Dallas is a big city, and to some it may seem difficult to find fun things to do in Dallas Texas… but they’re out there!

We have been there a few times and I want to tell you about the things to do in Dallas Texas that we have discovered! These include some fun attractions, like the Dallas Zoo, Southfork, the Dallas Aquarium, and more.

If you are planning a Dallas vacation, you will also need a few places to eat at, and a place to stay in, so I will tell you about a few great restaurants to try and few hotels to consider (including downtown hotels and Bed & Breakfasts).

Before I continue, when I say “Dallas”, I do mean the Dallas area and that will include other cities too. Now on too… 

Things To Do In Dallas Texas

Dallas Aquarium

The first of our favorite things to do in Dallas Texas is a visit to the Dallas Aquarium (aka Dallas World Aquarium), which is a fascinating place.

They have a big aquarium with an underwater tunnel and several cool exhibitions, like the “Rainforest” (South American jungle), “South Africa”, and “Mundo Maya” (Mayan civilization).

My kids love the Dallas Texas Aquarium. I think yours will too.

Dallas Zoo

Another of my kids’ favorite things to do in Dallas Texas is a visit to the Dallas Zoo.

The Dallas Zoo is near downtown Dallas. It covers about 95 acres and has around 1800 animals! The Dallas Zoo also has a very nice area for little kids.

If your kids like animals, take them to the Dallas Zoo. They’ll have a good time!

Water Parks

There are at least three water parks in Dallas Texas.

Two are two Hawaiian Falls water parks, one in Garland and the other in The Colony. The third is Bahama Beach water park, south of downtown Dallas.

The Dallas Texas water parks are really great in Texas’ hot summers!

Horseback Riding

Horse back riding was one of my favorite things to do as a kid. I had a horse named Dusty and had lots of fun riding her. My kids also like horses a lot, but they don’t get to do horse back riding as often I did.

I was so happy when I discovered the Double D Ranch where we could all do horse back riding in Dallas Texas. There is much more than only horseback riding to do though.

I think it is a great place for kids to get the Texas experience!

Six Flags

Six Flags near Dallas Texas is called Six Flags Over Texas in honor of the flags of the six nations that governed Texas. It is located in Arlington, about midway between Dallas & Fort Worth.

Six Flags has a free-fall tower, a wooden roller coaster, several steel roller coasters, trains, and many other rides that my kids love.

A day at Six Flags is always a fun day in my kids’ lives! I like it too, but these days I check out roller coasters carefully before I get on them!

JFK Assassination Site

President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dealey Plaza, Dallas Texas on November 22, 1963. The shots were supposedly fired from the 6^th floor of the Texas School Book Depository building. Today, the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza is located in this building.

I think a visit to the museum is worthwhile since the death of Pres. Kennedy had such a profound effect on our country.

Southfork Ranch

If you were old enough to watch the TV series “Dallas” back in the 80s, a visit to Southfork Ranch will be a treat.

Since the end of “Dallas”, Southfork Ranch, the Ewing home, has been turned into a tourist attraction. It is located in Plano, about 20 miles northeast of downtown Dallas.

We have been there several times… We once took my parents there. They were big Dallas fans and loved Southfork Ranch. We also went there a couple more times for my kids’ Taekwondo tournaments.

I must honestly say that my kids couldn’t really be bothered because they never watched the show. However, my wife and I enjoyed every visit to Southfork!

TopGolf Dallas

If you like golf or mini-golf, TopGolf Dallas is a great place to go spend a few hours!

I think of TopGolf as a golf entertainment center!

They have several different types of point-scoring golf games to play, including a huge mini-golf course. They also have a bar and a restaurant that serves great meals. You can even host parties there.

This is a place that grown-ups and kids can enjoy. If you haven’t been to TopGolf yet, give it a try. I think you’ll like it!

Great Wolf Lodge

Great Wolf Lodge is a fantastic waterpark in Grapevine, towards the northwest of downtown Dallas.

