In the case of family travel, most of the products dubbed “must-haves” actually represent colossal wastes of cash. Some, however, are far worse than others.

Say what you will about child leashes as tools to control otherwise uncontrollable children, but on the next family vacation, there has to be a better way.

Adventure travel can be a scary and exhausting activity for young kids. That is, unless you make a concerted effort to get the littlest little ones excited about that next backcountry family trip.

The new Cars Land at Disney California Adventure, in Southern California, brings the fictional town of Radiator Springs to life in ways I’m not sure the characters themselves could have dreamed. Which is precisely why you need to take your family and check it out. Immediately.