Trekaroo parents have been on the streets and in the mountains around Knoxville, Tennessee and we’ve compiled a list of their favorite destinations for their kids.  A simple look at the horizon leaves no doubt that the Great Smokey’s are a near perfect place to explore nature, but parents have also shown that with this unique geography comes unique parks, museums and entertainment.  So take a wander through some of the most visited and enjoyed places in the Knoxville area by parents and their kids.

#1 Kid-friendly Activity and Best Amusement Park for Kids: Dollywood

Parents all around the Smoky’s and beyond loved their family outing to Dollywood.  This southern-styled theme park is a short drive from Knoxville and boasts country music star Dolly Parton as its owner. One Trekaroo parent, Mom Most Traveled, liked the bit of Dolly history found in the park.  ”I particularly enjoyed the veritable shrine to Dolly Parton within the amusement park [...].”   Despite Dolly’s unique story, most kids will be attracted to the  rides.  Krisco32′s kids loved the rides that resulted in a good soaking.  ”The River Battle ride was fun, but really wet; and you are pretty much stuck at the mercy of anyone outside the ride who decides to shoot you.”  For those who can resist the thrill of being targeted by water cannons, there are plenty of water-free rides to fill the day.  Kjsbristol’s family particularly enjoyed their subterranean journey on the “unique vertical climbs and dark tunnels” of the Mystery Mine.  Dollywood makes a great effort in trying to have something for all ages and tastes.  ”For those too small for most of the rides, there are two playgrounds on opposite ends of the park,” said RunnerGrrrl.  On top of the rides and playgrounds, the park also has mkmom’s favorite BBQ and all the frills and thrills of a great tourist stop.

Photo Credit: Trekaroo/kjsbristol

Best Place to Sight the Local Animals: Cade’s Cove

Just a hop and a skip from Dollywood is Cade’s Cove, flaunting nature’s grand display of mountains, forests, and wildlife.  Locals like josalynandpeytonsmom love Cade’s Cove with it’s “waterfalls, trails, and wildlife inside the park for all to enjoy.”  StephanieSays had “never seen so many deer in [her] life” before her visit to Cade’s Cove.  ”There were so many different animals to see and kids can ooh and ahh to their heart’s content.” The area is within the National Park and offers many options for enjoying the scenery, from driving an 11 mile loop to exploring the numerous nature trails that meander through the beautiful mountains.  There are also many different sights to see, “Off the loop are many nature trails, historical cabins and homesteads, and picnic areas,” said knoxvilledoula.  It’s a great area for all styles, whether your want to drive, hike or bike.  Cade’s Cove promises unforgettable sights to the entire family.

Photo Credit: Trekaroo/jenc17

Most Exciting Museum for the Kids: Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge

About 25 miles outside of Knoxville, Trekaroo parents have found a museum that their kids adore.  One Trekaroo parent, going by the moniker Hyperpraise, said, “This museum was so nice that my children ask to go back.”  These repeat customers were drawn to the large-scale doll house, capable of accommodating the munchkins of many sizes, as well as a climbable space ship and castle.  Krisco32 found stumbled upon the museum while searching for a nearby destination, but her family wound up loving this fortunate mistake.  ”It was one of the only times I’ve been lost that actually turned out to be better than what we’d planned,” she said.  Children’s Museum aficionados may find this museum to be similar to many others, but Knoxvilledoula said it best, “So long as the kiddos like it, that’s what is important.”  And the kids have kept their parents going back again and again, which is why the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge tops the list.

Photo Credit: Trekaroo/RunnerGrrrl

Best Place for Kids to Play: World’s Fair Park

Built for the 1982 World’s Fair, this park is a massive stretch of land that includes grass fields, fountains, water falls, and a great playground, but most importantly Trekaroo parents and their kids find it grand!  Kristen, a Trekaroo parent, said the park is a wonderful destination during those hot and humid Tennessee summer days.  Near all the water works is a great playground for kids to climb and swing to their heart’s desire.  More than anything, the World’s Fair Park has a great atmosphere and community.  Lldenton describes the scene, “On a given day, with nice weather, the park is full of children playing on the new playground, college students studying, and many others lounging or passing through.”

Photo Credit: worldsfairpark.org

Most Entertaining Performance for Kids: Dixie Stampede

Pigeon Forge is an entertainment center in the middle of the Smokies, thus it is no surprise that Trekaroo parents would find the most entertaining show for their kids at this locale.  Lemonyemilyo describes it as a “non-stop rodeo theater” and gives an overwhelmingly positive endorsement of the food saying it’s “very yummy”.  With this winning combo of good entertainment and good food, kids can’t help be entertained (and satiated).  Srwstars describes the show like this: “The Dixie Stampede has amazing energy. You can’t help but be excited while watching the amazing show. It’s an interactive show that gets people from the audience to help with skits and playing games.”  All this excitement does cost a pretty penny, but Lemonyemilyo assures us the “experience is worth it.”

Photo Credit: flickr/Jim Moore

Have you ever looked at toddler who’s squirming in his airplane seat pulling the lap belt over his head with ease? My 2 year old son is never one to sit quietly on the plane and stay strapped in without a 5-point restraint system, but what airline has that? NONE.

Well, luckily the folks behind the CARES Kids Fly Safe aviation restraint know just what parents need for their little jet set. The CARES harness is designed specifically to keep children 1 year of age or older (weighing between 22 and 44 pounds) safe on an airplane. Between routine turbulence when flying over those Rocky Mountains to emergency situations, your toddler will be a lot safer traveling on an airplane with a CARES aviation restraint.

