Help! We are planning our whole vacation around a trip to Cedar Point(with 15 & 17 year olds)! How many days can we do there? What's worth seeing in Cleveland? We are willing to drive fair distances - Niagra Falls? Hershey Park? Canada? Please, please, please give us suggestions to make this a wonderful week to remember!

Thanks!
Jean
P.S. What's the least crowded day of the week to visit Cedar Point?

Hi Jean! The best days to visit CP are Tuesdays-Thursdays you can buy discount tickets at AAA. Adjacent to CP is Soak City Water Park and Challenge Park with grand prix raceway, mini-golf etc.

The Lake Erie Islands are a great place to go midweek, don't go during the weekend they are too crowded. You can rent bikes or golf cars to get around.

Some urls for the Lake Erie Islands:
www.put-in-bay.com/
www.kelleysisland.com/
www.pelee.com
www.jetexpress.com
www.millerferry.com

Ohio Tourism website:
www.ohiotourism.com or
1-800-buckeye (get a pack w/discount coupons)

In Cleveland:
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (www.rockhall.com)
Great Lakes Science Museum (www.greatscience.com)
Six Flags World Of Adventure
(www.sixflags.com)
Cleveland Museum of Natural History
(www.cmnh.org)
Cleveland Museum of Art (www.clemusart.com)

Canton-Pro Football Hall of Fame
(www.profootballhof.com)

Niagra Falls is probably a 5-6 hour drive from Cedar Point and they usually have construction on some part of the Ohio Turnpike and the New York Thruway. Cleveland is about 45 minutes to an hour from Cedar Point and the Lake Erie Islands are about 1 hour east. Personally, I would not want to spend all my time in the car driving with gas prices and construction especially with teenagers.

bringing to top

Two years ago we spent a long weekend inCleveland in conjunction with Junior Olympics. I thought the time away from the competition might be boring but we had a great time.
We visited Sea World for a day, tromped around downtown for a morning - the store where Drew Carey "works" is there and a decent Hard Rock Cafe is nearby inside a funky mall. We took in a free concert by the lake and would have visited the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame if we didn't run out of time. There's so much to do in Cleveland that Cedar Point is just icing on the cake. Enjoy.

I would spend a day at Cedar Point, drive to the Lake Erie Islands for a couple of days and top it off with a trip to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. You can do lunch or dinner in the Flats with your kids.

Hi Jean-Every Wed. starting June 6-August 29, there is an outdoor concert series at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The web site has more info.

Also in July the tall ships will be in Cleveland, web site: www.clevelandharborfest.com

You can buy disount tickets for Cedar Point at Meijer Grocery Stores and discounts for 6 Flags at Giant Eagle Stores. You might also want to check to see if Krogers has discount coupons to attractions.

If the kids have never been out of the USA, this is a good change to make then just a bit more worldly, and come to Canada. Go to Niagara Falls, not the other way through Detroit to Windsor.

In Niagara Falls, make sure youtake the Maid ofthe Mist boat tour to the bottom of the falls.

After that, walk up Clifton Hill and visit the tackloy wax museums, crime museums, etc. until you get bored.

Depending on how intellectual the kids are, drive to Niagara on the Lake and visit the old fort there, and take a look back across the mouth of the Niagara River to the fort on the US side. If either kid is a girl who like Tricia Romance paintings make sure you vist the art gallery in Niagara on the Lake.

The Butterfly Conservatory is a good place for science-oriented kids.

BAK

It's Jean again, folks. Thanks so much for the info so far. Now more questions are keeping me awake at night!
Can we travel at our leisure and stop each night being assured of a place to sleep, or should we book in advance? I'm usually a stickler for booking in advance, but the crew really wants to be free to roam without having to tie ourselves down to one place each night ahead of time - they don't want any schedules!
We plan to make a circle of sorts - Cleveland, Cedar Point, thru Detroit to Toronto then to Niagra and back through Buffalo & Erie on to Aurora and finally Cleveland. Any thoughts from you folks on this? Any tips about visiting Canada? ID required, money exchange, etc? We are from the south and really green about this aspect!

Thanks!
Jean

Canada now requires a picture id and a birth certificate or current passport. When I went last year, I changed money before I went. As to hotels, I would book in advance especially around Cedar Point and Cleveland.

What would you consider the "don't miss!" attractions for a tour like this?
Jean

Jean-I think you have enough information here to decide what you want to see on your families tastes etc.

What do you want us to do, plan your whole itinerary??? I suggest you sit down with your kids and let them decide what they want to see.

Most people on this board are so nice - I've gotten scads of wonderful info for lots and lots of previous trips. I've also tried to help other folks plan their vacations with my insights on places we've been. It's a shame certain folks have nothing better to do than post sarcastic replies. My thought is that if you can't be of help, don't bother to post.

Thanks to all who have helped me with this post and others in the past. I'm always nervous about planning the "perfect" vacation in strange, new places - having folks give me ideas eases that nervousness a lot.

Jean

Are you going to the Aurora area to visit relatives? If not, I wouldn't bother. There is really nothing to do there at all. I grew up there and just spent five days in East Aurora in January (for a close relative's funeral). Stayed at the Roycroft Inn(fairly expensive, but well worth the expense considering the other options in the immediate area (a dive or nothing). The hotel is great and I'd stay there again. The "suite" sleeps three (they say four, but the sofa bed is extremely small), so even though expensive, it was cheapter than two motel rooms. And the architecture is stupendous. (You didn't say you were looking for hotel suggestions, but I offer it anyway.) But, as I said, I was in the area for a funeral and visited relatives; otherwise, I woudn't go.

Jean-I would suggest the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Museum of Natural History or the Great Lakes Science Museum, dinner in the Flats (Cleveland). Drive to Cedar Point, take a day and visit Put-In-Bay, go to Detroit, visit the Henry Ford Museum then on to Canada. Sounds like a plan.

Jean, sounds like you're cramming a lot in. How long do you have? You'll need at least two days in Toronto. I would also suggest two days in Niagara Falls if you want to do everything. Skip the tacky museums on Clifton Hill. Take the Maid of the Mist boat ride, tour the caves behind the falls, go down to the lower river (there is a metal walkway) and view the magnificance of the rapids. Do all this and stay on the Canadian side (cheaper). However, you must visit the American side of the falls. From the Canadian side, you see the entire falls at a distance and it is breathtaking. However, on the American side, you can stand at the failing just where the water goes over, and "wow." You can walk up close to the upper rapids. A lot of people view it from the Canadian side but don't realize what they are missing by not checking out the opposite!!! Also, a lot of people will suggest Niagara on the Lake. It is beautiful, but the kids will probably be bored. The fort there is nothing but a little remnant of Fort George, which I believe burned down. Instead of Niag. on the Lake, vitit Old Fort Niagara on the American side. It's in pristine condition and has a history dating to the French and Indian war. A very short drive from Niagara Falls. Have fun.

Oops. I meant to stand at the railing - not failing. If you fail there you could be in trouble!!!

Oops. I meant to say "railing," not "failing."

Isn't Sea World in Aurora, OH? While in Cedar Point, be sure to catch some of the shows, they are usually pretty good. I agree with Put-In-Bay and Kelly's Island. You can bike or Go-Cart the Islands.