Chicago, Niagara, Hershey, Sandusky...help

[scbelleatheart]

CP is now selling FOL passes avaulable in advance because they will only sell a limited amount each day. They get cheaper the more people you have, up to 5. For 5 its $150.

 

[WaltsMartini]

Glad you are hitting up Lancaster - we live about 40 minutes from there and like it a lot.

There is a lot to see between the farm "tours," Strasburg RR, outlets, etc... Two things you may want to check out are Lititz, PA, and the Sight and Sound Theater.

Lititiz is a very quaint town in Lancaster County; two of the highlights are the Wilbur chocolate factory (I prefer Wilbur Buds to Hershey Kisses - but don't tell my friends who work for Hershey!) and the Sturgis Pretzel Bakery. My grandparents took me as a very small child and I have been back several times since in the past 25+ years, it's wonderful for small children, and Lititz tends to be MUCH less crowded than Lancaster in the summer (Route 30 = nightmare).

Sight and Sound Theatre is not every family's cup of tea - it is all religious based - but the shows are made for families and I don't know of anyone that has gone and been disappointed. I believe the current show is about Jonah and the Whale. Think "Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat" in a slightly kitschier form.

You'll have to give us a trip report when you get back, it sounds like a blast!

 

[elaine amj]

Sight and Sound Theatre is not every family's cup of tea - it is all religious based - but the shows are made for families and I don't know of anyone that has gone and been disappointed. I believe the current show is about Jonah and the Whale. Think "Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat" in a slightly kitschier form.

You'll have to give us a trip report when you get back, it sounds like a blast!

oh i've watched video previews - it looks amazing!

 

[trinchick]

Sounds like a wonderful trip. Following are some ideas for your trip to Amish Country (in addition to your visit to Dutch Wonderland). We travel there with my kids at least once every summer:

Strasbourg Railroad - Nice, scenic ride in old-fashioned train. There is the opportunity to bring a picnic. The train will stop at a picnic area with a small playground. You can get off, enjoy lunch, and play a while. The next train coming by will pick you up and take you back to the station.

Kitchen Kettle Village - The jam shop in the back has an area where you can decorate your own gingerbread man. It only costs a dollar and isn't nearly as messy as it sounds! This may be something that one parent could do with the kids while the other has a chance to sneak in some adult shopping time. There's also a petting zoo and playground at the entrance to Kitchen Kettle Village. There are pinic tables, too, if you're trying to avoid restaurants or keep meal costs down.

Bird-in-Hand Bakery (or is it Bake Shop?? - not the one on Route 340 - follow the signs at the underpass - you'll see what I mean when you get there). This is a small bake shop, but they also sell ice cream and there's a playground and petting zoo. A pleasant place to spend an hour.

Buggy Rides - there are lots of places for this. We like the one at Kitchen Kettle Village, which is more like an open air wagon. It's very comfie. They invited DD to sit up front with the driver, which she liked very much. We take the half-hour tour. It stops at a farm and the Amish kids come to the buggy to sell whoopie pies, lemonade, rootbeer, cookies, zucchini bread, etc. REALLY good whoopie pies.

Hands On House - This is a children's museum off of the Oregeon Pike off Route 30. We've never been there, but it looks really neat. We keep it in mind as a rainy-day activity and have never made it there - maybe next time!

Lapp Valley Farm - Best homemade ice cream in the Amish Country. It's hard to find (from Rte 340, take New Holland North to Peters Rd to Mentzer), but in the heart of scenic farmland and an enjoyable ride. It's a Mennonite-run farm (closed Sunday) and they make homemade ice cream served on homemade waffle cones. So good. At 4:30 they do a milking demonstration that you can watch in the barn. It's not a show; you just get to see them milk the cows. And there are baby cows you can pet, as well as a barn with cats and horses and such. Lots of locals go here, and you can sometimes see buggies coming through the drive-thru for milk. Lots of fun; one of my favorite things in Amish Country.

 

[dr&momto2boys]

Cool! The more I hear about it, the more time I want to spend in Amish country. Unfortunately that farmhouse (link) previously posted) is rented while we are there. Anyone else have any suggestions on where to stay?

 

[luv2sewtjr]

I really want to stay here, but we live too close to justify it!

http://www.redcaboosemotel.com/

 

[trinchick]

Cool! The more I hear about it, the more time I want to spend in Amish country. Unfortunately that farmhouse (link) previously posted) is rented while we are there. Anyone else have any suggestions on where to stay?

Most hotels in Amish Country are more like motels; nothing too fancy. However, there are many chains like Holiday Inn Express and Country Inn and Suites.

