Plan your spring break with our special section!

And check out our annual guide to Fun in the Snow

Even if you're not a huge baseball fan, you've got to love spring training.

The tickets are cheap enough that you don't feel guilty if the kids get antsy and you leave before the game's over.

The parks are smaller, the food cheaper and you might get close enough for those who are big baseball fans in your gang to get an autograph.

There are plenty of hotel packages to defray the cost.

And there's so much else to do when you're not at the ballpark, whether you head to Florida  or Arizona to see your favorite team play. You're guaranteed some fun in the sun whether here's so much else to do whether you're in Phoenix or Mesa, Tampa or Orlando. (Check out the Taking the Kids  Super Spring Break section for ideas.

Here's just a sample of what you can do:

--  After watching the Yankees  play in Tampa, you can  head to  Busch Gardens Tampa to ride the new Cheetah Hunt which incidentally is the fastest and longest roller coaster in the Southeast.

-- If the kids need to burn off some energy after seeing the Cubs play at the new Cubs Park in Mesa, Arizona, take them to Mesa Riverview Park where there's there's a 300-foot climbing wall, a rope climbing 

-- When you've had enough baseball in Fort Myers, Fla, home to the World Champion Boston Red Sox and the  Minnesota Twins,  go fishing, hunt for shells on Sanibel Island, or learn to sail.

-- Get your theme park fix when you see the Atlanta Braves play  since their  spring training home is at  the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in the middle of Walt Disney World Resort.  (If you're heading to Orlando with kids, pack my Kid's Guide to Orlando with plenty of tips from local kids!)

Just make sure you've got a ball and sharpie handy.  You never know where you'll run into your favorite player.