Dear Jackson,
My mom said you get to stay with us a whole weekend! I can’t wait to show you all my favorite places since we’ve moved here. Kansas City is an absolutely incredible place to live and explore, and I am thrilled to share it with you during the three days you will be here.
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Here’s our itinerary:
Day 1
Downtown or bust! Crown Center is a bustling mecca of family fun and where we’ll start our adventures. Named after the famous Hallmark logo, Crown Center is not only home to the famous greeting cards’ world headquarters, but also Kaleidoscope, a free arts and crafts wonderland where kids like us can crank out a homemade puzzle along with other fun projects using Hallmark’s manufacturing leftovers! Afterward, we will venture to Crown Center Showplace to take in this season’s featured kids exhibit. Then we’ll sit back and enjoy an hour-long Broadway-style show at KC’s premiere children’s theater, the Coterie. I have no doubt we’ll have worked up a huge appetite after all our adventures, but don’t worry! Fritz’s Railroad Restaurant will deliver lunch (no, literally ... a motorized train will bring our food order to the table!). If we have room for something sweet, we can follow our noses up to Chip’s Chocolate Factory where more than 40 flavors of decadent fudge are being whipped up from scratch—yum!
The fun won’t stop there. A hop, skip and a jump away from Crown Center is Union Station, Kansas City’s beloved train-station-turned-family-attraction-extraordinaire. Within its walls are Science City and the Arvin Gottleib Planetarium, places where we can get up close and personal with simple machines, a dino dig, makers space and nature center and then sit back and view the farthest points in the sky. And thinking of stars, they’ll probably be visible outside soon, too, so it will be a perfect time to take in the view of KC’s gorgeous skyline as we venture home after an incredible day of fun.
Worlds of Fun: Planet Snoopy
Worlds of Fun: Planet Snoopy, Kansas City, MO
Day 2
After a day of urban excitement, I can’t wait to take you to Worlds of Fun, Kansas City’s own 236-acre amusement park themed after Jules Verne’s famous book Around the World in 80 Days. Divided into five sections (Scandinavia, Africa, Europa, the Orient and Americana), the park lets us globetrot to various shows, rides and attractions all in one day! There are rides like the Mamba for the thrill seekers in our group. And we might even spy a member or two of the Peanuts Gang in Planet Snoopy, a section where little guests can find rides just their size. Pounding the pavement is sure to make us break a sweat, but that’s just fine by me because we can cool off and catch some waves in the afternoon at Worlds of Fun’s sister park, Oceans of Fun. Thankfully, it’s easy to hop from one park to the other. My favorite spot is the wave pool. You’re going to love it. Surf’s up!
Day 3
Two modern city kids like us don’t need to wonder what life was like in bygone eras. We can experience it, thanks to exceptional local programs spread out all over the Kansas City metro. I’ll even let you take your pick! We could hop aboard a stagecoach at Olathe’s own Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop & Farm; step back into pre-Civil war era life at Missouri Town 1855, a 30-acre living history museum with more than 25 historical buildings on site; get schooled on local life, Depression-era style, at Shawnee Town 1929; or try our hands at turn-of-the-century farm life at Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead in Overland Park, a place where young guests can bottle feed goats, hop aboard a pint-size pedal tractor, take a pony ride and even fish with an old-school fishing pole at the local fishing spot.
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Arvin Gottlieb Planetarium at Union Station
Combining interactive astronomy education with spectacular public shows and night sky viewing opportunities, the Arvin Gottlieb Planetarium continues to be one of Kansas City's greatest connections to the night sky.
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Chip’s Chocolate Factory
Home to world famous Kansas City FudgeTM and a dizzying array of all handmade treats. Featuring imported Swiss Chocolate and time tested techniques, we make what we sell on site, right before your eyes. Your sweet tooth will thank you for visiting!!
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J Robert Schraeder
Coterie Theatre
The Coterie Theatre, named "One of the Five Best Theaters for Young Audiences" in the U.S. by TIME magazine, provides unique theatre experiences for families and young audiences.
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Crown Center
2450 Grand Blvd, Kansas City, MissouriCrown Center is the place for pure entertainment. With exciting events and unique attractions. A center full of locally owned shops and restaurants. And two luxury hotels so you can stay at the center of it all.
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Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead
Visitors can see more than 250 animals and birds, learn about growing flowers and vegetables, or experience an Indian encampment, a one-room country schoolhouse and a turn-of-the-century main street.
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Kaleidoscope
At Kaleidoscope, children use their imaginations to make art with left-over materials from Hallmark’s manufacturing processes. Some materials are cut into shapes, while others are left just as Hallmark sends them.
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Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop and Farm
Visit the only working stagecoach stop open to the public on the Santa Fe Trail. Relive the adventures of early stagecoach passengers. Tour the home, blacksmith shop and farm. Mahaffie offers many events throughout the year, including hands-on pro...
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Missouri Town Living History Museum
Experience the sights, sounds, and smells of a small Missouri town on the eve of the Civil War. Missouri Town is a living history museum with more than 25 buildings dating from 1822 – 1860 spread across nearly 30 picturesque acres.
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Oceans of Fun
With waves of fun from mild to wild, Oceans of Fun offers AMAZING for everyone in the family. Extreme water slides appeal to thrill seekers and kiddos love our pint-sized slides, geysers, and foundations at Crocodile Isle.
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Science City at Union Station
Kansas City’s Science Center, Science City at Union Station Kansas City, is a dynamic, hands-on science center featuring nearly 200 individual interactive exhibits and daily programming. Kids of all ages experience the amazing world of science fir...
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Shawnee Town 1929
Shawnee Town 1929 is an active living history museum, where visitors of all ages learn what it was like to live in Shawnee, Kansas in 1929. Engaging and thoughtful tours, exhibits and programs will allow visitors to experience a typical day in an...
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dszc Getty Images/iStockphoto
Union Station
A place for great adventure. Where Kansas City Connects. All of these phrases – and more – are regularly used to describe Union Station. Visitors of all ages, from all places and for all reasons tie Union Station to special and magical moments.
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Worlds of Fun
Kansas City’s amusement park with 235 acres of family rides, thrill rides, and waterslides, including seven world-class rollercoasters and admission Oceans of Fun, the city’s first waterpark.
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After all that old-fashioned fun, we can indulge in modern comforts, tasty grub and high-tech gaming at Shawnee’s Incredible Pizza, a food and game attraction that is about far more than pizza (although they have more than 100 flavor combinations of that, too!). Their colossal buffet includes hot dogs, soups, salads and pasta (not to mention a taco bar!) and is sure to please even the pickiest of eaters. But the fun doesn’t stop there. After we eat, it’s playtime. Laser tag, bumper cars, video games, rides and attractions await!
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As you can see, there is so much to do here in Kansas City, and this is only the tip of the iceberg! I guess there’s just one thing left to do … you’ll have to plan another trip here soon after so I can show you some more of my favorite KC places to eat, play and explore!
Sincerely,
Mason
Lauren Greenlee is a homeschooling mom of four, a KC native and a staycation enthusiast.