Have you ever wanted to experience an unforgettable adventure? This summer, experience a thrill soaring to new heights, plunging to new depths and traveling at incredible speeds. Next time you start to say, “I always wanted to try…” go ahead and try it! Then enjoy reliving the memories only an adventure can provide.
Have you ever wanted to …..?
Go on an African Safari…
Spend the night at the Kansas City Zoo during one of their overnights. In the summer, you can spend a wild night camping in Africa. Overnight guests experience a nighttime adventure, including a guided tour and night hike, hands-on activities, an animal encounter and the campout must: s’mores! Overnights include breakfast and keeper chats. You provide your own tent and sleeping bag, and the zoo provides the fun. Tip: For an indoor adventure, check out their penguin and polar bear overnights.
Get a Bird’s-Eye View of the City…
The Liberty Memorial Tower looms 217 feet in the sky, and 268 feet above the North Lawn with a spectacular view overlooking Downtown Kansas City. You can take a trip to the top with a ride in an elevator, followed by 45 steps to the observation deck. When you visit the National WWI Museum and Memorial, a visit to the top is included with admission to the museum. Within the museum walls below, lies one of the best historic sites in the Midwest. With tremendous state-of-the-art exhibits telling the story of World War I and, more importantly, the soldiers and civilians of the era—their sacrifices, their journeys—this is one of Kansas City’s most important attractions. The museum provides a free family gallery guidebook including a map of the galleries, games, puzzles, question and answer sections for various exhibits and a scavenger hunt to complete throughout the galleries.
Defy gravity…
Take the Sky Bike challenge at Science City at Union Station. Visitors are invited to pedal a bicycle suspended on a high-wire 30 feet above the ground. The experiment is thrilling and educational. You’ll experience firsthand the relationship between counterweights and balance as your center of gravity keeps you safe riding across the high-wire. This attraction is included with admission to Science City, where many fun-filled adventures await.
Ride in a Race Car…
The Richard Petty Driving Experience (800.237.3889) at Kansas Speedway (913.328.3300) lets fans ride shotgun at speeds of up to 165 mph or get behind the wheel and drive a 600-horsepower NASCAR race car for eight to 18 laps. Even teens can get in on the action! Youths ages 14 to 19 have the opportunity to receive a complimentary three-lap high speed ride-along when accompanied by an adult.
Take a 200-Foot Plunge…
Kansas City’s own Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun (816.454.4545) are two theme parks enjoyed for the price of one ticket. Worlds of Fun is a roller coaster enthusiast’s dream park! It’s home to seven world-class roller coasters, including one of the tallest, longest and fastest roller coasters in the world, the Mamba, with a first drop of 205 feet! The Patriot is a giant inverted coaster that carries the daring through four inversions at a top speed of 65 mph. The extremely daring can pay an extra fee to experience the Ripcord, a Sky Coaster attraction that sends riders in a free-fall pendulum motion from 180 feet in the air at speeds of up to 80 mph. At Oceans of Fun, enjoy a huge water park with waterslides, rapids, an 800-foot rapids river and a wave pool.
Zip Line over a Mile at up to 50 mph…
Zip KC in Bonner Springs offers a variety of adventures on nine zip lines totaling over a mile and racing up to 50 mph. You can enjoy the 143-acre park with a 300-foot elevation change. They offer a variety of zip line tours with up to five zip lines and a mix of hiking and zip lining for an unbelievable and unforgettable adventure. For the truly daring, participate in the Night Flight, touring through the five lines of the Tower Tour at night, starting at sundown. The tour includes glow sticks, lasers and head lamps. With music and laser beams, this is a one-of-a-kind zip line adventure. You’ll find even more zip lines on KCParent.com when you search our Going Places Guide.
Climb the wall…
Choose one of these rock wall climbing adventures: APEX Climbing Gym, home to a 7,000-square-foot climbing wall with slabs, overhangs, arches and corners, is challenging. The truly daring tackle the challenge of the Warped Wall and Ninja Warrior-inspired obstacles. Cave Bouldering Gym is an indoor rock climbing gym 10 stories underground in downtown Kansas City. With 3,800 square feet of terrain, the gym features boulder obstacles and challenges for every level of climber. IBEX Gym offers a 33-foot-tall wall with a variety of challenges for climbers. You’ll find even more rock walls on KCParent.com when you search our Going Places Guide.
Play with Glass…
You know our local paint-your-own pottery shops as a fun family outing where you make your own masterpiece, but did you know that our local shops also offer glass fusing workshops? Ceramic Cafe (9510 Nall, Overland Park, KS, 913.383.0222) and Paint, Glaze & Fire (12683 Metcalf, Overland Park, 913.661.2529) both offer glass fusing during walk-in studio hours or special classes. Glass fusing involves layering multiple pieces of colored glass to create a design. The pieces are fired in a kiln producing beautiful tiles, bowls, jewelry and other works of art. You’ll find even more creative places in Going Places Guide.
Solve a mystery…
Tick Tock Escape Games (913.396.9144) hosts groups to take on the escape room challenge. For the uninitiated, escape rooms are an interactive game where teams of friends are locked into a small room for an hour while they solve puzzles and clues to unlock the room. The rooms typically include props and a series of puzzles, each unlocking the next until you escape in an hour or less. If you fail, the staff releases your team and takes a photo wishing you the best next time. Teams work together to solve puzzles, unlocking doors, turning dials, moving objects and deciphering clues to break out of the escape room in time. You’ll find even more escape rooms in our Going Places Guide.
Kristina Light’s family is always up for an adventure and they count overnights at the Kansas City Zoo as some of their favorite memories.