This winter, I had what many of my friends referred to as my “grinch year.” I was up to my eyeballs in too many toys, and I put a ban on the entire family– NO. TOYS. PERIOD. I was not going to let another toy come into my house when we were overloaded even after getting rid of a bunch. Instead, I encouraged my family to consider ideas that might be more long-lasting and educational, but still fun (like subscription boxes or annual memberships). I also put my money where my mouth was and got my son an annual pass to SeaLife Aquarium, the Legoland Discovery Center, and to Union Station, 3 places we visited last fall and loved.
And this summer? I’m so thankful for my grinch year, because the memberships we have now are perfect for our summer fun, and we’ve been getting tons of use out of each. So, now that my son and I are well-versed in what memberships are worth it in the KC area (and which you might want to skip).
Arguably one of my favorite memberships in all of Kansas City, I highly recommend a Union Station membership to everyone. The value is just completely there.
What it gets you: A Union Station Membership gets you free admission to Science City year-round, free admission to planetarium shows year-round, a free bag of popcorn per membership in Extreme Screen Theatre movies, member discounts to special events (so you get discounted tickets to exhibits like Gridiron Glory, by 30% or more, and discount of 50% on tickets to events like Maker Faire), a discount to Science City Summer Camps, and discounts of 10% at Union Station stores and restaurants. Further, Union Station members get special holiday perks (like free admission to the Polar Express PJ Party and priority scheduling for the Holiday Express Train visit).
Reciprocity: One of my favorite perks is that Union Station Memberships are ASTC reciprocal, meaning you get free or discounted admission to over 300 museums worldwide– this is how we’ve been able to visit places like the Discovery Center of Springfield for FREE.
Cost: Individual Membership is $55, with prices for additional individuals being higher (2 individuals, for example, is $75, with memberships for up to 8 being $145 or less). Because Union Station memberships benefit a non-profit historical organization, memberships are tax deductible as a charitable donation!
Number of visits before it pays for itself: Somewhat hard to calculate because the membership does so many different things, but based on a 2 individual membership, and the fact that 1 adult and 1 child entry to Science City without membership totals $25, it would take only 3 visits to Science City to pay for a membership. However, if you’re adding in planetarium shows or visits to other museums, your mileage may vary. Definitely worth the money if you plan to visit Science City more than 3 times in a year (and who wouldn’t?!)
Duration: Membership starts immediately and is valid for 1 year.
Union Station membership gets a 10/10 from me because of the fact that it’s affordable, you get a full year of use, and the fact that it’s tax deductible and ASTC reciprocal makes it perfect for families who also enjoy travel. If you’re from KC, it’s good to know that the reciprocity works at museums in Springfield, MO, Omaha, Oklahoma City, St Louis, and even a new museum coming soon to Bentonville, all within driving distance if you’re looking for a great weekend getaway. That means that this membership’s value packs an extra punch by letting you explore multiple museums. With 2 new Science City exhibits, this is definitely one worth getting this summer.
LEGOLAND Discovery Center Kansas City
My son and I got a LEGOLAND membership after a really fun visit in the fall, because we had an absolute blast. There are a few different ways to get a LEGOLAND annual pass, and with one of those ways being in conjunction with SeaLife Aquarium right next door, I’m going to go into price and benefits below, after I give my take on both places.
LEGOLAND Discovery Center has a little something for everyone– they have a fun area where you can build imaginative vehicles and race them down slopes, a mini LEGO friends area, even a 4D theater and plenty of places to play, both for toddlers and for the older kids. One of my favorite features includes oversized bricks that interlock like regular bricks, but I also love that everywhere you go in LEGOLAND Discover Center, there is a pile of bricks waiting for you to explore and build. It leaves so much to the imagination. With that said, unless you live close to the city and want an indoor place to play, I’m not 100% sure LEGOLAND is a place worth returning to on a super-regular basis. The exhibits don’t change, so the true value is in finding new ways to build, or paying extra for classes that let you learn how to build new designs (with a kit that usually costs about $5).
I love the SeaLife Aquarium. While the exhibits almost never change, there is something really tranquil about watching fish, so I enjoy visiting the aquarium again and again. The aquarium has enough that you can make a trip last a couple of hours, and if you don’t have a membership, re-entry is valid all day (if you do have a membership, it doesn’t matter– you get free entry anytime it’s open).
