Trains, Dinos & Heroes

Halloween's Best Ghost Trains and Spooky Rides for LA Kids

Submitted by Roberta B on Mon, 09/16/2019 - 4:24am

So you've already been to the pumpkin patches, and you're ready to take Halloween to the next level; you're ready, in fact, to put it in motion. We know several deadly ways to take this haunt on the road before it's time to trick-or-treat, with everything from an old-fashioned train ride through fields of pumpkins, to a spooky tour through the bowels of a haunted ship, or even a scream-filled hayride through fields of zombies. Whatever Halloween means to your family, you can make it a ride at one (or more) of these vehicular annual haunts. After all, the family that hunts down armies of zombies together stays together.

Halloween and Fall Train Rides for New Jersey Kids

Submitted by Michelle Vames on Fri, 09/13/2019 - 11:34am

Halloween and hayrides go hand in hand, but if you really want to up your game this year, take a trip on a Halloween train! From spooky to scenic, these fall train rides offer a unique bit of fall fun for the whole family: passengers can take a seat in a vintage caboose, travel through gorgeous fall foliage, visit a pumpkin patch, and even trick-or-treat onboard. After the ride, round out the day with autumn activities like corn mazes, crafts, and a costume party.

Don't miss out on one of these four seasonal NJ railway adventures—plus one across the Delaware in Pennsylvania.

Check out our NJ Fall Fun Guide for even more seasonal family fun around the state, and sign up for our FREE newsletters to get the latest Halloween coverage and more delivered right to your inbox.

Dinosaurs Visit the Houston Zoo: Animatronic Fun Kids Will Love

Submitted by Rachael Cherry on Thu, 06/13/2019 - 10:20am

The Houston Zoo, one of our favorite city attractions, has some new inhabidants that are out of this world (or at least time period). Seventeen life-size dinosaurs have arrived at the Houston Zoo for kids to gawk at through the end of the summer. We took our kids for a trip to see if the exhibit lived up to the hype, and we're here to tell you it absolutely does!

Life-Size Robot Dinos Roar at New Dinosaur Safari at the Bronx Zoo

Submitted by Rose Gordon Sala on Fri, 04/19/2019 - 4:00pm

They roar, brandish their teeth, and swing their tails and claws at you, but these prehistoric giants can't hurt anyone...we think. They’re all part of the new Dinosaur Safari opening at the Bronx Zoo on April 19, just in time for spring break.

Families board an open-air wagon to hit the trail in the Bronx for a ride through a prehistoric-themed display of 40 life-size, animatronic dinosaurs. Read on for all the details on this fun new attraction for kids at NYC’s largest zoo, including how to get tickets and must-know tips for families.

Storybook Land in New Jersey: A Magical Park for Preschoolers and Tots

Submitted by Michelle Vames on Tue, 04/02/2019 - 12:00pm

If you’re looking for an enjoyable amusement park experience minus crazy thrill rides and super-sized crowds, take a day trip to Storybook Land in Egg Harbor. This charming spot, in operation since 1955, was created with younger children in mind—the rides and attractions are all geared toward the under-10 crowd, making it great for toddlers and big siblings alike.

Visiting is a bit like stepping into a fairy tale: as you walk through the wooded grounds, you encounter characters from nursery rhymes and classic children's stories, like Humpty Dumpty and Alice in Wonderland. Even if you didn't go there as a kid, as many New Jerseyans did, you're sure to fall under its nostalgia-laced spell.

My husband and I recently visited for the first time with our two boys, ages 5 and 2, and we all loved it and will definitely go back. Storybook Land is No. 1 on our list of 30 Things to Do with NJ Preschoolers, with good reason. Read on for more about this sweet NJ gem. And find even more fun for little ones in our roundup of Great NJ Amusement Parks for Toddlers and Preschoolers.

New Interactive T. Rex Exhibit Opens at Natural History Museum

Submitted by Jody Mercier on Fri, 03/08/2019 - 3:58pm

Just three years after making waves with the debut of Titanosaur, one of our favorite family-friendly museums is upping the ante. The American Museum of Natural History is kicking off its 150th anniversary with a fantastic new exhibit dedicated to the ferocious king of all dinos. The interactive exhibit T. rex: The Ultimate Predator opens to the public on Monday, March 11—read on for more details on this not-to-be missed exhibition that will impress dinosaur-obsessed kids and adults alike.

Insider's Guide to Griffith Park: More Things To Do Than Most Angelenos Know!

Submitted by Jacqueline Stansbury on Wed, 03/06/2019 - 9:00am

Five times the size of New York’s Central Park, Griffith Park was designated as a historic-cultural monument in 2009, protecting it from future development. Angelenos should be thankful to Griffith J. Griffith, a Welsh real estate developer who gifted the land to the city in 1896 as a “place of recreation and rest for the masses.” The result for us has been access to fantastic hiking trails, a home to some of our most iconic museums, and a wealth of other family activities. Lucky Los Feliz and Burbank families can call Griffith Park their local; for the rest of us it's worth setting aside a little time to be surprised by all that Griffith Park has to offer; there are probably one or two items on this list even locals didn't know about!

Dinosaurs Return to New Jersey at Field Station in Leonia

Submitted by Rose Gordon Sala on Fri, 03/01/2019 - 1:00pm

Calling all pint-size paleontologists! New Jersey’s outdoor dinosaur-themed adventure park, Field Station: Dinosaurs, will celebrate its season reopening on Saturday, May 25 in Overpeck County Park in Leonia, NJ. The park's 30-plus animatronic dinos, including Tyrannosaurus rex, Stegosaurus, Triceratops, and Spinosaurus, are ready to roar into another season.