OT-Vacation to Milwaukee

[Aunt Flancy]

We are going to the Milwaukee area this summer for a wedding and I am looking for fun things to do with my teenage boys (14 and 16). I already found the Harley Davidson factory tour and the boys really like factory tours. Does anyone know of anything else they might like. They also like roadside attraction type things, odd or unique stuff. Neither one of them is into sports. The older one loves music and plays the drums and the younger one has Asperger's. Of course, inexpensive is always good.

 

[KNJWDW]

When are you coming into Milwaukee? There are tons of festivals on the lakefront in the summer. Most of them are family-oriented. Let me know when you will be here and I can try to find out what is scheduled. Harley Davidson also has a museum and restaurant not too far from the downtown area. The Wisconsin Dells is about 2 hours from Milwaukee and there are tons of waterparks there if you wanted to venture to that area.

 

[twinsplusone]

If you are here the end of June early July, Summerfest is at the lakefront. It's a huge music festival. I really think they'd enjoy that. Our zoo is wonderful. I think Sprecher Brewing has tours. Discovery World is a child's museum. It has neat aquariums that you walk underneath (but the rest of the museum is just ok imho). I'll keep thinking. There is a ton of stuff to do here.

 

[Aunt Flancy]

The wedding is June 27. I am thinking we will probably arrive on Tuesday June 23. We have a family reuinion in northern Illinois on the 28th, so we will probably head back home after that.

My son with Asperger's loves waterparks. I will have to look into the Dell's.

 

[KNJWDW]

Summerfest is a huge music festival on the lakefront. This year it runs June 25 - July 5. You can check it out at summerfest.com.

 

[hildarumpole]

The Country Inn in Waukesha has a big waterpark. It's only about 20 min. from downtown Milwaukee. http://www.countryinnhotel.com

MillerCoors brewery offers free daily tours. Sprecher charges a fee and they have more limited tour hours.

Summerfest is great fun for music lovers. If you go to their website, you might find info on getting a discount. They often have discounts for early entry on certain days or for bringing in a can of food. http://www.summerfest.com

I can't think of any roadside oddities, but there is a bronze statue of Fonzie along the Riverwalk downtown.

There's a Jelly Belly factory in Pleasant Prairie off I-94 near the WI-IL border.

 

[disykat]

We were in Milwaukie for one evening only. On the advice of a friend, we went to Kopp's Custard to eat. It was good and kind of an experience in itself.

 

[WIDisneyFan]

A good place to look and see what is going on in Milwaukee at any given time is http://onmilwaukee.com/ (not the easiest site to use but lots and lots of information - I live here and we still use it)

 

[aladams2]

We did the Jelly Belly factory last summer and you get free Jelly Belly's. You also get to sample different ones and it's all FREE!!!!

 

[kim532]

The Milwaukee Public Museum http://www.mpm.edu/ has an IMAX theater. Not on the cheap side exactly, but DH and I love to go.

Kim

 

[hildarumpole]

The Milwaukee Public Museum http://www.mpm.edu/ has an IMAX theater. Not on the cheap side exactly, but DH and I love to go.

Kim

On Friday and Saturday nights they have a planeterium show called "Rock Stars." It's got music from the Rolling Stones, Beatles, Metallica, Jimi Hendrix, and a bunch of others. My DS14 really likes it.