Open only on weekends, you'd think this place would be hopping, but it's still nice and quiet on even the best fall days. The secret? It's out of the way. Probably not good for the bottom line, but it's great for families looking for quiet apple picking without all the frills. There is a free hayride to the orchard (but you can walk there even faster) -- no per person charge for this fall classic. The apples come in most varieties available in this area, and they are pretty tasty. My favorite are the Empires! There are pumpkins and a few other sundries for sale there, too. It's off the beaten path but most definitely worth the ride!

The best apples are here, and the best time to go is during the week in the fall. There are blueberries in summer and nectarines and peaches in late summer. The apples start in September and are joined by raspberries and more blueberries. Weekends are crowded with families, and it is more commercial-feeling then, but the weekdays are just perfect for families with younger children. The fruit is healthy and tasty, and the prices are quite reasonable. The cider is hard to beat, too!

I've been to a few Pirate's Cove courses before, but there is always a huge line. That's mostly because they are hugely popular everywhere. We decided to go to this one while passing the time before our return flight from a week-long Disney vacation. We were very surprised to see not only no line but only one other family on the 18-hole course with us. We thoroughly enjoyed being able to play a great Pirate's Cove course with a 4-year-old without having to worry about slowing down other families behind us or entertaining our son while waiting for a crowd ahead of us. The cost was quite reasonable and could have included a full day of golf (which my son wanted but the adults declined). It was the best mini golf experience ever!

My husband and father-in-law thought this was the best part of our Disney vacation...and we weren't in Disney. There are many go-cart rides in this amusement park, and those were the highlights. There are many great kids rides, too. There was no crowd on the day were were there (a Saturday, no less!), and the rides were basically ours for the riding, as often as we wanted. The quality is far less than at Disney, and it's not as clean, but for the cost, it was perfect! It was the way we finished our Disney vacation when we were out of park tickets and needed to pass the time before our late-afternoon return flight.

Playhouse Disney Live was amazing -- my son was up and dancing half of the show. The line was not too bad, either. My son then got to meet Sully and Mike Wazowski and characters from "Cars" while my mother-in-law and I partook of "American Idol" (I highly recommend going to that, but leave the little ones with the husbands). The line for Toy Story was an hour long, so we decided to skip it. We all really enjoyed the mid-day parade. It makes two stops, so we got to watch it twice, from two different vantage points. It was worth the wait in the heat and humidity!