2017 Worlds of Fun Kansas City Flavor

Worlds of Fun has been doing a stellar job with food festivals, and it all began earlier this year with their annual Brew & BBQ event. Now Worlds of Fun is following up with a new event called Kansas City Flavor.

The new event will tailor the regions food with regional beer, wine and spirits and tie it all together with live entertainment.

Kansas City Flavor runs June 2-4 and 9-11, 2017. Event tickets are $25, or $20 for season passholders. A special combo ticket is available for $59.99. Guests can also purchase an individual station for $5.00. Season passholders get a free station when you check in at the festival booth.

Event ticket includes a tasting card valid for six stations. See our review of each menu item below. The menu includes:

– Demi-Glaced KS Strip Steak on Crostini
– Flame-Broiled Giant Gourmet Chicken Wing in Choice of Sauce
– Beef Slider Burger with Award Winning BBQ Sauce
– BBQ Burnt Ends
– Seasoned Corn
– Locally Made Pie Pop

Over 20 drink options will be available for purchase from regional beer, wine, and spirit makers. Plus non-alcoholic freshly made Front Yard Lemonade.

Kansas City Flavor will also offer family entertainment, live musicians, and local artisan crafts.

170602 Worlds of Fun Kansas City Flavor Sign ©Sarah Hearn

Review Worlds of Fun Kansas City Flavor

1) KC style burnt ends with the park’s award winning BBQ sauce. Paired with wine from Somerset Ridge Winery in Paola, KS and Martin City Brewing Company in Kansas City, Missouri.

170602 Worlds of Fun Kansas City Flavor Burnt Ends ©Sarah Hearn (1)

The Burnt Ends were cooked just right and had a great sweet and tangy BBQ flavor. This was by far my favorite dish of the night. There were also wine offerings from Somerset Winery and beer from Martin City. We opted for the Flyboy Red table wine that had a dry pleasant taste.

170602 Worlds of Fun Kansas City Flavor Burnt Ends ©Sarah Hearn (2)

2) KC style gourmet flame broiled chicken wing brushed with sweet honey mustard, tangy BBQ or hot and spicy sauce. Paired with craft beer from Cinder Block Brewery in North Kansas City, MO.

170602 Worlds of Fun Kansas City Flavor KC Style Chicken Wing ©Sarah Hearn

The honey mustard sauce we opted for was very tasty! While the wing tasted good, portion size at this booth was the main drawback, as it really should have come with at least 2-3 wings to be comparable to the other dishes offered. The dish was paired with beer from Cinder Block Brewery, which we love and you ca not go wrong with any of the Brews here.

3) Homemade, from scratch, apple, cherry, or peach pie pops. Paired with dessert wines from Belvoir Winery in Liberty, MO and Somerset Ridge Winery in Paola, KS. Plus specialty drinks from 360 Vodka in Weston, MO. Non-alcoholic option available of World’s of Fun lemonade.

170602 Worlds of Fun Kansas City Flavor Peach Pie Pop ©Sarah Hearn

Here you had the option of three different Pie Pops, yes, just like a cake pop but pie. We elected to try the peach pie pop, which sounded like a great pairing with the specialty drink. While we appreciate what they were trying to accomplish, and the presentation was adorable, the dessert needs some improvement in flavor. There was not much, if any, filling inside the pie pop, and the dry crust lacked flavor and fell apart easily. The plus side of the dessert booth is the cocktail! You can grab yourself a small taste of the Belly Flop, which is 360 Huckleberry Vodka, lemonade and grenadine. This cocktail would be nice on a hot summer day out by the pool.

170602 Worlds of Fun Kansas City Flavor Apple Pie Pop ©Sarah Hearn

170602 Worlds of Fun Kansas City Flavor Cherry Pie Pop ©Sarah Hearn

4) Midwest seasoned grilled corn on the cob. Paired with Kansas City Fire Cider, made by combining Fireshine Corn Whiskey from Platte Valley, MO and Louisburg Cider Mill’s Apple Cider. Also available are craft beers from Stockyard Brewing Company in Kansas City, MO.

170602 Worlds of Fun Kansas City Flavor Seasoned Corn ©Sarah Hearn

Here they tweaked the classic grilled corn by rubbing it down with butter and seasoning before throwing it on the grill. It could have used a bit more seasoning but overall was very delicious! If you like Cider then you will love the cocktail they make here. The KC Fire Cider has Fireshine Whiskey, 360 vanilla vodka and Louisburg Cider, this cocktail was strong and tasty.

5) The Worlds of Fun Tailgate: Seasoned beef slider topped with award winning BBQ sauce. Paired with craft beer from Boulevard Brewing Company in Kansas City, MO.

170602 Worlds of Fun Kansas City Flavor Seasoned Beef Slider ©Sarah Hearn

The beef slider was almost the size of a full size burger which was a nice surprise. It had a great char grilled flavor with a sweet taste from the BBQ sauce, two thumbs up on this one!

6) KC Strip Steak, a Kansas City tradition, atop a seasoned crostini, drizzled with a brandy infused demi-glace. Paired with wine from Amigoni Urban Winery in Kansas City, MO.

170602 Worlds of Fun Kansas City Flavor KC Strip Steak on Crostini ©Sarah Hearn

This dish was easily one of the ones we were most excited to try. While the KC Strip was very tender and the crostini that it was served on had a nice crunch to it, none of the items went well together or had enough flavor to carry the dish. What we originally thought was BBQ sauce atop the KC Strip was actually a brandy infused demi-glace, and to be honest it would have made the dish a lot better if it was the BBQ sauce.

We are looking forward to going back another weekend to try out all of the items again and give another update!

A special thanks to Aaron and Sarah from Theme Parkers Podcast (Facebook) for collaborating with us on the Worlds of Fun Kansas City Flavor event.

If you tried out the new Worlds of Fun #KCFlavor event, let us know what you thought below in the comments.

Cover photo ©Worlds of Fun

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