NFT: Gettysburg area with a 9 year old

It's been a long time since I've been, but I do remember how much walking there is and my expectation would be your 9-year old will be exhausted at the end of the day. If you are staying at a hotel with a pool, that may be your best bet.

Thanks for that suggestion.

I was just thinking that, since we have what amounts to three days, we might be able to get some more historical sight seeing in.

Also, if you want the battlefield to mean more to your 9-year old, you might want to show him/her select clips from the movie Gettysburg.

For example, if he/she sees the scene at Little Round Top from the movie, then he/she might be more like, "Whoa, this is where that really happened!"

But in general, a 9 yo will lose interest with just a tour of the physical battlefield. Mix in a ghost tour at night, pool time in the afternoon, battlefield in the morning. Be sure to take in the immersive Cyclorama.

In comment 14482678 Diver_Down said:

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But in general, a 9 yo will lose interest with just a tour of the physical battlefield. Mix in a ghost tour at night, pool time in the afternoon, battlefield in the morning. Be sure to take in the immersive Cyclorama.

Good call on the ghost tours and Cyclorama.

We went to a diorama of the battle prior to touring it and not only did my family enjoy it, but it seemed to help them have a much better perspective of what we were seeing when touring the battlefield.

Here is a link to the place we went.

https://www.gettysburgdiorama.com/

We also did a self driving tour and I found it much better for doing with the family than something too organized. We could stop and get out wherever we chose and stayed longer at spots they were more interested in, and less at a spot they weren't. We stopped for lunch when we wanted and easily drove back and took up right were we left off when we were ready. We even went back the next day to spend more time finishing up some of the tour we had rushed through towards the end of the first time around.

Here is a link to the driving tour we used. It was informative and also had many interesting stories. It made it very easy to drive and follow on your own pace.

https://www.destinationgettysburg.com/members/battlefield-driving-tours.asp

We bought it at the Farnsworth House, 401 Baltimore Street. They sold it or had an option to rent it if you aren't interested in keeping it.

Enjoy yourselves!

I just came back from Gettysburg last weekend after taking my 9 year old son for the first time. You might want to keep your expectations low. I’ve been there many times before but we didn’t see the whole battlefield. My son got exhausted. We got there around 11, saw the movie and cyclorama and hit the battlefield around noon. By 230 my son’s attention span was waning and he was complaining about being tired.

Consider the key points you want to see on he battlefield and go there first, that way if you need to cut things short you will make sure you’ve seen the key points you are interested in.

I have a really good Gettysburg game on my iPad. I’ll bring it with us on the tour.

How far away is it? Not the biggest, scariest rides, but could be about right for a 9-year-old.

National Park Service has many videos on different parts of the battle and the battlefield. They are fascinating. He will like those.

In comment 14482891 section125 said:

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National Park Service has many videos on different parts of the battle and the battlefield. They are fascinating. He will like those.

These are videos by actual Park Rangers.....

Right near the MD PA border. Some of the best barbecue in the mid Atlantic area. Hidden gem.

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Rent or bring bicycles.

Drive down to Cunningham Falls State Park and do the short hike to the falls. Also consider Caladonia State Park or Pine Grove Furnace State Park (Midway point of Appalachian Trail)

Eat...lots of good places to eat in Gettysburg.

Hershey Park...will be packed.

Spend time at little round top and devil's den. My kids favorite spots. Your kid won't give a crap about most of it...and it is going to be really hot. Don't try and take it all in at once.

9 may be a little young but when my youngest was 11. We took a horse tour from the Union to Confederate sides and we all loved it. What a different quiet perspective.

battlefield is a cool place for a visit.

Got to go to the Cyclorama for certain.

The town is also very charming with some good eats...

place 10 miles outside of town. It’s not really a zoo but I think you can go see the animals. There’s also a kid’s entertainment facility in Hanover that has go-karts, mini golf, an arcade, etc. It’s about 15 miles from Gettysburg, in the other direction from the animal place.

you could drive over to Chambersburg and fly fish the spring creek that runs through town. It's a beautiful little spring creek, and there are several spots that are easily accessible.

In comment 14482890 lugnut said:

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How far away is it? Not the biggest, scariest rides, but could be about right for a 9-year-old.

Hershey Park is a little less than an hour's drive. Might be a nice surprise on day 2, after a boring for a 9 year old tour of the battlefields.

Also, your about 30 minutes from history downtown Frederick, MD. Tons of great restaurants there and the walking downtown is fun with a lot of summer activities.

FYI.....Chubby's Barbeque in Emmitsburg, MD is just a few minutes away and really great for the area.

...I absolutely hated it. Bored out of my mind. Unless your kid is some bizarre war zealot, I'd go with a different plan, man.

In Harrisburg a few years back on a drive from Pittsburgh to Philly. Not a bad place to see some cool history and it's also air conditioned, which helps.
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