Everyday Cori By Corine Ingrassia

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3 Fun Things To Do In Hollywood With Kids

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What do you do in Hollywood as a family? These 3 things will create amazing memories for your kids. Read on to see what do to in Hollywood with kids. A mom in hollywood with her 3 kids. Whether you are an adult or a child visiting Los Angeles, California for the first time, the excitement of seeing those large white letters sprawled across the hillside spelling out “HOLLYWOOD” is likely the type of excitement that has been building (consciously or sub-consciously) for years. And sitting below that hillside sign is a town that holds a special kind of history that is fascinating to people of all ages. It’s streets, the keeper of both industry secrets and the ins and outs of a celebrity lifestyle opposite of our own.

3 Fun Things To Do In Hollywood With Kids

While it’s true that there are parts of Hollywood best experienced sans kids, we have taken the kids to Hollywood multiple times and there is plenty to do and explore with them too! This is a staple when visiting Hollywood. Kids may not recognize a lot of the names (to be honest, neither do I) but that adds to the excitement of chasing square after square on a hunt for the names that are familiar– and with 16 fictional stars, kids will definitely find a few.

1.) Walk Of Fame

(all ages)

A little girl on the Hollywood walk of fame
I’ve created a fun scavenger hunt list and Bingo card to make this even more fun! You can download the free printables below.
Download the Free Hollywood Walk of Fame Kids' Printable here
click here

2.) Universal Studios Hollywood

(all ages)

A mom at Universal Studios in Hollywood with her son
Possibly the only theme park you will visit that is built ON TOP of buildings. Yes, you read that right. Universal Studios Hollywood is made up of 2 levels and the upper level is literally built on top of studio buildings! I did a double take when I realized it myself. Compared to its Orlando theme park, Universal Hollywood is much smaller and when traveling with small children, more digestible, in my opinion. Another perk to the smaller size of this park is that when planned properly, it is totally possible to make this half-day adventure (and lets be honest, when you have a busy vacation planned with little ones and/or multiple kids… somedays a half day is the best kind of theme park day).
A dad at Universal Studios on Hollywood with his son
There is a Minions splash pad and playground for little ones (so pack a swimsuit or change of clothes!) and there are also plenty of rides for kids 40″ and above. There shows that go on throughout the day and 8 main “rides”, many 3D simulators (such as The Simpsons Ride, Minion Rush and Transformers) that are housed in actual sound stages, Potterland and no visit is complete without the Studio Tour  which takes you through some actual studio sets, lets you experience a simulated “earthquake”, as well as some other movie fun. This is arguably the best ride of all– though to be fair we missed out on The Mummy and The Potter ride– both are said to be really great! In addition to the can’t miss studio tour, I highly recommend grabbing a fresh jumbo sized donut and flaming mo beverage from Simpsons land! All. The. Yum!

3.) Touring The Hollywood Hills– YouTube Style

(for the tweens and teens)

In lieu of actually hiking to the Hollywood sign (which is still on my list by the way), we’ve taken drives through the Hollywood hills, marveled at the homes and have gotten some pretty great views of the sign along the way.
  • A boy overlooking the hollywood hills
A lot of YouTubers reside in the Hills and with a little research, you can likely find your kid’s favorites. My son at just 12 years old found directions to his favorite YouTuber’s home on. his. own.  And when we drove to the home, we were not the only fans driving by taking pictures.
A boy in front of a Hollywood mansion
The internet is a scary place you guys. Fortunately, the Youtuber’s mom was very down to earth and even took pictures with my son when she was returning from her Starbucks run.

More Family Travel Tips

There is so much more to do then Hollywood with your family. Here are some of our favorites:

Planning A Roadtrip With Kids? These Tips Will Save Your Sanity And Keep The Kids Happy

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As you plan your road trips with kids, read this guide and never lose your sanity again. The 2nd tip is my secret weapon!

how to plan a road trip with kids without losing your mind

Whew! It has been quite the month of travel, you guys.  Over the course of about 6 weeks, I’ve experienced 3 uniquely different types of travel… girls-trip, couples trip, and family-vaca– each very essential for the soul in their own right.

I have SO much to share but have been so completely backlogged and am just coming up for air– you know, in the peak holiday season! HA! I don’t know how full-time travel bloggers do it!

How to Plan a Road Trip With Kids

With holiday around the corner, and no doubt a lot family road trips and drive-time on the horizon, I thought I would start by sharing some of tips and tricks we utilize when traveling with our family on long car rides (which, with 2 kids in traveling sports– we do often!)

1.) Choose the perfect family road trip vehicle

Our most recent family vacation to SoCal included a good amount of driving.  Toyota provided our a Toyota 4-Runner for us– and let me just say that I was instantly smitten with its shiny, sexy, electric blue color and tan leather interior! Every SUV we’ve owned for the past 6 years? 8 years? has been white with black interior– boorrring! ha!

