Crown Center

I’d give this place a 5 stars if I had kids with me. But for a place for adults This is more of a children’s mall. It’s not ur ordinary shopping center.

There wasn’t very many shops. For those visiting Memorial Day week, Hallmark Visitor Venter is closed from 5÷30−6÷3 and Kaleidoscope is closed from ⁵⁄₃₀ — ⁶⁄₅ which made the only free place for kids to play the Mr. Potato Head Exhibit. Nice candy shop in the basement with variety of choices for $ 10/​lb. You can have parking validated at any of the shops (no purchase necessary). The water fountains were a nice touch. If you just want to walk around, it’s an ok place to visit.

The old lady at hallmark who checked us out was bitchy and grumpy. Such a shame she represents Hallmark.

This is a great area in downtown Kansas City with something for everyone. With the aquarium, Legoland, many different shops and more adults and kids can have a great time here.
The main reason I can only give this place four stars is because it is insanely difficult to navigate. I honestly can’t even explain the confusion I had in trying to find my way around this place but I was not alone because I was repeatedly asked by other people where to find certain things. I ran into other people just like myself who were completely mixed up. It was really frustrating. I quickly learned to just ask people working at the stores where to find certain shops and attractions.
It is however definitely a place I would come back to as there were many areas we didn’t get the chance to explore. Next time, maybe I will find this place to be less of a maze.

Great place in Kansa City for ice skating, food and much more, you can spend hours and hours in this place, this place is a clear view of what KC is all about have a lots of fun.

Crown Center is a great little collection of shops and activities. It is very much a family place with many kid orientated shops and activities. The holiday season gets quite crowded. Must visit, especially if you have little ones.

Great place to spend time with family and friends!

Absolutely the worst experience of my fancy cupcake eateries ever. The place smallcakes is seriously the longest wait and the worst customer service I have had in a while. I went there waited for the family in front of me to order their food. I wasn’t mad at that fact, but the asshole who cut me and made me wait an extra 10 minutes was completely unacceptable. The woman that was working let him cut, the. Gave him a free cupcake. I have never seen anything like it. Where to order is confusing with very little decoration. I will never go to this location as long as I live. Once you have bad customer service you can’t go back. The woman made me feel crazy for saying that the small cakes down the road from me wasn’t hers and that my «coupon» wouldn’t be accepted. Her phone rang twice while I was waiting. She refused to answer, but she treated me like it was all my fault. On top of it all she didnt say thank you or sorry for your wait. I have always love cupcakes, but now I am done with this company.

A great mall with a good diversity of fun and unique shops that stands out from the typical «Macy’s and Dillards» trend. The building has almost as much character as the shops that fill it. My favorite places to stop are Shang Tea and the fudge shop.

A real let down. Boring. Tough to get in and out of. Not worth spending time or money to visit. Skip it and do something else/

Crown Center seems to be more for families with little kids, so I can safely say as of writing this that I’m not their target demographic. That being said, the whole center is nice but falls in the «so-​so» category for me.
The highlight for me is the fountains during the warmer months that play to music — very cool and very Kansas City.
Things take a bit of a nosedive when you go inside Crown Center. It’s just lacking. It’s kind of like a mall and I never find myself wanting to spend tons of time here. The parking garages make it easy enough to navigate, but for something in such a prime location near downtown, it feels like more should be happening here.
The big events I associate with it are the KC Irish Fest and the KC Marathon that take over during Labor Day and the third week of October, respectively. Both are great events, but mainly because they take advantage of the scenic outdoor area. Also honorable mention for ice skating there which is a fun seasonal thing to do around the holidays.
I have some distant memories of going to the Coterie Theater when I was a kid and it was pretty fun, but again nothing draws me in there now. I drive by it weekly without going in.
Given some time and some better restaurant tenants, Crown Center will be on the up and up I’m sure. For the time being, it strikes me more as a place that out of towners would visit and not local Kansas Citians.

I’ve been going to crown center all most all my life (18 yrs) and it’s always exciting to go. It’s beautiful during Christmas time w/​the lights and the Christmas tress. (and the same Christmas commercial that they have every year that I very get tired of. Even tho it’s time to update it) anyway the food there is always good. But very pricy and kinda high depending on we’re you go to get food. All in all love coming to crown center. (The last time I was there was in late April. Around the time I was going to prom, just look for dresses.)

With the memories that this place holds In my childhood… I wish I could give a higher rating. If you haven’t been, by all means It is worth going! Its beautiful, especially during CHRISTMAS time!!! But otherwise it feels kind of sad. Its obvious it has potential to be more. I would like to see more «big name» stores, myself. The food Is always good! Fritz’s Is a lot of fun! And now they even have a new cupcakery! The fountains, ice rink, and aquarium across the street make Crown center. The whole experience is honestly great for kids. Not so much for us young adults.

A little something for everyone ice skating in the winter, lil movie theater, liv theater too, excellent combo to hit up along with union station. It has a decent food court… SPIN PIZZA… just opened there.
I have brought many an outa towner here. Kids like to hit up kaleidoscope, the grand folk hallmark visitor center.
up to 3 hour parking can get validated at any place with in crown center that a purchase is made.
Mayor tree lighting ceremony before Christmas was brilliant.
One of the few things I’m gutted about is they closed off their fountain, no more running through it during the summer, no more children striping down for a spray, hell I’ve seen adults do it and than American Red Cross and the snow cone van show up to pass out water and sugary ice. Really good memories, its still there but its just not the same. Still other nifty stuff to do though all year round.

