Kansas City

[MadMonk]

Anyone familiar with this town? We are heading up there next week for vacation and I'm looking for suggestions.

We'll be there about a week. We are already planning on going to Schlitterbahn and maybe Worlds of Fun. I've got a couple BBQ joints to try.

This is our first trip to KC, so what (family friendly) things should not be missed?

[OKCisOK4me]

Torea in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.....

[TulsaRobert]

I go up to KC about once a year (I prefer it to Dallas, and it's the same drive either way). One of the neatest things I saw on my last visit was the "The 1950s All-Electric House" (http://www.jocomuseum.org/visit.shtml). It's pretty cool if you're interested in architecture or retro design.

[MikeOKC]

The must-see is Country Club Plaza for a great shopping and dining experience. There's really so much to do in KC...if you're into art, design, painters, creative stuff, the Home & Studio of Thomas Hart Benton is really a neat tour. During the day, the Power & Light District is fun for families. It's a big nightspot in the evenings, so with the kids, you'd probably want to do P&L during daytime hours. Don't know the schedule, but Royal's Baseball. The kid's would love the Hallmark tour. Don't know your budget obviously, but KC has a Great Wolf Lodge - a kiddo haven.

I love Kansas City. I hope you and the family have a great trip.

edit: How could I forget - the renovated Union Station with Science City and lots more.

[bluedogok]

It's a great town, I always seem to go to Fiorella's Jack Stack BBQ Freight House location (across the tracks from Union Station) every time that I am up there. If you are interested in buildings, The Community of Christ International Headquarters is pretty interesting, it is in Independence, Missouri. Not sure what age kids may be but the Harley-Davidson Plant in KC has tours of the plant that are interesting, kids have to be 12 or older for the factory tour.

Enjoy the trip.

[MadMonk]

We are staying at Great Wolf Lodge on Monday and Tuesday - that's long enough for the kids to get bored with it (3 days in TX last year was a bit too long). After that, we have a hotel booked near the Kansas Speedway for the remainder of our stay.

Unfortunately, The Royals are out of town during our visit. The P&L district looks fun. My kids aren't quite old enough for the HD tour! I was also referred to this museum - http://www.1856.com/ It's a museum centered around a steamboat that sunk and was uncovered and excavated when the river changed course.

Great suggestions everyone!

[flintysooner]

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is very impressive. And the Fountains of course: http://www.kcfountains.com/ - the zoo -- tons of other stuff.

[ljbab728]

A good educational experience for the kids would be the Truman Library and Museum.

[John]

Sporting KC (Kansas City's MLS team) is playing a home match on Tuesday. All seats are $15 G/A. Their new stadium (LIVESTRONG Park -- in the same complex as Great Wolf Lodge & the KS Speedway) just opened up a couple of months ago, and it's an amazing facility. Fairly cheap entertainment for the family...

http://www.livestrongsportingpark.com/
http://www.sportingkc.com/schedule

[earlywinegareth]

I'm a big fan of the National WWI Museum...very close to Union Station.

[Lord Helmet]

Sporting KC (Kansas City's MLS team) is playing a home match on Tuesday. All seats are $15 G/A. Their new stadium (LIVESTRONG Park -- in the same complex as Great Wolf Lodge & the KS Speedway) just opened up a couple of months ago, and it's an amazing facility. Fairly cheap entertainment for the family...

http://www.livestrongsportingpark.com/
http://www.sportingkc.com/schedule

Seconded. I went to the opener. Best soccer stadium in North America IMHO.

[RadicalModerate]

Stay as far as possible off of Prospect Avenue.

[JayhawkTransplant]

This was one of my favorite places growing up:

http://www.hallmarkkaleidoscope.com/