Visiting Kansas City, MO in June. Need travel ideas/coupons/discounts.

[momto2inKC]

I also have one more question for you all (well that I can think of for now. LOL) I have not found any sites that offer coupon deals like B1G1 or $5 off admission prices or kids are free for some of the museums, aquarium and attractions. I had signed up with a news letter that had these for St. Louis so I was hoping for something like that for KC. Any ideas???

The site I mentioned earlier www.visitkc.com is the only one I know of with attraction coupons for the area. If you click deals and special offers there are pages of them.

 

[KCmike]

Westport Flea Market has good hamburgers but it is a real dive! The others I haven't heard before.

Like above poster said only the vistkc site has any deals.

 

[bridget]

My children love Union Station and Crown Center.

We are Jack Stack fans for BBQ

 

[KCmike]

My favorites for BBQ in KC goes as follows:

1. Oklahoma Joe's - Best restaurant in a gas station...no lie (Anthony Bourdain rates it one of the top 13 places in the WORLD to eat before you die)
2. Smokehouse up North
3. Gates
4. LC's
5. Arthur Bryants
6. Jack Stack (down on my list because its just too expensive for what you get)
7. Zarda

Hope I didn't forget any...

 

[jedijill]

My favorites for BBQ in KC goes as follows:

1. Oklahoma Joe's - Best restaurant in a gas station...no lie (Anthony Bourdain rates it one of the top 13 places in the WORLD to eat before you die)
2. Smokehouse up North
3. Gates
4. LC's
5. Arthur Bryants
6. Jack Stack (down on my list because its just too expensive for what you get)
7. Zarda

Hope I didn't forget any...

KCMike....I like your list. OK Joes is the best anywhere! I stood in line for an hour a week ago Saturday...worth every minute! Remember if you eat a Gates...know what you want before you get in line....they will send you back to the back of the line if you don't know! Sort of like the Soup Nazi. I do like the cheesy corn at Jack Stack but that's about it.

Jill in CO (formerly of KC!)

 

[merekc]

I checked out some of the featured restaurants on the Food Network in KC. Here is a list of a few that I thought looked good:
Johnny's Bar-B-Q
Grinders
Extra Virgin
Westprt Flea Market Bar & Grill
Smokin Guns

I don't think you can always follow what you see on Food Network. They profiled one KC BBQ restaurant on one of the shows. I laughed out loud because it was so awful the time we ate there we have never gone back.

Westport Flea market is pretty well-known for their burgers (even though I've never gone).

Johnny's is pretty good BBQ but not one of the must stops in KC. Like others, I would also cast my vote for Oklahoma Joes before Johnny's. Gates doesn't thrill me. I think people either love it or hate it. You will get the experience of being yelled at as soon as you walk through the door for your order. Being your first time, if you want to read the menu beware in case this would make you uncomfortable. They are well-known (as is Arthur Bryants) if you want to go to well-known KC BBQ.

The others you mentioned aren't even really on my radar. Heard of 2 of them but they are not must do's in KC (IMO).

 

[jedijill]

I agree...don't go by the Food network. I watched that show and was like, huh? Go try the ones that were recommended in the thread...you won't go wrong.

Jill in CO

 

[navywifetill2002]

You didn't mention how old your kids are so I'm not sure where to take this as far as what you would want to do. I'm on a tight budget and always looking for a discount. Here are some of our hot spots (either for us or out of town guests)...

We spend a ton of time at http://paradise-park.com/

We had season passes to Union Station http://unionstation.org/index2.php last year and just found it wasn't worth it. The attractions at Science City were broke most of the time and it just wasn't enough to keep us interested. I would never pay full price to go there.

I grew up on Cedar Point so www.worldsoffun.com is not a place I would spend my money, just not worth it to me. I do know others (especially those with MS age kids that love going)

I am not a fan of Gates, like Arthur Bryants, but LOVE Jack Stack http://www.jackstackbbq.com/ (they have the best beans and cheesy corn around)

I have not been to the new legoland http://kansas.legolanddiscoverycenter.com/kansascity/ but have heard mixed reviews. If you're going to go be sure to buy your tickets on-line, it saves money and you get to skip the line.

I have not been to the new aquarium either http://www.visitsealife.com/Kansas-city/ but I have not heard such good things about it. I've heard the fish are "nice" but it can be gone through in an hour and thus not a good value for the cost. If you go be sure to buy these tickets on line as well to save.

