Our family took our first little out-of-state vacation to the Kansas City area in July. Last year we rented a cabin on the river for a little fishing trip. It was nice to get away for a few days and expose the kids to something new. Our budget isn’t exactly Disney World sized, so we planned a frugalish three-night trip to the Overland Park/Kansas City area.
And we can’t forget, there’s an Ikea in Merriam, KS, which turned out to be less than ten minutes from where we stayed. Very convenient. I bought two new recycling bins, nothing exciting to write about there. I just like walking around.
After getting an oil change and all that good 100K mile maintenance done we took our 2010 Toyota Rav-4 on the trip. The whole trip cost $43 in gas.
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OUR FRUGALISH TRIP ACCOMODATIONS
We haven’t traveled much with the kids. I decided to check out Airbnbs in the Overland Park/Kansas City area. I was pleasantly surprised by the options as well as the price compared to a hotel in the same area.
We ultimately decided it was worth it to forgo the hotel pool if it meant separate bedrooms, a kitchen, and a yard for the kids to play in. Although I will admit, we didn’t spend all that much time in the yard; there were really nice, shaded parks just a short walk or drive away.
We chose a small two-bedroom one-bathroom house in downtown Overland Park. It had a living room with one very large, expensive-looking television, a sunken den/office space, galley kitchen, small dining room, and a completely remodeled bathroom between the two bedrooms.
The house was very clean. There were a few cosmetic issues here and there, but my only complaint was that the listed amenities included a washer and dryer on-site. There was indeed a washer and dryer, but they were in the basement. The basement we were only permitted to enter in an emergency. I’d still stay there even without that, but I had hoped to have laundry done before we headed home. I’m weird like that.
Taxes and fees included our Airbnb set us back a total of $395 for three nights.
photo Airbnb
LEGOLAND & SEALIFE
The main reason we went on this trip was to take the kids to Legoland and SeaLife. They’re four years apart, but both under ten, so we’re not going on huge vacations they won’t likely remember. This was right up their alley as they’re both into Legos. Both attractions are on the same site and you can add the second attraction for just $10 a ticket if I remember correctly.
Masks were encouraged but not required for visitors. All employees wore masks.
It wasn’t quite as big as we expected for a Discovery Center, but the kids enjoyed it all the same. It took maybe three hours to go through both. Our kids aren’t tall enough for Merlin’s ride, but they did just about everything else offered there.
In Legoland, kids can build their own racecars and race them. There is a center for several of their lines, so naturally, our eight-year-old daughter loved the Lego Friends station with life-size versions of each girl. She made sure to pose next to her favorite. For the younger builders, there is an entire Duplo block room, which dad and little brother enjoyed while we were in the Lego Friends room.
My favorite part was the room with models of movie scenes as well as several attractions in Kansas City. The lights are on a timer so you can see them in both day and night with lights shining through the buildings and everything. It was pretty cool.
We did not purchase any Legos from the gift shop as everything was either very souvenir-y (minimalist here) or mostly expensive collecter edition master builder sets. We can buy legos at Target or the resale shop for much less. That reminds me, I have a whole bin of my old blocks next door at my dad’s I need to get.
The total cost for our family of four (two kids under 10) to visit Legoland and SeaLife was $154.
The kids enjoyed SeaLife, but I was glad we only paid $10 each. We’ve taken the kids to the Oklahoma Aquarium in Jenks and it is huge compared to SeaLife.
At the end of the visit, kids can color their own fish on a tablet and then see it on a wall-sized big screen. The kids really enjoyed that part. In the end, you find yourself in the Lego gift shop. Younger kids will be impressed. I wouldn’t spend the money to take older kids there.
On a positive note, we were given parking vouchers, so parking was free in the Crown Plaza parking garage.
FOOD EXPENSES ON OUR FRUGALISH TRIP
One of the main reasons we stayed in a house was so we could cook our own food. In order to make things easier, we cooked breakfast and dinner at the house evening. We had a fully equipped kitchen as well as a grill and patio furniture out on the back porch.
We kept things simple, convenient, (and tasty) for the trip so we did spend a bit more than we would for a typical week at home. I overbought a few items and we chose to eat breakfast out the morning we checked out, so we even came home with a few groceries in the cooler.
It was easier to eat out for lunch each day. We could’ve eaten at the Lego cafe, but it was more of a snack joint than a restaurant. We chose not to eat at any of the attractions we visited and instead opting for local fare.
Downtown Kansas City is big not to mention full of construction when we were there. We walked around Crown Plaza Shoppes and saw the restaurant options there, but no one seemed interested (other than me) in eating there. Rather than trying to find a restaurant, our picky kids would eat at I Googled a local option back in Overland Park.
If you are ever in the area and want a great place to eat lunch I highly recommend McLain’s Market. Next time I’m in the area (I like browsing Ikea) I definitely want to try their breakfast.
We spent a total of $163 on groceries for six meals, snacks, and beverages. We spent a total of $173 dining out; in addition to McLain’s, we ate at Jack in the Box by Ikea, Andy’s Frozen Custard, and Lenny’s Sub Shop on the way home. Oh, and we stopped for lunch on the way there.
TOTAL COST BREAKDOWN FOR OUR FRUGALISH TRIP TO THE KC AREA
The total cost breakdown is as follows:
$395 Accommodations
$154 LegoLand & SeaLife
$163 Groceries
$174 Dining Out
$87 Miscellaneous Shopping
$43 Gas
____________
$994 total
We visited local parks, got frozen custard, and chilled at the house watching that big TV and laughing at how bad old movies looked in high def. The next time we take the kids on a trip we’ll pack in more adventures, but this was a nice, laid back, frugalish trip. And the kids still talk about it so it’s good to know it was memorable for them too.
We took the opportunity to visit the Children’s Museum at Prairie Fire. The T-Rex model was impressive, but don’t expect to spend more than an hour there exploring. It is rather new, so hopefully, it will just get better with time. Admission was free.
I definitely want to take them to Central Station next time. It looked great driving by and I’d love to catch a fountain show.
Have you take a frugalish trip recently? Has COVID changed your travel plans or are you ready to get back out in the world?
This post was proofread by Grammarly
The Airbnb looksike it was a pretty decent place at a not too bad price. Although spending almost a grand in total for a few days certainly jumped up