The wife wants to start planning a trip to Disney with the kids in 3 years when they're 8/10. No. She's previously stated she hates Disney, I don't know where this is coming from, but I feel it's a 'check in the box,' kind of thing she needs. I think she can be swayed in a different direction. We've hiked (with and without the kids) all over the US and had an awesome time. I want to do something neat like a hike in Iceland, IOMTT, some sort of an adventure that's appropriate for an 8/10 year old boy. If I'm spending $6k on a trip, it's sure as hell not going to be to a miserable theme park.
Austin GP and TTBC for you and the kids? Can't help you with the wife... And +1 on F Disney. If you're forced, go for a day to Animal Kingdom, then GTFO of ORL and head to Siesta Key and chillax.
You can rocks, dirt and water? I can see how you might can dirt and rocks, but isn't it more efficient to bottle water?
And you can sell your kids into indentured servitude before you leave and recoup much of the cost of the trip. Win win. You are welcome
This. Go in June, see the midnight sun, lots of hiking, fishing, volcanoes, Norse tales, 8-10 year olds would love that.
A cruise could work, although can be somewhat expensive depending on where you go, what cruise line, etc. Oh, and Iceland is great as others have mentioned, although they left out waterfalls. Huge waterfalls, high waterfalls, waterfalls you can hike behind, waterfalls around every turn. Also left out geysers and cruising on a glacial lake watching sea lions play is pretty cool too. You can do on-road or back unpaved roads. The latter is more expensive and the lodging a bit more primitive. Speaking of geysers, Yellowstone might work too. Grand Canyon / Vegas. Vegas has made sure there is plenty for kids of all ages to keep the bucks rolling in. But every kid should get to go to Disney once. If nothing else you can appreciate how well the place handles huge crowds. I have never seen better management of so many people in such a small area.
You don't need no 3 years to plan a trip to Disney. IOM for the family may be harder if you want a B&B. Seems like plenty of camping though. If you want to visit IOM and see a bike race, you may want to try the Southern 100 though. My contact says it's much more laid back and you can see more of the island without road closures if you want to skip days. It doesn't have the cache of the TT, but it's kinda what I'm thinking for the next trip there. Whenever that is.
Dory Boat trip down the Colorado..... Not raft... Best way to see the Grand Canyon is from the bottom up.... Camp for 6 nights by the River and see things you would never be able to see via the road...
Disney sucked... Period. For the amount of money that we spend to go, the kids were miserable for one simple reason. You know what kids hate to do... Wait. Wanna guess what you do at Disney? Wait in line. F that noise. My kids loved Universal Studios way more than Disney and they got to do more. So there's that. Gatlinburg is a blast. Rent a Chalet for the week and have fun. The best memories though I had as a kid were at the lakes. Rent a small cottage, rent a boat for the week and have a blast. The kids can play in the water till they prune and you and the lady can relax and drink and fish. THere ya go