Review of Legoland Discovery Center and Sea Life In Kansas City

[Rhonda Dunaway]

Review of Legoland Discovery Center and Sea Life In Kansas City

My 10-year-old son and I took a brief jaunt to Kansas City last week. When we initially planned the trip a couple of weeks beforehand, we had decided we would go to Worlds of Fun while we were there. However, we hadn't anticipated how hot it was going to be during our stay, so we changed our plans to do indoor activities instead. One thing we did was to visit the new Legoland Discovery Center and the Sea Life Aquarium located in downtown Kansas City just across the street from the Crown Center. (Thanks, visitor KristaF for the tip!)

I should begin by noting that my son and I have never been to Legoland in California or to any other type of Lego experience, so we had no idea what to expect. The Legoland Discovery Center in Kansas City is not a full-scale theme park like the ones in California or Florida, but we still had a great time anyway. For those of you who like to be surprised and who don't want to know what to expect if you go to the K.C. Legoland Discovery Center, please note that a spoiler alert is coming and you may want to stop reading.

After we purchased our tickets, one of the first things we did was go on a ride where we had to shoot monsters and villains who were enemies of the princess we were supposed to help protect. Apparently, I love blasting away at things as much or more than my son does. Anyway, I beat his score!

After this ride, we explored an exhibit called "Mini Land" where Lego designers and builders have recreated Kansas City's most famous landmarks completely in Legos. We saw the sports stadiums, ballparks, the speedway, a historic church, a performing arts building, and more recreated in painstaking detail. It was fascinating, and I could have spent even longer there myself. I am a history and architecture buff, and one of the tour guides named Kelley did a grea job of answering my questions about Kansas City history and landmarks. We also got to see scenes recreated from "The Wizard of Oz," including Dorothy's house being lifted into the air by the twister, Munchkin Land, and the Emerald City.

Our favorite part of the discovery center was seeing a 4-D movie that was completely awesome in every respect! The special effects were so realistic, and you could even feel rain, snow, and sleet striking your face. My favorite part of the movie came at the very end, but I won't spoil the surprise here.

We also went on another ride that I believe was a Harry Potter-themed ride. (Forgive me for not knowing my Legos and my Harry Potter better.)
The discovery center also has a play area for little ones and some other activities scattered throughout. And of course, what trip through the Legoland Discovery Center would be complete without a trip to the Lego store? In fact, I think we spent more time at the store than we did visiting the exhibit because my son's deliberations about what to buy with the money he had budgeted for the trip were very difficult for him. I didn't mind, though, because he was having such a good time. The staff members at the store were very friendly, helpful, and patient with him, too, and took a lot of time to answer his questions and feel through all the packages to find him the lego mini-figure in the bunny suit.

I believe I saw signs at the Legoland Discover Center indicating that the center was designed primarily for kids through age 10, and I would have to agree with that. My son is probably on the upper end agewise of kids who would enjoy the experience. There were a lot of other 10-year-olds enjoying themselves at the center the day we were there, but then there was a dramatic drop off as far as older kids were concerned. Sadly, I can imagine a time in the not too distant future when my son probably won't be thrilled out of his mind to visit a Legoland Discovery Center, but for right now, it was perfect!

When I was finally able to drag my son out of Legoland, we went over to the Sea Life Exhibit, which is located in the same building. It's not as big as our Zoo's aquarium, of course, but it is very beautiful and is designed in such a way that kids can see everything up close and personal. Several of the exhibits have space for kids to crawl underneath and then pop up in a glass bubble so that they can view everything from the inside of the tanks. Our favorite part of the aquarium was the large touch tank area. You are allowed to pick up and hold any of the creatures in the tank as long as you keep your hand under the water. My son swears that a starfish pooped on him, but I think he either imagined it or that some other substance was involved.

A word of advice here: to receive the best prices and discounts on admission, purchase your tickets online ahead of time. I didn't plan our trip at all and wasn't even sure where we were going until we got there. With just a little advance planning, I could have shaved some significant money off of our admission prices.

If you are planning a trip to Kansas City and you have young kids, you will definitely want to build time into your trip to vist the Legoland Discovery Center and Sea Life in downtown KC!

Unfortunately, the Crown Center itself looks like it's seen better days and could really use a facelift. It houses a few over-priced gift shops, including a small toy store, but there's not much to shop for. There is, however, a Crayola Cafe, a free dinosaur exihbit, and Kaleidoscope (also free - where kids and families can make arts and crafts projects out of leftover Hallmark items). We didn't do any of these activities because my own son is past the age of interest for them, but I know a lot of you have younger kids, so I wanted to be sure to note what was available.