I won’t say too much here, but I urge you to read why Great Wolf Lodge is something you do not want to miss when vacationing in Dallas.

These are some of our favorite things to do in Dallas Texas. There are of course many more… the Dallas area is huge… and I will be adding more of the best things to do as I discover them. So return to this page often!

I hope you have a lot of fun while visiting Dallas! We do!

I’m guessing you’re planning to head to Corpus Christi for a few days, or are already there, and you’re looking for fun things to do in Corpus Christi.

Is Corpus Christi a boring place with nothing to do, or could you have a good time there?

The good news is that there are plenty of fun things to do in Corpus Christi and the surrounding area. We have been there a few times, and had a great time every time!

An added bonus with Corpus Christi is that it is fairly close to Port Aransas… you could pick a day to go there as well.

Our favorite Corpus Christi activities are a visit to the beach, fishing, a visit to the Aquarium and the USS Lexington, and a dolphin cruise. Here’s the scoop about them… 

Things To Do In Corpus Christi

Corpus Christi Beaches

As far as my kids are concerned, one of the first things to do in Corpus Christi on a family vacation is to hit the beach!

McGee beach is located downtown and within walking distance from several hotels. Corpus Christi beach is a little further north along the bay, right by the Texas State Aquarium and the USS Lexington.

Being on a bay protected by a barrier island, these beaches don’t have huge waves. This makes it really nice for smaller kids to play at the water’s edge. The only not-so-nice thing to me was the jellyfish in the water. I think the City makes an effort to clean it all up, but it is still something to watch out for.

I prefer the beach on North Padre Island, which is only about 20 minutes from downtown Corpus Christi. There are better waves, so the kids can have fun with the boogie boards and the skim board.

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Fishing In Corpus Christi

Fishing is one of the fun things to do in Corpus Christi. A good option is to go on one of the bay fishing charter boats. Using “fish finders”, these fishing boats will take you out to wherever the fish is currently biting. One such outfit is C & T Bay Charters.

The Bob Hall Pier on North Padre is a good option too. You can fish there for King Mackerel, Shark, Red Drum, and several other species. The beach around the pier is great. If the kids don’t want to fish, they can hit the waves and have a good time too.

To me, a good option for deep sea fishing is to go to Port Aransas and use one of the deep sea fishing companies there. That avoids spending extra time crossing the Corpus Christi Bay on your way to the deep waters.

Corpus Christi Aquarium

My kids like the Texas State Aquarium in Corpus Christi.

It’s not a very big aquarium, but it has some very good educational exhibits. The Islands of Steel, an under-water habitat built around a replica of an offshore oil platform, is great. Of course, the dolphins are always a hit.

The Aquarium does seem to be a little pricey, but overall it is a great place to take the kids to.

USS Lexington

Visiting the USS Lexington is one of the really cool things to do in Corpus Christi!

It is a WWII-era aircraft carrier with several airplanes on deck. You take a self-guided tour through the ship. I found it incredibly educational, and it left me in awe of what our armed forces do for us!

Be sure to wear comfortable shoes because there are lots of stairs to climb. We went in the summer, and I was glad we wore hats. It gets quite hot on the landing deck. There is so much to see that we spent 2 to 3 hours there.

Visit the USS Lexington if you can. It truly was one of the highlights of our vacation in Corpus Christi!

Dolphins

One of the special things to do in Corpus Christi is a dolphin cruise!

Can you imagine how much kids (and grown-ups) like it to see dolphins swimming up close to the boat, and even sometimes coming close enough to touch them? This is a great experience that my kids love!

Dolphin Connection Texas provides a service that lets you do exactly that! Make reservations though. They are quite popular.

We hope this article has been helpful. All the fun things to do in Corpus Christi can provide a great Texas family vacation to anyone!

PS. Also see our page on Corpus Christi hotels.

