"Best 2013 Family Vacations"

Too complicated. Any vacation with the family, whether to the pond to fish, the beach, or even the KOA away from home, where everyone gets to know each other better, and memories are made, is the BEST VACATION. Life if too short to make it complicated, so much is missed just waiting for that special big vacation. Enjoy the simple things, the movie in the park, the sunset, the sand castle competition. We have great memories of feeding the ground squirrels at Red Rock, and turning over the canoe at the lake. Yes, we've been to Yellowstone, Glacier, Branson, the Red Wood, etc, but the memories are of the company not the scenery.
Keep it simple, and Happy Trails.

While I agree to a point that memories can be found in the simple things, I don't think it's too complicated to go someplace exciting or plan a trip to a national park, US landmark, or amusement park.

For a variety of reasons, my family really didn't go anywhere while I was young. We went to an amusement park once and a few times we visited Lake Huron. They were great memories. But, I want more for myself and my kids. I actually take pleasure in the planning process of a vacation and when I have mandatory over time at work and I miss putting my kids to bed, I know that I can use that extra money for a long vacation.

If circumstances or desires change and we can't travel very far, I know that the kids will enjoy staying at our favorite local park down the road as opposed to going to a different state. But until then, I look forward to complicating their lives with our camping adventures and hopefully hitting several sites from the above list. ;)

Those are fun to hit, but quantity can be more important than quality. For example, I'd rather take a family outing every couple weeks to Sea World or Fiesta Texas in San Antonio than to do nothing for a few years just to make Disney World. Yes, WDW is a place to go see, but not at the expense of doing other things.

Sometimes an oddball place off the beaten track can be an ideal vacation. A KOA with hiking trails, a Jellystone park winery near Fredricksberg, a tour of small towns in Texas, or perhaps in the off-season, getting a space at a ranch that normally does deer leases to get away from everything.