Amusement parks can make great family vacation destinations. Before you go, make sure you choose the right park for your family, using our tips and advice on how to make your trip as easy and carefree as possible.

Amusement park-destination vacations continue to grow in popularity even though some parents look forward to it with much less enthusiasm than their children. With advance know-how and pre-planning, you're assured a memorable time with little hassle and lots of laughs.

Know Your Park, Know Your Child

• Your child's age (or children's age-range) will impact your choice of amusement park. A day of real animals, for example, might be more appropriate for your toddler than big people dressed up like animals (which can be very scary to a young child.)
• Check out the park's website. Many sites list comments and reviews about different attractions written by parents like you.
• What some kids find thrilling, others may find frightening or boring. Research the appropriateness of the rides for your kids.
• If you have several age groups in your family, you can generally find something for everyone at the bigger parks. Look into lesser known events, displays, and activities so that each child can have his or her own special moment. Sometimes the least popular exhibits turn out to be great family experiences since there's more time for exploration.

Plan Your Trip

• If you have lead-time, have the park send you brochures and maps so you can plan your trip in the relative peace of your home. What are the must-do's? What can you all live without? What are the show times, and how long do they last? (Shows are typically short enough to hold everyone's attention and give a needed sit-down break.)
• Prioritize. Plan on going to the most popular rides first or to the areas of the park where your little ones want to spend most of their time.
• Arrive early, even before the park opens. Many parks will let you explore a limited area before the official "start" time.
• Consider the weather. If it is very hot you might consider going to the park first thing in the morning for a few hours, then napping, swimming or enjoying a leisurely lunch back at the hotel before returning.
• If the park has ancillary activities you can stretch a one-day stay. For example, the character meals at Disneyland were a hit with my family. We did a dinner the night before visiting the park and then breakfast the day we left rather than another park day.
• Spending more than two days in the area? Consider breaking up the trip by experiencing the town, beach, museums, playground, or shopping located nearby for an "off-park" day. This offers your family some bonding time away from the craziness of the park.

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