Kansas City Sea Life

It was forecast to rain a lot on Sunday, so we made plans to find something indoors that morning. Since our hotel was in Crown Center, it made logical sense to check out either Legoland or Sea Life which were both within walking distance.

However, we weren't the only ones with such a great idea. We went online to buy tickets in advance, because they advertised cheaper prices, but it turned out the prices for most tickets aren't discounted ($19/adult, $15/child).

Plus, unlike most attractions my family has been to, you had to book a specific entry time and the early morning slots were already sold out. The discounted tickets are for the last few hours each day - no thanks. So we decided to just take our chances and get there before they opened (10AM) to wait in the General Admissions (people w/o tickets) line.

By the time we arrived (9:45AM), there was a long line already for the Legoland side - both Advance Ticket and General Admission lines.

There was also already a line for the SeaLife Advance Tickets. Interestingly enough, however, there was no line for the General Admission line where we got in. We were literally first in line. The staffers told us that they'd allow 1 GA group in for every 5 Advance groups, so we wouldn't be waiting long at all.

We saw that we could purchase individual tickets for $19/adult OR buy a combo pass (Sea Life & Legoland) for $29/adult. Since we knew we'd be coming back to Legoland on Tuesday, we took the Combo pass and scheduled a coveted 10AM arrival time.

As we entered, we received a map and a stamp book where I could collect stamps at each sea animal station where they focused on a different aquatic eco-system or species. It's set up so you walk through a single defined path with one exhibit leading to the next. You can always go back to see something again, but you have to go back through the path. Not a big deal, but not the wide open formats that we've seen in other cities like Atlanta. But then again, we weren't expecting massive whale sharks here either.

Then at the end, they have a kid's playground where you can take off your shoes and burn off any remaining energy you have left as the parents sit around and check their smartphones.

Overall, we went through the entire place in about an hour. I'm sure other families take their time and could probably spend 90+ minutes, especially if their kids were old enough to read and understand the environmental propaganda they had plastered all over the walls.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, no guns allowed!