Need help with road trip: VA, MD, PA, OH & KY

[ChrisinNJ]

In Philadelphia, Check out Eastern State Penitentiary. It is really cool!

 

[Pembo]

Ohioian here - I disagree with Shelly - if your little ones aren't into roller coasters I'd skip Cedar Point but I would suggest taking the Jet Express to Kelley's Island and Put-In-Bay. At Kelley's you can go to the Glacial Grooves. PIB has Perry's monument and a cave. Bonus is the boat ride, the Jet Express is very cool.

We are also a family of 5 and I look for Comfort Suites when we travel. They are typically very affordable, free breakfast and plenty of room for us.

Sounds like a great trip. Have fun.

 

[msmama]

I'm sorry I didn't read everything, but as far as hotels, I'd suggest signing up for some kind of hotel program and trying to stay at the same kind of hotel every night. You may be able to earn some free nights that way.

The one I know about is Hilton Honors, staying at Homewood Suites. A lot of times they cater to business people and offer free dinners during the week (and have a kitchenette). With a hot breakfast included too, it could save you some $$. I'm sure there are other chains that offer something similar.

 

[Mickeyorbust]

Hi from VA

You mentioned you like Comfort Suites...The Comfort Suites Bypass in Williamsburg looks good from the website, free breakfast and internet and 4.7 out of 5 stars. One of the PP's mentioned Great Wolf Lodge...I have stayed there and it's nice. Going straight from the water park to your room is a nice perk. It's a good alternative to Water Country USA. Water Country's outside and in May the weather may or may not be warm enough for an outdoor water park. There's also a few campgrounds with cabin rentals that are economical. I checked one...Outdoor World, Sleeps 6 with a kitchen and is $90 a night. Looked like there was a mini-golf course, pool and playground on the property.

The combo/flex ticket is usually the best deal and gives you flexibility.

Restaurants...There are plenty of options from Fast Food to Fine Dining in Williamsburg and surrounding area. I recommend trying Duck Donuts, if you like donuts. The original Duck Donuts is in Duck, NC. The Williamsburg location was opened October 2013. Donuts are made to order and are Mmmmmm, hot, fresh, sweet goodness. Hmm, better stop before I start drooling. http://www.visitwilliamsburg.com/business/duck-donuts/

Dining in Busch Gardens isn't too expensive. They have more options than the standard park food of Hamburgers, Hot Dogs or Pizza. Sometimes we leave the park and go to one of the nearby restaurants then go back into the park.
For you, the roller coaster lover, definitely do Verbolten and Apollo's Chariot, two best coasters in the park.

I hope you enjoy your trip.

 

[rnorwo1]

Thank you all for the amazing information! I knew we would not be scratching the surface of these cities/states, and y'all have made it even more difficult to narrow things down with all of the suggestions! wish we could have a week in each state. I hope to have our dates firmed up by the end of the week, and I'll go on and book the accommodations, then I can take more time with all of the really fun planning!
I think we will concentrate on the Lake Erie area in OH, btw... Is one full day enough time for either Kelleys Island or Put In Bay?

I have a list of all the restaurants and other area hotels, thanks so much! Duck Donuts sounds like a definite in my book, thanks Mickeyorbust!

 

[DisneyCrazyX5]

My boys loved the http://www.cincymuseum.org/
it has a children, history and natural history museum. There is something here for all ages.
The http://www.armstrongmuseum.org/ is very small and not worth a special trip to go to, but a nice stop if you are driving past it.

 

[anniemck]

If you like Comfort Suites sign up for the Choice Privileges, we travel a couple times a year and end up with 3 or 4 free nights every year. Free program and it is great.

 

[rnorwo1]

If you like Comfort Suites sign up for the Choice Privileges, we travel a couple times a year and end up with 3 or 4 free nights every year. Free program and it is great.

Thanks!

