Wife wants to escape Houston for a weekend and switch it up. We really haven't taken any true family trips yet that don't include going to stay with other family. Our oldest daughter just turned 4 and our youngest is turning 2 beginning of December.

We will either be doing this the Friday-Sun after Thanksgiving or the weekend of Dec 1. I am pushing for the day after Thanksgiving.

She found this Groupon so we could check out SeaWorld and two other attractions. I also saw the thread about the RW lighting parade and thought they may also be a fun thing to do if we end up going that weekend.

Questions:

• Best place to stay? I assume Riverwalk but any specific Hotel recs that would be ideal for traveling with little kids and being able to get around.
• If you view the Groupon, what would be the two best non-premium attractions? SeaWorld will be the premium attraction of our choice.

• Is this Groupon even worth it or better alternatives for exploring SA with little kids? Are there other/better events or attractions going on those weekends we should know about?

Possible Itinerary:

Drive to SA Friday mid-morning, and go to non-premium attraction #1. Afterwards check-in to the hotel and then attend Riverwalk Lighting Parade.

Saturday: SeaWorld first thing and then just hang out at Hotel, walk the riverwalk, dinner, etc...

Sunday: Breakfast, check out of hotel, Non-premium attraction #2, head straight back to Houston.


Any tips/suggestions would be appreciated. Neither of us are familiar with SA.

TIA.

SA Zoo/Brackenridge Park (especially the zoo train) would be good for Sunday before you head back.

Long story, but I went to school in SA for 4 years and the family would visit occasionally on weekends. I, too, have young daughters and here's what they liked:

Zoo - If you get there early (they don't open too early, maybe 10 AM) you can beat some of the afternoon crowds. The hippo exhibit is a must and the giraffe is new too. The SA Zoo can't sniff the Houston Zoo for elephants, but overall the kids preferred the SA Zoo.

SeaWorld - Maybe others can comment, but this may be miserable the Saturday after Thanksgiving because of the crowds. We did SeaWorld for July 4th (sure, probably 10X worse than Thanksgiving) and swore we'd never go on a holiday again. Hopefully someone else will chime in that has done it around Thanksgiving.

RiverWalk - You have the Alamo right there, so you can swing by that for some culture/history. You can definitely kill some time.

Hotel - If you're willing to splurge for RW prices at Thanksgiving, maybe check out one of the resorts near SeaWorld, La Cantera, or the Rim.

I know my thoughts may not be overly helpful, so hopefully a "real" San Antonionian can chime in soon.

Any of the 4 star hotels downtown will suffice, honestly. The older the hotel the smaller the room though.


If you do stay downtown, there's the DoSeum just up Broadway for the kids as well. (Not far from the zoo, too)

https://www.thedoseum.org/

There's also a pretty sweet lightshow at the Cathedral the kids might enjoy.

http://www.mainplaza.org/san-antoniothe-saga/

Check out the Hyatt Hill country resort. It's close to sea world and has activities for young kids. I have young kids and would much rather stay there than the RW. There are a lot more family friendly places to eat around sea world and the resort as well vs the riverwalk.

Check out the JW Marriot. They have an amazing heated pool.

The Hyatt has the heated pool area as well and is normally a little bit more affordable than the JW.

Federal Rate at JW is $124 so if you have a military ID its affordable.

Go to zarzamora street on southside , you'll find my cousin flaco pay him $30 and a sixer and he'll show you around

I live in SA and have grandchildren who live here who are 8 and 2.

I would not bother with the Alamo. I just took some out-of-town friends there this weekend, and I always evaluate tourist locations on the basis of whether my grandkids would enjoy them.

There is nothing interactive at the Alamo for your kids to do. It is all text and one 17 minute movie and some static exhibits that would not interest kids 4 and 2. My eight-year-old would be bored in five minutes.

I second the zoo and the zoo train, walking along the river that goes through the area, bringing some bread to feed the ducks, and the Kiddie Park which is on the eastern edge of the zoo area:

http://www.kiddiepark.com/

My little one is not old enough yet but I heard The DoSeum is a pretty cool place to go.

https://www.thedoseum.org/

All - just wanted to say thanks to everyone who has replied for the suggestions. We are still trying to firm up details but I will keep this thread updated.

I will look into all of your suggestions and come back with some additional questions once I have a little more time. Work has been busy last couple of days & haven't had much time to look into this trip since I posted.

Edit to add: We have decided to go Thanksgiving weekend and my wife is pretty set on wanting to stay on the RW.

You'll enjoy it. I think just after Thanksgiving is the best time to visit the Riverwalk. The Christmas lights are pretty cool.

(even with the switch to those crappy LEDs)

If you go tothe zoo, be sure to check the zoos website for hours. I think they are doing 12 to 9pm for zoo lights.

I would take the kids to eat at the Magic Time Machine. Took my kids and grand kids there and they love the place. Up in the Broadway/loop 410 area.

CE Lounge Lizzard said:

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azulAg said:

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Go to zarzamora street on southside , you'll find my cousin flaco pay him $30 and a sixer and he'll show you around

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Perhaps Flaco could take them down to Nogalitos Street for some barbacoa y Big Red.

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Del rio tortilla factory on gillette is legit.

Alright trying to pick the hotel now... I have a ton of Chase Ultimate reward points (over 400,000 points) so not overly concerned with price but no reason to use extra points for no reason.

I am tempted to just grab the embassy suites for a few reasons... Big, free, pretty solid breakfast for all four of us and large rooms with separate sitting area plus fridge/microwave. Not expecting to be in the room a bunch but having two rooms if kids are taking a nap, fridge to store milk, etc. will be nice.