A family SUV for a road trip with kids

This is the second Toyota SUV we’ve test-drove (we drove the Highlander for our Boston road-trip). They both drove like a dream, had an easy to use navigation & entertainment system, were roomy and had great trunk space.

The Tip: When you are planning your family vehicle (whether for a vacation rental or to own), always take into consideration your family, PLUS 1. What’s roomy for a family of 4 is much different than what is roomy for a family of 5. And I know for us, there is always a plus 1 (especially with carpools). So you want to account for those times.

Semi-last minute, we ended up taking my sister with us, and although the split design of the 4-Runner’s back seat allowed us to pull up an extra 2 seats in the third row– it drastically affected that once roomy-looking trunk. Luckily we packed like ninja’s so it all worked out fine, but I would be lying if I said it wasn’t a bit tight. The Highlander is probably more ideal for our LARGE party, but had we have been a party of 4 or 5– the 4Runner would have felt incredibly spacious both for leg room and trunk space.

2.) Travel light

So… confession: when it comes to packing for myself for a trip without the kids, I am an absolute horror show. Totally indecisive, want to pack all the things, but ironically when we are packing for a family trip? My packing skills as I’ve mentioned above are NINJA LEVEL. (I’ve written a whole post about it here) I think this is partially due to the incredible anxiousness that takes over my brain when I think about traveling with the kids and it sends me into simplify-mode because I’m a firm believer in not letting the anxiety win–and carrying more things always = more anxiety.  So I’ve learned to look at it as a bit of a challenge to SLAY!

The Tips: 

  • Look into renting bulky baby gear. If budget allows, look into rental options. We’ve done this before at a reasonable price and it was a true life saver.  
  • Mix, match and laundry.  There is truly nothing I loathe more than laundry and I know some feel like “Why kill the vacation buzz with chores??”  BUT in my experience, the less “STUFF” we are toting around, the clearer my head feels– and when we travel with the kids, laundry is my saving grace.  Plan outfits that can be mixed and matched with each other. My general rule of thumb– 2 tops for every one bottom usually works out perfect.
  • Give each child a small backpack or drawstring bag to fill (or for you to fill for them). Inside should fit 2-3 entertainment options and some mess-free grab and go snacks. Whatever fits, fits. That’s it.A little boy with a back pack

 

3.) Easy Mess Free Entertainment

Roadtrip Bingo and Ispy printables are easy to find online. iPads are a given for many. But beyond that, mess-free creative activities that get their creativity and imagination flowing are the way to go. This trip, Bunchems was the big hit– with all three kids! Below are some of the others that a great for mess-free creative car activities.

4.) Grab And Go Snacks

Whether you prepackage veggies, fruits, etc. in fun plastic baggies or buy your snacks prepackaged, it goes without saying that snacks are oh so very necessary for long car rides. Be sure to have your kids favorites on hand– and maybe even keep a secret treat (ring pops?) in your bag– juusssst in case you need a distraction 😉

5.) Make essentials easy to access

Kids know no boundaries when it comes to shouting out requests from the back seat– tissues, snacks, crayons– “Go-go-Gadget Mom arms!”

The Tip:

Invest in a great car organizers that will allow kids to set up in the car with everything in arms reach– THEIR arms, not yours! Just a few of my faves are below.The one with an insulated cooler?? GENIUS!!

6.) Garbage “can” for each row

When traveling in the car with kids it never fails, they will always end up with garbage and if its not easy to access, you will likely find stickiness and other gunk in your cup holders.

The Tip:

Put a small garbage container in each row. Below are some of my favorite options for this.

how to plan a road trip with kids without losing your mind

sponsored by Toyota

More Family Travel Success Tips

Travel as a family and make some epic memories. Here are my favorite guides just for you.

 

8 Fun Adventures To Have On Your Maui Family Vacation

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Our Maui family vacation remains one of our all time favorites because if was a great mix of fun and relaxation. Yes, I used the words “family vacation” and relaxation in one sentence and I meant every word.

When we visited Maui, our kids were young (toddler/pre-school age) and we were pleasantly surprised at just how much fun we all had exploring the island!

If you’re planning a Maui family vacation, below are 8 things we did with our kids that made for a fun and memorable trip we still talk about til’ this day!

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8 Fun Maui Adventures With Kids

1. The Penguins And Parrots At The Hyatt Maui

While vacationing in Maui, we stayed at the Hyatt Regency as it was recommended to us as one of the best places to stay in Maui for families; and we truly did love it! 