We usually stay at the Bird in Hand Family Inn, and we're happy there. They have two indoor pools and an outdoor pool with zero grade entry. Also a restaurant and mini golf on the property. They have an ice cream social one night and "S'mores with the Smuckers (the owners)" another night during the week. It's on Route 340, so lots of buggy traffic which we enjoy seeing. It's not a 4* hotel by any means, but fine for our family. Breakfast isn't included but the restaurant is very good and they have a buffet which works great with small kids (they pay by the age so very reasonable).

We've also stayed at the Best Western Revere Inn and that was fine, too. Included breakfast. Also the Clarion in Strasburg was nice and had breakfast. It is a bit further away but still close. Not sure if they had a pool, which I assume would be important with the kids. We've stayed at the Mill Stream (owned by the same people as the Bird in Hand Family Inn) and liked it, and I think they renovated recently.

And we've never stayed at the Fulton Steam Boat but it gets very good reviews on TripAdvisor and is a favorite of the contributors on the forum over there.

That Red Caboose is a bit out of the way (but near the Strasburg railroad and Cherry Hill Farm) and it looks rather run down when you get to it. However, I know someone who stayed there as a kid and still remembers it as a fun vacation since you stay in the rail cars.

For restaurants, we like the Family Cupboard on Route 340, as well as Dienners on Route 30. They serve Pennsylvania Dutch food that's pretty much home cooking. Both have buffets, so I find them to be really easy with small kids. I can always find something they'll eat and can coax some veggies into them instead of just chicken fingers and fries. There are also the standard chains like Cracker Barrel, Olive Garden, Bob Evans, Sonic, etc. all along Route 30.

Have a great trip!

 

[bmoncher]

Cool! The more I hear about it, the more time I want to spend in Amish country. Unfortunately that farmhouse (link) previously posted) is rented while we are there. Anyone else have any suggestions on where to stay?

Try this site if you want to find another farmhouse in the area

http://www.800padutch.com/mem-house.shtml

They also have some hotels/motels in the lancaster area...

We have stayed at the Steamboat Inn as well and the kids loved it there...
I like guest houses when we stay in Lancaster area.. There is another we stayed at but I cannot remember the name of it...

 

[dr&momto2boys]

Here's some idea of the stuff you can do in Niagara:

Family fun:
http://tripwow.tripadvisor.com/tripwow/ta-020f-9b00-5cca?ln

Bird Kingdom/Niagara Aviary:
http://tripwow.tripadvisor.com/tripwow/ta-01ff-fcfe-38c4?ln

Niagara Falls State Park:
http://tripwow.tripadvisor.com/tripwow/ta-020c-fae4-3d2d?ln

Thanks for all the great information (including great food-love it) and I loved your pictures!!!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Thanks for all the great information (including great food-love it) and I loved your pictures!!!

You are welcome!!

I hope you have a GREAT time in Niagara Falls. Its such a fun place to visit.

Your entire trip sounds amazing, and will be a wonderful experience for your kids. Safe travels, and have a BLAST!

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

I really want to stay here, but we live too close to justify it!

http://www.redcaboosemotel.com/

Unless that place has gone through some major renovations in the last few years, believe me you don't want to stay there.

We stayed there when DS was about 5 and I stayed awake all night afraid things were going to crawl over me or my son.

It was pretty bad. On another note, at 5 DS didn't have a clue and thought it was the best place ever.

 

[dr&momto2boys]

Yesterday I made hotel reservations at 5 of the 6 places we need to stay. I still have Sandusky left. Great Wolf Lodge is sold out. I'm looking at the Cedar Point "onsite" hotels. The cabins at Lighthouse Point do not look comfortable. It looks like the largest bed is a double--not big enough for me, DH, and our 1 yr old cosleeper. And neither of us want to sleep on a futon instead. I'm considering Castaway Bay. First I'll look at the other options in the area. Any more suggestions?

Looks like Oh Canada Eh show is a must for us. I'll figure out which night will work best and book it early.

Thanks for all the great suggestions!

 

[dr&momto2boys]

I spent hours in the past 2 days researching and booking our hotels for this trip. When all was said and done I told DH what I booked and added it all up. 14 nights...almost $4500 including taxes and also usually including breakfast. (Sometimes we required 2 rooms to fit the 6 of us.) Wow!

Now DH thinks we should look at buying an RV. We've talked about it for a year+. We plan on doing it next year. This might be enough to push us into it. Hmmm...I wonder if we can even get one in time and prepare it (and ourselves) for this trip?!

One of our hotels is non-refundable (Niagara Falls). That's okay, I'm sure if we do get an RV, we could use a hotel break and that would be a great place for it.

I just wish DH would have expressed this desire BEFORE I went through all that work and booked 6 hotels!!!

