I’m still trying to adjust to being back after a fantastic week away at Walt Disney World. This wasn’t the first time going with our kids, it was actually our fourth.
The first time the kids were 5 and 8, and I didn’t think it could get any more magical than that. But every year we go it gets better, this one being no exception.
They were able to do more rides and experiences, stayed up later, had more patience – it was just an amazing family vacation.
Some of our favourite moments include not only laughing and giggling after a thrilling ride or silly show, but sitting down to eat together and recapping our day or planning our next adventures.
I’ll be sharing some more articles on this site and over on www.todisneywithlove.com (we already have a lot of great planning tips over there!) but in the meantime, here are a few photos from the trip!
If you ever have Disney vacay planning questions, drop me a note or DM me on Instagram/Facebook!
We’ve been a few times to Bird Kingdom and have never been disappointed. It’s located on the River Road in Niagara Falls and not far from the Falls themselves.
The experience is fairly similar each time – you and your family can pretend you are on an expedition where you are exploring natural wild life. You’ll get an up close and personal look at snakes, bats, and of course the many birds that await in different parts of Bird Kingdom.
“Why’d it have to be snakes?” – Me, and Indiana Jones
However, the highlight is always the giant aviary where the birds are free to fly around and you can get a greater appreciation for these beautiful animals. It reminds me of an Indiana Jones movie setting.
There is also an interactive area where you can feed lorikeets, as they land on you!
There is so much to discover, plenty of interactive opportunities and you’ll also learn many new things about the animals. As a family adventure, this one is worth taking together.
According to their website, Bird Kingdom is the world’s largest free-flying aviary and while we can’t help but recommend it for families and kids, even if you are travelling without the kids we think you’d love it.
While I still have some recaps to do from our two weeks spent on Prince Edward Island, I really wanted to share with you our experience in Saint John, New Brunswick.
Unlike other years where we have just passed through on our way to Hopewell Rocks (which we visited again this year, more on that later), we decided to stay a full day for exploring downtown Saint John.
The result? Next year we plan on building in even more time to explore Saint John and the area. We loved it.
Where to Stay and What to do
We stayed at the Delta Brunswick and what it may have lacked in room luxury (it was an older hotel that could use some renovations and we had no view of anything but a roof), it made up for in excellent service and location. Smack in the heart of downtown, it meant that we could walk to all of our destinations that day. It’s also attached to a mall which means easy access to quick shopping (check out the amazing children’s science shop that is there!) and snacks at the pharmacy. The Delta Brunswick room had a mini fridge and microwave which is excellent for families with small children.
After breakfast we walked around near the water and hopped into some quaint shops. One was a shop that was dedicated to all local, hand crafted items. Our stroll led us to the New Brunswick Museum, a highlight for the kids (and us, really).
Touring around Saint John
My kids are avid museum lovers to begin with, but this one is definitely meant for them. With floors of history and adventures to discover, we took in the information about ship building, marine life and explored the hands on children’s learning area where they did a craft and heard local stories.
They also participated in the face painting activity – there seemed to be different activities set up at various hours of the day.
We spent a lot of time at the Museum and the kids requested to go back sometime so that’s a sign of happy times.
New Brunswick Museum
After more walking around and grabbing a bite to eat (the weather was amazing and the ability to walk and shop in historic buildings is lovely) the day was winding down.
It wasn’t until the next day that we discovered a real gem. If you go to Saint John here’s a must – go to the Saint John City Market.
Saint John City Market
This is an indoor market with food and items worth discovering, we wish we had stepped in the day before to take in more of the tasty treats that were being offered. But because we were hitting the road that morning, we were seeking breakfast. We found it at Slocum & Ferris. Not only were we greeted with enthusiastic service but the food was incredible. For an extremely reasonable price, the four of us at very well. Andy and I each got a bacon/eggs/potatoes combo while the kids split an order of pancakes with bacon. But they offered to split the pancakes between them if we wanted, since the order was fairly hefty. We agreed that was best and they plated each of the kids as though they had their own orders. Amazing.
We chatted with the owner for a bit and felt like we were leaving a family member’s house after breakfast with the kids.
We hit the road with full bellies and happy memories of Saint John, plus plans to return.
And yes, like last year, we ended up at Hopewell Rocks on our way to PEI, because getting muddy is one of the experiences we always like to have. This year, the kids really got muddy but it was worth it for the memories.
New Brunswick, your beauty and welcoming spirit didn’t go unnoticed. We definitely will plan to go back – and stay longer.
Um. Can someone tell me where two weeks have gone? Frankly, I know where they’ve gone. They’ve gone to laughter and good food and swimming and reading and playing on the beach.
Once again our summer vacation to PEI (with stops in New Brunswick) has been a blast. I have a series of posts coming up with a few of the new places we went this year, and a bit of a recap of what we did (because some things were repeats from last year). We ate well, we laughed often and we really relaxed.
With sadness we say goodbye to the island tomorrow but it will be nice to get home to see family and friends.
If you are thinking about heading East next year with the family, I can’t endorse it enough. You’ll love it, trust me.
The past week has seem to gone by in a flash. It’s been a healthy combination of writing, playing, reading and just doing errands.
We leave on Thursday for PEI for two weeks, with a two-night stop over in Saint John, NB. We can’t wait. We are excited, but at the same time, I’m not quite prepared.
The house is almost ready for us to go. The travel groceries are almost all rounded up. The packing is almost all done. My writing and guest posts are almost all drafted – everything is in an ‘almost’ state.
But I’m close. Once I go to bed tomorrow night to prepare for the 3 am wake up call from Andy to hit the road by 4 am (yes, you read that correctly), then I’m feel completely relaxed and ready. I can’t wait to get to the cottage. I can’t wait to just be with my family for two weeks. I’m really looking forward to it.
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