 

[Pembo]

Thank you all for the amazing information! I knew we would not be scratching the surface of these cities/states, and y'all have made it even more difficult to narrow things down with all of the suggestions! wish we could have a week in each state. I hope to have our dates firmed up by the end of the week, and I'll go on and book the accommodations, then I can take more time with all of the really fun planning!
I think we will concentrate on the Lake Erie area in OH, btw... Is one full day enough time for either Kelleys Island or Put In Bay?

I have a list of all the restaurants and other area hotels, thanks so much! Duck Donuts sounds like a definite in my book, thanks Mickeyorbust!

If you catch an early am Jet Express from Sandusky to Kelley's you can rent a golf cart to get to the glacial grooves and drive around, then catch the Jet to PIB and spend the rest of the day. The Jet runs until late at night so I say YES, one day will be enough. Check out the schedules for when you are going http://jet-express.com/index.php/ferry_sandusky/.

PM if you have any specific questions. We live about 30 mins from Sandusky and love a day at the Islands.

 

[HJRWoman]

Williamsburg-there are several time-share condo resorts near historic Williamsburg that will rent condos for the week or less (just say no when they ask you to attend a timeshare sales pitch). We got a really good deal on one from Expedia. You should be able to do everything you want there in 3 days.

Mammoth Cave/Bowling Green-we stayed at Jellystone in a cabin last summer and I had way more fun than I thought I would. Most of the cabins are fairly new and clean. They seem too close together, but privacy was not an issue. As PP said, there are several different cave tours offered, use the Mammoth Cave website to choose the 1 or 2 that most suits your family. It sounds like you have a awesome trip planned!

 

[rnorwo1]

If you catch an early am Jet Express from Sandusky to Kelley's you can rent a golf cart to get to the glacial grooves and drive around, then catch the Jet to PIB and spend the rest of the day. The Jet runs until late at night so I say YES, one day will be enough. Check out the schedules for when you are going http://jet-express.com/index.php/ferry_sandusky/.

PM if you have any specific questions. We live about 30 mins from Sandusky and love a day at the Islands.

Thank you! Our favorite vacations are the outdoorsy type things like this, so I was so excited to hear about these islands!

Williamsburg-there are several time-share condo resorts near historic Williamsburg that will rent condos for the week or less (just say no when they ask you to attend a timeshare sales pitch). We got a really good deal on one from Expedia. You should be able to do everything you want there in 3 days.

Mammoth Cave/Bowling Green-we stayed at Jellystone in a cabin last summer and I had way more fun than I thought I would. Most of the cabins are fairly new and clean. They seem too close together, but privacy was not an issue. As PP said, there are several different cave tours offered, use the Mammoth Cave website to choose the 1 or 2 that most suits your family. It sounds like you have a awesome trip planned!

Thanks! I was very hesitant to book jellystone after seeing ours here, but it looks like my kids will love it. My DH isn't giving up on the corvette museum, lol, so if it's open my youngest and I can just hang out at jellystone while he and the other two do that your!

 

[CluelessDisFan]

If you want to visit Lake Erie shores and islands area in Ohio. I highly recommend a visit to South Bass Island, better known as Put in Bay. A visit to Perry's National Monument. Your kids will learn all about the battle of Lake Erie. My 7 year old loved it! There are numerous tasty things to eat on the island as well like wine basted chicken, Frosty's Pizza, or the Lobster bisque at the Boardwalk, to name just a few of our favorites. A tour of the winery or a visit to Perry's cave is an interesting little adventure.

 

[uccats97]

I apologize if any of my suggestions have already been mentioned as I didn't read the entire thread. I live in Cincinnati and would skip Kings Island. The lines get so long and aren't shaded. The kids area is pretty nice and so is the water park but as a local, I can't stand it! Then again, Disney has me spoiled! I would recommend the Cincinnati zoo, Cincinnati Museum Center, Newport Aquarium (KY but 5 min from Cinti), and possibly Coney Island which has a large pool with water slides and some smaller carnival type rides. Coney isn't my thing either but it's worth letting you know about it and letting you make that choice.

