This park is great- scenic and lots to do. Located at the center of the city, it features a large fountain in the middle of a man-made lake...and by large, I mean one of the tallest fountains in the world!! The fountain usually shoots up about 330 feet, but has the capability to go up to 560 feet, I think! It goes off on the hour, for 15 minutes, unless it’s too windy- great picture backdrop. There are also 2 separate, shaded playgrounds (one for ages 1 to 4, and one for ages 3 to 10?), each with a covered (and reserve-able) area with picnic tables. There is also a spray park to play in when the weather is warm (mid-April to late September), with covered tables next to it. We tend to run back & forth between the playgrounds, stopping to admire the fountain. In between the playgrounds is a large open area to play soccer or Frisbee. There are also a plethora of ducks you can feed, a disc golf course located on the other side of the park, and an adjacent strip mall with various small stores & restaurants. The park is very well kept, has clean bathrooms, and there are always friendly people that we chat with. I wish the playgrounds were a bit closer together, since occasionally my 3-yr-old will just randomly dash across the park to the other one. And I always keep a very close eye on the kids, since there is a lot of water next to the playgrounds- it would be easy for them to run or fall down a slope into the water, though the water's edge is fairly shallow. Overall, a fantastic park, that we’ve been back to again and again (and good place to take visitors!) Edited to add: they turn the fountain green for St. Patrick's Day- we'll be going back in a few weeks, I think!

This interesting movie theater-restaurant hybrid recently opened close to us, and we decided to check it out. With a 2.5-year-old and 5-year-old, going out to the movies could range between tolerable and absurd. But this was a great experience! We reserved seats to make sure we were on the aisle (in case our toddler had a break-down), so when we got there we just printed out tickets at a kiosk, walked right in & sat down. Our seats had ‘Reserved’ signs on them, and all the seats had buttons to press for service (order food, refills, etc.). Food was priced like a mid-range restaurant: $6 for kids’ meals and about $9-12 for adult meals. They had an extensive drink menu, plus popcorn & candy on the menu as well. The total bill for our lunch (including popcorn, taxes & tip) was under $40, and the movie tickets were $7 each for a matinee show. Forty-five minutes before the show ended, we were brought the check. This is a great place for both family outings and for a date night (they have an extensive drink menu)! Pros: comfy leather seats/couches, reserve-able seats with advance purchase, individual tables, food is really tasty. Cons: wait staff going back & forth a lot (though they do duck down!), no light for the reserve-able seats ("What did I just dip my French fry in?"), and the non-reserve-able seats had a little ledge you had to look over (may have been harder for kids to see the movie?). Another tip: they show kids’ cartoons every weekend at 11:00 for $2/ticket! Overall a great experience- we’ve been back a few times since our first outing, and have enjoyed it every time!

This is our go-to, neighborhood frozen yogurt place! They always have 14 flavors, and tons of different toppings to choose from. Their prices are a tiny bit higher than other do-it-yourself fro-yo places, but just a smidge. They have a cute table for kids to sit at, adequate seating & good music. Friendly staff, clean, and welcoming inside...we’ll be back again and again!

We were recently in Williams to ride the Polar Express train, and went to check out Bearizona beforehand. This is a fairly new (open 1-2 years) ‘drive-through’ wildlife park. It’s got a large area that you can drive though (keep your windows up!), with various animals like buffalo, black bears, bighorn sheep and burros. You can take as much time as you want, stopping to take pictures, et cetera. They also had GPS units we could take with us ( a new feature they were testing out), which gave us a short narrative on each animal as we entered their area, which was pretty cool. Being in the car was nice because (a) we were warm, (b) the kids were contained, (c) there was no one was whining, lol, and (d) best of all- we got really close to some of the animals!!

At the end of the driving portion, there is a walk-through area to see the animals even closer. The areas were laid out well o that you could actually see who was living there, unlike in the zoo when they’re often hiding. There are some smaller animals, baby animals, a snack shack, gift shop and even a petting zoo. We also saw the tail-end of a cool raptor show, featuring owls & other birds. We would’ve stayed longer in the walk-through area, but we were FREEZING! The entrance fees were pretty comparable to a standard zoo. Both in the car, and in the walk-through area, we probably saw way more animals than we normally see in the zoo. I’d recommend going here if you’re near Williams! *Note- check to see if they're open, if planning to visit in Jan or Feb- they might be closed due to cold weather.

