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I'm an old PaizoCon hand at this point, but my family will be joining me for the first time this year. My wife's not as into Pathfinder as she once was and our daughter is 2, so I was wondering if anyone could recommend activities in the area or a short drive away they might want to check out.

Chris Lambertz Community & Digital Content Director |
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Woodland Park Zoo is really great for littles (they have a family farm area, as well as Zoomazium for children 8 and under). I find the zoo a better visit than the aquarium in terms of time spent vs price of entry (our average zoo visit is about 3-4 hours, whereas the aquarium is about 1-2 hours) and it's also located next to a park with a playground, though you might be interested in a City Pass which looks like it'd include entry to both (plus a few other locations). There's also Discovery Park, which includes various hiking distances.
To expand on comment above: I will say that both the Olympic and Rainier National Parks are quite a time investment for travel, and probably warrant a visit of their own beyond PaizoCon to get the full experience :)

lucklesshero |

I'll second the city pass. My wife's sister visiting from China, got a lot of millage out of the city pass (there are some substantial discounts if you go to more than one exhibit). Be sure not to miss the park beneath the Space needle. There's an abundance of free activities for the children to entertain themselves with and it's right next to two major attractions; the afore mentioned Space Needle and The Museum of Pop Culture (a personal favorite of mine and worthy of skipping a few hours of the Con. if their Star Trek display is still up). Both the Space Needle and the Museum are included in the city pass, I believe.
Also Kerry Park has an excellent view on a clear day. My wife and I hiked up the hill and got quite a workout through a charming neighborhood. However, I'd suggest you just drive up there if you have small children (there's limited parking nearby). Lastly, I'd avoid Pikes Market unless you absolutely are a "been-there-done-that" type. It is a noisy over crowded stereo-typical tourist trap with mediocre restaurants charging premium prices. Pan handlers are in abundance and overflow of tourist cramming into such a small area makes it a ripe destination for pick-pockets. All-in-all not a place I'd want to be trying to keep track of young children.
p.s. the Ballard locks are also a great low cost destination..

bargleslayer |

Wild Waves theme park, a combination theme park/water park is close (13 miles south of the hotel) and cheap during May (tickets for about $15 bucks, and your daughter would be free. They have lots of shallow slash pools for kids and lots of cute little kiddie rides. They would be open Sat-Mon on Paizocon weekend.