There’s no shortage of fun things to do as a family in the San Francisco Bay Area, from family friendly restaurants and ice rinks to marine life and tech museums. There’s also sailing, Alcatraz, cycling in Golden Gate Park, the Presidio, the beaches, the Route 1 coastline, and the nature of Marin. I wrote about many of these things earlier this year. Below I cover some of the other family fun activities in the area we missed in our first guide of the year.
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor
Called Waterworld until April of this year, this Concord-based water park is now part of Six Flags. The kids will love the size of this park, since there’s so much variation that you can easily spend an entire day here and not take it all in. Note: if you want to avoid long lines, try going mid-week if you can, especially if you plan to bring several kids.
Quite the exilirating ride
Gotta love those magic mushrooms from which magical water falls!
Another area for swimming and where kids can play
Then there’s the Tornado, where you can raft down a 132 foot tunnel into the mouth of a gigantic funnel in the most original water thrill imaginable.
More water fun on the Tornado, which was btw, our favorite.
On the high curve
Having fun at the waterpark
Tons of fun in the sun
There’s no shortage of vibrant colors throughout the park.
Vibrant colors on the rides throughout the park
Other rides range from tubes that accommodate a full family (the Big Kahuna) to tubes which you can experience the “thrill” on your own.
Solo in a tube and ready to go!
Invigorating experiences at their best!
Details:
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor (formerly Waterworld)
1950 Waterworld Parkway
Concord, CA 94520
Great America Theme Park
In the South Bay along Great America Parkway in Santa Clara lies a fun family theme park: Great America.
This 100-acre amusement park has a few rollercoasters to die for, such as the Rail Steel Coaster they call Railblazer and our favorite, the Psycho Mouse. Yes, there’s really a ride called the Psycho Mouse — you sit in small cars and they zig zag quickly around sharp turns with surprising outcomes.
The Gold Striker is their old fashioned wooden roller coaster which even took us by surprise. They have a bunch of fun names for other thrill rides, like the Delirium, the Drop Tower, Orbit and Jake’s favorite, the Tiki Twirl, which he went on a few times.
They also have a beautiful carousel on-site as well which all four of us had to experience — I love the artisan work on the ceilings and walls, as well as the mirrors that line the inside.
Thrill rides galore and in a ton of vibrant colors. Psycho mouse anyone?
View from above!
What we loved most about the park was its serene moments, rarely found at a theme park. Grant you, we were there mid-week and not during a holiday. I’d recommend staying clear of weekends and busy travel season so you don’t have to wait long for rides — it makes a huge difference for how you experience the park.
We also loved the “water moments”, plenty of food choices and the fact that there were so many roller coast options to choose from – YAY!
Details:
Great America
4701 Great America Parkway
Santa Clara, CA 95054
Fillmore Street Jazz Festival
Since we were in San Francisco during the annual Fillmore Street Jazz Festival, we had to go. First of all, it’s free and it’s fun for adults and kids alike.
From artwork, crafts, honey and jewelry to Turkey on a Stick, ice cream and Giros, you’ll be covered. We loved the work of Santa Cruz based artist Matt Jones (below) who works in 3D.
The work of Santa Cruz artist Matt Jones
And of course, music is the order of the day. There are different stages set up and performers playing along the streets. It’s a great place to tap your feet, get up and dance, browse the tables for fun and creative wares or simply people watch.
San Francisco architecture nearby is oh so classic and also interesting.
Above and below, traditional San Francisco houses in and around Fillmore Street, which makes for an interesting walk in the immediate area
This year marked its 35th year of holding the festival in San Francisco.
Details:
Fillmore Street Jazz Festival
From Jackson to Eddy
San Francisco, CA
10:00 AM to 6:00 PM ~ FREE
Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum SF
I am fond of wax museums and yet despite their popularity, they rarely make the cut when I travel. This is largely because of an already over-booked agenda most of the time.
That said, I experienced Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum in London many years ago, so was thrilled when we had an opportunity to pop into the San Francisco venue, along the ever so pretty Embarcadero.
Yup, that’s Johnny Depp in the upper left, but let’s see how many others you can guess?
Icons like Johnny Depp, Morgan Freeman and Leonardo DiCaprio are represented here
For favorites: Elvis Presley, Tony Bennett (who I used to work for btw), Audrey Hepburn (she’s so elegant) and Woopie Goldberg
At the top — you betcha, it’s George Clooney & if you’re into Martial Arts, well…..
Michael Jackson, Tony Bennett, SF legend Ed Lee & Al Capone all in one showing? What a day it was!
Yeah, singers and legendaries were there too like Elvis, Santana and Maadonna!
