Alex and his cousin Julia are both are 12-year-olds. They have been companions since the cradle, so we felt it would be a good match for a 4-day weekend. We also planned to meet up with guides kjlouden and dhough. Karen and I have been trying to arrange this meeting for what seems like years. The timing seemed perfect so we gave it a go. No one could have predicted the horrible heat and humidity that we had to face. It’s August, I expected warm but this went way beyond that. Philadelphia Zoo- billed as the nations first zoo this is actually a great way to entertain children of any age. The temperature was daunting to be sure but we spent as much time as possible visiting the ind
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Philadelphia Zoo- billed as the nations first zoo this is actually a great way to entertain children of any age. The temperature was daunting to be sure but we spent as much time as possible visiting the indoor exhibits, of which there was plenty, taking advantage of the air-conditioned atmosphere.
Franklin Institute-This is a child’s dream museum, with the IMAX theater, the planetarium, and the loads of hands on exhibits. Even preteens who can look down on childish pursuits were very entertained here.
Reading Terminal Market- This offers ample opportunity to pick up the mounds of snacks it takes to feed two twelve year olds. We also ate three meals here at very reasonable prices.
Institute of Science- If your children love dinosaurs this is a must stop but even of they are picky preteens there is plenty of interesting stuff here. We watched two shows here, one live and one film and both were excellent. Stuffed animals aren't the only attraction; there are live animals on display.
Quick Tips:
Trolley Works Tour- This tour which can be done on either a double decker open air bus or an open air trolley offers first hand birds eye views of many of the historic sites. After about 45 minutes, both kids were bored senseless and nearly unconscious from heat. A good time to get off and visit one of the stops, in our case the Franklin Institute.
Lights of Liberty- in spite of the horribly ugly headphones both kids like this way of absorbing a little history. The visual parts are so-so but the audio is exceptionally vivid.
National Constitution Center- Although I thought the live show would be the attraction for the kids it was the hall of signers and the hands on exhibits that they really enjoyed. They plunked themselves down at computer screen and tried to decide Supreme Court Cases. Kids, they are a constant source of surprise
I had made reservations on line (you do have to pay .50 for each ticket to do this) to visit Independence Park on Sunday morning at 9:45. Neither child was the least bit interested. As Alex informed me, they had seen the Liberty Bell from the top of the tour bus and Independence Hall on the Lights of Liberty Tour, which was quite enough for them. They preferred sleeping in late, eating the hotel breakfast buffet and taking a taxi up to the art museum to take advantage of the free entry on Sundays. Ya gotta luv em.
Bargains are plentiful when booking a trip to Philly. I purchased our hotel at a bargain site for a night including tax. We received an upgrade to a suite at no additional charge at my request. I also purchased the City pass for a discounted price of . To put this in perspective the trolley tour is .
The Entertainment book also got us a one free admission to the Lights of Liberty Show more than paying for itself. I had also purchased in gift certificates to City Tavern for so we definitely planned a visit there.
Best Way To Get Around:
Getting around Philly is fast and easy. We used the Trolley works tour on Saturday. Though this is not fast, it will get you to most places you want to go. When I thought the trolley was taking too long, I called their office to see when I could expect the next one.
On Sunday it was so hot we opted to take a taxi everywhere. It involved four trips. The total cost without tip was about . It was just too hot to wait for a bus or Phlash. A day pass on Phlash would have cost us so I feel I got a pretty good bargain with the cab and I almost never had to wait more than a minute or two to find one. And since neither child had even traveled in a taxi they found it fascinating.
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