The Fun Box

 Take this post, and shift it, because The Fun Box is officially BACK in Virginia Beach. With over 25,000 square feet to bounce, this was one of our favorite places we went this year. I love that adults can jump, too, or sit while kids play. The area is fenced in with only one way in and out. Plus, there are timed slots with limited tickets sold. The real selling point for me though is that they have so much staff inside the jumping area itself, making sure that no one gets hurt and cleaning. Check out their introductory $18 tickets before they're gone! 

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Owl Creek Landing

New attraction alert! Tucked right behind the Virginia Aquarium, near the Oceanfront, Own Creek Landing has bragging rights to the longest steel slide in America. To get there, you'll head to the parking lot in the South Building of the Aquarium. (The smaller building) In the parking lot you'll see the signs to follow. Use the bathroom before you head back, as there are none in the park. You'll want to wear close toed shoes. You can bring coolers, but there are limited chairs and picnic tables. You'll also want to bring bug spray. 

The slide is only for ages 7 and up. You'll sit on a mat to ride down after climbing up the first spiral tower in America. Once you've mastered the slide, come back up to head across the 1/3 mile tree walk. You'll walk across hanging bridges throughout the park. We ended our time at the children's play area, which has two swings and a small zipline. 

The park is open Sunday-Thursday from 10-4 and Friday and Saturday from 10-6. Adults 14 and up are $28, youth ages 10-13 are $18, and youth 3-9 are $13. Children 2 and under are free. It was a nice way to spend a Sunday morning. 

Adventure Park

Located between the two aquarium buildings, the Adventure Park will get you up in the trees for climbing and zip lining. There are lots of levels, and you can start small on purple and work your way up through double black. Five and six year olds must stay on purple trails, and they must have an adult climbing with them. A note, my tall 6 year old couldn't reach some of the clips to unhook, so I had to be behind him the whole day. Behind worked better for us than me going ahead. Each time you get to a new obstacle you'll connect and reconnect using their locking system. Because of this system, which won't allow you to unconnect one hook until you're hooked into another, and you're not able to be disconnected at any point while up in the trees. 

Pricing: 

• General Admission for 3 hours of climbing: $64- ages 14 up, $54 ages 7-13, and $42 ages 5-6. Climbers must be at least 5. 
• All day pass: $99 per person 
• Non-climbing visitors do not need a ticket 
• Your ticket does not include access to the aquarium 
• Save money by purchasing your ticket online ahead of time 
• Check Groupon for specials 
• Monthly membership for $475 per year or a monthly pass for $79 for kids and $89 for adults 

You can bring food in or there is a cafe in each of the aquarium buildings. I'd recommend bringing lots of water as the climbing is a full body workout. We got the all day pass, and I'm glad we did. We got there at 9:30 and my kids climbed literally all day. They asked to go back as soon as we got in the car. 

Celebration Key:Carnival

Last week while sailing on the Carnival Vista, we got to visit Carnival's new private island, Celebration Key. Celebration Key is located on the Grand Bahama island.  It is divided into five portals; Paradise Plaza where you'll enter to live music or dancing, Lokono Cove which has shops to wander through, Calypso Lagoon, a freshwater lagoon featuring rentable cabanas and two swim up bars (including the longest in the world), Starfish Lagoon with a splash pad for kids, and Pearl Cove Beach Club which is an adults only private beach and infinity pool. 

You'll use your Sail and Sign card for everything. One meal per person is included or you can purchase a meal at a full service restaurant for 25% off. Kids eat free at the full service restaurant when they order the kids' meal.  Meal choices include seafood, burgers and fries, pizza, tacos, and more. There are sides, snacks, and ice cream available for purchase. There are free water stations around the island. Our group just got the included meals which ended up being too much to eat, plus one ice cream for the kids to split while we walked back to the ship. 

There are several shore excursions, or you can just hang on the island like we did. We did purchase the wristbands to allow access to the two big water slides. There are volleyball and basketball courts, ping pong tables,  as well as a music play area for kids. You'll want to check your events for the day for the parade. It was after lunch during our day there. If you need help walking, there is a tram that runs regularly through the entire area. 

Dinosaur Quest: Virginia Living Museum

Here now at the Virginia Living Museum, Dinosaur Quest is an interactive way to learn more about dinosaurs. With both indoor and outdoor components, visitors can view animatronic dinosaurs (one that spits water!) and then test your knowledge in a dinosaur maze, full of activities. 

You'll want to check the programing schedule for supplemental activities like their planetarium shows (you must purchase tickets), their Ambassador Animal Show, and their Super Science Show. Also be on the lookout for their T.Rex Trek where a walking dinosaur will make its way through the museum, and their Dino Discovery Family Camp In. 

As always at the Living Museum there is so much to see with indoor and outdoor components. This visit we found a butterfly house and a fairy garden play area which we had never seen before. If you have a dinosaur lover, be sure to head there before the exhibit leaves on September 7th!