5 hour layover at MKE (domestic flight)
 

I have been to MKE before and know that there's not much there. Is it possible to leave the airport and shop/eat/see a movie during that time? Any suggestions? Thanks!

If you have a boarding pass and no checked luggage, you would only need to be back at the airport a hour before your flight. That's plenty of time to leave the airport.

There are movie theaters within a 10 minute drive of the airport. www.marcustheatres.com

The Third Ward, a fun area to shop and eat, is just south of downtown, about 15 minutes from the airport.

There is tons of stuff in the Milwaukee area, but limited for 5 hour short visit.
Yes you could leave and catch a movie but why? Sitting in a movie house after and before sitting on a plane?
Allowing a generous 1 hour to travel one direction and a generous 1 hour to return travel to airport and 1 hour to get in and sit and wait for flight (fast food somewhere) Leaves 2 hours to get a lot of Milwaukee flavor.
I would suggest head across the street to the west catch a bite to eat and then hike it for less sitting time. Straight north on Howell is good neighborhoods to explore.
Take the bus to probe father, into the good historical Milwaukee stuff. Web search the Milwaukee county bus situation.
If you want to take a cab then go straight east down Layton on the north edge of the Airport to the Lake front park and hike around. Tell the cab company to pick you up again.
If it will be warm, cab it to Cudahy then stop at the Value Village thrift store (on Layton)and buy a $10.00 bicycle then explore, ride it back to the airport and put a note and free sign on it when you leave. A bit more adventurous hoping a good bike will be there.
I’d buy a thrift store bike rather than rent one while traveling and these are the kinds of stuff I'd rather do than just another movie.
There is tons of stuff in the Milwaukee area, but limited for 5 hour short visit.

I agree with Abram's Third Ward suggestion. We enjoy the area when we are in town. Good restaurants and some interesting shops, and interesting buildings. It is about 10 miles from the airport

http://www.historicthirdward.org/

If you should like to go to the Third ward then you could walk the River Walk see the photos I took, it was early when people were scarce (recovering from Summer fest)
(CUT AND PASTE THIS WHOLE LINE in the address bar do not click on a highlighted portion as it will not be complete and will not work)------http://photo.walgreens.com/share/p=23471152319397987/l=7588445/g=5574516/cobrandOid=1009/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

River walk more or less ends where the southern edge of the Third Ward is and Goes North to the visually cool Old World Third Street neighborhood

The third ward is not that big of a deal right now in my opinion. It has a lot of signs indicating that it will be something special in about 20 years but don't expect it to be a San Francisco Fisherman’s Warf or Montreal old town thing. It is not there yet.

"Not much to do"??!! My little Milwaukee heart is breaking. :-)

There's plenty to do. 5 hours isn't enough, but....the Third Ward is a good suggestion. You could also take the cab (I'd do that just to save time) downtown to the Milwaukee Art Museum (designed by Santiago Calatrava). Since time is short, I'd skip buying a ticket to enter the museum, but I'd walk around the grounds of the beautiful museum and go inside the lobby & maybe get a drink in the restaurant. Museum admission is NOT required for either. The museum is overlooking Lake Michigan and next door to the brand new Discovery World Museum. This in itself is a beautiful building with a cool sculpture on its ground. If you're very lucky, the Denis Sullivan ship will be docked! If it's a nice sunny day, you will have a lovely walk along the lakefront, around the Discover World Museum, around the Betty Brinn museum (connected to the Art Museum via a lovely pedestrian bridge)... You get everything: art, culture, a delicious snack, fresh air, a beautiful view of downtown Milwaukee and Lake Michigan...with plenty of time to get back in a cab to the airport.

Welcome!

Discover World Museum is charging full price so that visitors can see some of the exhibits "being built". Big spread in the paper from unhappy attendies.

Yes. I agree: Discovery World is not yet ready for visitors. But I don't recommend our visitor pay to get into any of these museums. It's not worth it in so little time. Just walk around and enjoy the architecture and the beautiful lakefront.

Thanks all - I did end up taking a cab down to the Third Ward. I enjoyed shopping and looking around at the great architecture. Had a nice early dinner and glass of wine at the Riverwalk Bistro. Looking forward to my next trip to the city, hopefully when it's a bit warmer.

P.S. When I said there's not much there, I meant at the airport itself!

Glad to hear everything worked out nicely for you. Yes warmth makes everything seem a bit more enjoyable.