Family Fun in Florida?

[AnaKhouri]

My in-laws want us all to take a family vacation this year. Since my father-in-law will only go where there is a beach, they chose the Florida panhandle, a place near Panama City (Watercolor something-or-other). While lounging on the beach is all well and good, I have a very active, curious 2-year-old to think of. What are some fun, CHEAP things families can do in that area? I saw a Science Center on a tourist website (though maybe it was nearer Destin? I can't remember) but everything else seemed geared toward older kids

We are going around the end of April/beginning of May. I hope this is post Spring Break/pre-summer-vacation time. How crowded will it be?

And if you're wondering why I'm all about planning for a trip that is months away, I'll just say the high was 40 degrees today where I live. Thinking happy, WARM thought...

[RecoveringKinkoid]

I don't know where you are headed, but we did a NatureScene episode at Mexico Beach in the Florida Panhandle, and it was a really interesting place. And the beach was just a gorgeous place. I've never seen dunes like that.

[Mike Taylor]

Hard to say about spring breakers, because high schools and colleges all do it at different times.

[Rine]

I live in the FL panhandle...the beaches are nice, even with the tar balls that pop up sometimes because of the oil spill. Pensacola has an aviation museum on board NAS Pensacola if you are interested in planes. My two year old niece LOVES that museum - you can climb into planes, there's a playground in the museum, attractions to walk through...she talks for days after each visit. It's free, too. Here's the website.

Ooh, but I misunderstood the question. While I do make the trips regularly out to Fort Walton, Destin, and PC...it can be upwards of a three hour drive to Pcola from PC. Might not be feasible for you, then.

[BeenThereDoneThat]

As far as spring break goes, I think that time frame you're considering is probably fairly safe. Schools down here start in August and end in (later) May so spring break is long over by the end of April. Colleges tend to follow the same general time frame of August through May. I grew up in New Jersey where school started right after Labor Day and ended sometime mid to late June, but I still don't remember spring break ever being that late. You could probably contact the Chamber of Commerce for the area you'll be in to ask them, too.

[Jester]

Hard to say about spring breakers, because high schools and colleges all do it at different times.

As someone who lives in a tourist town annually invaded by Spring Breakers, I feel pretty safe commenting on this topic....

Generally speaking, Spring Break runs anywhere from late February to early April, with most of it being in early March. Late April/early May is pretty much Spring Break-free.

Not to say there won't be assholes twentysomethings there when the OP is there. As a tourist destination, the Florida Panhandle, like the Keys, ALWAYS has tourists there. In other words, while there will probably be some drunken juvenile delinquent idiots there, the place won't be OVERRUN with them.