family activities, gym, game room and a food court.  It’s sister resort, the Dockside Inn and Suites, will open next May.  While staying at these resorts, you will enjoy Early Park Admission to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and Universal’s Volcano Bay one hour before the parks open, charging privileges in the parks using your room key card, free access to select live entertainment venues at Universal CityWalk as well as park shuttle services.

Margaritaville Comes to Nashville

The Margaritaville Hotel will open in Nashville at the end of this year with 217 rooms as well as 52 spacious, condo-style suites ideal for families.  Located right in the city’s vibrant downtown scene in the SoBro neighborhood, the hotel will also feature a restaurant, gym and a rooftop relaxation zone with great city views, pool, sun deck, fire pits and live entertainment.  This is the first Margaritaville Hotel in an urban setting and one of many new hotels recently opened or coming  soon to this popular family travel destination!

DisneyWorld Resort Update

Disney World has announced plans for a new nature-inspired resort.  Situated on Bay Lake, between Disney’s Wilderness Lodge and Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground, the new resort will offer 900 guestrooms, in addition to Disney Vacation Club Villas.  This newly announced resort, which has not yet been named, is expected to debut in 2022.  The theme park complex opens another new Disney Vacation Club Villas resort at the end of this year.  Disney’s Riviera Resort will celebrate the grandeur of Europe—which has long inspired some of the greatest Disney stories with its castles and fairy-tale villages.  It will also have an onsite station for the Disney Skyliner, the new gondola lift system that will connect several resorts to Hollywood Studios and EPCOT!

Luxury in The Florida Keys

Next month, The Florida Keys will see the opening of a brand new and upscale hotel in Marathon. The Isla Bella Beach Resort will showcase 199 rooms, suites and large family accommodations with up to 5 bedrooms!  Your family can enjoy a private and mile-long beach with tiki huts and hammocks, onsite fishing pier, five swimming pools, biking, family games, spa and gym.  The marina will offer water sports including fishing charters, jet ski tours, harbor cruises, and kayak, paddle boards, snorkeling and scuba diving trips.  In the evening, your family can relax by the fire pits, enjoy the nightly sunset celebrations or watch a dive-in movie at the pool.  There are also several family friendly dining options including an Italian restaurant and burger joint.

Disney Adding the NBA Experience

Next summer, Disney World is opening the NBA Experience at its Disney Springs shopping, dining and entertainment complex in Orlando.  It will include variety of fun and interactive hands-on activities that highlight the action and excitement of professional basketball.  Some of the offerings include tracking and improving your jump shots complete with a scouting report, photos of your slam dunk, ball handling skills with an interactive trainer, NBA trivia contests, a staged NBA draft, basketball slingshots, NBA game replays and more.  There will also be a retail store full of NBA merchandise.

Alaska with A&K

Just in time for summer vacation planning, luxury tour operator Abercrombie & Kent is offering a new discount on their Alaska tour specially designed for families.  Book now and save $500 per adult and $1,000 per child (age 17 and under)!  This awesome, week-long trip is available for departures between June 15 and August 10 and is limited to 24 guests (although a tour will operate if just two people book!).  The Family Alaska 2019 tour begins and ends in Anchorage and includes the Kenai Peninsula, Talkeetna, Denali and Big River Lakes.  Experience a wide variety of outdoor adventures to explore the local nature, culture and abundant wildlife.  Activities include a river float trip, Kenai Fjord cruise, hiking and fishing.  You will also ride the Alaska Railroad Goldstar Dome train, go bear watching, enjoy a salmon bake, flight see over Denali National Park and land on a glacier, learn about dog sledding and more.  This trip is ideal for children ages 6 and older, active multi-generational families and grandparents traveling with grandchildren.

Southern California Theme Park Offers

Enjoy a variety of upcoming promotions and events at the Southern California theme parks: 

Universal Studios Hollywood will host its inaugural Running Universal 5K race on May 11 featuring the hilarious and beloved Minions from the Despicable Me and Minions films. The course will weave throughout the theme park and areas of the backlot, have special behind-the-scenes experiences, and finish up at the Universal CityWalk. Runners can also pose for pictures with their favorite Minions characters along the way.  For those new to running, training details are available at https://www.runninguniversal.com/training.

Legoland California is celebrating its 20th birthday with a yearlong party that includes free admission for children 12 and under!  Since opening in 1999 with 12 rides the Resort has grown into a multi-day destination offering more than 60 rides, shows and attractions with SEA LIFE aquarium, LEGOLAND Water Park, LEGOLAND Hotel and the new LEGOLAND Castle Hotel.  Festivities will start with LEGO Movie Days on February 16-17 and 23-24, as everyone’s favorite LEGO heroes of Bricksburg return to LEGOLAND California in celebration of The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part feature film!  Just in time for spring break, the LEGO City 4D- Officer in Pursuit, a new 4D film, will debut. There’s even more to celebrate throughout the year with an all new LEGO Friends Live Show and Character Dance Party. Your family will be invited to sing along to new songs, learn new dance moves plus interact with some old friends who will be there to help get the party started.

For a limited time, your family can visit the Disneyland Resort theme parks for as little as $70 per day when you purchase a 3-Day, 1-Park Per Day Ticket.  You also get one Magic Morning early admission (access one hour prior to the park opening).   A Disney MaxPass (mobile FASTPASS access and Disney Photo Pass) is available for an additional $10 per day.  These park tickets are valid for use beginning January 7, 2019 and expire 13 days after the first day of use or on May 23, 2019, whichever occurs first.  Note that April 14 through April 22, 2019 are blacked out.

Austin Adventures in Utah

Due to popular demand, Austin Adventures is bringing back a better version of their Utah Family Adventure. This 5-night trip uses one hotel for the entire trip instead of moving around and is only available in June.  It focuses primarily on Arches and Canyonlands which contain over 200 million years of geological history!  Active adventures abound.  Your family will explore the famous Colorado River by raft, bike on roads snaking through Castle Valley and hike by ancient petroglyphs which provide a glimpse into the rituals and beliefs of the indigenous communities of thousands of years past.  Each activity on the trip has been carefully planned to include options for all activity levels.  Your accommodations will be at the recently renovated Canyonlands Inn, located in the heart of Moab (which offers rooms with two queen beds). Austin Adventures, in business for over 40 years, has a total of 32 different Family Vacation packages to destinations around the world.

Cartoon Network Hotel

The Cartoon Network is getting into the travel business.  Also in Pennsylvania!  They recently announced that they are partnering with Palace Entertainment to create the Cartoon Network Hotel.   The hotel will immerse your family in the worlds of fan-favorite shows including Adventure Time, The Powerpuff Girls, Ben 10 and more and is scheduled to open in 2019.  It will be located in central Pennsylvania near Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster which is also operated by Palace Entertainment.  The nine-acre destination will include outdoor attractions such as a pool, an amphitheater, lawn games and fire pits, as well as an indoor play area, an arcade, a restaurant, the Cartoon Network Hotel shop and more. In addition to these themed areas, each guest room will have interchangeable themes that can be customized based on your family’s favorite shows.