When it comes to teaching kids about personal finance, I feel that it's important to take any opportunity to show them, in practical, real-life situations, how saving can lead to meeting goals.  Vacations are a great example, because you can talk about saving during the whole process, and then they can see exactly how saving money led to a fun time.  Disney vacations work especially well for this, as many families spend an entire year, or even more, putting money aside for a once in a lifetime family experience.

Recently, a new attraction opened at Innovations in Epcot, called The Great Piggy Bank Adventure, presented by T.Rowe Price, that seeks to help kids have fun while learning about saving and meeting goals.  I had the opportunity a few weeks ago to meet with Stuart Ritter from T. Rowe Price, who was the Personal Financial Planner assigned to the project.  As part of the T. Rowe Price team, he worked closely with Disney Imagineers to develop the adventure from beginning to end.

In talking to Stuart, I was incredibly impressed by the amount of true personal finance information is built into the attraction.  Children select a goal, and then work through the game answering questions to earn more money.  As they earn more, they have the opportunity to invest, and the returns in the game are built using real historical returns.

As a parent, I love the idea of an attraction that can help reinforce the financial lessons I teach my kids, especially when it's done in a way that is fun for the kids.  With this attraction, they don't even realize they are learning!

If you aren't planning a Disney trip anytime in the near future, you can play the game online too - visit the Great Piggy Bank Adventure online.