Family, travel, mom blog | Theme Park Mom (Leigh Caldwell)

Sesame Street Safari of Fun is now open at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. I’ve been sharing the details about this new children’s area over the past several weeks.

One of the most exciting additions within the Safari of Fun is Air Grover, a new junior roller coaster. The “story” behind Air Grover is that you are flying in a biplane with Grover over the Sahara.

The ride lasts about 30 seconds. It is gentle enough to be any preschooler’s first roller coaster ride. I recently got to take a ride on Air Grover with my 4-year-old niece, Miss C, and the folks at Busch Gardens filmed it for us:

Miss C is a daredevil. In fact, she kept pointing to Sheikra and asking the Busch Gardens marketing folks if they could pull some strings and get her onboard.

Of course, Miss C is still too short for Sheikra’s 54-inch height requirement, but she had no trouble with the measuring stick outside Air Grover. The new roller coaster has a height requirement of 42 inches when riding alone or 38 inches when riding with an adult.

Did you know that you can have breakfast or lunch with Sesame Street characters at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay? I recommend reserving this dining experience in advance – it’s a great way to get pictures and autographs to remember your day.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom is one of my favorite parks for younger children because of all of the animal sightings and the great shows. Here are a couple of rides that the preschool set will enjoy:

Kilimanjaro Safaris: Climb into an off-road vehicle for this safari through 100 acres of savannah in Animal Kingdom’s Africa area. You and your child could see giraffes, elephants, flamingos, rhinos, antelope and maybe even a lion or two. This attraction is best experienced in the morning, when the animals are more active and easily seen.

Triceratop Spin: Little ones will enjoy making their dino go up and down on this circular ride in the DinoLand U.S.A. area of Animal Kingdom. This gentle ride is similar to Dumbo the Flying Elephant in the Magic Kingdom.

Wildlife Express Train: What child doesn’t love a train? This one runs every 5-7 minutes and takes you between the Harambe, Africa area and Rafiki’s Planet Watch. You can get off the train at Rafiki’s Planet Watch to take part in some educational activities and learn about animal conservation.

This post is part of “Under 5 Friday,” a series of posts with my best tips for taking young children to Walt Disney World.

Are you planning your first trip to Walt Disney World? One of the best ways to be sure you are getting the most out of your vacation (and your time and money) is to use a a travel agent who specializes in Disney vacations, like the folks at Enchanted Destinations.

There is a lot to see and do at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, including a couple of great rides that even children under age 5 can enjoy:

Star Tours: Star Wars fans will enjoy this motion-simulator ride to the moon of Endor. When your pilot takes a wrong turn, you blast-off to an entirely new adventure. This ride is in a vehicle that simulates twists and turns without actually going anywhere. The ride queue is filled with Star Wars props and familiar characters, which can also be fun for your jedis.

Toy Story Midway Mania!: Join Woody and other friends from Toy Story on this ride through classic carnival games. You will use a shooter on your car to pop balloons and shoot water in 3-D. Children will need to wear 3-D glasses to get the full effect of this slow-moving ride.

This post is part of “Under 5 Friday,” a series of posts designed to give advice on taking children ages 5 and under to theme parks.

A day at EPCOT is fun for all ages, with plenty of sights, sounds, shows and international food to sample. And while EPCOT is really known for these things over the many rides in Fantasyland, there are still a couple of “must-see” rides here for younger children.

Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros: This gentle boat ride takes families through a tour of many Mexican landmarks. Riders are accompanied by a cartoon Donald Duck, who is trying to catch up with his two Spanish-speaking friends Jose Carioca and Panchito. There’s nothing to fear here, and preschoolers will delight in the indoor “fireworks” at the end of the cruise.

Journey Into Imagination with Figment: The mischievous purple dragon Figment takes over a ride-through tour of the Imagination Institute. This slow-moving ride shows children how all the senses influence imagination. A portion at the end where Figment takes you through his upside-down world uses neon colors, bright lights and loud music, which could momentarily frighten sensitive youngsters.

Living with the Land: This boat-ride shows you how food is grown in the many ecosystems on earth. The real treat is at the end of the ride, when you journey through laboratories where scientists are experimenting with new ways to grow food.

The Seas with Nemo & Friends: Ride in a clamshell under the sea, where you’ll join the hunt for the loveable clown fish Nemo. This is a gentle, ride-through attraction, and it ends with an amazing sight – many characters from Finding Nemo swimming with real fish inside a giant aqaurium.

This post is part of “Under 5 Friday,” a series of posts designed to give advice on taking children ages 5 and under to theme parks.