I guess my question now is this a decent option/what are better options? I really haven't looked at many yet. Thanks again to all.

take them to Six Flags... Kids will enjoy it.

Beg to differ with six flags and young kids. There is a kid section but most 2 year olds aren't tall enough to ride even those rides. We took my 5 yo last year for the first time and had a blast but he was still not quite tall enough for some rides. My 2 year old could barely do anything and was pissed seeing his brother be able to do things and not him. Sea world was way better for mine at that age. They have great Christmas lights as well.

Beckdiesel03 said:

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Beg to differ with six flags and young kids. There is a kid section but most 2 year olds aren't tall enough to ride even those rides. We took my 5 yo last year for the first time and had a blast but he was still not quite tall enough for some rides. My 2 year old could barely do anything and was pissed seeing his brother be able to do things and not him. Sea world was way better for mine at that age. They have great Christmas lights as well.

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True, BUT they have their fall festival and night time isn't so bad

Curious what the third best option would be from this list:

SeaWorld San Antonio single-day (premium attraction)

San Antonio Zoo

San Antonio Museum of Art

City Sightseeing hop-on hop-off tour (24-hour ticket)

Ripley's Haunted Adventure

Natural Bridge Caverns DiscoveryTour

Tomb Rider 3D

Guinness World Records Museum

Buckhorn Saloon and Museum and Texas Ranger Museum

Witte Museum

Rio San Antonio cruise ticket

Extreme Escapes live action games

Battle for Texas: The Experience

McNay Art Museum

K1 Speed Indoor Karting

Tower of the Americas

The Amazing Mirror Maze

Splashtown San Antonio

We are planning on SeaWorld and the Zoo. What would y'all recommend for the 3rd option?

We will also probably check out the lighting parade but I am going to wait to buy tickets to see how we are feeling that day and what else we are doing. If we are at the zoo on Friday already maybe we will opt for Zoo lights instead.

Hotels only parking option is $35 a day for valet.. Are there any decent places to park for cheaper around the Embassy Suites that wouldn't be a total PITA? I don't mind paying for the valet if there isn't a relatively simple alternative available but thought I would check here.

TIA.

Wife is an Aggie said:

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Curious what the third best option would be from this list:

SeaWorld San Antonio single-day (premium attraction)

San Antonio Zoo

San Antonio Museum of Art

City Sightseeing hop-on hop-off tour (24-hour ticket)

Ripley's Haunted Adventure

Natural Bridge Caverns DiscoveryTour

Tomb Rider 3D

Guinness World Records Museum

Buckhorn Saloon and Museum and Texas Ranger Museum

Witte Museum

Rio San Antonio cruise ticket

Extreme Escapes live action games

Battle for Texas: The Experience

McNay Art Museum

K1 Speed Indoor Karting

Tower of the Americas

The Amazing Mirror Maze

Splashtown San Antonio

We are planning on SeaWorld and the Zoo. What would y'all recommend for the 3rd option?

We will also probably check out the lighting parade but I am going to wait to buy tickets to see how we are feeling that day and what else we are doing. If we are at the zoo on Friday already maybe we will opt for Zoo lights instead.

Hotels only parking option is $35 a day for valet.. Are there any decent places to park for cheaper around the Embassy Suites that wouldn't be a total PITA? I don't mind paying for the valet if there isn't a relatively simple alternative available but thought I would check here.

TIA.

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Go eat supper at the Tower. We have eaten there several times and it is always fun. Sometimes the kids are a little skittish about riding the elevator so stand in the back.

Wife is an Aggie said:

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Curious what the third best option would be from this list:

SeaWorld San Antonio single-day (premium attraction)

San Antonio Zoo

San Antonio Museum of Art

City Sightseeing hop-on hop-off tour (24-hour ticket)

Ripley's Haunted Adventure

Natural Bridge Caverns DiscoveryTour

Tomb Rider 3D

Guinness World Records Museum

Buckhorn Saloon and Museum and Texas Ranger Museum

Witte Museum

Rio San Antonio cruise ticket

Extreme Escapes live action games

Battle for Texas: The Experience

McNay Art Museum

K1 Speed Indoor Karting

Tower of the Americas

The Amazing Mirror Maze

Splashtown San Antonio

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For a 2 and 4 year old its hard.
Out of that list:

Zoo
Natural Bridge Caverns might be too much for a 2 year old. (It's VERY humid in there)
Witte is cool, but since you're from Houston the museums are generally bigger and better.
River cruise is cool if you don't do the parade, but I'm afraid the kids would get bored
Battle for Texas might be alright, haven't done it yet. K1, they're probably still too young.
The Tower is alright

The Doseum on Broadway I would mention again.

Or you can do like the locals do and find a kid friendly outdoor bar and have some beers while they hurt themselves on the playground.

There's some uncovered parking lots across the street from the hotel that would be cheaper, but given the weekend and the eventual crowds for the parade I would not count on it that day. There's also a couple of garages immediately south on Soledad on Main that would be a quick walk.

The flip side is leaving and coming back. If the valet is $35 per day with no care about coming and going it might be in your best interest to do that. Let them worry about parking around the parade.

Wife is an Aggie said:

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We are planning on SeaWorld and the Zoo. What would y'all recommend for the 3rd option?

We will also probably check out the lighting parade but I am going to wait to buy tickets to see how we are feeling that day and what else we are doing. If we are at the zoo on Friday already maybe we will opt for Zoo lights instead.

Hotels only parking option is $35 a day for valet.. Are there any decent places to park for cheaper around the Embassy Suites that wouldn't be a total PITA? I don't mind paying for the valet if there isn't a relatively simple alternative available but thought I would check here.

TIA.

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How did it go?