Please give some suggestions for things to do while in Cincinnati
 

We will be in the Cincinnati area 4-5 days in August 2003. We will be traveling with a 10 & 6 yr old. We plan on visiting Paramount Kings Island, Cincinnati Zoo, and Newport Aquarium. Do you have any other suggestions? Any good, kid-friendly, restaurants worth visiting? Any suggestions on hotels in the downtown area that would be good with children? Preferably with a pool, inside or out. Any response most appreciated!

It's been a long time, but what's the name of the restaurant downtown with the waiters dressed as characters? It's a hoot for kids (and adults too).

You might like to visit the Cincinnati Museum Center (cincymuseum.org). There are 3 museums housed in the old train terminal. The Reds or the Bengals (pre-season) might be playing while you are in town. On Labor Day there is a huge festival along the River, called Riverfest.

I agree that the museum center is excellent! Childrens museum (for the young kids), the natural history and historical society museums are very good for any age. Also have an Imaxx. And for myself, the architectural beauty of the building itself is fantastic by itself.

Try the riverfront area of Sawyer point for a day outside and in the fresh air. Newport aquarium and Newport on the levy are good too.

You could go canoeing on the Little Maimi River - several places rent canoes for little money and pick you up/drop you off. Check our local website (cincinnati.com) to see if there are any festivals or fairs going on while you are here.

As far as hotels, there is an Embassy Suites right on the river downtonw in N.Kentucky (nice views of Cincinnati).

Very close to Kings Island is The Beach waterpark, though I haven't been there in 10 yrs. The Newport Aquarium is great, have lunch at Johnny Rockets.

Have a great vacation!

First, I wouldn't stay downtown. Much Cheaper and nicer places North of Cincinnati (Kings Island is about 30 miles or so North of downtown). Or try Northern Kentucky. Pretty much all attractions you mentioned are easily acessed from highways.
Tip:LocalWendy's and sometimes on Coke cans there are discounts up to $5 off admission to Kings Island.
Also food inside the park is pretty high. You can have your hand stamped,leave the park and the heat and go back one exit south to find a lot of resturants in all price ranges. There are also some hotels there.
Newport aquarium is kinda pricey but nice (around $18pp). It is not an all day thing though. Probably can go through it about three hours or less.
The zoo here is fabulous. You can pinic inside the Zoo grounds - nice shady area with plenty of tables and shaded playground. The admission to the zoo is very reasonable (last time I went it was $11 for an adult and $8 for kids - parking was maybe $5) and is an all day thing

I read in the New Yorker where the city just had its grand opening of a new contemporary arts center in the heart of downtown. Might be worth a look if you're staying downtown, too.

http://www.contemporaryartscenter.org

Yes the contempary arts center should be open, but from the local reviews I believe it is more adult oriented. The
Cinni art museum in Eden part is more geared to kids (some very cool displays) and is down the street from the Krohn Conservatory (which I think has a butterfly exhibit all summer). Both the above are definitly worth a visit. The Krohn is free and the art museum is fairly inexpensive (used to be free for childern and students on Saturdays).
Kings Island has a waterpark with some great rides, several theme pools and a wave pool. The Beach Water park is across the highway from Kings Island. It is really cool but also expensive. You can pretty much do the same thing at Kings Island and the water park at Kings Island is included in the price of admission. August is hot here and the lines at the park can get long,so bring your bathing suits- sometimes the water park can be more fun when the roller coaster lines are long. (We have a season pass and go a lot. We bring our suits for the days the park is packed.)
Another tip about Kings Island: Be sure to check the height of your six year old at the entrance to each ride- they are strict about height requirements and won't let you ride no matter how long you've stood in line. The park map has a list of height requirements on the back side (also posted on thier web site). If they do check your kids height make sure to get a colored wrist band from them so you don't get hasseled everytime your kid gets on a ride.
Also, we have a brand new ball park on the river (Cinci Reds). Most games you can do a walk up to the ticket window and get seats the night or day of the game. Most games aren't sold out. Ask your hotel to check for you.
Cinci has alot to offer, I hope you all have a great time.
Just don't miss the zoo.

Thanks for all the replies! We did decide to stay outside the city but we are still in a convenient location. You guys have listed some great ideas, thanks again!

Be sure to eat Cincinnati chili. If you haven't had it - it's a really unique experience.

Thanks to all who gave us information concerning Cincinnati. We had a great trip. We stayed at the Riverfront Embassy Suites (I know, technically that's Covington but it's just so close it may as well be Cincinnati). We visited Newport Aquarium and checked out the shops and a couple of restaurants at Newport on the Levee, Cincinnati Zoo, Paramount Kings Island, B&B Riverboats, and downtown Cincy. We missed the Reds, maybe we'll catch them on another trip. There was so much to do we couldn't possibly do everything, hopefully we get to go back soon. Thanks again!