Looking for the perfect weekend trip from St. Louis? Just 3.5 hours away, Kansas City makes the ideal family-friendly getaway.
This was our family’s first time exploring Kansas City! We had been last year visiting Great Wolf Lodge, but had yet ventured throughout the city. We were frankly blown away by all of the options to choose from!
Weekend in Kansas City
Kansas City Lodging
We stayed for two nights at Hilton Kansas City Country Club Plaza (779 W 47th Street, Kansas City, MO). Our room was very comfortable with 2 queen beds on one side of the room and one pull-out couch on the other side. A main highlight for our kids (and parents too!) was the fun panel to swim in between the indoor and outdoor pools!
There is a free, public parking garage across the street from the Hilton. We chose to self-park in the garage attached to the hotel–which was super easy to take the elevator from the lobby to our van.
We overall loved this location because we enjoyed walking up and down the Country Club Plaza. This area is 15 city blocks with dozens of fountains, restaurants and shops! All of the architecture is Spanish-inspired and it was just so peaceful!!
Day 1
We arrived in the afternoon and checked into our hotel. We saw the outdoor pool from our hotel window and quickly changed into our suits! After swimming to our heart’s content, we walked to dinner from the hotel. We walked around the Country Club Plaza and were happy to eat at Brio Italian Grille. The service was quick, the food was great and in large portions and my kids loved the bendable plastic straws that could move into silly shapes.
Day 2
Breakfast: Messenger Coffee Co
We started our morning here at the Country Club Plaza location just up the street from our hotel. Our favorite pastry was the blackberry crumble! Right outside of the shop is a warthog sculpture (replica of one in Florence), which we rubbed for good luck.
Address: 318 W 47th St, Kansas City, MO 64112
LEGOLAND Discovery Center
We arrived a little before 10am (when they opened). I’d allow for some time to park in the parking garage near Crown Center. I really liked this plaza because LEGOLAND and SeaLife are located in the same building, and then our lunch spot was just right across the street at Crown Center. There are over 2 million LEGO bricks in this one-story center. I appreciated the one story because it was easier to keep an eye on our kiddos. Highlights for us were the Earthquake Table (where we designed buildings and then placed on a mat that shook) or the LEGO Pizzeria (where my daughters could design their own LEGO brick pizzas and even slide them in a LEGO oven). There was a separate room to see Kansas City in LEGO bricks and there was a switch to see day and night! The interactive car racing was a blast. The “Design-your-own Quilt Square” was a blast too, where we designed a square out of LEGO bricks and added it to a wall next to other decorated squares.
Address: 2475 Grand Blvd, Kansas City, MO 64108
Lunch: Fritz’s Railroad Restaurant
All aboard!! After LEGOLAND, we walked across the street to Crown Center. Every table in this iconic train restaurant gets food delivered by an overhead train! We ordered by phone and had fun watching the train carry a basket of burgers for us. There were even fun conductor hats to wear!
Address: 2450 Grand Blvd, Kansas City, MO 64108
SEA LIFE Aquarium
After lunch, we walked back across the street to enter SEA LIFE. This is the same entrance as LEGOLAND, so it was easy to navigate and figure out where to go. Each day around 1pm, the larger tank with sharks, sting rays and larger fish are fed. We all had fun watching this! The aquarium is all one level (similar to LEGOLAND), but it was extensive and seemed large. There were many exhibits to view and it was hands-on, especially with the touch pool! My favorite exhibit was the seadragons! We could have spent much longer here than we initially thought.
Address: 2475 Grand Blvd, Kansas City, MO 64108
Science City at Union Station
This is one of the top 25 science centers in the country…and I was shocked. 92,000 square feet with over 300 interactive exhibits. It is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2024 and there is just so much to explore here!! We really could have spent all day here and not seen everything. There is an extensive indoor and outdoor space to explore here, as well as a new robotics exhibit, illusions experience and dinosaur dig. We all created art in the Makerspace, we walked through a cave and my husband rode the SkyBike! There is a kids’ climbing area, a mirror maze, a water table exhibit and so much more.
