Those who know St. Louis-2 Questions

[Aristocath]

When we went to the Arch this summer I prepurchased our tickets online to get an early time and get a discount. I was glad I did because there was a huge line by the time we left. I think we had an 8:30 am entry.

 

[Elmo888]

When we went to the Arch this summer I prepurchased our tickets online to get an early time and get a discount. I was glad I did because there was a huge line by the time we left. I think we had an 8:30 am entry.

Ahh, good to know. Thank you for that! We are going to St. Louis next week.

 

[2 lil'princesses]

Just a FYI - today's St. Louis Groupon is for the Magic House!! It is a great deal.

We live just over an hour east of St. Louis and it is a great town for a weekend overnight staycation. We will spend the weekend there 4 or 5 times per year. We love the Science Center and have tickets to see the Body Worlds again - we saw it last time it was at the Science Center and it is amazing. There are so many great FREE attractions in St. Louis - Zoo, Grants Farm, Science Center, Art Museum, History Museum, Arch grounds and museum and on and on...

The Fenton Drury Inn in a great option, we always use Priceline or Hotwire and I have never been disappointed in our accommodations. The Forest Park/Clayton area is also a great area and these hotels usually offer free parking.

Thanks for the information! Just curious if you think the Body World would be appropriate for a 5 and 6 year old. They (especially the oldest) has me read her children's encyclopedia parts of the body section over and over again.

 

[2 lil'princesses]

We go to STL several times a year. Never do we stay downtown. IMHO there just isn't enough to do there to justify staying. We were just there Sunday evening for the American Idol concert and I didn't always feel safe. We made a beeline for our destinations - too many people just kind of mulling around. There are definitely some unsafe areas, especially the further north of downtown you get. If you do go to City Museum, be sure to park in their lot! We made the mistake of parking on the street and our van was broken into in broad daylight - very common place in that area. Not trying to discourage anyone from going, just take safety precautions!

I write for a local website and made a St. Louis page last year: http://springfieldmoms.org/st-louis-day-trips-and-attractions/

We always, always stay at Drury. For the price, you can't beat it with all the amenities you get. We typically stay at the one in Chesterfield. A little out in the burbs but we don't mind the drive a bit. It's just next door to a big mall, which also has a Cheesecake Factory. Lots of nearby shopping & restaurants. With a coupon code, we usually average about $70-100 a night, just depending on the time of year. Love it there! Always feels like home.

You mentioned the zoo AND Grant's Farm. If you are looking for multiple things to do each day, I am hesitant to recommend the zoo. It's HUGE and easily could spend an entire day there. It is free to get in, but their lot isn't (sometimes you can get street parking but you may have a bit of a walk).....and they have the children's zoo area that has an admission fee. Grant's Farm is free, you do pay for parking. If you want something to get through in a few hours, I think GF is a great option!

We just ate @ Fitz's Sunday and it's always a fun place to go.

On the link I shared above, you will find a link to some coupons, one of which is a buy one get one free for Magic House. This place gets busy pretty quickly! We've had the best luck getting there right when they open or later in the afternoon closer to the time when they close.

Another FAVE that we always have to stop at is Yucandu. Fun art studio and a great place to spend a few hours. We have nothing like it in our hometown so it's a special place for my daughter.

Thanks for the great information on discounts! I'm always looking for them. After hearing so much about Fitz's, I definitely will check it out, too! You are making it really hard to pick which places to go, though, with all of these recommendations!!!

 

[2 lil'princesses]

Former St. Louisan here. I spent a lot of my undergrad in that zoo doing research, and let me say that it is a WONDERFUL zoo - and free! Also, it is near the Planetarium, Science Center, and Museum, and all of that is housed inside a wonderful public park (Forest Park - although the Science Center is slightly outside of the park, you can walk across a very cool walkway from the Planetarium over the highway to the Science Center). You could easily pack a picnic lunch, go to the zoo, then stake out a spot on the hill and let the kids play while you enjoy your lunch!

