Dinosaur Alive Exhibit at Worlds of Fun Kansas City

Last Memorial Day Weekend, my nephews and nieces were in town for vacation. One of the places we’ve visited was Worlds of Fun. It is an amusement park located at Kansas City with different attractions and rides for all ages from gigantic roller coasters to kiddie rides. The recent attraction they have that caught my daughters’ attention was Dinosaur Alive Exhibit.

Dinosaur Alive Exhibit at Worlds of Fun

Dinosaur Alive is an interactive and fun learning experience that you don’t want to miss. Entrance fee at the exhibit costs $5 per person, this is not included in the park admission ticket. The dinosaur exhibit is held in an outdoor setting, which is really spectacular and look realistic. It will take around 30 minutes to walk through the exhibit to see all the dinosaurs. 

Dinosaur Alive Exhibit at Worlds of Fun Kansas City

1. Face to Face encounter
Along the path, you will experience a face to face encounter with a life-sized moving and roaring dinosaurs. You can actually see them breathing.

2. Control dinosaurs movement
Several dinosaurs were equipped with interactive consoles that allows you to control dinosaur movement. Dinosaur body part will move as you press the corresponding button from the console.

3. Dig site with fossils
Inside the exhibit, you’ll also have the opportunity to experience dig site with fossils for kids. There’s available shovel that you can use.

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Kansas City Zoo Family Adventure

We recently heard about Zoo Spring special so we decided to go to Kansas City Zoo and give our princess the experience of seeing the live animals she had only seen in her books. We already took her at the Zoo but she was too young and did not have remember any those visits.

Kansas City Zoo is a great place to visit for learning or for family outing.  The Zoo opens at 9:30am and closes at 4pm on weekdays and 9:30am-5pm on weekends. Please check there site for updated details. General admission ticket costs $14.50, since we received a coupon, it didn’t cost us to get in. They are sending coupon passes for Jackson Country residents every year. No need to have a coupon for parking, it’s free.

The Kansas City Zoo has three main area, the Australia, the Kid Zone and the Africa. We stopped by at the booth near the entrance to rent a stroller for our princess. They have single, double or even a buggy that you can rent from. If you have a toddler, it is advisable to rent stroller or bring you own as there’s a lot of walking to do to go to different animal exhibit.

 

 

There are transportation inside that you can avail to go to Zoo Continents. Zoo entrance is at the Kids Zone area and from there you can ride and go straight to Australia or Africa. Train and Tram Stations are located at the right side from the entrance, just look for the sign. This is extra cost and not included with the entrance ticket. Train ride is available going to Australia and tram ride going to Africa.  There’s also a Sky Safari ride available at the Africa.

Kansas City Zoo Favorite Animal Exhibit

Among all the animals we saw, I will only highlight the animals we are most interested with in an area. We follow the trail and headed to Polar Bear Exhibit.

Polar Bear Passage is located near the entrance so we headed there. Unfortunately the polar bear did not show up. Depending on the season, some animals are not available for viewing. Last time we went, the bear was swimming back and forth and entertaining the visitors by doing somersault under the water.

Animals in Australia
After the Polar Bear, we headed to the left side of the Zoo which is going to Australia. We prefer to walk and follow the trail.

In the Australia Area, the most engaging animals we saw were Kangaroos, Sheep and Camels. They have several Kangaroo species available for viewing. Among them are Tree Kangaroo and Wallaby Kangaroo. Look for the identification labels posted to identify them. The sheep area actually got our princess interest since she’s able to feed them. There’s available food dispenser and next to it is sanitizing liquid. For a quarter, you can get food and feed the sheep.

Animals in Kids Zone
After seeing the camels, we went back to Kids Zone. There’s a playground area which caught our daughters attention so we stopped by for a bit and play.

We went inside the discovery barn and see the turtles, frogs and macaw and other small animals.  The frogs are about the size of my index finger. Inside the barn is a big slide where you can slide down. Also there a giant old tree outside with installed slide that kids can play while you’re taking a rest from walking.

 

Penguin Plaza is great and well maintain place. Penguins are so adorable. Diving in the water and swim fast right in front of my princess was so entertaining.

There are 3 Sea Lion Shows schedule 1030 130 and 330. Good thing it is near the Tuxedo Grill so grabbed our food first and seated outside facing the sea lion area. By the time show starts, we are almost done eating.