Crown Center makes me sad. I feel like it has so much potential, but it’s always empty and depressing. People who grew up in KC always tell me that Crown Center used to be the place to be when they were little, but those days seem to be over :(
There are a few interesting specialty shops, but apparently even the Bath & Body Works and Victoria’s Secret have closed. The food court is mediocre for the most part, although there are a few good things like Sheridan’s frozen custard. Kids would probably enjoy the aquarium and Legoland, but there isn’t much for the rest of us to enjoy…
I tried taking my parents here when they visited me in KC and they hated it so much that they refuse to ever go back. So overall, it’s not a place I would recommend visiting if you’re looking for something fun to do… try the plaza!

This is just a strange place. I remember coming here as a kid and the place was busy and packed full of people and I suppose that the state it is in now is a sign of the times. The center itself is fine I guess. There are no chain stores inside here and it is peppered with little locally owned and boutique shops. I’m all for that but there is just not any real draw for people to come in here unless they are going somewhere specific. I do appreciate that they host events throughout the year in the area surrounding the center.

It is a nice mall. There are many boutique stores, some restaurants, and it is connected to a hotel. Nearby are other attractions like Legoland, the Aquarium, and Kaleidoscope. It is a nice place to walk around and kill time and maybe grab some grinds.

I think of Crown Center as mostly for tourists or for Suburbanites to come and be seen gallivanting in the city. I don’t come over here much except on special occasions. It’s a great place for tourists and people who don’t come to downtown often so I’m certainly not poo-​pooing it. It’s a great place to explore, especially if you’re staying in one of the nearby hotels. There are a number of decent restaurants and interesting shopping and lots of covered parking. The Ice Terrace is close by which is always fun and the Lego Land and SeaLife are great adventures. I particularly recommend Sea Life for adults. The stores are a bit pricey but that is expected for this type of venue. Crown Center makes a nice backdrop too for the Irish Festival and other activities held here throughout the year. If I have out-​of-​town visitors, I know this is one part of the city they will enjoy.

Crown Center is sort of a strange mall.
There are no national chain shops, except the Hallmark store and food vendors. This is by design. And that’s okay; supporting local business is great. It does, however, make for a strange mix that screams «Tourist!» in some way.
There are gift stores, kid stores, toy stores, Christmas stores, boutique-​like stores and one amazing hat store, «The Missing Piece.»
Clearly, The Missing Piece is my favorite.
The center is super kid friendly, with restaurant and entertainment designed for them in the space and the aquarium and Legoland across the street.
Dining choices are okay, but a little pedestrian.
There’s a Screenland Theater and an actual theater on the top floor.
The rest of the top floor is now occupied by the newly expanded Hall’s Department Store.
I’m afraid to even touch anything in Hall’s, since it is 100% luxury focused. Pretty sure I don’t earn enough to even enter Hall’s.
Still, this is a great place to take visitors (a.k.a., tourists) and the place to find great hats and useful kitchen gadgets.

Crown Center is a good place to go a couple of times a year. I’m not a big shopper and I don’t have kids, so I don’t get much out of it. It’s a good place to keep an eye on for special events.

We love Crown Center and come here often. It’s a marvelous place to shop especially on a stormy day. The shops are beautiful and offer many unique items for gifts as well as designer clothing, shoes, hats, cooking items to name a few.
It also offers opportunities to enjoy fine dining, visit a friendly bar, people watch, view a movie or theatre production, window shop or take a walk in The Link. It offers many other activities in the surrounding area. The parking is covered and free with a validated ticket.

Fun for the whole family. Crayola center. Lol
Watch for changes. Different every time I come.
Three floors of fun and food.
Great for people watching.
Movies, Theatre, activities, and events galore.
Just like all of KC if you can’t find something interesting to do you need to put down your cell phone, look up and see the world.

I think the best thing about the Crown are the food options. The American for the high end set, and plenty of food court options and a Panera across the street for a more casual crowd. The theater is nice to have as well.
All in all, this is not a big place. Parking can be hard to find sometimes depending on what is going on… but there are plenty of options if you are a local and learn them.

EVERY YEAR I get gob-​smacked when I come in on the 2^nd level of Crown Center from the parking garage, walk over to the railing and look across the street to see the masses of white-​lighted trees with the tall Mayor’s Christmas Tree shining down upon the weaving, happy ice skaters. I mean — EVERY YEAR!
The very best part of Christmas for many people is woven around timeless traditions, repeated in similar fashion every year. So ask me: Do I Love going to Crown Center at least once during December? And the answer will always be YES!
Some of my favorite shopping spots are Holiday Magic, Toy Time, Crayola Kansas City, Chip’s Chocolate Factory, Function Junction and The Missing Piece. But at Crown Center it would be sacrilege to pass up a visit to Amy’s Hallmark Store and I always find some neat little stocking treasures that no one else has.
Whether you shop for hours and want a full meal or opt for just a snack, there are a number of possibilities in the food court area and at Christmas Time, no matter where you are in the complex, every where you turn has been decorated with the eye of a true Santa inspired artist.
DD#1 and I were there mid-​week, one week before Christmas with no small children in tow so I cannot give you actual elapsed times estimates but I must warn you: If you want to visit with Santa, be prepared for a long, long, LONG line…
PS: ~whispering~ (I finished up my Christmas shopping… AND had a super holiday evening!)