The Arch is great, but it really needn't take up more than 2 hours tops.

City Museum is wonderful, but if your husband is would have a heart attack over the kids being hurt I'd suggest you don't go. Even as an adult, I have been hurt in there. HOWEVER, if you commit to going and follow your children around closely, it is a one-of-a-kind area that is so much fun to explore! You could get lost in there for days and not see everything; I've been quite often and met one of the welders there, and I also was a chaperone when my nephew's class went. VERY COOL, and worth the cost. Here's my suggestion - if your kids will listen to you in public, go. If they tend to kind of tune you out when you're someplace new, don't go. That makes all the difference in whether a kid gets hurt or not at City Museum - IMHO.

I haven't been to the science center in years, so I can't comment on if it's still as cool as it used to be. I used to take my nephews when they were younger - they LOVED the big dinosaurs downstairs! There's a good food court (not bad prices, not bad food) and there are always interesting exhibits. It costs to park, but if you park in Forest Park sometimes you can avoid the cost - although I'd only park on the road leading to the Planetarium if you're heading to the Science Center, as otherwise it's quite a hike!

As for Grant's Farm - I've never been. People I know who have been say it's only really good if you have a private tour. Otherwise, you might as well go to the zoo.

Finally, I couldn't say enough good things about Magic House. I agree with a PP, though - try to do that during a weekday if you can, otherwise the place is PACKED.

Thanks for the great information, especially on the City Museum. My kids listen pretty well in public but maybe I will save it for when they are a bit older. I'm betting we will be back to St. Louis after this trip. I just don't know how I'm ever going to narrow down what to do on this trip!!

 

[abcboys]

I'll pretty much chime in and repeat what everyone else has already said. I've never stayed at the drury inn fenton but we stayed at drury in southwest (which I don't think is too far from the fenton one) and it was great. My kids love all the things everyone has mentioned. The city museum is awesome and like you had read every review out there. I warned my kids before we went there 2 years ago to please be VERY CAREFUL because I had heard a lot of kids got hurt there. Amazingly we left with no injuries. LOL! My youngest was 4 at the time and if it wasn't for my oldest keeping by his side I would have been a nervous wreck!...but they had a great time and I would go back but not with any kid under 4 or 5 years old.

I personally prefer Grant's farm over the zoo. I'm not a big animal person and I liked how Grant's farm was smaller and more personable. At the zoo it just seems like you walk from one animal to the next but with Grant's farm there's a cool tram ride, 2 cute animal shows, feed the goats. That's just me though

We also like the magic house but like someone else said it can get crazy on weekends/holidays.

We are going to Disney this year and next year will probably we st. louis. We are about 3 hours away and there is so much to do there!

 

[jgates]

I actually love Grants Farm as it's such a smaller scale. The Zoo is great, but I find it very hard to get around in & find my way back again to where I want to be. We both felt like idiots reading the map. And I can find my way from one end of the country to the other lol! But that zoo..............

We normally stay at a Fairfield Inn in Fairview Heights (IL) - about 12 miles east of downtown, or one in St. Charles, MO. Depends on if we are focusing on just the Arch, or game, or Transporation museum, etc. St. Charles is a bit of a drive to downtown, but not so far to zoo & transport museum, etc. Last two trips (because I do play at Harrahs casinos), we stayed at Harrahs by St. Charles. Free is always best LOL. I have always avoided priceline as it used to always be 2 kids with - and priceline will not guarantee 2 beds. It was never worth the risk, although I doubt we would have had a problem.

 

[Belle & Ariel]

We are former St. Louisans and recommend staying in the Chesterfield area. We have stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn from Priceline and it is good. We prefer the Homewood Suites there because it include a good breakfast and has 2 separate rooms.
There is a great fast food chain called Lion's Choice. It is a hundred times better than Arbys and has great ice cream too.
You might also want to check muny.org. St. Louis has a wonderful outdoor theater in the summer.
Enjoy your trips!