You should check in to getting zoo/museum/aquarium memberships. I know the Cincinnati zoo and museum memberships are reciprocal with several other zoos and museums so it makes admission free. That would save you lots of money! There is also Great Wolf Lodge water park resort (Mason) and CoCo Key water park (Sharonville).

Just outside of Atlanta is Stone Mountain. It is a great place to go if you have time. During the summer months there is a nightly laser light show on the side of the mountain and fireworks. This would be awesome to catch after your day at the Atlanta zoo but you could totally make a whole day there! We also have visited the Olympic centennial park in Atlanta which was neat.

Did anyone mention that there was a giant sink hole in the Corvette museum in KY last week?!? It swallowed up 12 cars if I recall correctly! Yikes!

 

[trying2photo]

If you just want to explore the inside of a cave, I would check out KY Down Under. They offer several other activities as well as an onsite cave tour. The have dogs that do herding demonstrations, a large cage you can walk in and feed birds, panning for gems, and my daughter got to bottle feed a calf. All of this as well as the cave tour. You probably need to check the Mammoth Cave tours. If I remember correctly, there is only 1 tour offered that contains less than 200 steps and with a 4 year old that might be a consideration.

 

[rnorwo1]

If you want to visit Lake Erie shores and islands area in Ohio. I highly recommend a visit to South Bass Island, better known as Put in Bay. A visit to Perry's National Monument. Your kids will learn all about the battle of Lake Erie. My 7 year old loved it! There are numerous tasty things to eat on the island as well like wine basted chicken, Frosty's Pizza, or the Lobster bisque at the Boardwalk, to name just a few of our favorites. A tour of the winery or a visit to Perry's cave is an interesting little adventure.

Sounds great! Can you do this and Kelleys in one day?

I apologize if any of my suggestions have already been mentioned as I didn't read the entire thread. I live in Cincinnati and would skip Kings Island. The lines get so long and aren't shaded. The kids area is pretty nice and so is the water park but as a local, I can't stand it! Then again, Disney has me spoiled! I would recommend the Cincinnati zoo, Cincinnati Museum Center, Newport Aquarium (KY but 5 min from Cinti), and possibly Coney Island which has a large pool with water slides and some smaller carnival type rides. Coney isn't my thing either but it's worth letting you know about it and letting you make that choice.

You should check in to getting zoo/museum/aquarium memberships. I know the Cincinnati zoo and museum memberships are reciprocal with several other zoos and museums so it makes admission free. That would save you lots of money! There is also Great Wolf Lodge water park resort (Mason) and CoCo Key water park (Sharonville).

Just outside of Atlanta is Stone Mountain. It is a great place to go if you have time. During the summer months there is a nightly laser light show on the side of the mountain and fireworks. This would be awesome to catch after your day at the Atlanta zoo but you could totally make a whole day there! We also have visited the Olympic centennial park in Atlanta which was neat.

Did anyone mention that there was a giant sink hole in the Corvette museum in KY last week?!? It swallowed up 12 cars if I recall correctly! Yikes!

Thanks for the suggestions. We do have a membership to our local zoo, and I think it will work with Atlanta, I'll check Cincinatti too. We went to Stone Mountain for the snow activities over christmas, and I told DH that I'd like to come back for the light show. Speaking of being spoiled by Disney, we made a special trip back to the park one night for their fireworks and snow angel... I made the mistake of telling my kids it would be like Tinkerbell at MK... After the 2 min show was over, they looked at me and said "That was NOTHING like Disney!"

If you just want to explore the inside of a cave, I would check out KY Down Under. They offer several other activities as well as an onsite cave tour. The have dogs that do herding demonstrations, a large cage you can walk in and feed birds, panning for gems, and my daughter got to bottle feed a calf. All of this as well as the cave tour. You probably need to check the Mammoth Cave tours. If I remember correctly, there is only 1 tour offered that contains less than 200 steps and with a 4 year old that might be a consideration.

