St. Louis for spring break

[jdkk424]

We are going to St. Louis for spring break. Only staying a couple of nights. Any suggestions on must see and how to do it cheap. Thanks.

 

[MrsDrewsky]

The science museum and zoo are free. You just have to pay for parking.

We love Imo's pizza which is near the zoo and is reasonably priced. It is St. Louis style pizza though, which means cracker thin crust.

There's the magic house, the arch, and you can tour the busch brewery. Grant's farm is free, and they also house the clydesdales there as well as the brewery.

We visit once a year to see my in-laws and we love St. Louis.

 

[SarahKate]

St Louis is a great city and there is a lot to do. We go there several times a year and I wrote the following article a while back and it has lots of info!

http://springfieldmoms.org/st-louis-day-trips-and-attractions/

Our fave hotel is the Drury chain and there are several in the area. You can't beat all you get for the money. I can give your our fave ones if you're interested.

 

[ktate82]

We live about an hour from St. Louis and have gotten great deals on hotels through groupon for overnight stays. I would agree with previous posters, the zoo, arch, botanical gardens, and science center are all great.

 

[smitch425]

Missouri Botanical Gardens is STUNNING. My second favorite vacation spot after WDW.

 

[Chelley00]

My kids love the City Museum. Not free but worth the money.

Grant Farm is free and a lot of fun.

We also stay at Drury Inns. The "happy hour" food is usually enough for a meal and there are free drinks

 

[jenndisney]

We love the butterfly house. It is one of the best I have been to.

 

[kjpotter]

I second the city museum. My kids 5 and 8 love it.actually the adults love it too.

 

[taymaesmom]

City Museum is AMAZING! My kids are teens now and still love going, heck the adults do too, so worth every penny! We also love the Drury Inn hotels, great deal for the money, we really like Drury Inn Union Station, beautiful old hotel that is very nicely updated and right in the middle of downtown.

The zoo is free and if you get there before 10 all the exhibits you would have to pay for are free too. The Science Center is great and free. We also just discovered City Gardens, right downtown and a really nice park, plus if its warm enough the kids can swim in all the fountains. The Arch is also a must do too, no other place like it.

For food we love the Old Spagetti Factory, the downtown location is in a cool old building. We live close enough for day trips so we very often bring a cooler and do picnics in the parks, especially Forest Park where both the zoo and Science center are located. We also love Fitz, which is near the zoo, they make and bottle their own sodas and you can watch through the windows on bottling days. The ginger ale is amazing!

 

[gulf breeze]

I third City museum....bit pricey but loads of fun! Grants Farm is free but it cost to park. Zoo is great, parking is like 12.00 but you can park down the street for free. The carousel is free for the first hour the zoo is open, after that it is a couple of dollars. The Science Center is great! There are things inside that you have to pay for like the Omni-Max movie and the Lego Mindstorms. Look up the prices on-line and do the math. If you buy a years membership it maybe cheaper for you, plus the membership is good at other Science Centers. The Arch is great, pay for parking and tram ride to the top, 2 movies inside. Free museum in the base. Allow extra time to get into the Arch as they make you go through a metal detector. Have fun!

 

[C_leen]

I second Fitzs for great ambience in the Loop. My son loves the bottling plant views, the root beer and the food is quite decent. The loop also has stars in the sidewalks of famous STL folks. City Museum is worth it as it in incredibly unique. Drury Inns are indeed fab. Chesterfield Mall now has American Girl, though I have not checked it out. Butterfly House is quite good too.

 

[nchulka]

CITY MUSEUM!!! It's the coolest place ever! 12.00 per person and worth every penny. Look for the building with the working ferris wheel on the roof and bring your knee pads

 

[Mama Mouse]

I live a couple hours from St. Louis and definitely agree with hitting the Zoo, the arch, Science Center, Magic House, Botanical Gardens, Grant's Farm...all great possibilities.

I'm going to be the odd duck out and say, while the City Museum is incredibly cool with some very neat and unusual things, I'm not the world's biggest fan. My son always has fun there. But it's an acquired taste and I think it's better to less nervous parents than myself or something. I'm not bothered by most of the stuff but it is very, VERY easy to lose a child there. Tunnels and slides and pathways that start in one place, or in some cases on one floor, and end up in an entirely different place. (Again, or floor.) My son got lost there the last time we were there and it was really upsetting to him. There's just so much stuff everywhere and, purposefully, none of it makes a lot of sense. Which meant when he came out on the other side of a tunnel he climbed through, he couldn't find his way back to me. And I couldn't find him at all. It was very scary. I'm not saying don't go. Just be mindful if you do.

 

[hsmamato2]

Drury hotels
City Museum (NOT to be missed)
the zoo is free and great the science center is fun,and it's free

 

[bookluvingbabe]

I took my 5 year old over the summer for his first trip since he was a baby.

The Arch was overwhelmingly his favorite thing. Spend the money to go to the top. If you can, park on Lenore K. Sullivan in one of the lots right on the river. Freaked him totally out that we were so close to the water.

The Zoo is good (and free). So is the Art Museum.

