Dallas Family Vacation

Start the morning at Bread Winner's Café, where a basket of the bakery's favorite breakfast breads arrives to your table as you wait, a nice touch when dining with impatient, hungry mouths.

Enjoy some fresh air at Rory Meyers Children's Adventure Garden at the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden. Wander the trails and learn how wetlands clean the water and see alternative energy in action. Traverse the Texas Skywalk to feel what it's like to be in the treetops and scamper like a squirrel along the netting suspended above the trails.

While you're there, ask for a copy of the walkSTEM@Dallas Arboretum tour so you can take a self-guided tour that incorporates some fun learning for your kids while enjoying the gardens. 

Grab a bit to eat at The LOT, the perfect family-friendly restaurant. The menu is locally-influenced and features options like the pimento grilled cheese sandwich and street tacos. Parents can enjoy the beer garden while still keeping an eye on the little ones in the children's play area.

Head downtown and get a glimpse of Dallas' brilliantly illuminated skyline from the GeO-Deck at Reunion Tower, one of five Dallas CityPASS attractions. Look out across the city from over 500 feet high, and interact with Halo, the deck's digital information system, to learn about Dallas, its landmarks, Reunion Tower's light shows, milestone events in the city and more.

Stop for a selfie at Pioneer Plaza as you stand amongst the massive bronze longhorn cattle sculptures and site of the famous 1850s Shawnee Trail.

Grab a table and catch up on your reading or a board game from the kiosks at Dallas' living room, Klyde Warren Park. The urban park is perched above an eight-lane highway, though you'd never guess it wandering through the playground or enjoying live music or yoga classes offered regularly. Need a bite? Make it a picnic with a burger and fries from Relish, a walk-up window on the green.

Bask in the uniqueness of their huge selection of Brazilian coffees before digging into a plate of chorizo empanadas or buttery crepes at Cafe Brazil. Their kid's menu offers both terrific healthy options like fresh fruit topped pancakes and yogurt parfaits and the kind of decadent items, like M&M-topped pancakes, that make vacations memorable.

Explore the wild side at the Dallas Zoo (another Dallas CityPASS attraction!), named one of "20 Best Zoos" by USA Today, and the biggest one you'll find in the Lone Star State. Visit the Giants of the Savanna, an 11-acre safari exhibit where you can feed the giraffes and see for yourself how fast a cheetah can run. Don't miss the Lacerte Family Children's Zoo and Travis & Zach's Birds Landing where the kids can hand-feed colorful cockatiels.

Take a break from the animal adventures to refuel. The Zoo has three indoor restaurants that feature a variety of options from Tex-Mex and pizza to hearty sandwiches as well as several food stands for a quick snack like popcorn and ice cream.

Finish your day at Medieval Times, a family dinner theater featuring rousing medieval-style games, impressive horsemanship, sword fighting and jousting, along with a four-course meal fit for a king.

Enjoy a southern style breakfast at Mama's Daughters' Diner, a Dallas favorite for traditional home cooking. Order the biscuits and gravy or the pancakes and feast on a hearty meal before heading out for the day.

Want to see if you could keep up with a cheetah? Head to the Perot Museum of Nature and Science (who guessed it? Another Dallas CityPASS attraction!), where you can race one of the wild cats, or challenge an Olympic runner!. Don't miss the popular earthquake simulator or towering skeleton of Alamosaurus, a plant-eater who lived in Texas and towered over the T-Rex. Or spend the afternoon at the Dallas Museum of Art, which offers free admission and terrific family programs. Download one of several free self-guided tours designed for kids, or check out an Art to Go bag filled with fun kid-friendly museum activities.

Ditch the car and hop on the McKinney Avenue Trolley, which loops from the Dallas Arts District through Downtown before heading to Dallas' vibrant Uptown neighborhood. The kids can check out the old-school, reversible benches and maybe even ring the bell. The best part? It's free!

Hop off near West Village and walk to Gloria's Latin Cuisine. The Salvadoran and Tex-Mex menus offer plenty of choices for even the pickiest palates and terrific margaritas for the adults. Relax and snack on free chips and salsa that appear seconds after you sit down. After lunch, head back to the main shopping area in West Village for some retail therapy or to the Katy Trail, a popular running trail in Uptown, for an afternoon walk.

Make it parents vs. kids with a round of golf like nothing you've seen before at Topgolf Dallas, where chip-embedded balls leave no doubt who hit that terrible shot. Its extensive food and drink menu, 200+ HDTVs, and addictively fun games provide something unforgettable for the whole family.