Animals in Africa
From Kids Zone we headed to Africa and preferred to walk still. The first animal exhibit we visited was the Elephants. The enclosure area for the elephants is big but elephants were standing only few meters away from the fence.

To see the other animals in Africa, you need to cross the bridge and have an option either to walk or ride the sky safari. Only few animal to see over safari ride so we decided to walk instead. Also to give our princess a chance to have a closer view of animals. There’s also a boat ride available but we did not avail it either since we want a closer view.

Among the animals that got our daughters attention were Zebra, Hippopotamus, Rhinoceros and gorillas. We did not see Giraffe during our visit.

To see the gorillas we had to cross a hanging bridge which was a fun experience since you can feel it was shaking while we were walking.

If you had enough walking, you can ride a tram from Africa going back to the Kids Zone which is near the exit.

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I-70 Drive In Kansas City

We decided to see movie at I-70 Drive In on our day off. I-70 Drive In is an outdoor theater consisting 4 different big screens. Screens are located inside a large enclosed parking area build with own entrances. Movie viewers can take their car in and see movies at their own comfort.  Each screen features 2 digitally projected movies and plays one after another. Showing normally movie starts after the sun set.

Entrance fee for adult is $10 while kids 11 year old and under are free. We like to go in Drive In since it’s cheaper than going to indoor theater plus we can take our little girl with us. $10 for 2 movies is a good deal, you can’t complain about that. When you buy your ticket from the gate they will give you the direction going to your movie screen. Also they will give the radio station where you can listen. Please pay attention to that radio frequency as you might need it. Speaker systems installed at the theater are loud enough but if you want louder, you can tune in your stereo and find the radio frequency given at the booth. All movie screens have their own entrances. Where ever you parked in the I70 drive in, there’s a chance you can see all 4 screens but you can’t hear all of its sounds.

During the spring movie starts at 8pm but it gets later on summer. Please check I70 Drive In website for updated movie time. We went there early so we can get a good spot since we are driving a little car. We normally park behind a little car so there’s no chance that big trucks can block us. Well, it happens and that’s the disadvantage of going to an outdoor theater, no seat plan, no elevation, park where you can have the best view and watch at your own comfort. Those who have trucks are fortunate. If it fits, they can even bring bed or furniture with them and enjoy the movie like they are in home theater.

To maximize our experience, we parked next to the speaker behind a little car where there is enough room outside. We laid down our blanket near the speaker and had picnic before the movie starts. We thought about staying in the blanket but wind picked up and it’s getting cold so we had to get inside the car.

When the first movie is over, there’s about 10 minutes break, long enough to go to the bathroom or buy foods at the concession if you get hungry. They sell pop corns and sodas and other stuff too similar to the indoor theater. Concession closes before the 2nd movie ends but the operator gives notice so do what you need to do or buy you need before it closes.

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Deanna Rose Childrens Farmstead

Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead is a fun place for the kids located in Overland Park. We have been in Deanna Farmstead but our princess was only about 1 year old and don’t have that much memories about it. Now that’s she’s a little bit older and can freely roam around, this is best time for her to explore.

We went on Wednesday and costs $2 each to get in. They have different pricing on Mon -Thu which is free after 2pm while on Fri -Sun and holidays costs $2 all days. Please check on them for updated details. There’s a lot of activities you can do inside and you’ll never get bored. Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead has animals, beautiful gardens. nature trail, fishing pond, pony rides, school house, petting pen, Indian Encampment, rabbit village and a lot more.

 

Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead Features and Attractions

Among those activities that Deanna Rose Children Farmstead offer, below are the features that we have explored.

Dairy Barn

This is the place for the kids to learn the milking procedure. They have cow milking demonstration you can attend in the morning and in the afternoon. They can try hand milking a life size cow replica.  We went there around noon so we are able to witness actual milking demonstration instead we watched the procedure from theater located at the entrance of the barn.

 

Goat Bottle Feeding

Goat feeding is one my daughters favorites. It cost a $1 for a bottle of milk for the goats. You can get inside the pen and feed the goats. They are friendly and they will approach you as soon as they see that you’re holding a bottle. 

Fishing Pond

Rent a fishing pole and buy some bait and enjoy fishing.  Catch and release, Bringing own poles are not allowed. It costs $3 to rent a pole which also includes a bucket of worms. The staff said it’s a bucket of worm but when we got it, it’s only 4 worms. So this is not full bucket of worms but is about 4 worms in a bucket instead. The fish were biting good, my husband and I actually had fun competing who caught the most. We run out of worm so we had to buy extra which which costs $1. Overall we caught 70 fishes for 3 bucket of worms and that was within an hour fishing only. Our technique was split the worm into pieces, around an inch each and put it on the hook. Most of the time, we caught 5 in a row using the same piece of bait. This was a blast experience and we want to do it again.

