Places To Go In Kansas City (Well, A Couple New Ones For the Time Being)

 

Hi there, me again. It's time to review some of the new places I wanna try in Kansas City when I've moved back in Lawrence. Let's start out with the first new place.

Fugitive Beach

I bet you're wondering, what is Fugitive Beach you ask. Well, it's a waterpark located at Rolla, MO and it's been captivating visitors with its thrilling selection of activities since 2014. It offers a wide range of attractions suitable for all ages, making it the perfect destination for families or anyone seeking a fun-filled day out. One of the unique features of Fugitive Beach is the exciting cliff jumps. It has different levels of jumps that range from 10 to 20 feet, making it a perfect place to test your courage or just have fun with friends. Additionally, Fugitive Beach has a 60-foot water slide that provides an exhilarating experience for guests who crave adventure.

It's even got an on-site bar & grill offering a variety of delicious food and refreshing drinks serving classic burgers and fries to BBQ and sandwiches, all made with fresh ingredients. I bet you might like them too.

Plus, the good folks at Fugitive Beach take great pride in providing a safe, joyful environment where guests can make memories that last a lifetime. The team is dedicated to ensuring customer satisfaction and always goes the extra mile to ensure that everyone who visits us has an unforgettable experience.

It's a beautiful recreational spot is located in Rolla, Missouri, about 100 miles southwest of St. Louis, Missouri. We are about 100 miles northeast of Springfield Missouri and about 175 miles southeast of Kansas City. Now let's review the entry price range.

Entrance fee for anyone 11 and older* - $16.99

Entrance fee for anyone 10 and younger - $14.99

So if we can plan on a trip to Fugitive Beach here in Rolla, MO, we can have ourselves a really good time there. We can have fun, go swimming, have some BBQ, anything else whatsoever. Remember that this place is located at 16875 County Road 5285, Rolla, MO 65401. And as always, you may bring in personal flotation devices, canopies no bigger than 10'x10', chairs, coolers of food and nonalcoholic drinks, and a smile.  :)

Silver Dollar City

In case you didn't know, Silver Dollar City is a 61-acre amusement park in Stone County, Missouri, near the cities of Branson and Branson West. The park is located off of Missouri Route 76 on the Indian Point peninsula of Table Rock Lake. The theme park opened on May 1, 1960, and it's also an 1880s-themed experience. Silver Dollar City is located at the site of one of the Ozarks' oldest attractions, Marvel Cave.

Henry T. Blow, a lead mining magnate, explored the cave in 1869 with six miners. They found no lead, but were convinced that the flat ceiling of one room was composed of marble, and so they originally named the cave Marble Cave.

In 1889, William Henry Lynch, a Canadian miner and dairyman, purchased the cave and a square mile of the surface around the entrance for $10,000 (equivalent to $339,000 in 2023). Lynch, with the aid of his family, proposed to open the cave to sightseers. The Lynches began operation of the sightseeing venture on October 18, 1894. And when William Lynch died in 1927, ownership of the cave passed to his daughters and the name of the cave was changed to Marvel Cave. The Lynch family operated the cave for nearly fifty years until a Chicago vacuum cleaner salesman, Hugo Herschend, purchased a 99-year lease on the cave in April 1950.

After Hugo's death in 1955, his wife, Mary, took over the day-to-day operations of the venture. With the aid of her two sons, Jack and Peter, she was able to make vast improvements to the cave, including building a narrow-gauge funicular railway whose trains pulled visitors a distance of 218 feet (66 m) from the depths of the cave to the surface. Once the railway was in operation, the Herschends felt that development of the cave was complete. Therefore, they decided to create another attraction which would bring even more tourists to the cave.

Mary, Jack, and Peter began building an 1880s-style Ozark village on the surface surrounding the site of the cave. Mary wanted authenticity as well as preservation of the area's natural beauty. The themed frontier town was named Silver Dollar City and originally was the site of five shops, a church, a log cabin, and a street production reproducing the feud between the Hatfields and McCoys several times daily.

