Kansas City St. Patrick's Day Parade

The Kansas City St. Patrick's Day Parade is a tradition with a lot of families in the area. It's held on St. Patrick's Day each year in downtown Kansas City. Since the holiday often lands mid-week, people even take long lunch breaks just to go. If you like parades, I recommend it. There are a few hassles to consider before you head out.

Parking is difficult to find. But if you keep looking, you will find it! I say to bring a stroller for your tot in case you have to walk a long ways to get to the parade route, but be warned that it will be difficult to maneuver once you're on the sidewalks of the parade route.
Get there early if you plan to sit on the street. We brought camping chairs to sit in, and I'm glad we did because it would be a long time to have to stand. A lot of people do stand though.

There are other activities for the kids besides the parade. These change from year to year, but you can count on vendors walking the streets selling green novelties! I enjoyed taking my daughter, but it isn't something I feel compelled to do every year.

Coco Key Water Resort

I was lucky enough to be invited to visit the Coco Key Water Resort, located inside a Holiday Inn, here in Kansas City. It's close to Kauffman stadium, right off I-70, but don't miss your exit because it's hard to get turned back around!

My daughter had a blast. The waterpark has several kid-friendly slides and spray areas of varying depths, but if you're wanting to actually swim, this isn't really the place. It's more of a splash and be splashed kind of place! The day we went was a home school day with discounted admission ($5!), so there were lots of kids and since it's inside, it was very loud. The lazy river was closed for some reason, but otherwise we got to try everything out. There are two large slides for those who are more adventurous, and a "hot tub" area that seats lots of people, but otherwise, this is a kids zone.

You can get food at the resort, but we didn't, and honestly, I wouldn't want to eat there. It smells of chlorine and doesn't feel very appetizing. This isn't to speak ill of it though--for our discounted admission it was tons of fun! I've been to another of these "hotel water parks" and this one was better despite the lazy river being closed. I don't recommend bringing a toddler unless you want to sit in 1ft of water the entire time. I left mine with Grandma so me and my 6 year old could explore everything there was to play on!
Parking: There is plenty of free parking at the hotel.

Admission: $10 for a day pass. There are different rates if you actually stay in the hotel, and occasionally a discounted ticket day comes up, such as when we went. $10 isn't bad, but there are a lot of options for water fun that are less than that if not free.  The hours vary a lot so call ahead or check their calendar before going out.

Lockers? There are locker rooms and lockers to store your stuff. They were clean the day we went and spacious to boot.



Where? 
Holiday Inn SE Hotel - CoCo Key Water Resort
9103 E. 39th Street
Kansas City, MO 64133
1-877-425-2746