Thanks for this, I didn't come across this in my research. I am also worried about my not-so-brave middle child being scared in a cave, so this may be some place we can test the waters. My 4yo, on the other hand, will have no problem with any of it, he is something!

 

[GraysMom]

We usually stay at the Comfort Suites in Lancaster, which is right on Route 30 (the main thoroughfare) and was built a few years ago. It's very near a number of restaurants (Red Robin, Texas Roadhouse, Fuddruckers) with other fast food places just a mile or so away at the outlets.

I highly recommend the Railroad Museum as others have mentioned. You can take a leisurely ride out and back on the railroad across the street from the museum.

A unique hotel that DH and I stayed at years ago is the Fulton Steamboat Inn, right off of Route 30 and next to the Rockvale Square Outlet Center in Lancaster http://www.fultonsteamboatinn.com/ It's basically an old time steamboat plunked down in Lancaster County.

 

[Pembo]

Sounds great! Can you do this and Kelleys in one day?



!

Clueless and I are talking about the same places and yes you can do them both in one day.

 

[rnorwo1]

We usually stay at the Comfort Suites in Lancaster, which is right on Route 30 (the main thoroughfare) and was built a few years ago. It's very near a number of restaurants (Red Robin, Texas Roadhouse, Fuddruckers) with other fast food places just a mile or so away at the outlets.

I highly recommend the Railroad Museum as others have mentioned. You can take a leisurely ride out and back on the railroad across the street from the museum.

A unique hotel that DH and I stayed at years ago is the Fulton Steamboat Inn, right off of Route 30 and next to the Rockvale Square Outlet Center in Lancaster http://www.fultonsteamboatinn.com/ It's basically an old time steamboat plunked down in Lancaster County.

I looked the steamboat up and saw that they had family suites with bunk beds and they are very affordable! Thanks for the tip!

Clueless and I are talking about the same places and yes you can do them both in one day.

Guess I'm clueless, lol! Thanks for clarifying, these have definitely been added to the itinerary!

 

[rnorwo1]

Hi, I have another question for the OH folks. We planned on staying two nights in Huron...We were just going to hang out on the shore one day and look around the town, and then spend one day going to KI and PIB, with KI being most interesting to us for the glacial grooves. I just discovered that the Sandusky jet express is not operating those days, only the PIB out of Port Clinton will be running. There is also not the inter island ferry. Millers ferry only goes to PIB, as far as I can tell, and the kelleys island ferry looks like it only leaves out of Marblehead.
Are there any other ways to get to the island? If not, how far is Marblehead from Huron? Should I change our lodging to port clinton area? I'm not sure how much time it'll take to do the jet express to PIB and back then drive over to Marblehead for the KI ferry... Is it worth doing all of that in one day? Or should I just forget about KI? Is PIB worth making the trip for alone, or should I just wait until we can go back and see both islands another time?
Thanks for any advice!!

 

[Sagginit]

i always recommend this when people ask about lancaster. they were really friendly and state they still offer a AAA discount. we did it first thing in the morning in fall and it was just relaxing and beautiful.
http://www.abesbuggyrides.com/

i think your boys may love this place, since there are so many theme parks where you are going you may want to skip hershey park, but pass through just for chocolate world and maybe one other thing. http://www.cherrycrestfarm.com/
i did the corn maze at night in the fall, it was fun but honestly took us way too long to find our way out in the dark lol.

i liked this, but i haven't done the math and it may be a bit much with so many children for the time you will actually be there. this only takes 30-60 minutes from my memory, but was pretty cool. http://www.indianechocaverns.com/

plus there are a number of amish/farmers markets. some are better than others. there are also plenty of amish/family run restaurants in the area and i remember some of them were a good value.