The name Silver Dollar City was inspired by Ozark Jubilee script writer and publicist Don Richardson after the promotional idea of giving visitors silver dollars in change. The scenic designer for much of the original attraction was Andy Miller, who had been the set designer for the Jubilee in nearby Springfield. Opening day, May 1, 1960, included an appearance by Uncle Cyp and Aunt Sap Brasfield. In its first year, Silver Dollar City drew more than 125,000 people, four times more visitors than had annually toured Marvel Cave. "We discovered we were in the theme park business," Pete Herschend said. In 1968, the park started charging admission. Groovy, huh!

Anyway, it's my first time reviewing this theme park after these years. And as a result of this, I've been thinking about going to Silver Dollar City for a really really long time. So if you have some time the next time I'm living in Lawrence, maybe I can get somebody to come take me to Silver Dollar City for a great time there. You know something, I haven't been to Silver Dollar City and I would like the chance to go there someday. I would really love to see what this place looks like. They've got all these cool roller coaster rides, attractions, and entertainment. And it's even got a waterpark for summer seasons too. I heard that this theme park is themed like the 1880s, and because of this, I would think that this theme park is like the gold rush. And if I were to go on train rides like this one on the picture, I would go like the Rock-A-Motion Choo Choo. Just remember this location to Silver Dollar City. It's at:

399 Silver Dollar City Pkwy, Branson, MO 65616.

(Now you know.)

American Jazz Museum

Okay, we all know a lot about the art of jazz music, right. Well, my first time would be when I’m finally back in Lawrence Kansas. The museum of jazz is at Kansas City. The American Jazz Museum is located in the historic 18th and Vine district of Kansas City, Missouri. The museum preserves the history of American jazz music, with exhibits on Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald and others. Nested within the museum is a fully functioning jazz club, The Blue Room, which holds live performances multiple nights a week.

One of the significant items on display is the Graphon alto saxophone played by Charlie Parker at the famous January, 1953 Massey Hall concert in Toronto with Max Roach, Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Mingus and Bud Powell. In addition to the many historical exhibits visitors can learn about different styles and rhythms of jazz at the multiple listening station exhibits. Another major component of the museum is the historic Gem Theatre directly across 18th Street. The museum is a Smithsonian Affiliate.

It's even got a blue room which includes an exhibit of a working jazz club, designed to look like a 1930s nightclub and named after the Street Hotel's Blue Room, which was famous in the 1930s and 1940s in the segregated district. During that era, jazz clubs were open 24 hours a day. The museum's Blue Room has interactive exhibits, a bar, and hosts live performances multiple evenings every week. The entrance to the Blue Room is directly at the corner of 18th & Vine streets.

And it also runs cultural youth programs too. Did you also know that the museum opened in 1997 and is in a building that also houses the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Now you know.

So if you'd like to plan on going to the American Jazz Museum for a special time, please let me know on that one.

Okay so that was my daily list of the new places I wanna check out in Kansas City when I'm finally back in Lawrence Kansas. The reason why I wanna check out these places is because I wanna start exploring new things there. Learn about the art of jazz music, go swimming at Fugitive Beach, have fun at Silver Dollar City, all that stuff. And I'm telling right now on this one, it's gonna be really fun.

And I know how much I love going to Science City at the Union Station, Sea Life, Crown Center, Worlds of Fun, and many other places there too. So if you like what I'm writing on my blog, feel free to let me know what you guys think on the comments below and also feel free to get me some more info on how to plan our trip to these new places. I would really appreciate it very much.

And...

P.S. Anyone who's reading my blog can take me to Worlds of Fun when I'm finally back.

Anywho, that's it for now. This has been this week's story on my Lawrence Kansas Monthly Blog. And as always, check back later for more stories to come. Cause it’s like what Dr. Seuss always said… “Oh, the places you’ll go.”

Catch you on the flip side!