Updated: 06/11/24
Plano, Texas is a youth sports mecca hosting everything from soccer and baseball to lacrosse and cricket. Are you planning a trip to Plano soon for your kid’s sports tournament? Take a look at our survival guide below to help plan your trip in Plano.
Kid-Friendly Entertainment
Breakout Games
This isn’t your average outing or everyday experience; Breakout is for those who would rather solve mysteries than watch someone else have all the fun. With different rooms that follow unique storylines, you and your friends will have 60 minutes to escape your adventure of choice by cracking codes, solving puzzles, and following clues. Part problem solving, part adrenaline, end-to-end fun. breakoutgames.com
crayola experience
Kids and adults alike can explore this 60,000 square foot attraction that Parents Magazine calls one of the “Top 10 Trips to Take Before Your Kid Turns 10″ at The Shops at Willow Bend. Experience 22 hands-on attractions inspired by Crayola products and their technologies. Visitors can name and wrap their own Crayola crayon, star in a coloring page, create melted wax spin-art, and learn how crayons are made in a live factory show – just to name a few. Plano’s location includes a 5,000-square-foot retail store selling the world’s largest selection of Crayola products and unique souvenirs, such as plush items and apparel. This venue is perfect for hosting private events and group trips. Purchase discounted tickets here. crayolaexperience.com
Go Ape zipline & adventure park
The first Go Ape treetop adventure course in Texas is just minutes from the Downtown Plano Arts District at Oak Point Park & Nature Preserve. This vast area of natural beauty sits on 800 acres and features more than just a canopy tour. It includes five individual sections with rope ladders and 39 exciting crossings. This activity is for kids and adults ages 10+. goape.com
Jack Carter Pool
For a small daily fee, visitors can enjoy the newly renovated Jack Carter Pool during the summer months. Features include a dual rider tube slide, body slide, lazy river, deep water pool with platform diving and a climbing wall, Flow Rider surf simulator, tot pool, leisure pool with some lap lanes, wet deck areas, spray features, rentable party areas and concessions. Check facility fees and hours at plano.gov. Don’t forget to check-out the new all-abilities park as well!
Main Event
The newly renovated Main Event houses over 50,000 square feet of high quality recreational bowling, billiards, laser tag, a unique selection of interactive games, and an array of food and beverage. mainevent.com
PINSTACK
PINSTACK is a 50,000 square foot venue featuring a 28-lane bowling experience, ropes course suspended 20 feet above the gaming center, two-story laser tag, bumper cars, LED lit six-lane rock climbing walls, hundreds of interactive games and simulator technology. The facility also has a full-service restaurant, outside bar area, covered patio with fire pits, big screen TVs and ample seating. pinstackbowl.com
Plano Super Bowl
Are you in for some late-night bowling post-tournament? The newly renovated 50-lane Plano Super Bowl is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week! The cafe offers a varied menu perfect for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or just snacking. Be sure to check out their specials: breakfast & bowling, lunch & bowling, and family fun packs. planosuperbowl.com
Red Door Escape Room
Red Door Escape Room is a fully immersive entertainment experience perfect for family, friends, corporate groups, and sports teams. Groups are locked in a room full of cryptic puzzles and hidden clues and have exactly 60 minutes to solve the clues and escape the room. reddoorescape.com
The Texas Pool
The historic Texas Pool is 168 thousand gallons of saltwater shaped like the great State of Texas. The pool features a diving board, two water slides, and an island with a shallow “South Texas” wading area for small children and parents. Cook out on their BBQ grills or enjoy the snack bar. There are picnic tables and a beach volleyball court. Coolers with food and nonalcoholic drinks are welcome. Tourists and visitors to the historic Texas Pool pay $10/adult and $5/child ages 3-15 (plus sales tax) for an all-day guest pass. texaspool.org
Thunderbird Roller Rink
Take the kids for a skate at Thunderbird Roller Rink! Whether you love this past time activity or just want to get some exercise, roller skating is fun for everyone. thunderbirdrink.com
More Attractions
11th Hour Escape
Battle House Laser Combat
Children’s Health StarCenter – Plano
CTRL V – Virtual Reality
Dark Hour Escape
Farm + Feed
Heritage Farmstead Museum
Interurban Railway Museum
Lords Indoor Sports
Nerfies
Pipe & Palette Art Classes
Skate Park at Carpenter Park
Summit Climbing, Yoga & Fitness
Whirly Ball Texas
For a complete list of attractions in and around Plano, click here. For a list of family-friendly options, peruse our list here.