 

[linda_loo]

From reading your most recent post, maybe you already booked your pitts/OH plans... but if you haven't, and still want an indoor waterpark option: you could go from Ligonier up to Erie and stay at Splash Lagoon. http://www.splashlagoon.com/ I have stayed at the Econolodge across the street from it (which is one of the resorts that are associated with it), and they have a great breakfast as well as a nice pool. You can often find better deals than you can at GWL... but you don't have the resort-feel that you get at GWL, and there aren't any of the really cool programs that GWL has. From there, Cedar Point would be 2-3 hours. That would be more driving than your original plan, but I thought I'd throw it out there.

Alternatively, you could spend the day at Sandcastle (outdoor water park) in Pittsburgh, and drive to Sandusky from there.

Have a great trip!

 

[Bete]

I spent hours in the past 2 days researching and booking our hotels for this trip. When all was said and done I told DH what I booked and added it all up. 14 nights...almost $4500 including taxes and also usually including breakfast. (Sometimes we required 2 rooms to fit the 6 of us.) Wow!

Now DH thinks we should look at buying an RV. We've talked about it for a year+. We plan on doing it next year. This might be enough to push us into it. Hmmm...I wonder if we can even get one in time and prepare it (and ourselves) for this trip?!

One of our hotels is non-refundable (Niagara Falls). That's okay, I'm sure if we do get an RV, we could use a hotel break and that would be a great place for it.

I just wish DH would have expressed this desire BEFORE I went through all that work and booked 6 hotels!!!

To make sure you want to purchase one. There's a lot to consider when doing this besides the cost. First, if you don't tow a car along then the RV has to go everywhere with you. This means you are hooking up each time you leave a campsite, too. Then, hubby will probably expect campsite meals with one. Are you ready to cook most of your meals on vacation? You have to clean up all the time with an RV. You are away from the action in most cases. It takes longer when you are doing everything for yourself. Also, you can't drive as fast as a car and it's more tiring to drive an RV. Are your kids responsible enough to not get lost or hurt doing campsites? Maybe, consider a short trip and try it out by renting an RV. It would help you to understand and learn what you are getting into with one. We had consider one at one time, but we decided against it for some of the reasons above. It's a lot of work and commitment to own an RV. Then, consider the cost if something has to be fixed with an RV; they are mechanical. If you have to buy one paying payments with interest then that may not be a savings to you.

We just did a 5500 mile trip out West by car for three weeks and we are planning a fall trip out East and South for four weeks. We stay at cheaper resorts and we use a disinfectant everywhere we stay. I check the beds before we settle in to the resort room. I make sure we don't have bugs or rodent droppings to the best degree possible where we stay before we settle in. I can say we didn't really have problems that way. We will eat take out at times and we don't do sit down meals all the time. We make sure we stay at places with good breakfasts included and we eat hardy at those meals; so, we only eat two meals a day. We will snack with fruit in between. Stay at resorts where you can get a two bedroom suite with a sofa bed and you can probably fit everyone that way with one room. The kids will have to alternate between a bed and sofabed. There are roll away beds available at many resorts, too. Some charge for one and some don't. You can bring some airbeds with you, too; so, you can all fit in one room. We managed to keep costs down this way without subtracting from the fun. Go for the basics and you may be able to cut the costs of your trip that way. Rethink the trip.

Now, there are times I will stay somewhere nicer on the trip especially if we are having a few days at one destination. I consider it a treat to do so.

 

[dr&momto2boys]

Thanks, Linda. Those are some good ideas. We did find a water park hotel...currently we have booked Castaway Bay (waterpark hotel) at Cedar Point.

Bete, we've definately thought about those things and I really appreciate the insight! I woke up in the middle of the night in a panic thinking we are nuts! What I didn't mention is that starting next year, we want to "road school." We homeschool now and love to travel (my baby had been to 9 states and 3 countries by the time she was 9 months old.) Starting next year we plan to take a 6 week long trip every year and actually want the RV experience. (I consider it camping...I can't handle a tent.) So we thought about buying it this year to save money. (I'd rather put a chunk of that $4500 toward an RV than spend it all on mediocre (for the most part) hotels.

BUT upon sleeping on it, will it actually save us money this year? It depends on the finance rate...if it is 7% then , no. If we wait until next year we can save the cash and not finance. We calculated it would cost an extra $600 in gas. Approximately $500 in insurance for the year. The difference between the campsites and the hotels we booked is nearly $3K. We would have to buy all the stuff we need for the RV--sheets, towels, plates, glasses, silverware, etc.
We wouldn't cook all of our meals. We would plan only on having breakfast (cereal, oatmeal, yogurt, fruit, etc.) each day and probably lunch (sandwiches and fruit) on driving days.

IF the financing is super low or we can figure out how to pull money out of a hat, we may actually do this. I bet we're going to the nearest RV place (an hour from here) to test drive.

The RV we're planning on is a Thor ACE--just under 30 feet. How hard will that be to drive everywhere?

