Ocean Explorer
The St. Regis Monarch Beach in Dana Point, Ca near San Diego 
wants you to have a whale of an experience. Their Ocean Explorer package includes four tickets for a Whale Watching Cruise, “Wild Dolphin and Whales of Southern California” DVD, eco-friendly tote, Tide Pool exploration at the resort and a children’s souvenir sand bucket and shovel. The package is available for two adults and two children per room and includes a suite accommodation with Personal Butler Service and 4:00pm check-out, if available. The promotion is valid through the end of this year. The resort offers a children’s program for ages 5-12, Miraval Spa, scavenger hunts, croquet, golf (free twilight golf for children), tennis, surf lessons, other watersports and more.
NPS Turns 100
To celebrate the National Park Service turning 100, the NPF and 
the White House have teamed up to launch the Every Kid in the Park initiative, which will offer every 4th grade student across the country free access to our National Parks throughout the 2015-2016 school year. As advocates of this program, Austin Adventures is thrilled to provide their own young adventurers the special privilege of traveling free in 2016. Book a tour for four, and your 4th grader’s trip fee is waived! What better excuse to get your children into the great outdoors? Whichever National Park adventure you choose (Yellowstone, Bryce/Zion, Yosemite, Glacier and The Grand Canyon), the opportunity to play, to explore, and to learn are endless.
Seedlings
1 Hotels, a new socially responsible hotel chain with locations in South Beach Miami and New York, has launched a children’s program called Seedlings. Not only does the program connect your children with their natural surroundings, but it also takes a fun, hands-on approach to teaching them how important it is to take care of the environment. It is currently available in Miami for children ages 4 to 12 at Basecamp, an indoor play area with a mini rock climbing wall, as well as craft and creativity stations, or they can head to the hotel’s beachfront for hands-on projects, including making a bird seed feeder and creating seashell art with nature-friendly materials and shells from the beach. 1 Hotel & Homes South Beach also provides kids with tents to build in their guestrooms, board games and in-room movies. On select dates throughout the year, children are able to learn about solar and wind energy, and participate in hands-on learning on marine life through a partnership with the Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science. At the 1 Hotel Central Park in New York, parents staying with infants and small children are greeted with an organic stuffed bear and a 100 percent GOTS certified organic cotton rattle, plus Bambini Boutique brand shampoos, lotions and soaps, which are made from natural ingredients. Guests with newborns are given a dye-free, chemical-free In2Green baby blanket. Older children, staying in select suites, receive a solar-powered lantern and a sleeping bag to camp out in their room.
Star Wars at Disney
Disney unveiled plans for Stars Wars-themed lands coming to parks in Florida and California, plus plans for a new Toy Story Land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The new lands will be at the Hollywood Studios park in Orlando and Disneyland in Anaheim. Each expansion will cover 14 acres. Disney said the Star Wars lands will “transport guests to a never-before-seen planet, a remote trading port and one of the last stops before wild space where Star Wars characters and their stories come to life.” Also, you will be able to “take the controls” of the Millennium Falcon spaceship on a “customized secret mission and an epic Star Wars adventure that puts guests in the middle of a climactic battle.” Also at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, a new Toy Story Land will sit on 11 acres. Attractions will include a family coaster on which riders sit on the back of Slinky Dog; a flying saucer attraction featuring the Little Green Men; and “Toy Story Mania!”, where guests “glide into the Toy Story Midway Games Play Set and take aim at 3D objects.”
Family Ski Experience
Ski season is just around the corner and deals abound! At the Fairmont Heritage Place Franz Klammer 
Lodge in Telluride, your family can get free lift tickets for up to two children age 12 and under along with a 2 or 3 bedroom residence and welcome amenity full of snacks and supplies with their Franz Klammer Family Ski Experience. All guests receive free airport transfers (from Telluride or Montrose airports), free valet parking, internet access, 24 hour concierge, ski valet, and daily housekeeping. Members of Fairmont President’s Club also get a $50 Hotel Credit (no cost to join). The package is available from November 22, 2015-April 3, 2016. This upscale and private residence club is situated in Mountain Village and a gondola ride away from the town, shopping and dining. There is a spa, pool, indoor and outdoor hot tubs, steam, sauna, evening activities for children, game room and more.