Movie Theaters
Cinemark Legacy and XD
7201 N. Central Expressway Plano, TX 75025
cinemark.com
Cinemark Central Plano
1818 Coit Road Plano, TX 75075
cinemark.com
Cinemark West Plano and XD
3800 Dallas Parkway Plano, TX 75093
cinemark.com
Studio Movie Grill
4721 West Park Boulevard Suite 100 Plano, TX 75093
studiomoviegrill.com
Parks
If you haven’t gotten enough of the outdoors on your stay, two major parks in Plano offer great opportunities to get some more fresh air and there are 82+ miles of paved hike and bike trails. Oak Point Park and Nature Preserve is 800 acres and has 3.5 miles of concrete trails and 5 miles of soft trails along Rowlett Creek. Arbor Hills Nature Preserve is a 200-acre park with hike and bike trails, a 2-mile walking trail and stunning views of the prairie and forest. planoparks.org
Carpenter Park Skate Park combines popular street-style skating and bowl skating features. This new skate park features some of the most extensive and unique skate features in all of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Skaters will enjoy one of the largest bowls in the area as well as various sized ramps, rails, stair sets, and ledges. It’s free to use and open from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m.
For more ways to grab a workout in Plano, click here for a list of recreation centers, hotel gyms, parks and more!
Shopping & Dining
Downtown Plano Arts District
The Downtown Plano Arts District boasts a charming downtown area lined with authentic brick streets, clothing and jewelry boutiques, specialty shops, antique stores, art galleries, and artist residences. There are also one-of-a-kind restaurants like Ebesu Robata, Lockhart Smokehouse, Urban Crust, Urban Rio, Urban Seafood, and Vickery Park. Be sure to check our live music page for live music events at McCall Plaza. visitdowntownplano.com
Lakeside Market
Lakeside Market offers another open-air, upscale shopping experience. Discover one-of-a-kind treasures, unique gift ideas, signature cuisine and superb service from prestigious home furnishing stores, salons, spas, specialty retailers, and restaurants like Beerhead Bar & Eatery, Mi Cocina, Mignon, Sea Breeze Fish Market & Grill, Taverna Rossa, and Craftway Kitchen.
Legacy West
The new $3.2 billion dollar, 255-acre Legacy West development boasts 415,000 dynamic square feet of open-air retail and restaurant space. Legacy West’s shopping offerings run the gamut from fashion to furnishings to cosmetics and even cars. (Think Tesla!) Its luxury retailers include: CHANEL Fragrance & Beauty, Golden Goose, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co, and Tory Burch. At Legacy West, you’re bound to have a fabulous and memorable meal at one of the many restaurant options like: Bulla Gastrobar, Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse, Earls Kitchen + Bar, Mesero, North Italia, Shake Shack, Tommy Bahama, True Food Kitchen, Haywire, Taverna, Toulouse, KAI, Fogo de Chao, CAVA, Mendocino Farms, Prim & Proper, and Darna Mediterranean Market. For those who can’t decide, Legacy Hall has it all. In this one-of-a-kind artisanal food hall, visitors can wander from stall to stall to meet local purveyors and sample everything from lobster rolls to Philly cheesesteaks to gourmet marshmallows. There’s also an on-site brewery and live music stage. legacywest.com.
Shops at Legacy
Legacy Town Center is a mélange of homes, businesses, shops, hotels, restaurants and open spaces all in an urban village-style setting. The Shops at Legacy features an upscale retail mix of men’s and women’s clothing, home furnishings, beauty services, as well as some of the area’s best restaurants, including Bob’s Steak & Chop House, Fleming’s, and Mexican Sugar. The Marriott Dallas/Plano at Legacy Town Center is the center’s premier hotel property. Baccus Plaza boasts the Trails in Legacy Sculptures, which were created by Texas native Robert Summers and depict a cattle drive along the Shawnee Trail, a principal route on which Texas longhorn cattle were driven before and just after the Civil War. shopsatlegacy.com
The Boardwalk at Granite Park
Situated across from the luxurious patio of the 299-room Hilton at Granite Park, this 30,000 square foot expanse features a variety of restaurants with patios serving burgers, gourmet biscuits, southern California boardwalk-style cuisine, brew pub fare, specialty coffee, pastries and more. There are also beachy deck chairs that afford a great view of the park’s inviting water feature and live music stage.
The Shops at Willow Bend
The Shops at Willow Bend offers visitors a unique blend of Texas-style ambiance and world-class shopping. The center is anchored by Dillard’s, Macy’s, and Neiman Marcus. shopwillowbend.com
Preston Park Village
Shop, dine, and play all around Preston Park Village! You’ll find more than 40 specialty shops including Ann Taylor, Talbots, The Gap, William-Sonoma and much more. There is also a Studio Movie Grill and several restaurants. View the map
For a complete list of shopping and dining options in Plano, explore our site.
Sporting Goods Stores
Was only one cleat packed? Need to buy a new lacrosse stick? Here’s your go-to list of sporting goods stores in Plano.
Academy Sports + Outdoors
4045 N. Central Expressway Plano, TX 75023
3305 Dallas Parkway #301 Plano, TX 75093
Cardinal’s Sport Center
4817 W. Park Boulevard Plano, TX 75093
DICK’S Warehouse Sale
600 W. 15th Street, Ste. #B, Plano, TX 75075
Play It Again Sports
1937 Preston Road., Ste. 1000 Plano, TX 75093
REI
2424 Preston Road Plano, TX 75093
For a list of Plano events, visit our event calendar to see what’s going on while you are playing in Plano!