Since I only teach Pre-K during the school year I don't make any income during the summer, which unfortunately doesn't leave us with a family vacation budget to visit grand places like Disney World, Disneyland, Hawaii, a cruise, etc. However, this does allow me to get creative with local and nearby attractions to make our summer fun! When you're smack-dab in the middle of the country you're somewhat limited on options for family vacations. Don't get me wrong, the options we have are wonderful, but you pretty much have the choice to either drive a few hours to various amusement park or make a longer drive to the National and State Parks. These are the options we've considered: South Dakota: Black Hills & Mount RushmoreHeading north for 8 hours we would arrive in the Black Hills of South Dakota. I have been here several times and it's always breathtaking. There are also several fun stops along the way, Wall-Drug anyone?! If you drive along you'll see the countless signs for it. Plus we always make a stop along the way in Valentine, NE to see Smith Falls. If you have extra time you can also tube down the Niobrara to add to your experience! Once in the Black Hills we drive through Custard State Park, ride the Alpine Slides, Tramway Adventures, visit the Crazy Horse Monument, and of course visit Mount Rushmore, I especially like to hike the trails surrounding Mount Rushmore. Colorado: Estes Park & DenverThe Colorado border is a little over five hours from our home and the first stop would be Estes Park, an additional 3.5 hours away. We could also journey down to Denver (3 hours from the border) which has a ton of kids activities, or go down south to ride a train through the mountains, which is on our travel bucket list. Wyoming: Yellowstone National ParkIf we were to make a longer drive, we would head northwest 14 hours to Yellowstone National Park. I've never been here so I can't attest to all we would see along the way nor what fun attractions Wyoming itself might hold, in addition to the majesty of the park. This trip is absolutely on our travel bucket list, but at a later date when we have more days to travel. Missouri: Worlds of Fun & Kansas CityNow we're getting closer to home... Three hours south of us is Kansas City (Missouri or Kansas depending on what venue you're at). Both Worlds of Fun and Kansas City over a ton of options for our family. Crown Center alone has Legoland Discovery Center, SeaLife Aquarium, Union Station, Model Train Experience, Fritz Railroad Restaurant (your food is brought to you on a model train!), Crayola, and more. Great Wolf Lodge is also nearby for a fun indoor waterpark option. Worlds and Oceans of Fun is a great Midwest amusement park offering roller coasters, thrill rides, a waterpark, and Planet Snoopy for kids. Planet Snoopy is what makes Worlds of Fun a big contender for our vacation. Within Planet Snoopy there are 15 attractions dedicated to the littles in our family. It features classic kids rides like boats, airplanes, mini roller coaster, balloon ride, etc. One area I know my kids will love is the Peanuts Playhouse, which is an interactive foam ball play area designed for children with foam targets, cannons, and slides! Ocean of Fun features lots of water slides, wave pool, lazy river, kids splash areas. Daily tickets to Worlds of Fun (for 2017) vary depending on the day of the week, time of the day, how many days you're visiting, and whether you're buying tickets ahead of time online or at the gate. For us, buying two-days of tickets online would cost us $59 each, plus a $30 for 2-days of parking, totaling $266. There are a lot of options including inclusive dining, VIP parking, etc to make your visit more enjoyable Iowa: Adventureland & Des MoinesLastly we come to our closest attraction Adventureland in Des Moines, which is only 2 hours away. This amusement park is family-owned and features lots of rides for adults and kids. They don't have a dedicated kids area, but there are kiddie rides scattered throughout the park. It is a very quaint amusement park with a cute main street as you enter. Your park admission also gets you into Adventure Bay, a wonderful water park with slides, wave pool, lazy river, and a fantastic splash zone area. Two days of tickets for 2017 run $67 for adults and $62 for kids 4-9. Parking is $10/day unless you stay at Adventureland Resort which provides a free shuttle. So for our family it would cost us $276 if we stay off-site, or $256 if we stay at their resort or campgrounds. Decisions, Decisions...All of these are excellent options and provide unique, educational, and fun experiences for our young family. For us, we were working on a limited budget and only four days, so all the national park options were out.
Our vacation is between Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, or Adventureland in Des Moines. Check back soon to see what we pick!
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