The best zoo in Dallas is not the Dallas Zoo. The Dallas World Aquarium, which is an indoor rain forest, basically, is AMAZING. I don’t know if I can do it justice, it’s one of the few zoos I’ve ever seen which truly shows the diversity of life instead of just a handful of showpiece species placed in generic settings(although the best zoos are getting better about this, many are not).
If you’re in town on Sunday, you’re in for a treat. Dallas is celebrating the opening of a new Arts Center downtown with a full week of performances, food, previews and all kinds of arts in the downtown arts district, culminating in a fireworks show on Sunday at 7:30. There is a full week of cool stuff planned though, including walkthroughs of the new opera and theatre spaces, concerts, and talks by the architects about the buildings. They’re V cool looking.
Of course the State Fair is not to be missed. My wife and I were there on Tuesday night and it was a lot of fun. I recommend you give the fried butter a miss(it’s like a thick and extremely rich donut hole), but don’t miss the deep fried peaches and cream. Ride/food coupons are very expensive, and parking will be at least $10, but riding the Texas Star is something everyone who has the chance should do once in a lifetime. Daytime is best(better views) but seeing the city at night can be pretty too. You’ll probably be in line for a while if you go on the weekend though. While you’re in Fair Park, swing by The Museum of Nature and Science which has a current exhibit on The Science of Spying. We haven’t hit it yet, but the reviews say it’s great fun for the Kim Possible fans out there. Also at the Fairgrounds, in the Music Hall is the Broadway tour of Mary Poppins(Video plays when you open the link). The Broadway Mary and Bert are headlining the tour. We saw it on Tuesday night and while we didn’t take our kids, the kids in the audience loved it. It’s a very well produced show with a lot of flash. I’d recommend trying for tickets in the center first balcony. They’re cheaper than orchestra but are actually better seats for this venue and especially for this show, which takes up all the stage and then some.
The West End is a shadow of its former self, I would give it a miss entirely, especially on Texas-OU weekend. About the only thing I’d say is worth doing there is the 6th Floor Museum and the kids may be a little to young to care about the Kennedy assassination. My little ones snoozed through most of it. Reunion Tower is nice, but expensive and really a pretty generic revolving restaurant. There’s one in San Antonio in Tower of the Americas that you could hit if you’re interested in the revolving tower restaurant thing.
Outside of the downtown area, you’re in time for Autumn at the Arboretum. If the slideshow on the homepage doesn’t make you want to go, then give it a miss, but damn it’s beautiful and wonderful for kids. We try to go once or twice a year, in the Spring for Dallas Blooms, and in the fall for the Pumpkin Festival. If there’s one thing I wish got mentioned more about Dallas in the tourist brochures and advertising, it’s the arboretum. On the shores of White Rock Lake, it’s just beautiful, especially around sunset.
There’s a site run by the local public radio station which is probably the best way to find events and activities for a specific timeframe. Stuff which is open most of the time, like Six Flags, Medieval Times, or the Dallas World Aquarium, may not be on there unless they’re having an event, but the Art and Seek site is a great way to find stuff to do in DFW.
On the Fort Worth side of the metroplex, you’ll be in town when the oldest known work by Michaelangelo, The Torment of Saint Anthony comes back home to the beautiful Kimbell Museum of Art. Seeing any of Michaelangelo’s work is a rare treat, but this piece is something special. He painted it when he was very young (12-13). If you’re looking for something to inspire your kids, this may well be it. The cafe in the Kimbell has a fantastic quiche Florentine.
Some of the Ft. Worth dopers may weigh in with other stuff happening there, but the big events during the time you’ll be there are probably going to be on the Dallas side with the PAC opening and the Fair.
As far as food goes, Dallas has a plethora of great restaurants. The main problem is getting to them from where you are because Dallas/Ft. Worth has some serious urban sprawl. If you decide on an itinerary and what parts of town you’ll be in at various times, specific recommendations can be made. I’d recommend you get a good BBQ, and a good Tex-Mex, and of course eat at the Fair once. Other than that, it’s hard to go wrong with food in Dallas.
Enjoy,
Steven