Indian Encampment

It features a replica of small Indian Village. There’s a tee-pee and a lodge inside a short hill where you can see animal skins and bones.

Playground

They have big playground with slides of different sizes, swings and other rides which kids love to do. Hanging bridge and toy sand cranes are also available. For toddlers, there are spring rockers installed on the playground which is one of my princess favorites.

Nature Trail

A very relaxing area that adults can enjoy too. It’s very easy to navigate and you can bring stroller with you. At the middle of the trail you’ll find a giant wind chime which gives relaxing music.

Pedal Tractor Track

Near the pony rides area is pedal tractor track. They have a little metal tractor that kids can ride and race on the track. It’s free to use. There are two different tractor designs to choose from, be it’s in red or in green, kids sure will enjoy it.

Duck Pond

There’s a little pond near the kids playground with ducks and geese roaming around. You can buy food from the vending machine and feed them. Machine accepts quarter so make sure you bring quarters.

Garden

Garden layout and set up is beautiful even the plants are little. Since we went in the spring, several perennial flowers just started growing and some garden vegetables were just planted. When summer comes, these plants will be fully grown and flowers will bloom. Right now since it's spring, the color you can see in the garden came from those beautiful ornaments displayed.

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Lea McKeighan Park Lees Summit

Finally it's warming up and time to go out and enjoy. We initially planned on going fishing but it's a little windy so we decided to change our plan. Having no backup, we asked our little girl what she wants to do and her response was. Let's go to the park!

There's several parks nearby our house but we wanted to go somewhere new. A friend told us that there's a big park in Lees Summit. It sounded interesting so went there even though it was a bit of a drive. The Parks name is Lea McKeighan Park which is located in Lees Summit on Chipman Road.

Lea McKeighan Park Amenities and Features

We went there on Thursday afternoon and it was busy. It looks real nice. The parking area is big and has a welcoming atmosphere. It offers a lot of features that other parks don't have.

To name a few:

1. Zip line - This is what we like most among the park feature. I have not seen this in any other parks and it looks an interesting ride so we tried it. A little busy though. There are about 8 kids in front of us but wanted to try it so we waited. I checked first the allowable weight limit and made sure it can handle my weight. Unfortunately I didn't see any so I guess I can ride it without any problems since I saw a boy as big as myself ride it a few minutes ago. My little 2 year old girl liked it so much. I was surprised that she can hold on and rid it on her own.

2. Playground area is huge – There’s a lot of  activities to explore that will enhance kids motor skills. It has giant jungle gym, hanging bridge, a unique balance beam, rock climbing facility and slides for all ages.

The jungle gym design is so unique, attached to it are 3 slides of different sizes. Getting up on the slides will require strength as you need to use the jungle gym rope ladder. It’s a little challenging but it’s rewarding. My little girl wanted to try it again and again.

The hanging bridge is a unique feature also that my little girl like. She can walk across taking little steps at a time while balancing her body.

3. Toddler Area – This Park also has a place for toddlers. A safer place for little ones to play since the area has installed pads on the ground. It has tunnels that toddlers can crawl and play hide and seek. They also have a big sand box which you can help your kids build a sand castle, just bring toys like bucket and shovel or if you’re resourceful just use empty plastic cups.

4. Hammocks – There’s a unique big rounded hammock you can sit on and relax. My husband and I joined our little girl riding this. We just laid down and enjoy looking at the clouds. I didn’t see the weight limit but it hold our weight.

5. Merry go round – it’s nicely designed and installed with ropes around that kids can hang on while spinning. I even tried this with my little girl while daddy was spinning it.

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Hot Air Balloon Festival Kansas Missouri

It's starting to get cold and in few weeks time we will have limited outdoor activities to do. So when we heard about Balloon Festival, we did not hesitate to go with our 2 year old girl. The event was held at Bonner Springs Kansas near the Kansas Speedway.  It's a long drive from our home but our experience was fantastic.

We went there on Fri, Oct 25 and was at the area around 3:30pm. There's already crowd going on and took us a while to park. We paid $15 each to get in which we bought the ticket at the entrance. All activities are included in the ticket price except the carnival. Activities included that we tried are Train Rides, Kid Zone, Costume Contest, Giant Kite exhibition, Trick or Treat and the Balloon Glows.

