Things to do in Phoenix, Arizona with a 21 month old toddler?

September 5, 2012 8:55 AM

Things to do in Phoenix, Arizona with a 21 month old toddler?

I'll be in Phoenix, AZ, staying at the Fiesta Resort Conference centre, for ten days (10-17th September) with my 21 month old daughter. I'm accompanying my wife to a workshop, but she has a full-day schedule, and so I'm looking for things to entertain the kid. I won't have a car. Any suggestions welcome!

posted by dhruva to travel & transportation around Phoenix, AZ (10 answers total)

Also I'm up for a meetup if anyone's interested!
posted by dhruva at 8:57 AM on September 5, 2012

Oosh. First thing, get a car. You're kind of stranded without one.

You'll be in Tempe, out by ASU, which is good. If the hotel has a shuttle, you can ask be taken down to Mill Ave. Lots of little shops to poke around in. Although you'll know if this is an activity your daughter would enjoy.

I like the Phoenix Zoo, and it's not all that far from where you'll be (not if you have a car.) You might get together with other parents and kids in the group and see if you can carpool there.

I went to summer camp at the Zoo (decades ago) they do conservation there and have an interesting perspective.

The pool will be a good option, go in the morning, or after 3 to avoid the nuclear sunburn period.

There's a waterpark, Big Surf that might be fun. Bring flip-flops or water socks, the sand will burn your feet! The park is open on the 15th and 16th, then it closes for the season.

The best park in Phoenix is Encanto Park. There's Enchanted Island amusement park within the park.

I really can't stress your need for a car enough. Phoenix is a sprawling metropolis and all the good stuff is on the outskirts.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 9:11 AM on September 5, 2012

You really do need a car.

Friends with a younger child than yours visited me earlier this year, and we all went to the Musical Instrument Museum, up in Scottsdale. Admission is a bit pricy, but they have a self-guided audio tour that automatically syncs up with videos throughout the museum, and plays samples of people playing a large selection of the instruments on display. Their son seemed to enjoy it, though probably more for the overload of stimulus than for anything specific about the instruments. They do have a "hands-on" area where you can play several guitars of questionable tuning, and a bunch of other percussion instruments. I think there might also be a harp.

You might enjoy the Desert Botanical Garden, which is just north of Tempe. Not sure how a 21-month-old would handle it (and if you have a stroller, you'd need it to be a jogging/off-road stroller to really enjoy some of the paths).

Ruthless Bunny covered a lot of the parks.

Also: I'm probably infamous for never actually going to meetups, but if there is a Tempe/Phoenix meetup, I'd be down to try and attend.
posted by Alterscape at 10:12 AM on September 5, 2012

Rawhide!
posted by hmo at 11:44 AM on September 5, 2012

Rawhide!

EW! No way!
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 12:36 PM on September 5, 2012

Definitely check out the Railroad Park in Scottsdale.

The zoo is good, and so is the Arizona Science Center.

Be very careful about sun exposure for such a young child.
posted by Dansaman at 10:27 PM on September 5, 2012

I'll point you to a previous AskMe with some more suggestions, and a link to a page about Phoenix with preschoolers.

Everyone here has already mentioned my favorite places, except for Hole in the Rock - If your toddler would like the idea of mountain climbing, Hole in the Rock at Papago Park is a just-walk-right-up easy climb. Papago Park is right near the zoo and the Botanical Gardens. There are picnic tables and other trails which are just desert walking without any actual climbing, but my kids loved the idea of waving to Grandma (who stayed on the ground) from the big hole in the mountain. It only took 15 minutes or so to climb it.
posted by CathyG at 10:33 AM on September 6, 2012

Thanks all! I didn't realize the necessity of the car, so will look into renting one. Also I heard that taxi people won't let you get in without a car seat? Is that true? What about buses?
posted by dhruva at 1:08 PM on September 6, 2012

( I should add, I'm Indian, living in Mexico, and have been to the US only briefly before)
posted by dhruva at 1:11 PM on September 6, 2012

We went to the desert botanical garden, the zoo, the science centre and the children's museum. It was great fun!
posted by dhruva at 3:47 PM on December 31, 2012