Attractions for Kids and Hotels in KC

Moon marble is cool ive heard, but not been there. It's in bonner springs. My girls loved the steamboat Arabia, both are interested in history. Haven't been there for a couple of years but I would pass on the zoo. Been to much better ones. Lots of walking. Kaleidoscope is awesome.

Hi C., I would definitely go to Deanna Rose! It is very nice there and wonderful for the kids to see. I would love to go to Legoland myself, and the Aquarium, so that would ge a good choice. Other things you might check out to do, are The Coterie Theater, and maybe the T Rex Cafe. Those are really neat things to do with kids. You can google them and get any information you need. Crown Center would be a nice place to stay, but so would Overland Park, if you will be out this way anyway. The highways are so close and you can commute easily. And the suburbs are much safer anyway. Hope you have a great time!!

Deanna Rose Farm/Park is wonderful! And... it is free! (I think there are extra things you can pay for, though.) (Actually, Mon-Thurs it is free... Fri-Sun $2 a person, under 1 is free... still worth it!)

There are a lot of things to see, and opportunities to feed/pet the farm animals. There is also a small water area where kids can splash and cool off a bit.....

We took my grandson there when he was about 1 1/2...... he had a lot of fun!

Take an extra change of clothes... they may get muddy/wet, also.

Born and raised in KC so here is my 2 cents.

I would stay downtown, maybe at Crown Center. Probably more expensive than the suburbs, but Science City, Kaliedoscope, Legoland and the new Aquarium are all RIGHT THERE! As a matter of fact, I'm taking my 17 year old to Legoland and the Aquarium next week. ;)

Deanna Rose is a wonderful park, it actually is near where I live, but it is a full 30 minutes south of downtown and the other attractions. So think of it as by itself and away from the others. But worth the drive if you are so inclined

I haven't been to Worlds of Fun in probably 30 years and no desired to ever go back. I'm also not a huge water park fan and you can only do the Great Wolf one if you are staying at the hotel.

Have fun!

Do not miss Science City!!....kids LOVE it!!! When my youngest grandson was here last time & Science City wasn't open, he cried although he was almost too old to be that upset - he had just looked so forward to seeing it again & he doesn't get to KC from Texas that often. There's a keyboard they can play with their feet, they can solve crime/mystery, be a doctor, dig for dinosaur bones....so much fun!

I highly recommend the farmstead. I don't think you will be disappointed, it's been one of my kids favs since they were tiny! I think the suggestion about staying near Crown Center is probably a good one. Crown Center has a ton of great stuff for kids, as well as Union Station. I can't believe no one has suggested the zoo! My kids LOVE the zoo! Although, I will say it is big! Lots of walking, but the KC zoo is internationally recognized for their African animals, elephants and Nikita is really cool (the polar bear). And they may have the new tiger exhibit down by then too!
I think Deanna Rose is a can't miss with kids, think about what your kids would enjoy and plan from there! Have a great trip! J.

We love the art museum and WW1 museum, but those probably would not interest young children. There is a Hallmark center downtown and across the street is a mall with lots of things for young children.
We stayed at the Homestead Village on Main street. It was a very good value for the money.

I second the suggestion to stay at/near crown center. You will find so much to do! There is a free children's exhibit in crown center itself. This summer's theme is dinosaurs. It just opened last week so I haven't been yet, but the ones in the past have been great and did I say FREE? :) I love free.

Also, connected to that are Union Station with Science City, planetarium, model train exhibit (that part is free/donation); Sea Life Aquarium - pricey, but cheaper if you buy tix online; LegoLand - ditto on online tix and only 2 rides so she might not like it; Kaleidoscope (also free and awesome!); and a lot of stores and restaurants that cater to kids.

By connected I mean there is a walkway that links all of these attractions so you wouldn't even have to go outside, much less ever get in your car! But outside is a great fountain area that you can play in to cool off, with tables for picnics right there.

For a short trip to KC, the convenience and wide variety of things to do in just those 3 blocks for all ages can't be beat.

