The Dallas Zoo recently added an 11-acre Giants of the Savanna area and our kids loved it (4 kids: 6-12) especially the younger ones. We've never been to the old zoo, but this one was quite nice. It's a smaller zoo, but given the $12 admission, it's quite affordable and easy to get through versus San Diego which is a whooping $37 a pop per adult.

We went over the summer and it truly felt like we were on an African safari. ;) Luckily, there are a few nice areas with A/C near the viewing areas.

Must- DO: Our kids loved lunch at the Serengeti Grill. We got a table by the windows which are smack next to the lions and there were two lionesses lazing around, squished up against the window. Literally, less than a foot away except for that 6-inch thick window pane.

Skip the monorail ($3/person). Didn't think it was worth it (especially for a family of 6). Nice for kids 5 and under who are really into modes of transportation.

Kimpton hotels are always fun to stay in for the kids because of their funky accessories and great service. Our stay at the Hotel Palomar in Dallas with our 4 boys (6-12) was no different. We were in Dallas visiting some old college friends of ours and the hotel was located in a central part of town.

The kids were spoiled with a special package upon arrival that includes games, art supplies and a disposable camera. This loot was good. To top it off, there was also an in-room movie, Nintendo on the TVs and popcorn and a fish which they promptly named Wolf in honor of our recent stay at the Great Wolf Lodge. Such a cool touch which the kid's loved. Our little guy loved chatting with Wolf at the end of each day about his day around Dallas.

My hubby and I had a king bed in the adjoining room which was quite luxurious and had a great soaking tub. The staff is great and was always personable and helpful with any of our questions.

The hotel is located across the street from Mockingbird Station (DART transport) which makes it easy to get around the city to the Zoo, Fair Park, the Art District. Valet is $20 a day with in and out privileges which given we've got a family of 6 works out to be about the same cost-wise as tromping around on the subway. We already had a car since we were road-tripping around Texas and it gave us the ability to visit our friends who weren't really close to the DART.

Would definitely recommend staying here to any family with children young and old.

We were in Texas for a week after school let out with the kids and hit up the Great Wolf Lodge for 3 days/2nights in June. We had done an indoor waterpark in Wisconsin Dells and this Great Wolf Lodge was not as large, but still fun.

The rates are cheaper during the week and we were traveling from Tue-Thursday and scored a rate of $149.00 per night for a family suite. The room was large, although with our family of 6 (me, hubby and 4 boys ranging from 6-12) it gets quite cozy. The room had 2 queen beds, and a full size sofa sleeper - plus a fridge and microwave. Everything is centered around the kids which meant they loved it here!

The food on-site is definitely theme-park fare from hot dogs to burgers and fries. Convenient and fine for lunch if you're already in the park, but certainly expensive. You really never have to leave the property unless you want to, but I would recommend eating off-site to save a couple of bucks and try something different.

Everyone had a great time at the water park every day, and the kids loved MagiQuest. The game is active for 4 days, so buy it early and it is a good value, and keeps the kids busy. Water park was crowded, but not crazy. We typically didn't have to wait in line, but in the primetime 1:30-3pm hour, we waited for 15 minutes for a couple of rides.

There's an evening story time which our younger kids liked (12 year old was a bit bored).

Our family is quickly becoming indoor waterpark junkies and love it. if you're in Texas, I'd definitely recommend making a trip out to the GWL especially in those crazy hot 100 degree summer days.

We came last summer with the Family Value Package and our 4 kids ages 6 through 12. Everyone had a fun time at the Sea Mist, especially the kids. The pool/waterpark plus mini golf plus restaurants plus kid and family programs made us almost never the hotel! Waterparks are a bit much, but they do a kiddie pool for beginning swimmers as well. If you've got lots of kids and they aren't water safe yet, then the waterpark might be a bit hard to keep tabs on everyone.

The rooms are older, so don't expect beautifully luxurious, 5-star rooms. I would rate this value ACME type rooms. But, for the price, they are clean and functional just right for the budget since we always have to get more rooms with our family of 6! When we went, the first room we got was not great, so we actually ended up asking for another room and that was much better.

The staff was friendly and helpful to each of our requests and we certainly had many given the size of our family. The themed dinners were also fun for the kids and ranged from cookie decorating to pirates.

The package is nice because it pulls together all the kid-friendly activities in the area for you without having to do all the research and waiting in ticket lines. For example, the resort waterpark is more for younger kids, older kids will want to head to the Family Kingdom Oceanfront Water Park which is part of the Family Value Package, but not part of Sea Mist.

We traveled to the Wisconsin Dells with my husband and our kids 5-11 during Christmas holidays. Since it's wintertime, we spent the entire time inside at the water park. The indoor park had two large tube slides and two large 'regular' slide, along with lazy river, activity pool, and toddler area. We had gotten up early and got to the park around 10:30am which was perfect because by 1:00 PM, it was a madhouse here. We've got 4 kids, so it was a bit stressful for us trying to man all the kids. If you're with smaller kids, you might want to put them in a life jacket just to give you a peace of mind. All of our kids are strong swimmers and we were still busy trying to keep tabs on them all.

The pricing of the park is decent, but be prepared to shell-out some dough for lunch. There were plenty of guards on duty, and when things got busy in early afternoon, also saw some correcting kids on not following rules (a good thing - was not an unruly place).

There's also an indoor theme park which is great after you've dried off and want some dry fun. I'm sure this place is very quiet on non-holiday winter weekends, but unfortunately not doable for us East Coasters.