 

[Lady SnowElla]

Thanks, Linda. Those are some good ideas. We did find a water park hotel...currently we have booked Castaway Bay (waterpark hotel) at Cedar Point.

Bete, we've definately thought about those things and I really appreciate the insight! I woke up in the middle of the night in a panic thinking we are nuts! What I didn't mention is that starting next year, we want to "road school." We homeschool now and love to travel (my baby had been to 9 states and 3 countries by the time she was 9 months old.) Starting next year we plan to take a 6 week long trip every year and actually want the RV experience. (I consider it camping...I can't handle a tent.) So we thought about buying it this year to save money. (I'd rather put a chunk of that $4500 toward an RV than spend it all on mediocre (for the most part) hotels.

BUT upon sleeping on it, will it actually save us money this year? It depends on the finance rate...if it is 7% then , no. If we wait until next year we can save the cash and not finance. We calculated it would cost an extra $600 in gas. Approximately $500 in insurance for the year. The difference between the campsites and the hotels we booked is nearly $3K. We would have to buy all the stuff we need for the RV--sheets, towels, plates, glasses, silverware, etc.
We wouldn't cook all of our meals. We would plan only on having breakfast (cereal, oatmeal, yogurt, fruit, etc.) each day and probably lunch (sandwiches and fruit) on driving days.

IF the financing is super low or we can figure out how to pull money out of a hat, we may actually do this. I bet we're going to the nearest RV place (an hour from here) to test drive.

The RV we're planning on is a Thor ACE--just under 30 feet. How hard will that be to drive everywhere?

I have really enjoyed reading this thread. A number of years ago I lived & worked in the Amish Country & want to take my family back to visit so loved to read any and all reports on visiting there. I know next to nothing about RVs but I also frequent the Camping @ Disney World forum here on the Dis as we love Fort Wilderness & have stayed in the cabins. There are so many knowledgeable people there that I suggest you post your RV questions over there & I'm sure you will get great advice. Have fun & come back to tell us all about this wonderful trip!!!

 

[trinchick]

I envy you the opportunity to roadschool. Sounds like an amazing experience for your family!

I know you're only in Amish Country for a few days and this may be more of a fun trip than a learning trip, but there is a cool museum in Amish Country called Landis Valley Museum. It's an historic village that recreates the lifestyles of early German settlers in the Susquehana Valley region. There's a schoolroom, animals, carriage ride, etc. Makes for a pleasant couple of hours. Located adjacent to the Hands On House (children's museum). Right up the street (on the Oregon Turnpike) is the Oregon Dairy, which is a good PA Dutch restaurant with an attached ice cream parlor. There's a playground area and nearby there's a pen with deer and stuff. Pretty fun!

Also in downtown Lancaster there's a museum (forget the name) that on the second floor has an old printing press with some hands-on activities that can be fun for kids. There are also exhibits with antique children's toys, Amish artifacts, and some other stuff that my dd7 finds pretty interesting.

 

[dr&momto2boys]

We leave on this trip in less than a week now!

I'm just re-reading this thread to make our plans. Such good info! Thanks again everyone!

By the way we did buy a motorhome and have taken 2 test trips before this big excursion. We love it! Can't wait to go ont his trip! DH plans to blog about it. I'll post the link when we get home.

Meanwhile, I'm open to more recommendations at any of our destinations.

 

[quentina]

We're planning a driving trip from Chicago to Niagara Falls and back. We'll take about 2 weeks and want to stop at fun places along the way.

I need some suggestions on attractions and restaurants. Help me find the best deals!!! Also please give me tips on places to visit or avoid.

We are a family of 6 (kids ages 7, 6, 3, and 1.)

Please give me input and tips! Thanks!!!

Here's the plan (so far...) Edit: UPDATED plan 7/14 to reflect that we're driving a motorhome instead of staying in hotels

Day 1
Drive from Chicago to Warren Dunes MI (2 1/2 hours)
Spend the day at the dunes
Camp nearby

Day 2
Drive from Stevensville MI to Dearborn MI (3 hours)
Henry Ford Museum
Camp nearby

Day 3
Greenfield Village
IMAX
Factory Tour
camp nearby

Day 4 and 5
Drive to Niagara Falls
Stop at Pelee Point along the way (where we got engaged 18 yrs ago)
Maid of the Mist
Journey behind the falls
Clifton Hill
Mini golf
Oh Canada Eh! Dinner Show

Day 6
Drive from Niagara Falls to Hershey PA (6.5 hours)
Camp nearby

Day 7
Dutch Wonderland

Day 8
Amish Country

Day 9
Amish Country

Day 10
Amish Country
Drive to Ligonier PA

Day 11
Idlewild Amusement Park

Day 12-14
Drive to Sandusky OH
Cedar Point

Day 15
Drive home

If your interested, I have tix to the Renaissance faire. Not far from Hershey area....(I think it goes every weekend through October).