Last year, we were very ambitious when we visited Puerto Rico for spring break! This year, we decided to stay more local, while still finding new things for the kids to see. This led us spend two nights in Milwaukee!
Pfister Hotel
Picking the hotel was the toughest decision of the planning for me, because the kids have been so obsessed with the hotel we stayed at for our Chicago adventures; it was a lot of pressure! I ended up picking a “tower room” for us at the Pfister Hotel, and we loved it.
Because our room was ready later than expected, they offered us the Pfister Club for free and we gladly accepted! The breakfast, snacks, coffee/tea, and cans of pop that were included in the Club were awesome, as was the view from the lounge. The pool is on the same floor as the Club Lounge – the 23rd – which meant it also had a great view of the city, making it a pretty cool experience. The kids had fun ending our nights with a swim (while I worked my way through ‘Project Hail Mary’, because I couldn’t put it down)
Milwaukee Public Museum
Our first stop was the Milwaukee Public Museum. I would say this museum was geared toward adults and kids older than ours (5 & 7), but there was so much to see that we still easily filled a couple of hours. Some of our favorites were the Butterfly Wing, Dome Theater, Streets of Old Milwaukee (including a purchase at the real candy shoppe hiding in the displays), and the different cultural/regional displays on the third floor.
Riverwalk
On our way to dinner, we made a point to walk along the river for a bit. Unfortunately, we had some crummy, rainy weather, so we didn’t follow it too far, but we did run into the famous Fonz statue on our route!
SafeHouse
This one was a hit! SafeHouse is a spy-themed restaurant, with cool decor throughout. To get in, you even have to provide a password (not really: if you don’t know it, the door person just has you do a quick silly dance or something)!
After ordering your food, you can set off on a scavenger hunt, trying to find the answers to clues throughout the restaurant. This was, of course, the best part. They also had a magician doing tricks near one of the bars, which was fun too. When you’re done with your meal, make sure you have someone direct you to the secret exit (it’s pretty cool).
Discovery World
Discovery World is kind of an interesting mash-up of a science museum; half of it focuses on technology and the other half is an aquarium!
We explored the tech side first. There were a lot of the typical hands-on type of exhibits that you’d find at a science museum, but my 7-year-old was especially pumped about the VR section, where there were a few different scenarios you could select to view in the goggles. While he tried those out, my younger daughter was content to lead me around and check out anything that looked interesting.
When we were all ready to switch gears, we headed to the aquarium side. We got to see some cool frogs (a current fave), a huge tank full of Lake Michigan native fish, and explore more hands-on displays.
What’s especially cool about Discovery World is that it’s located right on the lake, so you get really nice views from the big windows throughout the museum!
3rd Street Market Hall
By now, I’m pretty in tune with what will be a crowd pleaser for my crew. But everyyy now and then I try to sneak in something food-related that seems fun, and get a resounding thumbs-down. That was the case with the 3rd Street Market Hall. To the kids, it was no big deal, just a bunch of sitting around.
I won back some favor from them when I ordered us an ice cream flight from Bebe Zito, though! Husband enjoyed his food and I enjoyed one really yummy cocktail.
Big Putts Mini Golf
I too, like Big Putts, and I cannot lie. Especially because I defeated my husband in mini golf for the first time ever here. (!!!) Big Putts was a great stop when one of the evenings was rainy, since it’s indoor, but the course was really well-done and fun too!
Mitchell Park Domes
The Mitchell Park Domes is made up of 3 large beehive-shaped domes that each spotlight a different ecosystem. There’s a Desert dome, Tropical dome, and a Floral dome, which is updated throughout the year. Unfortunately we visited during one of the transitional times for the Floral dome, so it was closed (and my husband was especially chagrined that they charged full price, not 2/3s of the cost, haha)
I thought these were so cool! It was neat to step through two totally different environments and see all the cool plants, plus it was just generally beautiful. After we checked out both domes, we stopped at the education center, which had more frogs (score!) and activities to do.
Dinosaur Discovery Museum
As our trip wrapped up, my son expressed to me [multiple times] that he was disappointed that the Public Museum didn’t have more dinosaurs. Well, lucky him, because I remembered the Dinosaur Discovery Museum that we visited years ago! The business hours worked out and we were able to make a stop on the drive home, so he could could fill more of his Dino quota.
I feel like we fit in some cool sights during our short visit to America’s Dairyland – looking forward to returning, maybe in the summer next time!
