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Parenting
Is St. Louis a good vacation spot for kids?
I'm trying to find somewhere relatively close (from Indy) for a vacation next summer and I thought about St. Louis. I've only been there once, when I was in 8th grade. I posted something on Facebook about going there with the kids and one of my friends said "St. Louis is filthy and too hood to take kids". I was thinking about going a Sunday through Friday and visiting the arch, the zoo and a museum called "The Magic House". Any advice about St. Louis? Any other places I should look into?
Also, does anyone know of a nice but less than $100/night hotel to stay in? I want to try and keep this vacation on the cheaper side. We've never been on a family vacation. We were going to do Disney next summer but we just bought a house and things for that come first 
TIA!
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Re: Is St. Louis a good vacation spot for kids?
What about Chicago? It's reasonably close. You may have to pay a bit more for a hotel, but there are so many fun free things to do.
There are a lot of fun things to do in Cincinnati, too.
I have never been to St. Louis. Sorry!
St. Louis is great for kids, IMO. Yes, there are some bad places in STL, but then again, there are some places in Indy I try to avoid as well. ;-)
The zoo is free. The trick is getting there early enough to snag one of the free street parking spots. The arch is fun and the Museum of Westward Expansion is in the same building. There is a fee for going up to the top of the arch, but if I remember correctly the museum is free.
I haven't been, but I'm dying to go to St. Louis sometime soon to take my kids to the City Museum. I hear from friends that it is AMAZING (but not cheap.)
As for hotels, Hotwire has never let me down. I'm certain that you can find a 3-4 star hotel for well under $100/night.
Thanks, and yes I get what you said in the bolded part. If you ever do get to St. Louis, I found info on the place called "The Magic House". It's a kids hands on type place. The prices aren't too bad either. It sounds fun
The Magic House is great, the zoo is free. If you get there an hour before it opens parking in the lot, the Carousel and the Children's zoo are free.
The city museum is pricey, but worth it.
Lone Elk Park is great, try to get there just before dusk. Check into this before you go the county council is trying to close it because of budget cuts.
City Garden, Museum of Transportation, Butterfly House, there is a ton to do with kids in StL for little to no money.
Wow, that is pretty awesome but I'm thinking summer. Thanks though!
Having lived here pretty much my whole life, I can tell you that St. Louis is great for kids. It is one of the top family US vacation spots as a lot of the attractions are free. The downside to St Louis is that you will need a car to get around. Places to go to seeing you have an 8 year old are: the zoo(free), museum of transportation(not free, but very neat, you get to explore old trains and cars etc.), grant's farm(free except for parking), and I would personally choose the city museum despite its cost over the magic house. My reason for the city musuem is that is is much more fun than the magic house and the magic house house really needs an update. It has a lot of the same stuff from when I was a kid and it just feels too germy to me, kids are running around all touching the same stuff and if it is crowded it is really hard to play with anything. These are just a few of the things in the St. Louis area to do. I would request some brochures from the online visitors center to give you a better idea. Also, I can give you some family friendly restaurant ideas if you want.
St Louis is AWESOME! DH and I lived there for three years, and we loved it! The zoo is great, and there's a ton of other stuff to do in Forest Park (where the Zoo is). Also, across the interstate (64) from the Zoo is a small park called Turtle Park - it's giant concrete turtles that you can climb all over - so fun for kids! Another awesome place is the City Museum - it's this big building that they've created mazes and play places out of used equipment from around St Louis. A little pricey (I think around $10 per person), but so much fun - easily a day's entertainment.
I'm not sure about hotels - you could probably find some nice places for fairly cheap a little further out.
STL is a great place to take kids. We went this past summer with our 5 and 1 1/2 yr old and had a great time. The zoo is terrific-just make sure to get there early to avoid crowds, and like pp mentioned, the carousel, children's zoo, and stingray exhibit are all free the first hour the zoo is open.
We also love the Botanical Garden (discount admission early in the am), and Tower Grove Park is neat. We were a little disappointed in the Science Center, and wished we had done the City Museum instead.
We stayed at Drury Inn near Forest Park and liked it. Very convenient location, and free breakfast and light supper/drinks from 5-7. Their normal rates are kind of high, but you can get a discounted rate for under $100.
It can be really hot and humid, so you might think about weather when scheduling. We went early June, and the 100 temps and humidity made it hard to do anything outdoors after 11 or so.
It's great. You will love it.
I've always found 2-for-1 Magic House admission by just googling it and looking for the Attractions Card. The Attractions Card also may have other relevant discounts.
Also go to dinner one night at Fitz's in the Loop. They make and bottle their own rootbeer, sometime the bottling line is running. It's very kid-friendly.
Take them to Ted Drewe's for frozen custard.
The Botantical Gardens has a fun children's part.
Oh and City Garden downtown is cool, but be prepared for the kids to play in the fountains and get wet (actually same is true for the Botanical Gardens).
Definitely do the zoo and Grant's Farm. Not sure of the ages of your kids, I think City Museum is best for older kids. I haven't taken my 4 year old yet, all the tunnels, etc., they can disappear into stress me out. But way fun for older kids and adults.