I do like Deanna Rose as others suggested but it is FAR from everything else in KC. Still, if the kids like farm things with adorable animals, baby goats to feed and a playground to run around on, it's worth the drive. You just won't be able to do much of anything else that same day, unless you have time to go a little farther south to the Overland Park Arboretum that is also quite lovely to walk around. And if you stay close to it, you won't have time to drive to other things closer to the city or get to stay long if you only have 1/2 days.

Deanna Rose is so much fun, we just went last weekend. We try to go a lot, since it's so cheap and my daughter loves looking at all the animals and then playing on the playgrounds.

If your 6 year old is mature enough for museums, we went to the Toy and Miniature Museum earlier this spring, and it was so much fun! My daughter (5) loved looking at all the Victorian dollhouses (me too!) and the barbie section was fun. You can't play with them, but she loved looking at them all.

We haven't done any of the other things on your list, though, so I don't know if they're awesome or not.

I stay at home with 4 little ones, and have done all of these things, most of them numerous times. I am surprised no one has said Science City for your 3rd attraction. I think this is the most fun out of all the other "scape, scopes", and it's downtown also. Wonderscope and Kidscape are fun, but more than likely you have something like those in your home town, both just have rooms set up with different activities such as water table, ball room, dress up, etc. While you are at Science City there are other things to do at Union Station also like visit the model train exhibit, there's a planetarium, and an IMax theatre I believe. I get spoiled with Deanna Rose being right here and we go about every other week, but if you are from out of town it's a great place to visit and spend the day at. I would make it a "must do".

We LOVE Deanna Rose and would highly recommend it! If you are staying downtown then it is a far drive, but possibly still worth it. If you do all the things and look at everything it will easily take you most of the morning and afternoon. You can eat lunch, get ice cream, ride ponies, fish, etc. It's way fun! It is free to enter M-Th but is still worth the $2 admission for the weekend. The other things do cost money, but not a lot and still worth it for a vacation I think.

Crown Center is fun. There is a fun toy store and we also love the free exhibits as someone else mentioned. Plus there is a little candy store right by its and we love to get some candy when we go. There is also Fritz's where the food gets delivered by a train. You can easily be entertained for a few hours. Across the street there is a fountain that you can run through, just be sure to bring extra clothes, but the kids will love it. And yes, Kaliedoscope is great!

Westport is not all that kid friendly, but there is an amazing ice cream place called Murray's and it's only a 10 minute drive from downtown. It's a local place and they make all their ice cream in store. It's honestly the best ice cream I've ever had and I highly recommend stopping in at least once!

You could also look into a T-Bones game. It's in Kansas City, Kansas and is a fairly easy drive from everywhere in the city. It's a minor league team and the games are fun and cheap! There are lots of shops and restaurants around in the outlet mall.

As far as Wonderscope and Kidscape, they are fun (well Wonderscope is only okay actually) but if you only have 2 days, I would skip them.

The Plaza is also a good location to stay b/c it's close to a lot of things, including downtown. It's mostly shops and restaurants, but it's nice to walk around and look at all the fountains, etc. One of our favorite restaurants in Blanc, gourmet burgers that are way yummy! They have a nice kids menu and everything is seriously awesome! Andre's is also right off the Plaza and has the best quiche I've ever tasted! They have a lunch menu each day but it only borders on being kid friendly. BUT, their pastry case is to die for and you can always stop in for just that!

There are some parks close by too. Loose park is close and has a giant rose garden and playground. Brookside is just South of the Plaza and is another adorable area to visit. They have a fabulous children's bookstore called The Reading Reptile which is worth a visit if you are looking for things to do. It's locally owned and operated and has things to play with (including a ride on pony that cost a dime!!) and TONS of books to read. Next door is fabulous 5 and dime store too. The Roastarie is a local coffee shop also located in Brookside.

I do not recommend the zoo. It's not that great. The Polar Bear is awesome and my kids love the zoo but honestly, yours is way better!

I tried to include all of our local favorites b/c that's my favorite part of traveling. I always want to visit the local places because we have all the same chains as other people! ;)

Have fun!!