Here's a link to more information on the Legoland Discovery Center and Sea Life:

http://www.legolanddiscoverycenter.com/kansascity/

Here is a link to information on Kansas City's Crown Center and the activities you can find there:

http://www.crowncenter.com/

phmH0c <a href="http://mbidamivevqn.com/">mbidamivevqn</a>, uqonzeprlops, [link=http://wecxbhhisjgo.com/]wecxbhhisjgo[/link], http://uiycfrewivlh.com/

[Rhonda Dunaway]

You're welcome! I don't typically post about events and activities outside of Omaha, but so many people in this area go on trips to K.C. that I thought it might be helpful.

You're right -- Legoland and Sea Life are expensive! I had sticker shock when they rang up the total price of our tickets! However, my son's experience made everything well worth the price of admission. While we were there, I made it a point to study the reactions of kids of all different ages, and from what I could observe, the older kids there (the 9 and 10-year-olds) seemed to be having just as much fun as the younger ones.

Be sure to check out the free activities at Crown Center if you have a chance. From what I could tell, they might be able to help you stretch out your visit downtown without stretching your budget any further. Also, if you are interested in eating at the Crayola Cafe at Crown Center, be sure to check out their discounts and coupons online beforehand. They had something up on the Crown Center website about adults eating free on certain dates and times.

There are lots of other activities in the area that are a little more reasonable in cost, too. The next time we go to K.C., I want to visit Union Station and the science museum, which are supposed to be very kid and family-friendly. I would also like to go on my own to visit the WWI Museum.

And, if anyone needs any more advice about where to find Legos in Kansas City, there is also a Lego store at the Oak Park Mall http://www.thenewoakparkmall.com/shop/oakpark.nsf/index . We also had to spend a lot of time in there, even though we had just been to Legoland downtown the day before. It's funny, but even though you can get Legos at Target, Wal-Mart, or Toys 'R Us, it's just not the same as shopping in an actual Lego store. The employees in the Oak Park Mall Lego store are also very helpful and friendly. One of them told me that Lego is seriously considering opening a store in Omaha, which would be fantastic! The Lego stores apparently have free building events on the first Tuesday of each month where kids can get a free Lego set and build it in the store. This month's building kit, which was given out today, was an Olympic torch. If anyone is planning to be near a Lego store on the first Tuesday in August, you might want to check out that month's event.

You also asked about waiting in line. We were at the Legoland Discovery Center late Friday afternoon and early Friday evening, and the crowds were not bad at all. We got in and got on the first ride right away. We also got into the movie right away. We only had to wait 5-10 minutes for the other ride. I don't know what it would be like to go there on a weekend, but I'm guessing it could be a lot more crowded, so I would say go on a weekday if at all possible.

Also, if you have a chance, go to the T-Rex Cafe http://www.kansastravel.org/kansasci...fe.htmstaurant at the Legends Outlet Mall
http://www.legendsshopping.com/ across from Great Wolf Lodge. My son hadn't been there for several years, and he was worried that he was now too old to enjoy it, but he loved it, and so did I! Our hotel, the Holiday Inn Express at Legends, gave us a coupon that was good for a free kids' meal with the purchase of an adult meal, so I was able to get out of there with a reasonable tab.

Have a great time on your trip! You'll have to post again and let us know what your kids thought of Legoland -- hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

[KristaF]

Thanks for the tips! I'm excited about going to KC this weekend for my son!
One tip, if you have the Omaha Children's Museum membership, you can get into the Science City Museum for free.

[Rhonda Dunaway]

Have a great trip, Krista! Please post and let us know about Science City. I told Aidan that I will take him back to K.C. in September so that we can go to Worlds of Fun when it's cooler outside. I also want to try to get to Union Station and Science City then.

0, zithromax,

[Rhonda Dunaway]

Thanks! We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express at the Legends Outlet Mall in Kansas City. Here is a link to the hotel's information:

http://www.hiexpress.com/hotels/us/e...pp/hoteldetail

The hotel was pretty basic and nothing fancy, but it had great customer service. The front desk staff were really friendly and helpful and gave me all kinds of advice and suggestions on where to go, what to see, the best routes to get there, etc. They also gave me coupons to family-friendly places when I signed in, including ones for T-Rex Cafe and Dave & Buster's, both of which are located right in the same shopping complex as the hotel.

Our room was very comfortable. The mattresses, pillows, and bed & bath linens were all soft and of good quality. The bathroom was very big and had plenty of room for me to spread out all my stuff on the counter. Even though the hotel is located right next to a highway, our room was extremely quiet. My son and I both got a great night's sleep on both nights of our stay.