What it gets you: LEGOLAND Discovery Center membership gets you unlimited entry to LEGOLAND Discovery Center KC for 12 months, priority entry when there’s a wait, 10% off in the attached retail store, 20% off inside the cafe, and invitations to passholder preview days. SeaLife passes get you unlimited admission for 12 months, priority entrance on busy days, and special events for passholders. There is also a combo pass options that allows you access to both museums. OR, you can pay even more and have the option to get a Merlin Annual Pass USA, which may be worth it if you travel often– the Merlin Annual Pass USA, while more expensive by quite a bit, gets you unlimited admission for 12 months to both LEGOLAND Theme Parks, both LEGOLAND Water Parks, all USA LEGOLAND Discovery Centers (as well as a couple international ones), Madame Tussads locations in the USA, USA SEA LIFE Aquariums, the San Francisco Dungeon, and the Orlando Eye. If you travel a lot and plan to visit those attractions this year, that’s the one to go for. Otherwise? One of the others is just fine.
Reciprocity: There isn’t any reciprocity with a LEGOLAND ticket, which means a LEGOLAND Discovery Center KC membership won’t get you into any other LEGOLAND centers in the USA. However, a SeaLife Aquarium annual pass gets you into many other zoos and aquariums in the country at half price, because it’s part of the American Zoos and Aquariums Reciprocity system. This typically includes visits to Emporia Zoo (free to the public, but you get additional discounts in their stores), Hutchinson Zoo, Sunset Zoo in Manhattan, Rolling Hills Zoo in Salina, the Topeka Zoo, Sedgwick County Zoo, the Endangered Wolf Center in Eureka, MO, Dickerson Park Zoo, the St Louis Zoo (Free to the Public, but you get up to 4 half price Safari passes), the Lincoln Children’s Zoo, Omaha Zoo, the Riverside Discovery Center, Oklahoma Zoo, and Tulsa Zoo, as well as many others, all within driving distance.
If you truly have your heart set, however, on reciprocity within LEGOLAND Discovery Center and other SeaLife Aquariums specifically, you’ll probably do better paying more for a Merlin Annual Pass.
Cost: Individual LEGOLAND Discovery Center KC passes are $55, with 4 Family Member Passes being $210; SeaLife pricing is the same, except if you purchase an annual pass in person for a family, it’s $230 (Online, it is still $210). A combo pass to both SeaLife KC and Legoland is $110 for an individual or $380 for a family of 4. Merlin Annul Passes are $269 for each family member over the age of 3.
…with that said, there is almost always a deal in November, close to Black Friday, that makes annual passes WAY cheaper– as in, I got mine for around $35 versus $55 per person.
Number of visits before it pays for itself: For a family pass considering 2 adults and 2 children to SeaLife only, it would take about 5 visits to pay for itself. It would take 4 visits if you prefer doing a combo pass. If you bought a pass to LEGOLAND only, it would only take 3 visits for a family of 4 to make it worth it. Looking at the Merlin annual pass? They have a handy calculator on their website where you can enter the amount of people in your family and the amount of times you plan to visit each attraction in a year, and it will tell you how much you’ll save with an annual pass (or if it’s smarter to buy individual tickets instead).
Duration: Membership starts from your first visit and continues for 12 months after.
My final thoughts? Aquarium and LEGOLAND membership gets a 6/10 from me. This is a fun membership to have, but unless you’re 100% certain you’ll be going more than once a quarter, wait until November and buy the pass during their Annual Pass Sale, when you can get them at a discount and use them for the entire year. The exhibits are fun, but don’t change often enough to make paying for a full price pass worth it.
I almost didn’t get a pass to the Kansas City Zoo. When I had last visited almost 15 years ago, the zoo was dead. There was nothing to do, hardly any animals, and it just wasn’t a great place to be. Then, my son and I took a trip to the zoo because our favorite soccer players were going to be there, and we fell in love. I don’t know what happened between 15 years ago and now, but if you haven’t been in awhile, you must go back for a visit. The penguin plaza, the polar bear exhibit, and free-roaming kangaroos alone are worth the visit.
