Visit our sister sites:
  • All You
  • Coastal Living
  • Cooking Light
  • Health
  • My Recipes
  • Southern Living
  • Sunset
  • This Old House
Real Simple | Life Made Easier, Every Day
  • food & recipes
    • Browse All
    • Recipe Search
    • Recipe Galleries & Favorites
    • Cooking Tips & Techniques
    • Shopping & Storing
    • Tools & Products
    • Ingredient Guide
  • home & organizing
    • Browse All
    • Organizing
    • Cleaning
    • Decorating
    • Home Improvement
    • Gardening
    • Green Living
    • New Uses For Old Things
    • Cleaning 101
  • beauty & fashion
    • Browse All
    • Hair
    • Skin Care
    • Makeup
    • Makeovers
    • Clothing
    • New! Finish the Look Fashion Game
    • Instant Beauty Makeover Tool
  • holidays & entertaining
    • Browse All
    • Holidays
    • Entertaining
    • Gifts
    • Real Simple Gift Guide App
    • Holiday Decorating Ideas
    • Easy Home Entertaining
    • Holiday Entertaining
  • weddings
    • Browse All
    • Flowers
    • Cakes & Catering
    • Ceremony
    • Dress & Attire
    • Etiquette
    • Budget
    • Guests
    • Planning
    • Registry & Gifts
    • Real Weddings
    • Checklists
  • family & work
    • Browse All
    • Health
    • Money
    • Family
    • Life Strategies
    • Technology
    • Travel
    • Etiquette
    • Books & Entertainment
    • Money Management Tips
  • checklists
    • Food
    • Beauty & Style
    • Household & Finance
    • Health & Wellness
    • Travel
    • Cleaning
    • Family
    • Organizing & Home Improvement
    • Holidays & Entertaining
    • Weddings
  • blog
    • Browse All
    • Adventures in Chaos
    • Conversation Starters
    • Daily Thought
    • New Products
    • Simple Tip
    • Where We're Clicking
  • magazine
    • Browse All
    • Subscribe
    • Table of Contents & More
    • Road Tests
    • Daily Finds
    • Newsletters
    • Real Simple Products
    • Real Simple Offers
    • Real Simple Rewards
    • Back Issues
    • Give a Gift
  • VIDEOS
  • MAKE 1 SIMPLE CHANGE
  • NO-OBLIGATION BOOK CLUB
  • REAL SIMPLE OFFERS
  • SUBSCRIBE

Summer Family Fun

  • Email
  • Print
  • Save
People riding world's fastest rollercoaster, Six Flags Great Adventure, New JerseyNY Daily News / Getty Images Page 1 of 12

10 Superlative Family Vacation Destination Ideas

By Lynne Palazzi

You’ve tried the rest, now try the best (or biggest, largest, longest).

Scariest Roller Coaster: Kingda Ka, Six Flags Great Adventure & Wild Safari

Located in: Jackson, New Jersey

Why you should go: Currently the record-holder as the country’s fastest coaster (about 120 mph) with the most precipitous drop (456 feet, or roughly 45 stories high, at a 90-degree angle), Kingda Ka has inspired two fan groups on Facebook, plus a third for folks too scared to board it. No question the coaster offers serious thrills. But most who have survived it have only one complaint: The 59-second ride just isn’t long enough. (Daily general admission tickets are $38 when bought online; sixflags.com.)

Where to stay: Laurel Pond Affordable Luxury Wilderness Lodges, in Cream Ridge, New Jersey (from $135 per night for a lodge that sleeps up to four; laurelpond.com).

Next: Most Rockin’ Mini Golf: Hawaiian Rumble
Skip to Daily Finds slides.
People riding world's fastest rollercoaster, Six Flags Great Adventure, New Jersey
Hawaiian Rumble Volcano2, Myrtle Beach, SC
Cars at drive-in movie
Dinosaurs outside The Children's Museum of Indianapolis
Small boy eats huge section of a watermelon with both hands
American Alligator
Sand dunes in Oregon
Blue morpho butterfly
Person sliding down a rock waterfall at Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina
Ice cream sundae

Most Popular Galleries

  • Blue present with silver stars

      29 Great Gifts for Grads

  • The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

      50 Great Books That Will Change Your Life

  • Kristen Jones Connell with her dad Billy Jones

      36 Unique Gifts for Dad

Hot Topic

“Who cares if it’s still only spring? We’re already thinking about our first summer swim—and we want our readers to be prepared. So when you’re in and out of the pool, use these surprising tips from...” - Julia Edelstein
More From

How To Protect Your Hair at the Pool

What do you think about this article? Share your own solutions and ideas

View Earlier Comments
Advertisement

What's Hot

Stuffed panda bear

What Causes Dark Circles Under Your Eyes?

If your dark circles aren’t quite this adorable, you don’t have to grin and bear it. Try these (en)lightening strategies to minimize them.

  • How to Sell, Swap, or Donate Clothes
  • Huffington Post Home: 10 Ways to Transform Accessories Using Washi Tape 
Computer deskNew on the Web
Secrets to Small Space Entertaining from Jordan Reid of Ramshackle Glam
For years and years my husband and I lived in an apartment that was fairly avera...
from The Nest Blog - Home Décor, Cooking, Money, Health & Sex News & Advice » house & home
Young stroke victim recovers with help from new electrical stimulation technology
When Wes Schlauch, of Breinigsville, PA, was 16 years old, he suffered a stroke...
from FOXNews.com
20-Plus Bedroom DIYs Worth Pinning
Have a few hours to spare? Consider a simple bedroom DIY. Without spending a lo...
from POPSUGAR Home
HuffPost Tastemakers: A Meal At Nopi
Ottolenghi is a lucky man. Read more: Tastemakers , Ottolenghi ...
from Tastepartner on The Huffington Post
WHOA: The Coolest Way To Update An Old Fridge
Light fixtures can be changed. Colors can be painted over. Ugly floors can be co...
from Home on Huffingtonpost
Hang Your American Flag With Etiquette and Style (20 photos)
The day before my house burned down , I was thinking about flags. It was the e...
from Houzz
  • Browse RealSimple.com:
    • Ask Real Simple
    • Contests & Sweepstakes
    • Games
    • Makeover in Minutes
    • New Uses for Old Things
    • No-Obligation Book Club
    • Photo Contests
    • Quizzes
    • Road Tests
    • Shop, Prep, Cook
    • Real Weddings
    • Tools, Videos, Checklists
    • Site Map
  • Customer Service:
    • Contact Us
    • Customer Service
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your California Privacy Rights
    • Subscribe
    • Give a Gift
    • Real Simple Products
    • Real Simple Offers
    • Real Simple Rewards
    • Back Issues
    • Media Kit
  • On the Go:
    • Real Simple iPadRead Us on Tablet
    Get our Apps:
    • No Time to Cook
    • To-Do Lists
    • Gift Guide
  • FREE Newsletters:
    • Weekly Tips
    • Daily Finds Newsletter
    • Keep-It-Together Checklist
    • SEE ALL
    Time Inc. Lifestyle Brands
  • Connect With Real Simple
    • Pinterest
      JOIN US
    • Facebook
      LIKE US
    • Twitter
      FOLLOW US
    • Google Plus
      FOLLOW US
    • YouTube
      WATCH US
    • Instagram
      FOLLOW US
  • Food & Recipes
  • Home & Organizing
  • Beauty & Fashion
  • Holidays & Entertaining
  • Weddings
  • Family & Work
  • Checklists
  • Blog
  • Magazine
Real Simple Home and Lifestyle Network
Copyright © 2013 Time Inc. Lifestyle Group. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.