SeaWorld San Antonio has a great variety of different activities ranging from their famous animal shows and exhibits to water rides and roller coasters.

If you’re hot, you can cool off in the wave pool or do some water rides.

If you want a little action, the rollercoasters will give it to you.

If you’re getting tired and want to sit down for a while, an animal show will keep you entertained.

All of this makes SeaWorld one of our FAVORITE San Antonio family attractions! 

Our Favorite Activities

We usually drive to SeaWorld San Antonio for a day. By the time we get there, at least one of us needs to go to the restroom. So we turn to the left immediately after going through the gates, where there are restrooms about 50 yards further.

Since we’re just about there after the restroom stop, we then continue to the left to Dolphin Cove, where there are several Atlantic Bottlenose dolphins in a pool where they van be viewed from close-up.

Behind Dolphin Cove are the Sharks. The shark tank is very cool and my kids love this exhibit.

After the sharks we head back towards the main gate and on to the rest of Sea World’s fun stuff…

Lost Lagoon

The Lost Lagoon is all about water fun. It’s a great place to hang out on a hot day.

The Wave Pool is a great place to stay cool, but there are also several other water rides to keep the kids happy.

We hang out here for about an hour before we hit the rollercoasters and shows.

Shamu Show

Along with the late Keiko (Free Willy), Shamu has to be one of the most famous Orcas in the world!

Shamu, along with a handful of other Orcas, play with their trainers in a show that delights everyone. It is very obvious that the trainers have a very close bond with the whales.

The Shamu Shows are amazing. My kids always sit in the splash zone! They love to get wet! We see Shamu every time we visit Sea World.

(Hint: Try to see the evening show if you can. It is even more stunning than the day shows.)

Great White Rollercoaster

The Great White rollercoaster is by far my favorite rollercoaster at SeaWorld San Antonio!

The seats are suspended below the rails, so your feet hang free. This thing twists and turns and make you feel like you’re a fighter pilot on a serious mission!

Unfortunately the height requirement to ride the Great White is 54″ and my youngest son can’t ride it yet. (There are usually a few tears over this…) He has one more inch to go, and he can’t wait!

Journey To Atlantis

Journey To Atlantis rollercoaster is one of SeaWorld San Antonio’s newest rollercoasters and is a lot of fun too.

You sit in a single boat-like car that makes a steep climb, rotates through 360+° in such a way that you go backwards through the next stage. Then you rotate through another 360+° to face forward for the final downhill and through water to arrive quite wet at your destination!

Luckily my youngest can ride this one. He likes the part where you go backwards because it feels like your stomach stays behind.

Sea Lion Show

The Sea Lion shows are a lot of fun and delight young and old.

The show we saw is called The Cannery Row Caper. It’s a very funny show featuring two “detective” sea lions investigating the disappearance of fish from the cannery.

My wife, in particular, enjoyed the sea lion show a lot.

Steel Eel Rollercoaster

The Steel Eel is a rollercoaster that doesn’t go upside-down and doesn’t twist, but it goes up and down at incredible speeds. It’s a high-energy ride that leaves you quite pumped by the time it finishes.

This is the fastest ride that my youngest can ride, and he loves it. I let him go one or two extra times to make up for him missing out on the Great White.

Other things we like to do in SeaWorld San Antonio are watching the Ski Show ang going through the Penguin Encounter. The Penguin Encounter is very well done. They created an Antarctic habitat behind a glass wall where the penguins live. You can see them swim underwater in their pool. These little suckers can swim!

If you have smaller kids, Shamu’s Happy Harbor is a great place for them to play!

SeaWorld San Antonio Tickets

I bought our last SeaWorld San Antonio tickets from their website. It’s a little cheaper than at the gates, and you avoid standing in line. I also upgraded our day tickets to season passes once we were there and knew we’d like to come back regularly. It only cost a few dollars extra.

SeaWorld San Antonio certainly has something for young and old. It truly makes for a great day of fun!