Ohio Family Vacation.....HELP!!!!

I second the cosi thing. We live in Oswego Ilinois but my son attends Camp Christopher each year for 2 weeks in the summer. on the way to or from we always spend a night in columbus and a day at cosi. Best side thing we have ever found on a trip. We went ahead a couple years ago and bought the family pass. it gets us into like 300 other museums (field museum , addler planaterium, art institute in chicago for example) its a completely hands on museum. your 3 year old will love it.

on a side note. you don't have to stay at those big water parks to go to them. we bought day passes for the one in sandusky one year. i took my youngest 2 sons to the waterpark for the day while my hubby took older 2 kids to the rollercoasters

Did you know that Ohio has a network of 9 state owned resort lodges scattered throughout the state? We stayed at the one in Geneva once and it was AWESOME-completely exceeded my expectations. I am really picky when it comes to hotels and this met all of my criteria. It was super clean, nice and modern. It had an indoor and outdoor pool, walking tails, fitness center, game room, gift shop, restaurant and bar. Basically everything you would look for at a regular resort. It was right on Lake Erie so you could rent boats, play on the beach, go to the state park, etc. They also had bikes available for guests. The best thing was it was dirt cheap-our room was like $125 or something.

From what I can tell all of these resorts are similiar so I don't think you could go wrong. Here is a link:

http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/parks/overnightfacilities/reso...

We live just outside of Toledo and we visit Great Wolf in Sandusky quite often. You should call them and speek with someone at the front desk directly (not reservations) if you can't get a rate in your budget online. This will work very well in your favor, especially if you've never been there before. I know they offer some nights during off-peak times for as low as $99 per night. Don't get too wrapped up in all of the fancy rooms. They're fun, but your kids are very little and won't spend a whole lot of their energy there anyway.

In Cincinnati, the zoo, aquarium, waterparks and such have already been mentioned. However, there is also the Musuem Center at Union Terminal. They have a Cincinnati History Musuem, Natural History Musuem, and a Childrens Musuem. There is also the Children's Theater of Cincinnati, you could check it out and see what is playing (currently, it is "The Jungle Book"). Approximately 1/2 hr north of Cincinnati, in West Chester, there is EnterTRAINment Junction, which is a train themed family entertainment center. Just over the river in Convington, KY there is Totter's Otterville, a village of play, discovery and fun. We have not yet been to the EnterTRAINment Junction, but have heard it is lots of fun and it is on our list of things to do. The same goes for the Children's Theater and Totter's Otterville. We have not yet been there, but they, too, are on our list.

Oh, something else that might be fun... take a boat ride on the river (check out B&B Riverboats) or take a train ride on the LM&M Railroad (about 40-45 minutes north of Cincinnati in Lebanon.)

Have you checked Coco Key in Sharonville (about 15 mins north of Cincinnati)? It is similar (but smaller) to Great Wolf, but from what I've heard, prices are cheaper. You could stay there and also take one day to visit the zoo, which would be about a 10-15 minute drive. Our zoo is excellent!! My kids LOVE going there (they were 1,3,4,&8 this past summer and we had a season pass)! Also, the Newport Aquarium is fun, but a bit pricey. It would be about a 20-30 minute drive from Sharonville, as it is just across the river in Newport, KY.

Here in Columbus you have the zoo, the Blue Jackets if you want to go to a hockey game (my girls 4 and 2 have been going since they were born and LOVE it), you can get the cheap seat tickets for like $10, and the baby will be free, COSI (fun for ALL ages), and many many malls- my personal favoriate :). Also, if you come to Cbus and stay downtown, go to the North Market for lunch and get the kids a Jeni's ice cream. It's our FAVORITE!

If you go to Cincy in the summer you could go to a Reds game, the zoo, the aquarium, and there are great parks.

Have fun, and let us know what you end up doing!

Check Kalahari in Sandusky

There is also Castaway Bay which is owned by Cedar Point. It is smaller than Great Wolf and Kalahari and would probably be the better choice since you have very young kids. Plus if you stay there and go to Cedar Point, you can get your tickets for $29 instead of $46.99

We've done the "staycation" before and did things in Columbus. We have COSI, which is our science museum. Very fun! In the same area of downtown, we have a small-scale ship of the Santa Maria. They do tours. Our Zoo is run by Jack Hannah and it includes a water park.

Lots of fun things to do in Columbus!