Fort Worth, Texas
Grapevine Mills: The last time my wife and I were here in Fort Worth, we had a great time at Grapevine Mills. Matter of fact it was the first "Mills" we had ever been to. Mills are large malls that are full of indoor outlet shopping and usually include anchor stores like Bass Pro Shops, Rainforest Cafe, and a large AMC Imax. However. this Mills looked like it had been used and abused in the last 10 years. They have added an aquarium and Lego Discovery Center. Both looked like fun, but were more than we wanted to spend on attractions for this trip.
Costs: FREE (unless you go to the aquarium or Lego Discovery Center, which do have admission fees)
PAID (None)
Overall Attraction: NOT worth going to, run down and shady area
Time Needed: None
Downtown Grapvine: Since the Mills looked to scary to go to, we decided to do something outside of our travel budget and explore downtown Grapevine on a Friday night. Grapevine has a really nice downtown with local shops, resturants, gazebos, and museums. We parked for free in one of the lots (I know downtown parking for free... what???), and then walked the strip. We were hungry, so we decided to try out Napoli's Itallian Cafe. The food and service were good, and they even gave us a window seat so we could watch the sunset. Restrooms were small, but clean, about the best you could expect from a small resturant. We had alot of fun with the kids walking around the strip and looking at the shops that were still open after dinner. There aren't many public restrooms (at least not that we saw), so keep that iin mind if your kids are with you. You may want to plan a snack or meal break (as we did) so that you can take advantage of restrooms in one of the many available restaurants.
Costs: FREE (although you can certainly choose to spend money on food or items in the shops)
PAID (None)
Overall Attraction: Well worth going to
Time Needed: At least 2 hours up to an entire da.
Fort Worth Stockyards: All I can say is WOW, this attraction could fill the entire day, but with limited time, we did the basics. We got there early and took advantage of their free parking area before it filled up. We first walked the streets and checked out the shops and and let the girls by a Texas-shaped sucker ($2 a piece) and then hit the streets to talk to the local cowboys and cowgirls. Everyone on horseback was VERY friendly and were really nice to our little girls. Be careful though, the cowboys who are offereing to take your photo on a longhorn cow will want to be paid. The visitor's center is also nice and will tell you what events are happening that day. We took advantage of the information and caught a country group playing on the steps of the Cattle Museum and also saw a group dancing in the quad, which the girls loved. We ate lunch at Risckys Barbeque, which had some awesome beef ribs, great food, good service, and family-friendly atmosphere.
After filling up, we walked over and got a spot on the side of the road to catch the cattle drive. Moments late,r a herd of longhorn cattle came walking down the street herded by cowboys and cowgirls. Once the drive was over, we decided to splurge and let the kids go into the catte maze, alone. BIG mistake. There is a platform over the front of the maze where you can see them most of the time, but communication is VERY difficult. This attraction took over an hour and was VERY overpriced. After walking all over the stockyards, we decided to call it quits due to time.
Costs: FREE (parking, admission, cattle drive, shopping, visitor's center, and characters)
PAID (Cattlepen Maze—OVERPRICED)
Overall Attraction: Well worth going to
Time Needed: At least 2 hours up to an entire day
Fort Worth Water Gardens: Not far from the Stockyards in downtown Fort Worth is the Water Gardens. These unique fountains are a lot of fun to visit, especially for kids. Parking is a small problem downtown, but there are a few free lots nearby. As in any major city, you have to watch where you are. However, once you get to the Water Gardens there are usually lots of people around, and it is a relatively safe place to visit.
Costs: FREE (unless you have to pay for parking downtown)
PAID (None)
Overall Attraction: Worth going to
Time Needed: About an hour
Fort Worth Botanical Gardens: This was another good attraction for the city of Fort Worth. It was a little hard to find, but the grounds were actually free. They even have a "Texas Native Forrest Boardwalk" that the kids loved and was very interactive. They also have an indoor facility that houses a "Tropical Rainforrest;" however admission was $3 per person. So after a $12 entry fee, we went in. The gardens were nice with a couple of waterfalls,but not sure I got my money's worth with this one. The rest of the grounds were really nice to walk around in, with structures and gardens everywhere.
Costs: FREE (parking and grounds)
PAID ($3 per person for Indoor Tropical
Rainforest)
Overall Attraction: Worth going to
Time Needed: One to four hours
For additional photos of this adventure to Fort Worth, Texas, Click here!