Memorial Day Weekend Planner

2012 Edition

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Kick off Summer Fun with celebrations at Kansas City's best Family-Friendly venues! Rock 'n Roll with the country's best children's performers at Jiggle Jam. Salute our Nation's Heroes at Celebration at the Station. Dive in to summer fun at local lakes and swim beaches. And celebrate opening day at the best pools in town!

Destination #1: Crown Center

Crown Center is THE PLACE to Be in Kansas City for Memorial Day Weekend! With the opening of the two newest attractions, LEGOLAND and Sea Life, a brand new FREE children's exhibit with Dinosaurs: Land of Fire & Ice, and our favorite Kid-Friendly Music Event of the year... Kansas City's very own Jiggle Jam, we can't think of a better way to kick off summer in Kansas City!

Jiggle Jam!

Jiggle Jam at Crown Center May 26th, 9 a.m. – 7 p.m. and May 27th, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. 816.997.8511 www.KCJiggleJam.com. The fifth annual Jiggle Jam Family Music Fest giggles, wiggles and jiggles into Downtown Kansas City on Memorial Day weekend bringing generations and communities together to experience live music and educational activities in a fun and positive atmosphere that the entire family can enjoy. Kid Rockers, both local and national, present an incredible family music festival that's a rockin' good time for everyone!

Stomp with the Dinosaurs!

Crown Center's BRAND NEW FREE Children's Exhibit Dinosaurs: Land of Fire and Ice™ debuts Memorial Day Weekend! Enjoy it through Sept. 9. Open during Crown Center shopping hours. 816.274.8444. Created by the Minnesota Children’s Museum, this interactive traveling exhibit transports visitors back in time to when the dinosaurs last roamed the earth. Encounter realistic, fully touchable dinosaurs, including a Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops. At the Big Dig, children unearth fossils and identify them in the Field Research Station. See a smoldering volcano, dinosaur puzzles, an “icy” slide and prehistoric cave. At the photo kiosk, visitors can take a photo with a dinosaur and email a digital postcard to family and friends. And, while you're there... be sure to follow our Tips for the BEST Day at Crown Center!

Visit the BRAND NEW LEGOLAND® Discovery Center!

Kansas City recently welcomed the grand opening of LEGOLAND® Discovery Center in Crown Center (2475 Grand Boulevard, KCMO. 816.471.4386). www.LEGOLandDiscoveryCenter.com, if you haven't visited this must-see attraction yet, it's a great addition to your Crown Center itinerary! LEGO® has long held a spot in the hearts of children as one of the must-have toys for creativity and now, LEGO® makes a home in Kansas City in this brand new larger-than-life attraction! Begin your journey on a ride into the unknown on laser chariots. Play with the world’s biggest box of LEGOS®. Watch a film in the LEGO® Studios 4D cinema and explore a miniature Kansas City that highlights 10 of our most popular local attractions in LEGO® MINILAND®. Your imagination will run wild in this new family favorite! This is truly one of Kansas City's MUST SEE Attractions for 2012! Get the inside scoop on this attraction with our Review of LEGOLAND! BONUS: Save $ with this exclusive LEGOLAND® Discovery Center coupon from KC Parent Magazine!

Explore Sea Life Kansas City

Next door to LEGOLAND, you'll find Sea Life at 2475 Grand Blvd, KCMO. 816.471.4386. Your family will be transported into an amazing underwater world with up-close views of more than 5,000 sea creatures! Come nose to nose with sharks in the walk-through underwater tunnel, experience the touch pool where you can hold a crab or touch a starfish, participate in educational demonstrations, watch animal feedings and explore this state-of-the-art home for many of the ocean’s most majestic creatures! www.Facebook.com/SeaLifeKansasCity BONUS: Save $ with this exclusive SeaLife coupon from KC Parent Magazine!

Destination #2: Celebration at the Station!

Celebration at the Station is THE Memorial Day Celebration for the Midwest! May 27, 7:30pm-9:30pm at Union Station (30 W. Pershing, KCMO). This is a FREE Memorial Day Celebration. www.CelebrationAtTheStation.com. Celebration at the Station is a wonderful patriotic celebration as Kansas City gathers to pay tribute to Veterans and celebrate freedom at a marvelous outdoor concert. The Kansas City Symphony performs a 90 minute concert, and the Grand Finale of the evening is a magnificent fireworks display behind Liberty Memorial choreographed to patriotic music and a 21-gun salute to Veterans. Pack a picnic, or buy food from vendors, bring lawn chairs and bottle water, and prepare to wave your flags and cheer as Kansas City celebrates America, freedom, and what Memorial Day is really all about!

Destination #3: Fairytales Can Come True!

Visit Powell Gardens where, from May 19 - Oct. 7, you can explore Fairy Houses & Forts: An Enchanting Garden Adventure. Enter a magical world of childhood fantasies come true during this imaginative exhibition. The exhibition will include seven large-scale fairy houses and fanciful forts to inspire, amuse and ignite an interest in exploring the great outdoors, along with whimsical garden displays and an indoor display of small-scale fairy gardens and houses. From the mysterious structure on Skeleton Island to the hide-in-plain-sight fun of "Mirror-Mirror," the exhibition is a garden kingdom waiting to be discovered and the exhibition is included with regular Garden admission.