Our room, and all the rest of the hotel for that matter, were spotlessly clean. I'm kind of obsessive about the cleanliness of hotels where I stay, and I actually get down on my hands and knees to inspect everything. Believe me, I looked for dirt, but I didn't find any. I even complimented the housekeeping staff to the front desk staff the day we left.

Breakfast was included with our stay, and it was very good also. There was a big selection to choose from that included everything from cereal to pastries to scrambled eggs. Everything served was hot and fresh, and the dining area was also spotlessly clean.

The hotel has a small swimming pool and hot tub which we didn't use because we were too busy. It also has a small exercise room.

The hotel is in a great location. It's right next to / part of the Legends Outlet Mall, and it's also extremely close to the Speedway, Schlitterbaun's, Great Wolf Lodge, and several other popular Kansas City attractions. It took me only 20 minutes to get to Downtown Kansas City and Overland Park from the hotel.

My son and I recommend this hotel to others, and I would book reservations there without hesitation on future trips to Kansas City.

I hope this information is helpful!

[Rhonda Dunaway]

Country Inn & Suites and Hampton Inn are also in the Legends complex. Here is a link to more information about those hotels in case you are interested:

http://www.legendsshopping.com/plan-...ransportation/

[Rhonda Dunaway]

On previous trips to K.C., I have also stayed at the Embassy Suites on the Plaza. It's a great hotel, too! In fact, whenever I travel, one of the first things I do is check to see if there is an Embassy Suites hotel located anywhere near my destination. Here's a link to their information:

http://www.hilton.com/search/es/us/M...City?WT.srch=1

0, propecia,

[Rhonda Dunaway]

Thanks for your great post! We skipped the Legoland Cafe and went somewhere else to eat, so I'm glad you mentioned it. It's also helpful to hear how the K.C. Legoland Discovery Center compares to Legoland Discovery Centers elsewhere. Thanks also for the hotel recommendation. It's always helpful to the visitors to this site to get reviews and recommendations from others who have had first-hand experiences they are willing to share.

[KristaF]

We went to Legoland on Sunday morning before we left. We weren't able to buy tickets ahead of time because I had a BOGO coupon & by the time I figured I had left it at home, you couldn't purchase online anymore (looks like they close it out 2 days ahead - I looked on Sat & Sun & Mon were "full").
My son had a good time, however, I think we have been spoiled. We have been to Legoland in California several times - this is an amusement park the size of Adventureland - and the Legoland in KC was ok for us, but not what we've seen with the "real" Legoland. I think the KC Legoland is great for families with younger kids - you could spend a lot of time there, but my son is 11 and there were a few activities that he had no interest in because they were aimed at littler kids. We go to KC several times a year (my sis lives there), and I think we'll go back, but we won't make a point to go every time. However, now that we know there is a Lego store at a mall, we will surely hit that every time!

We didn't make it to Science City or Union Station. We have been there in the past (we have gone there every year) and it is a nice science museum and would recommend it to families.

We did go to the World War 1 museum across from Crown Center/Union Station. We had never gone. If you have any kids or adults that are history buffs, I would highly recommend the museum. My son has a fascination with WW2, but tends to do the quick tour of museums - you know the "only look at pictures and no reading" tour. However, we ended up spending over 3 hours there! Tyler was just fascinated with it. The layout starts with the years before USA joined. The 2nd half shows the years when the USA was involved. They have these really cool interactive tables that are driven with a lite pen. We also went up the tower right at the heat of the day! It was hot, but neat to see the view. The elevator is an old time elevator, which the kids thought was cool.
One interesting tidbit about this museum - it was created in 1920 - very shortly after the war ended and they have pictures of some of the big dignitaries from around the world that attended the dedication of the museum. It is "THE" World War 1 museum for the United States.

[Rhonda Dunaway]

Thanks for posting, Krista! I was curious about what the experience would be like for someone who had been to Legoland in California or another Legoland experience elsewhere. We didn't have anything to compare it to, so I appreciate you sharing things from your perspective.

I will absolutely have to visit the WWI museum the next time we go there. I don't know if I'll be able to convince anyone else in my family to go with me, but I don't mind going alone if need be. In fact, that way I can linger as long as I want. I know what you mean about kids not wanting to read through all of the information and interesting facts about all the artifacts and exhibits. To be totally honest, though, I doubt I did that as a kid either. I don't think I developed an appreciation for history until I was well into my 20's or even later!