What it gets you: Membership in the Friends of the Zoo program gets you a few perks, depending on the level of your membership. Your basic membership gets you free admission, with individual, individual+, family (2 adults, 2 children), and “sustaining,” which helps the zoo more but still gets you 2 adults and 2 kids, but gives you 5 bonus tickets to use so you can bring a friend along, and you get a free tee shirt. Gold memberships give you the extra perk of free train, tram, and carousel rides; since the train is the easiest way to get around the park, I highly recommend getting the gold if you’re getting a membership anyway. Platinum memberships get you free unlimited rides on the Sky Safari and Boat. All memberships are available in the different individual, individual+, family, and sustaining levels. You can, of course, purchase higher-level memberships that get you additional perks as a premier member. Finally, your membership gets you additional discounts at the zoo stores and restaurants, monthly coupons, and Friend of the Zoo only events.
Reciprocity: Much like the Aquarium, Friend of the Zoo memberships are 50% reciprocal at AZA Zoos and Aquariums, meaning you get in half price (or at free to the public zoos, get special perks).
Cost: Individual membership starts at $52 for a basic membership and increasing at each level. Most families will find value in the family level membership, which is $99 for basic, $139 for Gold (free train, tram, and carousel), $179 for platinum (benefits of gold plus free sky safari and boat rides). However, if you happen to live in Jackson or Clay County, you’ll see BIG savings, with a basic membership being only $44 for a family, family gold being $83, and family platinum being $128.
Most Friend of the Zoo memberships are tax deductible, as well, which also helps make this a worthwhile membership.
Number of visits before it pays for itself: KC Zoo Memberships pay for themselves in just about 2 visits, since they sell day tickets in both gold level (free train, tram, and carousel) and basic level. Both worked out to be just barely over 2 visits, so if you plan to go more than 2 times in a year, it’s worth it.
Duration: Membership is valid from the day you pay for it until March 16, 2016. The earlier you buy it, the more time you have to get your 2+ visits in to make it worth your money, and the more coupons you get for the year (each month you have a new coupon to make your visit worth even more).
KC Zoo membership gets an 8/10 from me. While the zoo membership is absolutely worth it and pays for itself very quickly, I don’t like that the membership cards are simply printed tickets– they can’t be laminated, and must last you the year or you’ll have to pay $5 to replace them. I advise putting them in a badge holder to keep them safe. Additionally, I dislike that the annual membership doesn’t necessarily last a year, but only through March 16. That said, it takes so few visits to get your moneys’ worth that we got our money’s worth in under two months– it’s a no-brainer, especially because the Zoo is open year-round.
Recently, the big amusement park decided to make a little change– now, both parks are accessible with free back-and-forth access to both parks! That said, a lot of the value in this membership depends on if your family is into amusement parks or not.
What it gets you: Worlds of Fun offers three levels of their Season Passes. The silver pass will get you in all summer long, and includes Oceans of Fun. Gold and Platinum levels get you in all summer long, PLUS all fall long, to Dinosaurs Alive!, get you free parking, early park and water park access, discounts on food and merch, and discounted tickets for friends. A platinum pass also gets you access to all Cedar Fair parks. You can additionally pay extra for an all-season dining pass, which gets you lunch and dinner at select restaurants around the park (as long as meals are 4 hours apart). You do get additional park discounts and complimentary tube rental in Oceans of Fun.
Reciprocity: There’s no reciprocity at a gold or silver level, but the platinum pass does get you entry into other Cedar Parks owned parks, including Cedar Point, Kings Island, Canada’s Wonderland, Dorney Park, King’s Dominion, Carowinds, Knott’s Berry Farm, alifornia’s Great America, Geauga Lake’s WildWater Kingdom, Valeyfair, Michigan’s Adventure, Soak City Water Parks, and Gilroy Gardens, so if you do travel, you may want to consider a platinum pass if you’ll be in or near any of the other parks this year.
Cost: One thing I don’t like about Worlds of Fun memberships is that they offer it priced at “4 easy payments,” so it’s hard to tell what the real value is. While I don’t know the taxes and fees present, I can tell you what the 4 easy payments work out to be– $110 per person per summer for silver, $124 per person per year for gold, and $204 per person per year for platinum. Plan to get the meal plan, also, which gets you 2 meals per visit (provided they’re 4 hours apart)? That’s $218 for silver, $232 for gold, or $333 for platinum. Again, none of those include taxes or fees, so that will add to your costs when you go to buy tickets– keep that in mind.
