It has been our family’s experience that if the children are not kept busy, boredom sets in quickly. One would think that spending the day in one of Disney’s four theme parks would satisfy their need to go and do, but even after running around in one of the parks for 8-10 hours the children still want to know what they will be doing next. Although mom and dad may want to relax a bit, the children want to keep busy.

The Boardwalk Inn and Disney’s Boardwalk Villas has become our favorite resorts because both offer plenty of activities and entertainment opportunities that will keep everyone busy so that we never have to hear the children say “I’m bored.”

So what do the children like to do to keep busy when we are not in a park? Usually, the first thing everyone wants to do at the resort is to swim. The resort’s main pool is located on the Villas side of the property. It is called The Luna Park Pool and it has a 200 foot water slide called Keister Coaster. It is a recreation of a 1920s roller coaster. The slide empties into the pool through the mouth of a clown with the slide as the clown’s tongue. The pool is colorful, exciting and it provides enough fun to keep the children busy for several hours.

In addition to the pool, The Boardwalk Inn and Villas also offer other free activities like tennis, a small playground, and a fitness center. There are other activities that cost extra that can be enjoyed as well. There are two arcades on the property. The biggest is at the ESPN Club located on the Boardwalk.

One activity that we enjoy as a family is renting a surrey bike. The rental stand is located on the Boardwalk just beyond the courtyard area of the resort known as the Village Green. You can rent a 2, 4 or even a 6 seat surrey bike to take for a ride along the Boardwalk and around the ¾ mile walkway that circles Crescent Lake. The walkway has plenty of small hills and even a few not so small hills that make it lots of fun and sometimes a bit of a challenge for those who are pedaling the bike. Most of the time our family ends up laughing so hard after struggling with the smaller hills that we have to get off and push the bike in order to make it up the larger hills. This experience provides us with some good old fashioned family fun and enough memories to share for years to come.

Even though we enjoy all of these activities, we especially like to walk around the boardwalk at night. The sight of bright neon lights, the sounds of midway games, the energy of the live entertainers and the smell of the food coming from the restaurants and the venders all combine to make the Boardwalk come to life with an energy and excitement that only Disney could create.

So the next time you want to take your family on a vacation where the children will be occupied and entertained consider going to Walt Disney World and staying on property at The Boardwalk Inn or Disney’s Boardwalk Villas. Not only do these two resorts offer fun and exciting activities and recreation opportunities they have the added benefit of being conveniently located next to Disney’s Hollywood Studios and at the International Gateway entrance into Epcot.

Visiting the aquarium is definitely one of the most enriching experience for your kids. Capturing their hearts are highly interactive galleries with touch tanks, video presentations, wildlife tours and diving with the sharks, just to name a few. Bring your kids to the aquarium and learn about aquatic life through exploration and discovery and bring back fond memories of the aquarium.

1. Before visiting the aquarium, get your kids to visit the homepage of the aquarium. Sometimes, the aquarium may feature on-line activities or printables for kids. You may also get a chance to view the animals right at home through the many web cams facilities provided by the aquarium.

2. Find out the history of the aquarium, its mission, and its future tasks. Learn about the aquarium’s adoption program.

3. Print out aquarium e-newsletters, if any.

4. Print out the pictures of the amazing underwater animals from the homepage and get your kids to identify them at the aquarium.

5. Check the calendar of events of the aquarium. Aquariums are likely to have some daily events and seasonal events. Do not miss their training sessions where you can watch aquarists feed and train the sea animals.

6. Find out the programs offer by the aquarium. Some aquariums allow you to feed the animals at allocated times.

7. Occasionally, aquariums do offer special programs such as swim with the dolphins or sharks. Such programs allow participants to get close to the mammals and learn about their behavior.

8. Interestingly, many aquariums are setting up their own clubs such as kids club, dive club and snorkeling club. Get your kids to experience a new adventure or acquire a new skill this season.

9. Enjoy a cruise with the aquarium. Some aquariums do organise whale-watching cruises.

10. Visit the touch tank of the aquarium and learn to be gentle with the animals.

11. Bring along drawing papers and encourage your kids to draw the sea animals.

12. Take your kids for an animal presentation, where you can see the natural behaviours of the underwater animals.

13. Bring your camera to capture shots of animal movements.

14. Encourage your kids to make a scrapbook of the aquarium trip.

15. Pick up any worksheets for kids. Or make worksheets yourself. Join the crafts sessions at the aquarium.

16. Learn about the aquarium conservation projects.

17. Some aquariums allow kids to be aquarium-keepers for a day.

18. Join the aquarium camp ! Campers may get to enjoy some of the exclusive behind-the-scenes activities, excursions, daily field trips to wildlife habitats, and an enjoyable overnight camp.

19. Join the aquarium’s overnight program ! It is a rare chance to explore the aquarium after hours, and you can get to participate in a variety of activities organised by the staff. With an expert guide, you may get to visit the aquarium’s behind-the-scenes areas and the food-preparation area to learn how the animals are cared for and fed.

20. Compare aquariums ! Every aquarium is different. Get your kids to find out their differences and similarities.

21. Be an aquarium volunteer. You can help to reach visitors and students, or work directly in the conservation research projects.

22. Write suggestions to the aquarium on how to improve their facilities and services.

23. Teach your kids how to support the aquarium by making a donation. Some aquariums have special programs which require funding.

24. Learn about ‘Seafood Watch’. Some aquariums have this special program which provides regional seafood guides and teaches you how seafood can affect your health.

Have a nice trip to the aquarium !