Address: 30 West Pershing Road, Kansas City, MO 64108
Disney100: The Exhibition
After Science City, we went downstairs at Union Station to the new Disney exhibit. This exhibit goes through the history of Disney over the past 100 years. Walt Disney began his animation career right in the heart of Kansas City. Kansas City is one of the first three cities to host the historic North American tour!
There were so many different props and artifacts, like Cinderella’s slipper. There were also some interactive exhibits where we could listen behind-the-scenes to different movies, like Frozen and The Little Mermaid. My kids’ favorite exhibit was hearing different languages while watching Moana and Encanto (they could select the language to listen to)!! It was so interesting to see the actors and voices behind each language presented. My favorite was seeing the history of Walt Disney and how he built Disney and the creation of his story boards. The exhibit ends with Disney’s quote: “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.”
Address: 30 West Pershing Road, Kansas City, MO 64108
Dinner: Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que
This is one of Kansas City’s best barbecue restaurants and Joe has earned national recognition. Originally sold from this gas station location, there was a line out of the door and many tables inside to sit and enjoy. After our very fun day of exploring, we definitely built up an appetite. The ribs were the best we had ever had. Seriously, they were incredible.
Address: 3002 W. 47th Avenue, Kansas City, KS 66103
Day 3
Breakfast: Mildred’s
We woke up feeling rested after yesterday’s fun and busy day (the kids slept through the night- yay!). We checked out of our hotel and ate breakfast at Mildred’s. It is a family owned and operated cafe that serves delicious home-made pastries. Their cinnamon rolls or the gooey butter pastry were winners in our books! We loved the relaxing vibe here. It was a tasty and great stop.
Address: 1901 Wyandotte St, Kansas City, MO 64108
Penguin Park
Our original plan was to make a stop at Penguin Park after breakfast. This park has a 26-foot kangaroo slide and a 23-foot penguin to play inside! Due to the pouring rain, we were unable to play here, but I did walk around to get some of these pictures to show you.
Address: 919 E 14th Ave, North Kansas City, MO 64116
North Kansas City Public Library
Since we had time before The Rabbit hOle opened, we stopped at the nearby North Kansas City Public LIbrary. There were some animals on display, many toys and books, as well as relaxing chairs by multiple cozy fireplaces. What a lovely and peaceful library!!
Address: 2251 Howell St., North Kansas City, MO 64116
The Rabbit hOle
I would have come to Kansas City just to experience this gem. As an elementary school teacher now turned stay-at-home mom, I’ve read a fair amount of children’s books. So I was just thrilled to see this brand new literary experience in North Kansas City. To enter the exhibit, you climb down into a huge cave-like rabbit hole and then emerge into a magical immersive museum. Your favorite children’s books are brought back to life!! They have copies of children’s books by each exhibit, so you can sit and read the book together as a family. Some of our favorites were Strega Nona, Caps for Sale, Frog & Toad and My Father’s Dragon. Make sure to check out the Goodnight Moon exhibit behind the bookstore/gift shop. This truly is a world of wonder and reminded me so much of the City Museum, but all book-themed!
Address: 919 E 14th Ave, North Kansas City, MO 64116
Lunch: Chicken N Pickle
This is Chicken N Pickle’s original location, which opened in North Kansas City in 2016! There is now a second operation now in Overland Park. There is also a location that opened recently in St. Louis (which we haven’t visited yet), so we loved checking this out. It was great food and a fun family-friendly environment. The rain let up after lunch and we played outside after eating lunch. There are lots of yard games here (Bean bag toss, Battleship, Jenga) in addition to pickleball courts!
Address: 1761 Burlington St, North Kansas City, MO 64116
Kansas City, you were so good to us!! We quickly fell in love with this beautiful city. From the unique museums to immersive experiences to great food, Kansas City is so family-friendly. Not to mention, it was just a quick car ride from St. Louis. We are already looking forward to our next trip!
