20 recession busting tips from a family friendly travel site

by Scott Carmichael on

Family friendly travel site wejustgotback.com has posted a list of 20 tips for dealing with trips during these bleak economic times.

The list contains some fairly logical tips like wisely picking a destination based on the driving distance, but also some pretty savvy ones like how to haggle with the hotel manager for some free perks.

The site also does some homework for you, listing some of the best travel deals available, with the emphasis on family friendly hotels and free activities around the country.

What impressed me most, is that they also do the math on some of these deals, and explain why a deal may not be as “hot” as it seems.

Wejustgotback is easy to navigate, and the site is broken down into several sections. Anyone who travels with kids will appreciate the “tip sheets”, where parents can read tips submitted by other readers, or where you can submit your own tips. After all, nothing beats real life experience. Many parts of the site can only be accessed after a quick and free registration.

Another fantastic resource on the site is the “search by child’s age” feature, located in the left column. In the results from that search, you will find guides on how to travel with a toddler or how to entertain your kids on their first cruise. Like most sections on the site, these guides also contain content supplied by readers.

I’ve spent most of the morning browsing through the information posted on Wejustgotback, and it really does contain a ton of great stuff. What impresses me most is the balance between their own articles and real life experience from readers. If you travel with kids, I highly recommend checking it out, especially if you are planning a trip or if you just need some idea on where to go next summer.

Halloween at Theme Parks: Fright-fests and Fun for All Ages, Sort of

by Jamie Rhein on

There’s a handy guide at WeJustGotBack.com that gives a run down on which theme parks in the U.S. have Halloweeny type thrills for particular age groups. Similar to movie recommendations, the site presents details about the theme parks Halloween happenings and the age range the fun is aimed towards.

A teenager might not get a charge out of the “Countdown to Halloween” musical act at Count’s Halloween Spectacular at Sesame Place in Langhorne, PA your toddler will–even your 10 year-old. But, take your young ones to Halloween Horror Nights at the Universal Orlando Resort in Florida and Universal Studios in Los Angeles and you find yourself dealing with more nightmares than you could ever imagine. This one is recommended for the ages 16 and up. Watch the video on the Web site and you’ll see what I mean. (I warn you though, it’s the exact opposite of a meditation video of bubbling brooks.) Jason, Freddy, and Leatherface are just a part of the action. If you ever wanted to know what it’s like to be in Nightmare on Elm Street or Halloween, this might be for you.

Each Six Flags has Fright Fest, also meant to scare the wits out of you. This one is appropriate for middle-schoolers though, but is not appropriate for under 12. From the descriptions of the events at each park, one can see the difficulty with finding the right fit for a multiple age group family–or the kids who are moving into preadolecence. Then, it becomes a matter of finding one that is entertaining enough for your child who is past being enamored with Mickey Mouse, but too young to have Freddy chasing him or her down with a butcher knife. The great thing about amusement parks though, for a kid who gets bored with a younger sibling’s Halloween speed, there’s always the rides.

Guess which theme park the photo posted on Flickr by WeJustGotBack is from. Did you say Disney?