Destination #4: Visit the Lake!

Kansas City Swim Beaches OPEN Memorial Day Weekend!

For land-locked Midwesterners craving a little sand between their toes, we can’t offer an ocean view, but we do feature several sandy swim beaches for affordable family fun in the sun! Tip: Kansas City's beaches open for the season on Memorial Day Weekend! Visit beach websites for hours and admission rates.

Boat Rental at Kansas City area Lakes:

  • Jackson County, MO, offers boat rental at Blue Springs Lake, Longview Lake and Lake Jacomo (816.503.4870, www.JacksonGov.org, keyword: boating).  All three lakes offer pontoon, bass boat and fishing boat rental. Lake Jacomo also features pedal boat and canoe rental.
  • Johnson County, KS, offers boat rental at Shawnee Mission Park and Kill Creek Park (913.312.8847, www.JCPRD.com). Boat rentals include pedal boats, canoes, two-person sailboats and fishing boats.
  • Clay County, MO, offers rental of pontoons and fishing boats at Smithville Lake (816.407.3420, www.SmithvilleMO.org).
  • Wyandotte County, KS, offers fishing boat rental at Wyandotte County Lake (913.299.8488, www.WyCoKCK.org).

Great Fishing Spots in Missouri and Kansas:

Tip: Read Fishing in KC for great advice when fishing with kids.

  • Kill Creek Park (Olathe, KS)
  • Shawnee Mission Park (Lenexa, KS)
  • Antioch Park (Olathe, KS)
  • Heritage Park (Olathe, KS)
  • Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead (Overland Park, KS)
  • Englewood Lake (Kansas City North, MO)
  • Lake of the Woods in Swope Park (Kansas City, MO)
  • Blue Springs Lake (Lee's Summit, MO)
  • Lake Jacomo (Blue Springs, MO)
  • Longview Lake (Kansas City, MO)

Destination #5: Ride the Rails!

Children, young and old, love trains. Screaming in the tunnels, listening to the rhythm of the tracks, and waving at passersby… memories of train rides are a highlight of childhood. A few highlights:  Kansas City Zoo FOTZ Members can upgrade to a Gold or Platinum Membership for unlimited train, tram, and carousel rides! The Belton, Grandview & KC Railroad is one of our favorites where you can enjoy rides on the weekends starting in May with 2pm rides on Saturdays and Sundays for just $8.50/person! In the summer they offer Ice Cream, Hot Dog, and Holiday Train Rides too! The KC Northern Railroad is only 50cents/each Memorial Weekend - Labor Day Weekend! On a rainy day, take your train lover indoors for a treat at Fritz's Railroad Restaurant where meals are delivered by train. And... the Midland Railway begins operation in June, but May is the month to make reservations for their annual sell-out event, "Day Out with Thomas" where fans ride with Thomas the Train and meet Thomas the Train characters! Bonus: If you plan to visit Branson this summer, consider staying at Caboose Junction where your kids will delight in sleeping overnight in cabooses turned campers! Read about our experience Camping in a Caboose for more information.

Destination #6: Dive In!

Enjoy a day at CoCo Key in Kansas City, MO, (816.737.0200) where you can play for a day or stay overnight (they are offering great combo packages with tickets to other local attractions!). CoCo Key features a 55,000 square foot indoor water park with a wading pool, slides, fast tube rides, activity pools, a lazy river and more! This is the premier attraction for families looking for an 'island vacation' at stay-in-town daycation prices!

Many of Kansas City's local pools, water parks, and spraygrounds open for the season on Memorial Day Weekend! Our new ONLINE guide to Kansas City's Pools, Waterparks, and Spraygrounds includes maps, directions, and descriptions to find the best pool near you!  For many families, summer means swimming and our local water parks boast giant water slides for the adventurous, lazy rivers for relaxation (okay, it depends on WHICH lazy river you're in whether it's really lazy....), and toddler pools with water play for every water lover! BONUS: Save $ on Swim Lessons with our Coupons!

Destination #7: Classic Family Fun!

Miniature Golf, Bowling, Arcades, GoKarts.... for many modern parents these are memories of youth. Now, you can make memories with your kids at Kansas City's family-friendly attractions.

Cool Crest is our favorite place to play! Classic family-fun can be enjoyed... whether you love gokarts, miniature golf, or arcades... Cool Crest is the place for fun. Cool Crest features 4 miniature golf courses with mechanical hazards, water traps, and decorations ranging from the Statue of Liberty to windmills and dragons. The dragon with the opening/closing mouth is every child's favorite. For 50 years, Cool Crest has been the prettiest mini-golf course in KC! Read about our Day at Cool Crest for the inside scoop on this popular attraction. Bonus: Use our exclusive KC Parent Cool Crest Coupon for great savings!

Bowling enthusiasts love to hit the lanes at the family-friendly Mission Bowl with two local locations! Start the summer off with bowling and continue the tradition all summer long. Mission Bowl is participating in the Kids Bowl Free Program... sign up on KidsBowlFree.com and your children may enjoy up to 2 Free games of bowling EVERY DAY all Summer long (shoe rental not included).

Still looking for more great family fun ideas in Kansas City? Check out our Kansas City Calendar of Events and Going Places in Kansas City on KCParent.com.