We have Oak Park Mall (with a new Lego store and an American Girl store) http://www.thenewoakparkmall.com/shop/oakpark.nsf/index and Independence Center http://www.simon.com/mall/default.aspx?ID=176

I would recommend the Steamboat Arabia museum http://1856.com/

The WWI museum is not my thing but I've been there with all my out of town guests and it's just too much for me (not great if you have little kids either) http://www.theworldwar.org/s/110/new/index_community.aspx

US history wise there is the http://www.trumanlibrary.org/ the Truman home http://www.nps.gov/hstr/index.htm and Truman farm http://www.nps.gov/hstr/historyculture/truman-farm-home-photo-tour.htm

Discount wise we are not a great town. The Entertainment book is on sale for $12 and has BOGO for places like the Steamboat Arabia museum so it may be worth the investment if you can find some places in there to go. http://kansas-city.entertainment.co...rtainment book&cm_mmca1=17186494&LinkName=MSN

Sorry for all the links but I just thought it might make it easier then looking everything up. Any questions just ask!

 

[Daisy'sMama]

Wow you guys ALL left out my very favorite BBQ! How about Wabash BBQ in Excelsior Springs? It is in an old train station and it ROCKS!

I would second not wasting money on Worlds of Fun. We went last summer and had the whole park done in an hour and a half. Truly disappointing. Previous to that, I hadn't been there in years.

Independence is really something to enjoy if you like history. We have the Truman House and Truman Library (already mentioned), but on the Square there is also the old jail, Clinton's Ice Cream Parlor, and horse and wagon rides. Of course, I am biased toward Independence.

Have a great trip! Also, it is cool to see so many Dis'ers from KC!!!

 

[KCmike]

Wow you guys ALL left out my very favorite BBQ! How about Wabash BBQ in Excelsior Springs? It is in an old train station and it ROCKS!

I would second not wasting money on Worlds of Fun. We went last summer and had the whole park done in an hour and a half. Truly disappointing. Previous to that, I hadn't been there in years.

Independence is really something to enjoy if you like history. We have the Truman House and Truman Library (already mentioned), but on the Square there is also the old jail, Clinton's Ice Cream Parlor, and horse and wagon rides. Of course, I am biased toward Independence.

Have a great trip! Also, it is cool to see so many Dis'ers from KC!!!

I have heard good things about Wabash but Excelsior is so far away from metro KC. I need to get up there and try it for sure.

 

[KCmike]

KCMike....I like your list. OK Joes is the best anywhere! I stood in line for an hour a week ago Saturday...worth every minute! Remember if you eat a Gates...know what you want before you get in line....they will send you back to the back of the line if you don't know! Sort of like the Soup Nazi. I do like the cheesy corn at Jack Stack but that's about it.

Jill in CO (formerly of KC!)

Thanks Jill! Small World isn't it? We are headed your way to fly out of Denver here is a few weeks. Disneyland here I come!

 

[kkandaj]

I'm from the North end of KC, up by the airport. There are many great places mentioned in this thread.

Depending on your kids ages, Deanna Rose and Kaleidoscope are excellent budget choices! I went to Kaledioscope as a child and love taking my kiddos there. I'm thankful that Hallmark has that free opportunity for kids.

As for Worlds of Fun/Oceans of Fun--we have season passes for both, because it's cheap. They are both the run of the mill amusement park/water park. If you don't visit amusement parks or live near one, I think it would be fun. KC people are spoiled because we have it in our backyard. There are several thrill rides and a nice kid area. It is not themed anything like Disney of course, but if you didn't live near an amusement park, it would be a fun place to visit.

I have also heard the aquarium is not worth the money, which is very disappointing. We've waited and waited for it to open.

My fave bbq is Smokehouse--there are 4 throughout the city. You mentioned Smokin Guns--two of my senior managers purchase Smokin Guns every time they come to KC (about every 3 months) and ship it back home (one to Boston, one to Seattle). It is just okay for me, but they L.O.V.E. it. It is located in North Kansas City, right across the river from Downtown. People rave about Jack Stack's also, which again, I am not a fan of. Oklahoma Joe's is really good. It really depends on what you like.

Hope you have a great trip! KC is a neat place to visit. There is definitely enough to keep you busy for a couple of days.

 

[Amber74]

KCMike that is where I live. If she is visiting WOF/OOF and T-Rex I would also not suggest driving all the way to Excelsior Springs. It is good food but I greatly prefer Smokehouse. I definitely agree with a PP that said we are spoiled having an amusement park right here because it would be alot of fun if you did not have that close to you. Also, I agree about just having dessert at T-Rex because I think the food is not that great. I've eaten there twice and both times it was gross. The dessert mentioned earlier is really cool though. Trix what ages are your kids?

I have heard good things about Wabash but Excelsior is so far away from metro KC. I need to get up there and try it for sure.

 

[Coaliesquirrel]

Another vote here for OK Joe's! JackStack is good, but we call it "snooty-Q" because of the high prices, so if you're looking to maximize your dollar, OK Joe's is where you want to be.