Get Imos pizza while there. And Amighetti's specials.

Enjoy!

 

[nchulka]

I live a couple hours from St. Louis and definitely agree with hitting the Zoo, the arch, Science Center, Magic House, Botanical Gardens, Grant's Farm...all great possibilities.

I'm going to be the odd duck out and say, while the City Museum is incredibly cool with some very neat and unusual things, I'm not the world's biggest fan. My son always has fun there. But it's an acquired taste and I think it's better to less nervous parents than myself or something. I'm not bothered by most of the stuff but it is very, VERY easy to lose a child there. Tunnels and slides and pathways that start in one place, or in some cases on one floor, and end up in an entirely different place. (Again, or floor.) My son got lost there the last time we were there and it was really upsetting to him. There's just so much stuff everywhere and, purposefully, none of it makes a lot of sense. Which meant when he came out on the other side of a tunnel he climbed through, he couldn't find his way back to me. And I couldn't find him at all. It was very scary. I'm not saying don't go. Just be mindful if you do.

Not sure how old your DS was, but we have never had any problems at the City Museum. When the kids were pre-schoolers, 4 and under we each followed one through the tunnels and wherever they went. We had so much fun exploring with them. By the time they reached 5 they were too fast for us! We just said we were going to stay in a certain area (the outside, the roof, the enchanted caves, the main 1st floor area) and let the kids run and play as much as they wanted in that particular area. We'd see them here and there, every few minutes. Eventually they come find us and are ready to move to the next area. The museum is divided into very separate areas that make this very easy to do! Don't worry about trying to see them every moment, just make sure you all play in the same area of the museum and everyone knows not to leave that area. Now that the kids are 9 & 10, they are given a bit more freedom. We go with a group of friends and I may be outside with DS and his buddies and let DD and her friends go on to the 3rd floor knowing they have to report back to me if they decide to go anywhere else. It is an amazing place, not to be missed!!

 

[Mama Mouse]

Not sure how old your DS was, but we have never had any problems at the City Museum. When the kids were pre-schoolers, 4 and under we each followed one through the tunnels and wherever they went. We had so much fun exploring with them. By the time they reached 5 they were too fast for us! We just said we were going to stay in a certain area (the outside, the roof, the enchanted caves, the main 1st floor area) and let the kids run and play as much as they wanted in that particular area. We'd see them here and there, every few minutes. Eventually they come find us and are ready to move to the next area. The museum is divided into very separate areas that make this very easy to do! Don't worry about trying to see them every moment, just make sure you all play in the same area of the museum and everyone knows not to leave that area. Now that the kids are 9 & 10, they are given a bit more freedom. We go with a group of friends and I may be outside with DS and his buddies and let DD and her friends go on to the 3rd floor knowing they have to report back to me if they decide to go anywhere else. It is an amazing place, not to be missed!!

Okay, so the crazy thing is he was 9 at the time. We're not at all unused to giving him freedoms and letting him run to play in places where we can't see him. I don't know. Maybe it's because we just don't get there that often-no more than once a year it seems- and he just can't remember what leads where. It just made him really anxious and, in turn, made *me* anxious, though I tried very hard not to show it and let him have his freedom, tell him where I'd be, etc. I think the reason he was soooo upset when he lost us is because he can usually find his way to us in any situation and he just could not get his bearings.

That said, I still think it's a great place with neat experiences you can't get anywhere else. I just think being mindful of the fact that you can get separated and it can be hard for kids to find their way back if they're not used to the place is important to know going into it.

 

[hsmamato2]

City Museum.... I took my boys when they were 9 and 15...they both said it was better that Disneyworld,and we LOVE Disney. It is a CAN'T miss as far as I'm concerned..... I have never seen anything else quite like it....

 

[NotUrsula]

Unless your Spring Break starts after April 13th, Grant's Farm will not yet be open. Also, from April 13th until April 30th it is only open on Saturday and Sunday.

Please note re: City Museum. Park ONLY in their secured paid lot, do not use street parking in that neighborhood. We currently have a large gang of thieves doing car breakins downtown even in daylight hours, and the area around City Museum has been very hard-hit by them, as they know that visitors there are likely to leave valuables in the car.

Crown Candy is another fun choice; go on a weekday if you don't want to wait forever. Or, try Ted Drewes in the St. Louis Hills neighborhood.

There was another St. Louis travel thread earlier this month on the Community Board: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3079364

 

[abcboys]

I'll echo what everyone else says. We love the city museum even if it is $12 person (I wouldn't recommend for anyone under 4 or 5 though). And if you haven't been plan to make a trip to the top of the arch. I think we found coupons online. We like Grant's farm better than the zoo but like someone else said they may not be open yet. Both are free just pay to park. Science center also is just pay to park and it is nice to visit. There's also the magic house, haven't been there in a few years but it can get very busy, but fun for kids probably 10 and under. Again there are coupons online I think.

We also always stay Drury Inn. I think we stay Drury Inn and Suites Southwest. We eat breakfast and there is plenty of food for supper. Also free soda and popcorn. You can sometimes find Web codes for cheaper rates.