They also had folks like Johann ‘John’ Augustus Sutter (middle right) who was one of the first to hit the San Francisco gold and yet died a poor man. Yup, that’s Obama there on the upper right and lower left (LOVE HIM!!)
Oh how we miss Robin Williams (on the top — young and old) and Quentin Crisp who I knew little about (a writer who wrote The Naked Civil Servant) and of course Francis Ford Coppola!
Upper right: we love you Rosa Parks (what a miraculous woman she was), more Quentin, Lincoln of course (so dignified they made him) and Harvey Milk!!
A little football and martial arts action (on the top) with more Johnny Depp (what can I say, Anthony and I both love his movies) and of course Steven Spielberg! (LOVE your work Steven!!)
Jake on drums near Tony Bennett of course
Uncanny how real it all was!
Bob Marley — did I say Jammin’ again?
Morgan Freeman, one of my favorite actors – LOVE him!!
If you play piano (which I do)), why not play a grand whenever you can?
Tiger Woods and Jake take up a l’il golf on set.
It was so much fun — we’d recommend visiting, especially if you have kids in tow. And, since you’ll be on the Embarcadero, why not pop into the San Francisco Dungeon right next door. See below.
Details:
Madame Tussaud’s San Francisco
145 Jefferson Street #600
San Francisco, CA 94133
The San Francisco Dungeon
Immediately adjacent to Madame Tussaud’s is the San Francisco Dungeon, which is a tourist attraction that recreates historical events using 360° sets, special effects, and live actors. Visitors walk through the Dungeon, and are guided through each show by professional actors.
The Alcatraz Drop Ride — photo credit: San Francisco Dungeon
In each room, actors provide historical accounts of times gone by, try to scare visitors as much as they can, and awe us with their fabulous costumes. Amusing, scary, thrilling and interesting, it’s all there for the taking.
At the very end of the experience, you’re brought into a room where you experience the very short “ride” portion of the Dungeon: the Alcatraz Drop Ride.
Inside the attraction — photo credits courteous of San Francisco Dungeon
Two thumbs up — we had a blast!!
Details:
San Francisco Dungeon
145 Jefferson Street #500
San Francisco, CA 94133
The Santa Cruz Boardwalk
This all outdoor amusement park offers a wide variety of games and rides along a mile-long stretch of sandy beach in the heart of beautiful Santa Cruz along California’s Route 1 coastline.
My personal favorite roller coaster — it reminded me a bit of Psycho Mouse from Great America Theme Park in Santa Clara.
On the boardwalk, one of their more renowned rides is the SWINGS!! This will bring you back to childhood even if does make you a bit dizzy. The swings soar over the beach, so you have breathtaking views of the ocean beyond. WELL worth doing!
You can take the gondola across the park so you can get views of the ocean and the theme park below.
The sunsets in Santa Cruz are always breathtaking, so be sure to bring your camera.
These funky and fun creatures seemed to pop up everywhere. On rides, benches and throughout the park. Creativity at its best!
The beach
This one was far too dizzying for me but Jake loved it!
More sunset magic above
Whoah!! Those magical swings — does it get much better than this?
I’d recommend a full day here and getting the full day pass so you can come and go as you please as well as go on as many rides as you wish. There are plenty of places to get food on the boardwalk, from sweets like cotton candy, soft serve ice cream and caramel apples to pizza, giros and salads.
Details:
Sing Along Movies @ Castro Theatre
The Castro Theatre is a popular San Francisco movie palace which became San Francisco Historic Landmark #100 in September 1976. Truth be told, we are fans of this beautiful theatre and try to get there as often as we can for shows.
They offer sing along movies throughout the year, which range from classics for kids like Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music to more epic ones from years gone by.
We had an opportunity to go to the Sound of Music singalong, which is one of my favorites. In the beginning, two hosts let the audience know what to expect and of course, as the songs come on, words pop up on the screen so the entire audience can sing along.
Look at just how spectacular the theatre is — the artisan and authentic wood, the walls, the fine touches and more. You won’t be disappointed.
Hosts for the Sound of Music singalong at the Castro Theatre, an incredible evening out for the family
More family fun. People actually dressed up for the occasion and all those who did make the effort were invited on stage — children AND adults.
Above and below: snippets from the film itself – it was a blast and I’d strongly recommend it. Check out the Castro Theatre for their schedule and how it times with your travel schedule.
Details:
Castro Theater
429 Castro Street
San Francisco, CA 94114
Golden Gate Bridge
Of course you have to visit the Golden Gate Bridge and take that notorious shot on the beach with this famous iconic landmark in the distance (we have a ton of them over the years, be sure to check out our Instagram feed as we post San Francisco shots often). Also be sure to get closer up shots as well.
The notorious Golden Gate Bridge
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
