Roller coasters, trapeze lessons, and more: Oyster’s top kid-friendly hotel attractions

For young children, getting to meet a favorite cartoon character or puppet can be a magical experience. At Beaches Sandy Bay and Beaches Boscobel in Jamica, kids can engage in singalongs with Elmer, Zoe, and Grover from Sesame Street; Lilo and Stitch host breakfasts at Disney's Polynesian Resort; and kids can dine with characters like Mary Poppins, Alice, and Cinderella at Disney's Grand Floridian.

• Hotels: Beaches Sandy Bay, Jamaica;Beaches Boscobel Resort and Golf Club, Jamaica; Disney's Polynesian Resort, Orlando; Disney's Grand Floridian, Orlando; Universal's Royal Pacific Resort, Orlando

A roller coaster -- at a hotel? Yes, that's right; while you're getting your adrenaline rush at the craps table, your kids can get theirs at the New York, New York Hotel roller coaster in Las Vegas.

You and your kids can get up close and personal with some of the world's most playful creatures at several hotels around the globe. Interactions can include rubbing the dolphins' rubbery skin, posing for a kiss, and going for a dorsal fin ride.

• Hotels: Half Moon, Jamaica; The Kahala Hotel and Resort, Oahu; Atlantis Paradise Island Resort, Bahamas

Hundreds of resorts around the world feature a water slide or two in their pool complex, but a few exceptional properties take it to a whole new level. For example, the Aquaventure water park at the Atlantis Paradise Island Resort features two slides with vertical drops over 50 feet, a mile-long lazy-river pool, a tube that gushes past sharks, and a plethora of other scenic slides. The Grand Wailea water park in Hawaii includes four waterslides, whitewater rapids, caves, a lazy-river pool, rope swings, and a "water elevator" inside a man-made volcano.

• Hotels: Atlantis Paradise Island Resort, Bahamas; Grand Wailea Resort Hotel and Spa, Oahu; Nickelodeon Suites Resort, Orlando; MGM Grand Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas; Disney's Coronado Springs Resort, Orlando; Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas; Beaches Boscobel Resort and Golf Club, Jamaica; Hilton Hawaiian Village, Oahu

A handful of hotels on Oyster host a wide range of exotic animals, including penguins, lions, monkeys, giraffes, sharks. These animal habitats are so impressive we wrote a whole blog post just about them.

• Hotels: Hilton Hawaiian Village, Oahu; MGM Grand Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas; The Kahala Hotel and Resort, Oahu; Paradisus Palma Real, Dominican Republic; Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas; Disney Animal Kingdom Lodge, Orlando; Half Moon, Jamaica; The Mirage, Las Vegas

Free trapeze lessons from real-life circus performers are available at two Viva Wyndham resorts in the Dominican Republic.

• Hotels: Viva Wyndham Dominicus Beach; Viva Wyndham Dominicus Palace