A Twinkle Light Wonderland at Worlds of Fun’s WinterFest

This post is sponsored by Worlds of Fun. WinterFest runs through Dec. 31

I’m so excited to share with you one of my family’s favorite holiday traditions in Kansas City! There’s just something magical about bundling up in warm coats and mittens and walking around gazing at the twinkling lights while sipping hot chocolate. If you are looking for a festive family outing to get you in the holiday spirit and knock some holiday to-do’s off your list, I’ve got the place for you!

Winterfest at Worlds of Fun

This is my family’s third year attending WinterFest at Worlds of Fun and each year we get to experience something new and exciting while also revisiting some of our usual favorites.  I realized this year that one of the reasons we love WinterFest so much is because it allows our busy family (extra busy during the holiday) to experience a ton of holiday fun in one location! What would normally take us multiple nights to accomplish we can do in one place. That’s my kind of holiday efficiency, friends.

To kick off our visit this year, we visited the Sounds of the Nativity scene with seasonal songs, a manger and a stable of live animals. We saw camels, sheep, goats, and cows and could purchase ($2) food to feed them. My girls had a blast feeding the camels until my youngest got scared and made me finish the job.

Don’t forget to swing by Santa’s Workshop near the main stage by the entrance to meet the Elves and sit on Santa’s lap. He’ll spend time chatting with your child about their wish list and even find their name in his big nice list book! You can cross seeing Santa right off your holiday to-do list! The attraction is completely free, but they do offer pictures for a fee at the end. There is no obligation to purchase, though.

In past visits, we’ve ice skated ($10 per person) and took a magical carriage ride through the park to see all the lights and rest some tired little legs ($8 per person).

We also enjoy visiting Mrs. Claus in her kitchen to decorate cookies. Mrs. Claus and her elves walk around assisting with the decorating and posing for photos. Icing and sprinkles galore are provided with your cookie purchase and the kids can go wild decorating a gigantic sugar cookie with sprinkles and icing. This is a great place to warm up a bit and snap some sweet pictures.

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Cookies

We also enjoyed our Taste of WinterFest passes ($24.99 for six tastings) where we were able to experience a unique holiday spin on some traditional dishes at Worlds of Fun.  Some of our favorites were the Holiday Donut Nachos and the Holiday Pizza with squash and Brussel sprouts –not a kid favorite, but a definite win for me! The employees at World of Fun were so nice and offered to switch out the holiday pizza for cheese pizza for my girls, and they were thrilled. We also tried the Prime Rib and Shrimp and Grits and both were amazing. On my list for next time is the Holiday Chicken and Waffles!

If paying for extras isn’t in your plans or budget, there are plenty of things to do for free at WinterFest as well. We enjoyed a live street show with The Mistletones. They sang a variety of Christmas songs and even threw in a little comedy as well.

Many families enjoyed the indoor Charlie Brown Christmas Spectacular with an appearance from Snoopy himself. It was an entertaining show and also offered a nice place to warm up. Check with park information for showtimes, but they typically run on the top of the hour starting at 6 pm.

The North Pole Post Office is a cute and crafty little space designed for kids to write their letters to Santa. This is a great place to rest and warm-up! Snoopy’s Show Place is another great space to decorate ornaments and design Christmas crafts while warming up and resting little legs. Some rides are open and have been transformed into holiday rides! My personal favorite activity is the LeTaxi Tour through the 12 Days of Christmas. My girls love to drive the taxis, and I enjoy singing the 12 Days of Christmas as loud as I can to embarrass them. In between activities, you’ll find frosty characters at every turn, perfect for fun interactions and photo ops!

A few mom tips before you go. 

  • I would highly recommend a stroller or wagon if you have littles who get tired! There’s a lot to see and therefore a lot of walking!
  • This seems like a no brainer, but dress warm! We even used these hand warmers, and they helped tremendously.
  • Grab a map or download the free Worlds of Fun mobile app so you can scope out bathrooms and locate all of your favorite activities to plan your route through the park.
  • Plan some indoor fun to warm up. The crafts in Planet Snoopy, writing letters to Santa at the North Pole Post Office, visiting Santa at his workshop, decorating cookies with Mrs. Claus and catching and indoor show are great indoor activities to include in your visit.

There are so many fun things to do at WinterFest it really is your one-stop holiday spot to get in all the festive fun this holiday season. Worlds of Fun WinterFest is bringing the holiday cheer to a new level and you won’t want to miss it!

Britni Jarvis
Hi all, I’m Britni! I’m a wife to the king of dad jokes and a mom to three daughters ages 10, 7 and 3. We live in northwest Olathe (basically Lenexa) where I am a part-time high school business/computer teacher and a part-time adjunct instructor at a local college. When I’m not teaching the youth of America, I can be found helping my husband run the two KC area shave ice stands we own (@jarvys_shaveice) and organizing our event business. In my free time, I enjoy running outside when it’s not above 85 or below 40 degrees, watching my husband grill out so I don’t have to cook, and being perpetually sarcastic. I love nights out with the hubs, traveling with my family, red wine, coffee, ice cream and flare pens. Follow my crazy on IG @britni_jarvis or on all other forms of social media @britnijarvis.