Why Wichita is The Place for Your Next Family Getaway

We have partnered with Visit Wichita to show you what Wichita, Kansas has to offer for a family trip. However, all opinions are my own!

I don’t know about you, but about three times a year I am ready for a weekend reality break. A quick weekend vacation always puts life in perspective. But when your bank account says “girl, please” to the idea of a last minute vacation, what’s a momma to do? Visit Wichita! A trip to Wichita, Kansas checks all of the easy peasy vacay boxes –

  • It’s a quick 2.5 hour drive from OKC,
  • There are great places to eat and have fun
  • It’s affordable!

Like I said, the drive to Wichita is super easy. It’s what I call a “non-stop” road trip. No need to stop for food, restrooms, or leg stretching. Once we arrived in Wichita we stopped by our hotel, The Staybridge Suites, which was way more than your typical hotel. We had two bedrooms, a living room, and a kitchenette! We had tons of space for all of us to stretch out. After dropping off our bags we visited Field Station Dinosaurs which is right outside of Wichita in Derby, Kansas.

When you arrive at Field Station Dinosaurs you are transported to a Jurassic Park-like world filled with over 40 life size animatronic dinosaurs. Like most kids, my boys are fascinated by dinosaurs, and they think they know everything there is to know about the enormous creatures. One of the best parts of Field Station Dinosaurs is that they provide tons of little known facts about the dinos, which even had mom and dad learning a thing or two!  They also have shows, games and activities for the whole family to enjoy.  

After the dinos, we were starving, so we hit up Bubba’s 33. This is a fun restaurant with high energy. The menu is wonderful. Two words – bacon cheeseburger. You may be thinking, “I can get that anywhere!” Well, let me clarify. There is bacon IN the patty and ON the patty. The picture says it all.
For a little late night fun we went to The Alley.  This entertainment center was filled with video games, a bowling alley, an escape room, a laser maze, Go-Karts, and my favorite, Hologate. Hologate is a virtual reality game that is pretty amazing! We chose to play Simurai, where our mission was to defend our base from alien spiders, robots,  and a Dragon-Boss.  At the end of the game, it was pretty obvious that the boys’ mad XBox skills would come in handy if we are ever to be invaded by a giant Sumo-Bot. 

The next morning we enjoyed breakfast at Jimmie’s Diner.  A local spot where the waitresses wear 50’s style poodle skirts.  The breakfast was delicious and reminded me of the Saturday morning breakfasts my mom would make.  It was perfect way to begin our fun-filled day.  

After breakfast, our first stop was to The Museum of World Treasures. As an added bonus, when we arrived at the museum there was a farmer’s market in the courtyard and we spent a few minutes browsing the local growers. The museum was very educational. They have a scavenger hunt for the kids, which provided for some “friendly competition”.  The museum holds Natural History, Military, American History and World Civilizations exhibits that provided hours of fact-finding enjoyment. We also experienced a behind the scenes tour with the education specialist which gave us up close access to million year old fossils, artifacts from Egyptian tombs, and dueling pistols from the 1700s.  

After our museum adventures, we decided to have a bit of Mexican goodness at Ruben’s Mexican Grill. We ate our weight in chips and salsa and devoured tacos, fajitas, and burritos. Ruben’s was just what we needed to refuel before we checked out Exploration Place. Exploration Place is a science wonderland! The featured exhibit was Planet Shark:Predator or Prey.  Lots of fascinating facts and interactive exhibits about the world of sharks.  They also had a pretty rad CreatorSpace, where kids can tinker, create, and build using 3-D printers, circuit boards, rivet guns, and so much more! 

We stayed at Exploration Place until they turned the lights out on us-it was just that cool!  A little rain diverted our plans to visit The Keeper of the Plains, but Staybridge had an awesome theater room where we hung out and let the rain pass.  After the weather cleared, we headed out for a sweet treat at College Hill Creamery.  They had lots of flavors to choose from and it was the perfect way to end the night.  

On our last day in the Big W, we visited Tanganyika Wildlife Park.  This is an interactive wildlife park like nothing we have seen before.  They have hundreds of animals, many of which you can pet, feed and ride!  Fun Fact: lemurs love to eat craisins! Who knew? We spent hours at the Wildlife Park observing the animals in a cage-free environment.  

Mason_MylesCamel
ILikeToMoveIt
Mason_Giraffe
KangarooJack

Wichita is such a fun place to get away without breaking the bank.  So, the next time you need a little fun family time, check out Wichita! If you’d like to connect with Visit Wichita to get even more ideas on what to do while visiting, please let them know we sent you!

Let us know what are some of your favorite places to go in Wichita so we can add them to the next OKC Moms Blog adventure!  

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Alicia Currin-Moore
Alicia Currin-Moore is a wife, mother, and a Director with The University of Oklahoma College of Law who lives in OKC with her husband, Cedric and their two kids, Mason and Myles. Alicia has spent 23 years in education and has worked in nearly every aspect of public education. She can't wait to kick off her stilettos and trade in her briefcase for tennis shoes and a duffle bag to chauffeur her boys to their many events. Alicia loves dates with her hubby, gardening, spending time with her family, and all things OU.

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