Pros:

• Only FAA certified alternative to a car seat
• 4-point harness that’s similar to your child’s car seat configuration
• Durable material that’s made by the same company who makes airplane safety belts
• Light (1 pound) and portable
• You can check-in your 50 pound car seat instead of lugging it on board

Cons:

• Simple to install, but requires an awkward moment when you ask the passenger behind your child to put their tray table down.
• No straps between the legs (the 5th safety point), so the straps have to be very snug or else smaller kids may slide down or wiggle out
• Red strap sometimes doesn’t align flush for curved back seats
• A big price tag if you don’t fly often

Here’s our full review of the Kids Fly Safe CARES Harness.

The Steal – Win a CARES Harness

We’ll be giving away 1 CARES harness.

Number of Winners: One (1)

Prize: 1 CARES Harness (Value $70)

To enter:

Share which is your FAVORITE airline when traveling with kids and why.

For additional entries, feel free to do any or all of the following. Each one counts as an extra entry but be sure to leave a separate comment for each one.

• Share which airline you think is the WORST when traveling with kids and why
• Tweet a link to this Monday Mad Steal via @Trekaroo
• Post this on your Facebook Wall using the Facebook Share link above
• Post this on your blog

Rules and guidelines:

• 18 years of age or older
• US Residents only
• One entry per person

Deadline to enter: Sunday, March 7, 2010 at 11:59PM PST

If you don’t want to register, but would like to purchase a CARES harness, it’s available on Amazon for $70. Go here to buy your child a CARES child aviation harness.

What is Monday Madness?

Every Monday, Trekaroo announces on our blog, either a fantastic giveaway or an incredible deal.  It could be a green water bottle or Broadway tickets. Return every Monday to the Talking Trekaroo Blog for the details. Want a reminder? Become a Trekaroo member or follow us on facebook or twitter.

Related articles:

• 10 Fun Travel Activities for Kids
• Travel Toys for Baby/Toddler
• Top 5 Travel Toys for Preschooler
• Best Portable Travel Cribs

Thanks to Contest for Moms, Online Sweepstakes, CashNet Sweepstakes, and Sweepstakes Advantage.

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Esther Lee is a contributing author on Trekaroo – a reviews site dedicated to exploring and traveling with kids.

Travel with kids to: CA | CO | DC | FL | HI | IL | MA | NC | NY | PA | TX | VA | WA

I swear that I’m not Japanese, but I keep stumbling across these hilarious videos from Japan that are too good not to share.

Talent = Extraordinary

Lyrics = Unintelligible

Facial expressions = PRICELESS

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Esther Lee is a contributing author on Trekaroo – a reviews site dedicated to exploring and traveling with kids.
Travel with kids to: CA | FL | HI | MA | NY | PA | TX | VA and now IL and WA and DC

Moms know how scary it is to lose a child. That’s why Michele Walsh, mom of three invented SafetyTat. She was worried that she would become
separated from her children at a crowded amusement park.  The solution? A temporary tattoo that gives parents peace of mind with fun and colorful
designs that kids love.

SafetyTat temporary id tattoos keep parents and children connected. It’s Safety that Sticks. When a lost child is too young or too upset to communicate a parent or a guardian’s phone number, this temporary child id tattoo does it for them. SafetyTat tattoos cannot be readily removed or smeared, and are waterproof.

There are two basic types of tattoos. The Original SafetyTat can be customized with your phone number or any other information on their website. They can be easily applied with water and will last for 1-5 days.   The second type is the “Quick Stick Write-on!”  series which are peel-and-stick tattoos.

SafetyTat child id tattoos are also useful for many situations — traveling, amusement parks, water parks, sporting events, site seeing, shopping malls and school field trips.  The www.SafetyTat.com website also offers tattoos with special needs, emergency and allergy alerts.

I recently got a chance to test out SafetyTat’s Quick Stick, Write-On tattoos. Here’s my review of SafetyTat. A great stocking stuffer for moms with young kids. Use TrekAroo (case sensitive) during checkout and receive 10% off order of $15 or more before 12/23/09.  We’ve also got some to give away!

SafetyTat Giveaway Details

Number of Winners: Four (4)

Prize: Quick Stick Write-On! multi-design 4-pack (Retail value: $7.99)

To enter: Let us know why you’d like to win some SafetyTats in the comment section.

For additional entries:

• Become a Facebook fan of Trekaroo
• Become a Facebook fan of Safety Tat.
• Twitter about the giveaway. Be sure to leave your link in the comments.

Rules and guidelines:
US Residents only
Deadline to enter: December 13th
Please leave an extra comment for each entry and your EMAIL address.

What is Monday Mad Steals?

Every Monday, Trekaroo announces on our blog, either an fantastic giveaway or a incredible deal that is only being offered on Trekaroo for a short time.  It could be a green water bottle, but it could also be tickets to the hottest show on broad way.   Return every Monday to the Talking Trekaroo Blog to find out what the steal of the week is.  Get a reminder every Tuesday when our weekly digest goes out (you have to be a member of Trekaroo).  Or be our fan on Facebook to be the first to know.

Thanks to Contest for Moms, Sweepstakes Advantage, and Online Sweepstakes.

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Esther Lee is a contributing author on Trekaroo – a reviews site dedicated to exploring and traveling with kids.
Travel with kids to: CA | FL | HI | MA | NY | PA | TX | VA and now IL and WA and DC