Charleston, SC tips

[iheartdisney]

We will be going to Charleston, SC (North Charleston, actually) for a weekend wedding. We are traveling with a 4 yr. old and a 5 yr. old and will be there for about 2 1/2 days. Are there any "must sees" that anyone can suggest? My husband is a history buff and with our short time there I'd like to make sure what we do is worthwhile. Any suggestions or tips at all would be appreciated!

Thanks!

~Maureen

[Tick-Tock]

With a history buff, I'd think that Fort Sumter (the fort that saw the beginning of the Civil War) would be a must-do. The kids would probably like the boat ride out to it as well.

[busterthebronco]

be ready. you will gain at least five pounds in that town!:eat:
oh, there are some cool plantation homes nearby!

[McGoofy]

I actually live in North Charleston and work in downtown Charleston. I have lived here most of my life. I am really proud of my hometown!:D I think you could have a lot of fun in a weekend. North Charleston is less historic, but we have a place called Frankie's Fun Park that is a lot of fun for kids. It has stuff like minature golf, go-carts, climbing wall, etc... a huge variety of things and something for all ages. There is also a huge outlet mall in the North area. However, if you want to focus on historic things, then you will want to spend your time downtown. Just a few weeks ago my son's class went on a field trip to Ft. Sumter. You take a boat ride out to the fort and then you get to tour the fort for about an hour before the boat leaves to return. Something really nice that you can do for free is drive around the East Bay battery, and you will see a lovely view of old historic homes that are beautiful. There is a small park there with lots of old oak trees, and it overlooks the water. Kids can play on the old cannons that are still there, and it makes for great pictures! You can also park for free in that same area and walk to the nearby Market, where locals have booths set up selling great Charleston souveniers. You can also see the ladies that sit and weave sweetgrass baskets. That's an amazing talent! The Children's Museum of the Lowcountry is a really cool place to take kids. It's built inside an old railroad station. My son could never get enough of it when he was younger. If you enjoy seafood, I highly recomend two places--Hyman's Seafood or The Wreck. Our family loves both of these places and the seafood is local and always fresh at both. If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask! Oh, and when you drive by the Medical University of SC while you are downtown, think of me...that's where I work!;)

[elmjimmlm]

We have visited Boone Hall Plantation which is where North and South with Patrick Swayze was filmed...It is a great tour...:thumbsup:

[Melanie]

I love, love, love Charleston. It's by far my favorite city in the States. But you have McGoofy here who is the resident expert! :thumbsup:

I second visiting Boone Hall Plantation and taking the boat out to Fort Sumter (great way to see the beautiful Battery front homes from the water). First-timers really should do a carriage tour.

And we love Hyman's! :tasty:

Hey, and if you like baseball, try and catch a Riverdogs game. :baseball:

Personally, I just like to walk downtown, taking in the beautiful homes and gorgeous flowers, and you'll probably catch me peeking in backyards and such. :blush:

[iheartdisney]

I've taken all your suggestions, researched their websites and jotted down all the info. We leave tomorrow and I'm so excited! Thanks to everyone for your suggestions! I'll let you know how the trip goes and what we ended up trying/having time for!

~Maureen

[wdw_bound]

We visit family in that area frequently (we are in a different part of the state), and I'd strongly recommend Charlestowne Landing. It is a wonderful state park with lots of land for the little ones to run, run, run, which I'm sure will be great for them after having to use their best wedding manners ;)

There is an Animal Forest which is actually a preserve with animals the early settlers were likely to have encountered, an Elizabethan era ship (man, those things were small!!) replica that you can board and walk around - my little ones love to play pirate there - and sometimes settler era reenactments. It's a fairly well kept secret, as it's entrance is in the heart of a residential district, but we love it. I won't post a link due to TOS, but if you google Charles Towne Landing, it should be your first option.

The landing is the site of the first permanent European settlement in the Carolinas, so a great choice for a history buff with little ones.

Have a great weekend!

[McGoofy]

I've taken all your suggestions, researched their websites and jotted down all the info. We leave tomorrow and I'm so excited! Thanks to everyone for your suggestions! I'll let you know how the trip goes and what we ended up trying/having time for!

~Maureen

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend here in Charleston! Except for it just being hot, the weather is beautiful--not a cloud in the sky!:sun: I actually thought of you when I was on my way to work last night (Friday). I work 7pm-7am, so around 6:30pm or so I was on the interstate heading downtown. I was almost downtown when I got behind an SUV that had Georgia tags and a Tinkerbell window decal. I couldn't help but wonder if that was our visiting Intercot Disney fan that I was behind!:mickey: (We should have Intercot window decals!;))

I hope you enjoy your mini vacation. Can't wait to hear back from you to see what you ended up doing!:thumbsup:

[Beast_fanatic]

(We should have Intercot window decals!;)

They're available here (http://www.intercot.com/shop/stickers/default.asp).

[gwfx1031]

Patriot Point is very cool also with the aircraft carrier tour and other displays.

[Figment52]

What a small world! DD got back from a 5 day trip to Charleston on the day you arrived. She's also an avid history buff and found Charleston to be one amazing city. Hope you had a good time!:mickey:

[iheartdisney]

I'm so sorry I'm late in posting this! There's no WDW trip planned for the near future and to be honest it's hard for me to visit Intercot when I don't know when I'll be back to Disney. It's just too depressing....but I digress.....

Charleston was WONDERFUL! There is so much to do and see we can't wait to go back. We visited Fort Sumter, visited the Market and took a carriage ride. The carriage ride was so fun AND we paused to watch a wedding party take photos at Battery Park (I think that's what it's called). I thought, hmmmm...those are the colors of Elise's wedding. Must be a popular choice this year - never thinking that could be Elise! It was! They took pictures the day before the wedding. Anyway, we loved Hyman's! The boys still talk about Fort Sumter and we visited almost 3 months ago. Our next visit will include Charles Towne Landing and Boone Hall Plantation. I found brochures and stuck them in our travel book so I won't forget!

Thank you ALL for the suggestions! McGoofy - And everytime we passed the Medical College I waved! But no, that wasn't us on the interstate. We drive an SUV but not with a Tinkerbell sticker.

All of your suggestions made our short stay soooo enjoyable. Thank you, thank you. Without you, we would have wandered aimlessly and dined at tourist traps. Isn't the internet/Intercot amazing?

Thanks y'all! ~Maureen :thanks:

[joonyer]

When you go back to Charleston, i would also highly recommend going to see the CSS Hunley (Civil War Submarine), especially if you're interested in history. It's fascinating, still in the lab where there are working on it after raising it from the bottom of Charleston Harbor in 2000.

Information about tours can be found here:

http://www.hunley.org/main_index.asp?CONTENT=TOURS

[Diznee4Me]

Sorry I missed this topic when you first posted it.

I was going to sugggest Hyman's but McGoofy beat me to it. A must for us every trip down.

Glad you had a great trip.