We went to an amazing place this past weekend…no, it wasn’t Disneyland…or Hawaii…we went to the North Pole! We just got back from a wonderful weekend in Flagstaff & Williams, Arizona! The main reason we took the trip was to ride on the Polar Express train, run by the Grand Canyon Railway. It was, in a word, ‘magical’! They’ve been running the Polar Express train here for the past ten years, and they have the experience down great!

The Railway began taking passengers to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon in 1901, helping make the canyon the popular destination that it is today. The popularity of the train declined as automobiles became more popular, and the railway made its last run to the Grand Canyon in 1968. Fortunately it was revived in 1989, and now brings over 225,000 passengers to the Grand Canyon each year. In 2001 the railway began running the ‘Polar Express’ train to the “North Pole”, one of the first companies to provide the train experience based on the children’s book by Chris Van Allburg. The story is about a boy, doubtful of Santa’s existence, who boards a train with other children and is taken on an adventurous ride to the North Pole and back.

I was hesitant to book the train ride, mainly because the price was high for an hour-long experience. I wasn’t sure it was going to be worth it, and wasn’t super happy about having to pay full price for our 2-year-old. Adults were $30, and kids (age 2-10) were $20. They have a ‘matinee’ ride at 3:30 which is $5 cheaper, but it seemed like the ambiance wouldn’t be as realistic, since it wouldn’t be as dark by then. We opted for the 5:30 ride but there is also a 7:30 departure. This trip books up quick! We bought our tickets the first week of October, and dates were already starting to sell out. The Grand Canyon Railway’s Polar Express train runs November 1st through January 31st (for the 2011-12 season).

Inside the depot the atmosphere could best be described as “excited chaos” as kids waited to talk to Mrs. Claus or take pictures with Santa. Others colored at big picnic tables or looked at the Christmas-themed model train. There was a large gift shop to check out before or after the trip, with mementos galore to buy as keepsakes. Be sure to bring your ID and pick up your tickets at least an hour before the train leaves. Waiting for the train was a bit magical…I felt like we were going to see Harry Potter sitting next to us on the way to Hogwarts! Kids of all ages were running around in their pajamas (parents, too), and lots of people had on Santa hats, or some other festive wear. It was neat to see so many people getting involved in the experience.

Everyone was assigned to a train car, and when it was announced that it was time to board, an attendant dressed as a ‘chef’ came down the stairs of each car to check everyone’s tickets. As we found our seats, a second chef came over and asked if we wanted our seats to face each other- since we had four people, and she was able to flip the direction of the front seat, so that we could all face each other! Pretty cool. There was also a luggage rack up above the seats, for coats and bags, but strollers had to be left at the depot or in your car.

We all boarded and took off right as the sun was setting. The chefs went over some things about the trip and the train, then started passing out HUGE cookies (snickerdoodles) and tasty, “hot, hot, hot chocolate”. And no, they did not do any flips or acrobatic maneuvers, but I wouldn’t have been surprised if they did! :) We went though a “magic tunnel” to make the trip to the North Pole in such a short time. The Polar Express book was read over the loudspeaker and some people had even brought their own books! For the rest of us, the chefs walked up & down the car with the book, to show the pictures as the story was read.

After about 40 minutes we reached the ‘North Pole’ and all the kids were glued to the windows to see what was going on. We saw Santa and an elf out the window and then an announcement came on that Santa had boarded the train! It was awesome to see how excited everyone was! Santa made his way through the car, not spending too much time with each kid, but enough to snap a quick picture. Each child was given a GIGANTIC bell as a keepsake.

When Santa left, the chefs led the car in singing some Christmas carols, out of the booklet of carols that we had received at the beginning of the ride. We went back through the magic tunnel and made our way back to the depot in Williams. We were back early enough to look at a few more light displays around the railway depot before heading back to our home near Phoenix. Note: the website stated that the train ride would be an hour, but it actually more like 80 minutes. Bonus!

I would highly recommend the Grand Canyon Railway’s Polar Express train in Williams, AZ for anyone willing and able to spend the money. It was a great night, and hopefully one that will stick with the kids for a long, long time!