Number of visits before it pays for itself: The daily pass if you don’t buy discounted or in advance is $45.99, so a pass becomes worth it if you go 3 times or more. Both the silver (2.4 visits) and the gold (2.7 visits) require you to go 3 times to see a savings, so I advise getting a gold pass– you get a lot more perks, more time to use it (silver passes only get you in during the summer season, whereas gold gets you in for the haunts in the fall, too), and it’s only $14 more. Whether or not the food pass is worth it depends on if you like the options for dining available. I personally would skip. Also note that the dining pass doesn’t include drinks, but that you can buy a cup that gets you cheaper refills all season– the cup is actually cheaper if you buy it online.
Duration: Membership lasts the duration of summer for a Silver pass, or through fall on Gold. Platinum passes get you into any of the listed parks any day they’re open for the 2015 season.
I give Worlds of Fun a 4/10 because of the high cost per person, and because it offers very few additional “perks” compared to some of the other memberships in the Kansas City area. With that said, I am not as much an amusement park fan, so if your family is a big fan of hitting the parks, it’ll definitely hold more value for you. Get it if you plan to hit the parks more than 3 times this year, skip if you’re only wanting to go once or twice.
This one has been in the news a bit lately thanks to VERRUCKT, the new insane water slide that is the tallest, like ever. While I personally am not brave enough to try it, it’s definitely made Schlitterbahn a bucket-list topper for many KC residents. Otherwise, Schlitterbahn is your standard water park with fun rides, a great place to cool off, and a summer-only lifespan.
What it gets you: A Schlitterbahn season pass, simply put, gets you access to the park an unlimited number of times. They mention on their website that you will get free parking, free life jackets and tubes, and the ability to bring your own picnic lunch; that’s true, but those are perks even regular admission tickets get you. However, your membership also gets you half price tickets for bringing friends, 2 half price tickets that you can use at other Schlitterbahn parks in the USA, buy one get one free flights on the Soaring Eagle Zip Line, savings on souvenir cups, cabana rentals, and food, plus extra offers throughout the year and special ride times on certain days.
Reciprocity: There is no reciprocity to other Schlitterbahn locations, but as I mentioned, your membership will get you 2 tickets that let you visit another Schlitterbahn location this season, so if you plan to travel, that’s an option.
Cost: Schlitterbahn season passes cost $129.99 for adults or $89.99 for kids under 11 or seniors over 55. Both are valid through September 7, 2015 when the season ends. This price doesn’t factor in sales tax, however, so account for that when you buy it, also.
Number of visits before it pays for itself: The Schlitterbahn park has two price types– peak season and otherwise– but the price is the same all season long online, so if you’re buying online, even in peak season, it’s always $39.99 for adults or $29.99 for kids and seniors. This means that it takes 4 visits for an adult to make it worthwhile, or just barely over 3 visits for a senior or kid.
Duration: Membership works until end of season 2015; the season ends September 7.
I give Schlitterbahn a 4/10 again because of high prices– I look at many of the other memberships, which get in a whole family for a whole year less than what Schlitterbahn or Worlds of Fun charges a single person for a season, which makes it a lot lower on my must-haves list. However, if you’re a water fan or a thrill seeker and plan to go more than 4 times, it might be worth it for the chance to try Verruckt or the other fun water activities at the park.
All in all, a lot depends on your family’s interests when it comes to what’s worth it, but for me, the real winners on annual passes in the KC area come from passes that are reciprocal with other locations in driving distance, passes that are affordable for a full family, and passes that will get you through hot summer days, cold winter ones, or rainy days year-round.
If you want to learn more about my thoughts on Kansas City Staycations, you can check out my staycation tips in part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4 or part 5 of my Staycation series. Learn more about the newest Science City at Union Station exhibits here, or check out my list of road trip tips and favorite road trip snacks, just in case you want to use a reciprocal pass for a long weekend!
Is there another membership you think I should add to this list? Or can you speak to your own thoughts on any of the ones I have listed? Sound off in the comments below and let me know what you think!
I homeschool so this is great information. It looks like some great learning opportunities.
Great article. I have been wondering about the zoo membership. We love our Union Station and have used it in Omaha too. Also were would you rate Wonderscope membership?
I’d be happy to answer any other questions you have on zoo membership, but we love ours!
I have had a lot of people mentioning the Wonderscope membership. I’m doing some investigating and hope to visit Wonderscope soon, so be sure to stop back by for an update on that one!
Great post!
I have learned a lot from your post!
Thanks very much, Mama! You are so talent!