Hot Air Balloon Festival Activities

1. Train Rides
As we walked off from the entrance, we saw that the train ride is along the way so we tried this first since we have plenty of time to explore and enjoy the event. We get inline and we did not wait very long for our turn to ride. At first I thought it was small but then it turns out I was wrong. The train can accommodate a 6'4" tall guy and thus my husband was able to ride with us.

2. Kid Zone and Costume Contest
After this we went to the Kid Zone area and explore some more for our daughter. There are staffs handing out a trick or trick bag not too far from Kid Zone area. We took a bag and my girl started trick or treating on every store we passed by going to bouncy houses. When she's done, we walked around and saw crowd of kids, some dressed with Halloween costume. Yes, this was the costume contest so we went in and register our daughter. While waiting for the contest to start, we watched the kids performing on the stage. Soon, the contest started and they call in per age group. Since my girl is too young, I walked with her as she waved her hands saying Hi.

3. Kite Exhibit
It's getting late and we started to get hungry so we roam around and find something to eat. There's a lot of food store in the inside but the line is long. After we had our snacks, we headed to kite exhibit area and laid down our blanket. We seated very close to the railings so we are watching kites while enjoying our food.

4. Balloons Viewing
Few minutes later, they started inflating the balloons. More crowds came in. Nice that we seated next to the railings so we had a good view. Different shapes and colorful balloons filled the area. It was fascinating to see these balloons especially when they started lighting them up.

5. Trick or Treat to the Pilots
Soon they let the people in and get a closer look at the balloons while trick or treating to the pilots. We had a bag full of candies to take home. We all had fun and enjoyed this amazing experience.

There are more activities to do but we did not try them all like the Hay Ride.

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Powell Gardens Jack O' Lantern Festival

During annual Halloween celebration, Jack o Lantern a pumpkin artistically carved is common decoration. They are commonly set out in the patio and glowing with a lighted candle. They’re pretty especially if put together and colored battery operated candles were used. That’s what we see when we attended the exhibit that was held in Powell Gardens showing plenty of lanterns.

The event was held on October 17th at 6pm. We arrived at the location around 5:30 and the line getting in was so long. We thought we were early buy there’s already a bunch of people came in earlier than us. We had to take a long walk since our car was parked too far from the gate. The entrance cost was $12 per head and our 2 year old girl was free.

Activities to see in Powell Gardens Jack-o-Lantern Glow Festival

Jack-o-Lantern festival ticket is valid for both indoor and outdoor activities.  Outdoor activities covered by the ticket cost include outdoor trail walk, pumpkin carving demonstration and costumed characters. There’s a hay rides too but it cost extra to avail. For indoor activities, giant pumpkin exhibit, free make and take crafts, bat cave are included. There’s some more but we did not pay attention since we are only interested in pumpkins. Here are what we availed:

1. Giant Jack O Lantern Exhibit

We first went in to giant pumpkin exhibit. It’s located near the entrance. We were amazed with the creativity that the artists put in. Every little details were artistically carved and presented.

2. Jack O Lantern Trail

After this, we headed to the trail entrance and started walking. At the start of the trail, we realized that we could appreciate them better when it’s darker. We should have waited a little longer but then we decided to proceed since there’s already crowd behind us. It gets darker as we go and the cold air was picking up. Our eyes were delighted with what we saw. Pumpkin carved by school kids, single and collage were displayed. It was whimsical and surely our baby girl appreciated it.

3. Costumed Characters

Along the trail, there are characters to see which interacts with the guests. They were having fun acting as the characters they are dressed with and would even pose for a picture with you.

4. Pumpkin Carving Demonstration

We stopped by at the middle of the trail to buy some foods. To keep us warm, we seated near the bonfire and eat. While eating, my girl excitedly said something pointing the sky. “Mommy look moon”, I was like wow that’s beautiful and perfect for this setting. Bonfire and a moon, it’s so romantic. After eating we headed to the carving demonstration and walk around a little to see what the artist had done. I was so amazed when I saw the art work of this talented guy.

The weather temperature is getting colder as we proceed. Trail was lighted with small and big pumpkins glowing with different colors. More Jack O Lantern collage along the trail were also displayed. On our way heading out, there’s still people coming in. This was fun experience and would love to see it again.

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