City Museum, Missouri, United States

4specialteacherokc 5:00 PM Sep 14, 2022

Fun First Trip with Curious Concessions
My kids (ten year olds) really enjoyed this place. They spent five hours there, and I finally said that we had to go. I read several comments regarding lack of staff. Staffing was not an issue the Sunday morning that we were there. As a matter of fact, a wonderful staff lady, without us asking, volunteered to show us the 10 story slide as she recommended doing that first thing before the line forms. My kids and I were able to go down it two or three times each with no delay. We did not purchase tickets to the rooftop and I’m glad we didn’t because 1) if it’s the first time you’re visiting, there’s enough to do in the rest of the museum and 2) If it’s raining or wet from the evening before, it won’t be open right away anyway. It rained the night before we visited the museum, and even MonstroCity (included in regular admission) was closed until 1pm so that it could dry out. Once it opened, my kids had a hayday in MonstroCity. My husband, a pinball fanatic, wanted to get the Pinball Alley admission. He decided against it at the last minute and was really glad he did. The games are very, very old and in his pinball fanatic opinion, “Aren’t that good of games.” There was one thing during our visit that left us scratching our heads. We went to see the “circus” (a show that was slight comedy and some acrobatic acts) on the 3rd floor at 1pm. Right outside the circus doors is a concession stand with all your favorite circus snacks, and the smell is delicious! (Their popcorn was indeed yummy!) My son eagerly asked for popcorn to eat while watching the show. We agreed to buy the popcorn. As soon as we went inside, a staff member came in yelling, “Absolutely NO eating or drinking in the circus.” Sure enough, they have a sign posted inside the circus on a pole that says the same. This makes no sense. Not only does everyone assume snacks are expected because of the concessions right outside the door but also because isn’t that what people do at a circus—popcorn, cotton candy, etc.? Several people around us complained about the policy as well. It’s a bit misleading of the museum to tempt you to buy food that can’t be eaten. If that’s the case, they need a sign at the concession stand, a large easel sign, notifying patrons that the food they are purchasing can’t be eaten in the circus. I suspect it would seriously cut down on concession sales as most people wouldn’t buy circus concessions that can’t be eaten in the circus. I couldn’t see why food wouldn’t be allowed. It’s hardwood seating. No carpet. Easy cleanup if there were to be a spill. Some folks went ahead and ate their snack, ignoring the sign and staff. Anyway, we felt the circus concessions misled people. Parking: Don’t pay more than $10. There are several lots outside that say “City Museum Parking” making a person think it’s where they should park (for $25), but it’s not an official lot for the museum, a much further walk, and more than double the price to park.

4Raeann B 5:00 PM Oct 17, 2022

City Museum
City Museum is such a unique experience that I definitely recommend checking it out, but I wish I had realized a few things before. It is overall geared towards children. I had read a couple of reviews that adults without kids would have just as much to do and at least to me it didn’t feel that way. I will say that I’m on the heavier side and a lot of the spaces definitely wouldn’t work. But my husband is more average sized and still chose not to do a lot of the stairs/climbing parts because of how cramped. So likely missed out on a lot of the hidden sections. We were able to still explore some though and absolutely loved all the options in the plane section. Just recommend knee pads if you do want to do more because the crawling was rough. There was a private event when we were there so a whole area on one of the floors was closed off which may have added more to the experience. The roof also closed early that day which may have been related. The stores inside closed super early compared to closing time. Around 4 or 5 while the museum was open until 10. The restaurants also stopped serving food a couple of hours early, but it was a Saturday and crazy busy. The pinball area didn’t super feel worth the amount, but they were interesting. Last thing, is that it is basically a giant playground for kids so they are pumped. Be ready for it to be busy, loud, and kids running everywhere. This is not a negative at all, just added to the feeling that a family may get more out of the museum than a couple. Overall though, we enjoyed it, especially since it was such a unique experience. I definitely do recommend checking it out at least once. The huge slide was amazing and even with all of the things listed we were there for around four hours or so.