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| Image Courtesy of Visit Charlotte Photographer Charles Abbott: http://99cnaclasses.com/charlotte-nc/ |
I breezed into Charlotte last month to do a feature on the Ballantyne Hotel for my blog, but I have already marked in my vacation planner
that I will be returning to the city to vacation with my kids one day. There’s so much to do in this city that it
was hard to narrow down some favorites for my list.
I picked the top five things that I thought would be fun to
do with kids over a long weekend or even longer, if you have the time. I also like to mix in educational
opportunities with my ititinary because I feel that vacations can be a
traveling classroom.
Here’s where I want to visit:
Carowinds
The “Thrill Capital
of the Southeast” lives up to its name with 13 adrenaline-pumping roller
coasters and 25+ more rides for kids, families and thrill seekers. It opens for the season on March 31.
The 122-acre park also boasts more than 30 restaurants and snack stands, live
stage shows, Planet Snoopy kid’s area and Boomerang Bay waterpark, featuring a
four-story rafting adventure, lazy river, heated lagoon and more. New this
year, Carowinds will debut WindSeeker, a 301-foot-tall swing ride towering over
the park that will spin riders at 30 miles per hour.
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| Discovery Place Image Courtesy of Visit Charlotte |
Discovery Place
Having completed a
$31.6 million renovation last year, Discovery Place, the South's premiere
hands-on science and technology center, has unveiled a bevy of new exhibits,
the first of which is Cool
Stuff, exploring the beauty and strangeness of physics. Launch objects into
the air with electromagnetic forces, lie on a bed of nails, or crush a garbage
can to get physical with physics. KidScience focuses on children under 5, and an
expanded aquarium featuring a jellyfish tank will entice visitors to linger in
awe.
Levine Museum of
the New South
The Levine Museum of
the New South documents the rich history of our region through the
award-winning permanent exhibit “Cotton Fields to Skyscrapers.” Visitors
can relive a civil rights era sit-in at a lunch counter and try on a hat in an
early Belk department store. Changing and traveling exhibits offer a real and
poignant view of the American South from the end of the Civil War to today.
People of all ages will find the hands-on, interactive history educational and
entertaining. It is the only museum in the country concentrating exclusively on
New South history.
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| NASCAR Hall of Fame Image Courtesy of Visit Charlotte |
NASCAR Hall of
Fame
The 150,000 sq. ft.
NASCAR Hall of Fame is the Southeast’s newest and most exciting attraction
honoring the history and heritage of NASCAR. The high-tech venue, designed to
educate and entertain visitors no matter their age or interest level, includes
a state-of-the-art High Octane Theatre, Hall of Honor, artifact displays and
over 50 interactive exhibits. Race car simulators and other interactive
pit-stops are a core aspect of the attraction.
U.S. National
Whitewater Center
On over 400 acres of
woodlands, the USNWC is the world’s premier outdoor recreation and
environmental education center. Alongside 14+ miles of mountain-biking and
running trails, a climbing center, an 1,100 ft Mega Zip line, flat water
kayaking, geo caching and a challenge course, the facility’s unique feature is
a multiple-channel whitewater river with class III-IV rapids for rafting and
kayak enthusiasts of all abilities. The river is the largest of its kind in the
world. New additions to the center include stand-up paddle boarding and two
multiple-platform canopy tour activities involving zip lines and aerial
challenges.
This list just barely scratches the surface of what to do in
Charlotte. There’s also the great South
Park Mall with incredible high-end shopping, and, of course, you know I think
everyone needs to make time for some spa pampering. For a complete list of activities, visit CHARLOTTESGOTALOT.COM
WHERE to STAY:
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| Outdoor Pool at the Ballantyne Hotel and Lodge Image Courtesy of Bissell |
Staybridge Suites, Charlotte Ballantyne
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| Staybridge, Charlotte Ballantyne-Great Room Image Courtesy of Bissell |
Related Posts:
Pack Your Bags: We're Heading to the Ballantyne Hotel and Lodge
Every Day Should Be a Spa Day: My Heavenly Experience at the Spa at Ballantyne
Nothing Beats Walking Downstairs for Dinner: My Night at the Gallery Restaurant
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