One thing I didn't see mentioned is Moon Marble. If you're going to T-Rex, you'll be quite close to (maybe even driving thru) Bonner Springs, where Moon Marble is. You can watch artists make marbles, see TONS of fancy marbles & glass crafts, and even pick yourself out a "buttload" (seriously, the jar looks like a butt) of marbles yourself for around $15 from what has to be over 100 choices. The building is very plain & dumpy-looking from the outside, but it's amazingly large & cool inside. They have all kinds of "traditional" type kid stuff - all the classics - so it's a great place to shop if you need a kid gift. Oh - they're not open Sunday or Monday, so be sure to plan your days right if you want to go. I *think* they close at 5 the days they are open.

About T-Rex - we actualy go a fair amount (trying to take advantage of those $1.99 Wednesdays) because the food's surprisingly good. DH and I usually get the big appetizer sampler and just share that - which I think is in the neighborhood of $15 - and usually have more left over to take home. I highly recommend the coconut chicken tenders -- SOOO good! And really, pretty much anywhere at the Legends will cost just as much as T-Rex.

The Legends is at least partially (not all stores) an outlet mall, so if you're a shopper, you probably want to allow time for that. Right near T-Rex, there's a Charming Charlie outlet, which has an ungodly amount of women's accessories - not so much my thing, but everyone raves about it. Also nearby is a Gymboree outlet where you can earn but not spend Gymbucks, in case that matters to you.

Across streets but in the general "neighborhood" are Nebraska Furniture Mart and Cabela's.

Have a good trip!
Sheri
(who, as a Disney novice, has finally found a topic she can contribute to!)

 

[stitchfan18]

If you do want to go to WOF and are looking for a discount, I know price chopper (one of our local grocery stores) sells discounted tickets, and just heard on the radio that wendy's had $10 off coupons on their KC stores.

 

[apennel]

We visited the Lego Discovery Center at Crown Center last week and had a great time! My boys are 12 and 6, and both enjoyed our visit.

There are a few rides, one similar to Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, one like Aladdin's Carpets, and a 4-D show like Mickey's Philharmagic. These are all smaller in scale than the Disney attractions, but just so you get the idea.

There is a climbing area, several Lego building areas, and a karaoke area. We did a couple Lego Master Builder classes where they put a small model together as a group, these are ongoing thru the day. They also have a pretty cool Lego model of several KC landmarks with interactive displays.

It's not a huge place at all, but we spent about 4 hours there.

I would suggest buying tickets online in advance for a discount.

 

[Soccer_Mom]

I'm from Southeast Nebraska and my family spent memorial weekend down in Kansas City. We stayed next to the Legends mall and used many coupons that I found directly off of the Legends website. I agree about the T-Rex cafe, we went for lunch and it was expensive - wished we would have just did dessert. One shock to us was the 9.525% sales tax, we're use to paying only 5.5%.
Oak Park mall was also very nice - I just had to make a stop at the Disney Store to get my Disney fix.
There's a drive-in movie theatre that we wanted to go to, but never did make it.
Maybe next time.

 

[cstorm65]

We just finished a mini vacation in Kansas City from out of town. Here are some highlights:

1) KC Zoo - This is a great zoo. There is quite a bit of walking, but good exhibits. Around $11 for entry for adults.
2) Schlitterbahn - Loved this water park. If it weren't for me loving roller coasters I would definitely recommend this place over Worlds of Fun. It was just awesome. Organized well, good food, great rides, and it was so easy to relax. Much, much better than a typical water park. You can get in the water and travel to the entire other end of the park without ever having to get out of the water. I may have just talked myself into recommending this place over Worlds of Fun.
3) Worlds of Fun - Good park, four good roller coasters, but a below average theme park other than that. We enjoyed it and it was not very crowded, but I think I would recommend Schlitterbahn more. This park just did not impress me, but no theme parks will after visiting Disney World.
4) The Legends Outlets area, by Schlitterbahn, is really cool. Good shopping and some great restaurants. We ate at Jazz: Louisiana Kitchen, although I would only go there on Mondays as every other night it has a band and I would think it would have a bar feel. As a family we were lucky to hit it on Monday. Also a Dave and Busters there at the outlets.
5) Country Club Plaza - This is a very up scale area, but there are some fun things. We ate at California Pizza Kitchen and loved it and it was very reasonably priced.
6) BBQ - We ate at Smokin Guns and Oklahoma Joes. We liked Oklahoma Joes better. Eat a lot of BBQ!

Hope this helps.

 

[KCmike]

Awesome reviews you two!!!! ^^^^^

I still haven't been to Schlitterbahn but really want to go.

 

[Amber74]

Awesome reviews you two!!!! ^^^^^

I still haven't been to Schlitterbahn but really want to go.

I went last year before the new stuff was added. Not many things to do but the lazy river/wave pool was awesome. We could have stayed in that for hours. Also, the fact that you can bring in your own food and drinks helps cut the costs way down for my family. I have OOF/WOF season passes so it would have to be a special discount to go this year. But I would definitely try it if I were you.