In addition to a beautiful pool and beach area, the Hyatt offers some great family dining as well as some adorable penguins, parrots and swans. The parrots and penguins are out every day and their feeding schedule is available at the front desk. My kids loved visiting during feeding time to learn more about the animals and their talents from staff members.

2. Watching The Island “Wake Up”

Traveling from the east coast to Maui definitely caused a little confusion with time, but also had it’s perks. We were up the first few days very, VERY early.

Like 4 am early. Turns out this is one of the most beautiful times to explore the island. We would get up and out early to splash in the quiet beaches and “watch the island wake up” at sunrise. It was gorgeous!

3. Authentic Hawaiian Luau

A Maui family vacation would not be complete without a luau experience. There are many to choose from in Maui. After researching, we chose the Feast At LeLe in Lahaina as it had the best reviews and was touted by many to be the most “authentic luau” on the island.

The Feast At LeLe kicked off by being greeted with a Lei and beverage (non-alcoholic beverages were available for the little ones).

There was a trio band playing live music and some hand crafted Hawaiian items for sale as everyone was seated. The kids loved the welcoming party atmosphere. The show and dancers were amazing, complete with a “fire swallower”– which was the most anticipated moment for Ry (7 years old).

The food is brought out in courses to allow you to experience a variety of Polynesian cuisine and we even got to celebrate our son’s birthday Hawaiian style!

While the food was good, this was the only down fall when traveling with picky eater. My son is a true foodie and loved trying everything, while my daughter on the other hand ate next to nothing. Other Luau’s may have more traditional food or a kids menu. If you have a picky eater in your group, this is just something to keep in mind.

4. Beachside Family Portraits

When traveling as a family, often one person is left out of the group photo as they the role of photographer (this is usually me)- or you ask a stranger, and well… it’s never easy to assess a strangers photography skills as they walk by- right? It’s a 50/50 shot.

I highly recommend hiring a family photographer in Maui and make it your annual family photo. The beaches and sunset backdrop make for gorgeous holiday cards too!

We chose the husband and wife team of Dimitri Photography on the recommendation of friend and fellow blogger, Sarah of The Ohana Mama.

Dimitri and Sandra chose the tucked away, DK Fleming Beach for our shoot. A “secret beach” of sorts that we may have never discovered, had it not been on their recommendation. Our pictures came out phenomenal, and was a beautiful way to remember our Maui vacation for years to come.

5. Surfing Lessons

Maui is the ultimate place to experience a little surfing and there are lessons available for beginners as well as experienced surfers.

James and Ryan took a private lesson for beginners with Tide of Rivers To The Sea.  They had a great time learning the basics and Tide was amazing with the kids- he even let Laina (3 yrs old) in on the fun. Rivers to the Sea is just one of many surfing schools on Maui, but we truly loved them and highly recommend! Run by brothers Tide and Kiva, they have taught some Hollywood celebs including: Zac Effron, James Gandolfeni and Amanda Bynes (before she went Cray-cray).

6. The Hawaii Tropical Plantation

The Tropical Plantation is open year round and offers a train ride through the plantation showing off the island’s agriculture and beauty including a gorgeous lake area and fresh coconut-tasting experience.

We visited during spring break/Easter vacation, while Maui was celebrating it’s annual AG Feast at their Tropical Plantation, which was fun! If you are visiting during that time of year as well, definitely look into this festive event.

7. The Lahaina Market Place

The Old Lahaina Market Place is a great place to check out some local handmade craftsmanship. From jewelry to soaps and wood carvings- this cute little village has it all. My kids loved going from shop to shop browsing all the local goods.

This market place is also the central point where many boat tours leave from. So you can make a day of it by booking a boat tour and then touring shops and grabbing a bite to eat!

8. The Road To Hana

This road-side experience was so amazing, I gave it it’s own in-depth post. In short? DO. IT.

Road To Hana With Kids r2H Maui

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 Looking for a romantic date night idea while visiting Maui? Check out our oceanside dining experience at the Marriott Wailea Beach.

Is Maui a good family vacation?

Maui offers families a great mix of fun, adventure and relaxation while on vacation. Kids love exploring Maui’s nature and learning about the Hawaiian Culture too.

Some family favorites include:
– Taking surf lessons
– Checking out the Lahaina Marketplace
– Visiting Aunt Sandy’s for a bite to eat along on the Road To Hana
– Finding rainbow trees

What is there to do in Maui with toddlers?

While known for its beauty and nature, there are still many things to do in Maui with toddlers. Some great activities to do with little ones are:
– Playing in the calm water and beaches early in the morning
– Checking out the Maui Ocean Center
– Attend The Feast Of Lele Luau- they’ll love being greeted with lei’s!
– Visit the penguins and swans in the Hyatt Hotel’s lobby

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