Loews Sapphire Falls Resort
The Loews Sapphire Falls Resort at Universal Studios Orlando, set to debut next July, 
is now accepting reservations. The 1,000 room, moderately priced and Caribbean themed property is built around a tropical lagoon and will showcase Universal Orlando’s largest onsite, zero entry pool plus a beach, water slide, cabanas and a fire pit. Internet will be complimentary and there will be a large gym, on-site car rental and several dining options including a sit-down restaurant (not found at Cabana Bay). You can even enjoy preferred tee times and complimentary transportation to select area golf courses in the area. When you stay at the property, your family will get early theme park admission to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and complimentary water taxi and shuttle bus transportation to the theme parks. Rooms are available with 2 queen beds and a 2 bedroom kids suite will feature a single entrance to the adult room. The children’s room opens only into the adult’s room and not into the hallway.
Behind the Scenes Disney on Broadway
Walks of New York announced a new tour for Broadway fans (like us!). Disney on Broadway: Behind the Magic Tour is a two-and-a-half-hour tour of the theater district that starts at the statue of George M. Cohan in the center of Times Square, continues on to iconic Broadway hot spots like Shubert Alley and Sardi’s restaurant, and culminates in a visit to the New Amsterdam Theater, where Aladdin is currently playing. Your family will have an immersive experience of Disney on Broadway’s most beloved shows including The Lion King, Mary Poppins and The Little Mermaid seeing up close props and costumes actually used on stage to create the magical worlds for each production. Tours will take place Friday, Saturday and Sunday and cost $72 for adults and $65 for children ages 3-14. During the walking section of your tour, you’ll be led by Broadway Insiders; a team of guides with first-hand theater experience of life on Broadway!
Park City Update
Park City Mountain Resort and the Canyons Resort will soon become one ski resort making it the largest
in the United States! A $50 million renovation project includes upgraded ski lifts, new skiable terrain, new restaurants and advanced snowmaking equipment. The high-speed, two-way Interconnect Gondola will whisk your family in eight-passenger cabins over Pine Cone Ridge connecting the base of Park City’s Silverlode Lift to Canyons’ Flatiron Lift. Family-friendly amenities include free snow play (with a snowman-making kit and snow graffiti where you use colored water to draw on the snow) and family ski lessons (even if you have different ski abilities). Park City also showcases a variety of adventures such as four different terrain parks and two half-pipes, zip line, tubing and an alpine coaster. The one unified branded experience will be known as Park City Mountain Resort. The Canyons base area will be renamed Canyons at Park City.
As the Parade Passes By
The Warwick New York Hotel invites your family to New York City this Thanksgiving to experience the Macy’s Day Parade that will once again pass in front of their hotel. They still have parade view rooms available, but these won’t last! Choose from prime views from the On the Avenue Suites, aerial views from the Premiere Suites, great views from the Premiere Rooms with other rooms beginning as low at $375/night. Located in Midtown West, the hotel is also an ideal location for theater, Central Park, Radio City Music Hall, Rockefeller Plaza and is right across from the Museum of Modern Art. There are 426 rooms and suites, gym and two dining options. The renowned media tycoon Mr. William Randolph Hearst actually commissioned this hotel in 1926 for the love of his life, his muse and mistress (the famous actress, Marion Davies).
Everyday Summer Benefits at the Breakers
Through September 30, the iconic Breakers Palm Beach in Florida is including kids meals (for age 12 and under), 
tennis, fitness classes and internet for free. Discounts are also available for golf, dining, spa, bungalow rentals and more and you will also receive a $50 resort credit per night when you stay two nights or longer. Enjoy the resort’s new indoor/outdoor fitness center plus day and evening children’s camp (ages 3-12), watersports, pools, golf academy, bike rentals and daily activities.
