All About Our Family Trip to Seattle, Washington

What we did, where we went, and what we ate in Seattle Washington on our family trip over Thanksgiving break!

Over Thanksgiving break we took a family vacation to Seattle, Washington.

I’d never been to Seattle, and we love visiting big cities that are family friendly, so Seattle was a great fit. I wanted to share some details about our trip – what we did, where we stayed, what we ate, what we recommend, and more.

Where we stayed in Seattle

We stayed at the Hyatt at Olive 8, and although I didn’t know the city at all before coming, it ended up being very close to everything. We were within walking distance to Pike Place Market, and even walking distance to the Space Needle — we walked to both with the boys!

It was also in a clean and safe area, and close to lots of restaurants, shopping, and lots of other sites. We walked pretty much everywhere!

All the family friendly activities and sites we saw in Seattle

• Pike Place Market. Of course, you have to go here. We had a single stroller with a wheel board with us, and although it was crowded inside the market and a little tricky to navigate, it wasn’t impossible. I’d definitely recommend leaving your double wide stroller at home though! The boys loved walking through here, trying samples and checking out all the seafood and flowers and other items for sale. We purchased meats and cheese and fruit as we wandered through and then had a picnic on the pier — that was so fun!

• The Great Wheel. This is the giant wheel down on the pier, and although it’s pricey to ride, we had to do it and it was totally worth it. The views were incredible, and we had a blast riding it around a bunch of times.

• Wings Over Washington. This was a ride right by the Great Wheel, and it was very similar to Soarin’ Over the World at Disneyland. I love that ride, as do my boys, so this was really fun for all of us. It was expensive, and definitely not a must do, but it was super fun.

• Space Needle. We purchased the Seattle City Pass for four of us (Sanny was free), and we were able to use that on a lot of the places we went around the city, including the Space Needle. My boys loved going up the tower (although the moving glass floor on the lower level scared the heck out of Sanny), and then we spent about an hour playing at the park in the Space Needle complex — it had a huge slide and really fun climbing areas.

• The Gum Wall. So many people said this was so gross and it smelled like old gum, but I actually loved it. And it didn’t even smell to me. Yes, it was gross, but if you didn’t think too much about it, it was really pretty cool, and so unique. A really nice lady gave us some gum so we could contribute to the wall, and it was very memorable.

• Ice Skating at Winterfest Skating Rink at Seattle Center Fisher Pavilion. We went ice skating in San Francisco three years ago with the boys, but hadn’t been since then, so we decided to try it again. The big boys loved it and begged to go back every day. Sanny, on the other hand, fell within about a minute of being on the ice, and then hated it the rest of the time. But it was very fun overall, tickets were inexpensive, and they didn’t give you a time limit so you could actually skate for a nice long time.

• Argosy Boat Cruise. This was another activity included in our city pass, and we really loved this. The boat was big and wasn’t crowded, and the cruise was an hour long. We stayed inside on the lower level so we were nice and warm, and there was a guide who shared all sorts of information and history about the city as we saw it. We definitely recommend this.

• Seattle Aquarium. This was included in our city pass as well, and ended up being really fun. It wasn’t a huge aquarium, but it had lots of cool exhibits and we spent about an hour there.

• Pacific Science Center. This was definitely a highlight for the boys. This museum was so well done, very big, and lots of unique and fun activities and learning centers. They had a huge toddler area with water play, building blocks, music, vehicles, and more. Sanny and I spent the majority of our time there, while Philip took the big boys around to all the other exhibits. The only downside of this museum was that the City Pass gave you entrance to this OR the Chihuly Exhibit, so we had to skip the Chihuly. It was probably best since that one isn’t kid friendly, but I want to go back to see that museum one day!

• Freemont Troll. I’ve heard about this troll for years and it was funny to actually see it in person. It’s massive, and was fun for the boys to climb on. It’s one of those things that’s probably not really worth the drive, but it’s a big landmark so it’s fun to have seen it.

• The Seattle Public Library. We love going to libraries or bookstores when we travel because it gives all of us a time to relax and read. The Seattle public library was gorgeous, and the children’s section was spectacular. We spent over an hour in there, reading books, doing puzzles, and just relaxing.

Where we ate in Seattle

• Le Panier. This is a small french bakery right down by Pike Place Market. It’s always crowded, but the line goes fast so it’s worth waiting! They have the most incredible pastries and breads. I definitely recommend the almond croissant and the raspberry croissant. Also the macarons were maybe the best I’ve ever had.
• Dino’s Tomato Pie. We ordered this to our room on our first night because the restaurant is in a bar and the kids weren’t allowed. But DANG that was seriously good pizza. Definitely recommend.
• Urbane at Olive 8. This was the restaurant inside of the hotel, and we had brunch there on Thanksgiving morning. It was very convenient and delicious!
• Din Tai Fung. When we travel, we try to eat at places that are specific to that area and not available where we live. But Din Tai Fung is one of our very favorite restaurants, so we went there for Thanksgiving dinner and gorged ourselves on dumplings and boba. Worth it.
• Sugar Bakery. This was a fun, modern bakery that we ate at for brunch one morning. Everything was amazing, but their cinnamon rolls were probably the best.
• Dough Zone. Since we’d just had Din Tai Fung, we thought we’d better do a comparison with Dough Zone. It’s basically the same menu, but we actually thought Dough Zone was even better than our beloved DTF! However, the service was really bad — none of their employees was the least bit friendly, so that was disappointing. But the good food made up for it!
• Hello Robin. This was a little cookie shop that we stumbled upon one night and it ended up being the best dessert we had. Holy cow, the cookies were incredible.

How we packed for Seattle

We took two big suitcases and one carry on for all three of us. Whenever we travel as a family, we typically just bring the two big suitcases, but this trip required rain boots, which caused us to bring one carry on with mostly just shoes.

We also took our Baby Jogger stroller. It’s great because it has sturdy wheels, the seats can face forward or backward, they can fully recline, and it has a large basket underneath.  B is old enough to walk now, so although the stroller is a double stroller, we just brought one seat and then also the wheel board for Fos to ride on. That ended up being perfect.

SHOP THIS STROLLER HERE

What I brought for the boys for five days of travel

I brought each of them 2 pairs of shoes (one walking pair and one nicer pair for church and family pictures), 2 jackets (one for cold/rain, and one thick sweatshirt for traveling, sleeping, warmer days). Then a shirt for each day, two pairs of pants each, and two pairs of pajamas.

What I brought for myself for five days of travel

Several people asked me about packing coats, because they’re so bulky. I ended up bringing two coats, but honestly I could have brought just one and been fine.

I brought a pair of rain boots, and a pair of ankle boots, and was able to alternate between both of those throughout the five days.

Everything I wore on the trip is linked in THIS POST!

I think that covers most of our trip, but if you have any additional questions about traveling with kids, or anything else we did on the trip, leave a comment!