Things to do in Seattle

Things to do in Seattle

There are probably hundreds of articles and lists of what to do in Seattle, but I’ve yet to find one that’s complete. When my friend Micky asked for a list due to a family visit, myself and other friends helped him build the following list. Here it is…hopefully for posterity. Current update: Aug 2019.

Note 1: Blogger is lousy at formatting tables, so I suggest copy-pasting the whole page into Excel or Word to view the details.

Note 2: When a location is listed that is not in Seattle, the acronym STS means “South to Seattle”. I’m sure you can guess what NTS, ETS and WTS means…

Item	Where	URL	Cost Per Person	Notes
Electric indoor Kart racing	Redmond (ETS)	http://www.k1speed.com/	$20	No drivers license required
Hot air balloon ride	Carnation (ETS)	http://www.balloondepot.com/	$189-210
The Seattle Great Wheel	Seattle	http://seattlegreatwheel.com/	$8.5-13	Long lines
Indoor Skydiving	Renton (STS)	http://seattle.iflyworld.com/	$60-100	250 LB weight limit
Wild waves theme and water park	Federal Way (STS)	http://wildwaves.com/	$33-40	$20 after 4pm.
Kayak and Canoe on Lake Union	Seattle	http://www.nwoc.com/	$14-22 Per hour
Kayak and Canoe on Lake Sammamish	Issaquah (ETS)	http://issaquahpaddlesports.com/	$15-30 per hour
River Rafting	Various	http://orionrivertrips.com/	$70-85	Some age restrictions
Pacific Science Center museum	Seattle	http://pacificsciencecenter.org/	$10-18	IMAX theatre on premise at extra cost.
Seattle Center	Seattle	http://www.seattlecenter.com/	None	Various events, fairs and promenade
Space Needle	Seattle	http://www.spaceneedle.com/	$12-21	Huge souvenir shop
Underground Tour	Seattle	http://www.undergroundtour.com/	$9-17
Washington Fairgrounds	Puyallup (STS)	http://www.thefair.com/	Varies	Various events, fairs and conventions
Washington state fair	Puyallup (STS)	http://www.thefair.com/puyallup-fair/	$9-12.5	Every September. Rides cost extra.
Boeing museum of flight	South Seattle	http://www.museumofflight.org/	$10-15	Very large museum. Many full planes on display, inc. SR-71, Space shuttle body.
Boeing future of flight+factory tour	Everett (NTS)	http://www.futureofflight.org/	$9-20	Some restrictions on tour for children
museum of glass	Tacoma (STS)	http://museumofglass.org/	$5-12
Lemay car museum	Tacoma (STS)	http://www.lemaymuseum.org/	$8-14	Significant walking distance inside
Seattle aquarium	Seattle	http://www.seattleaquarium.org/	$15-22	On the old seattle port, nice promenade
Seattle art museum	Seattle	http://www.seattleartmuseum.org/	$11-17	Cheap parking. Park there, walk around downtown.
cougar mountain zoo	Issaquah (ETS)	http://www.cougarmountainzoo.org/	$9-12.5
MOPOP (Music + Sci-Fi museum)	Seattle	https://www.mopop.org	$14-20	Music, Science fiction and other cultural exhibitions. AKA “EMP” museum.
Woodland Zoo	Seattle	http://www.zoo.org/	$11.75-18.75
Reptile zoo	Monroe (NTS)	http://thereptilezoo.org/	$5-6
Helicopter ride/flight lessons	South Seattle	http://www.seattlehelitours.com/ http://www.helicoptersnw.com https://www.atomichelicopters.com	$90-330	20, 30 or 40 minute tours
Microsoft visitor center and store	Redmond (ETS)	http://www.microsoft.com/about/companyinformation/visitorcenter/	Free	No software or hardware sold to the public, but plenty of Microsoft branded items like shirts, bags, office toys.
Wade’s gun store and indoor range	Redmond (ETS)	http://www.wadesguns.com/	$15-35	Renting a gun for the range requires a buddy to come-with, or bring your own gun.
Snow-play in Hyak park	Snoqualmie Pass (ETS)	http://www.parks.wa.gov/winter/trails/?Region=3&Park=16	$30	Winter time only
Liquor and Wine	Bellevue (ETS)	http://www.totalwine.com/	None	Huge store for drinking fans. Frequent wine tastings.
Google	Seattle	651 N 34th St, Seattle	None	Can’t get in without an employee escort
Facebook	Seattle	1730 Minor Ave, Seattle	None	Can’t get in without an employee escort
Amazon	Seattle	410 Terry Ave N, Seattle 1200 12th Avenue, Seattle	None	Can’t get in without an employee escort
Amazon Biodome	Seattle	2111 7th Avenue; Seattle,	None	Can’t get in without an employee escort
Bruce Lee’s grave	Seattle	1554 15th Ave E, Seattle	None
Leavenworth Bavarian town	Leavenworth (NTS)	http://www.leavenworth.org/	None	Lots to do, especially around Christmas
Victoria	Canada	http://www.victoria.ca/ and http://www.clippervacations.com/	Varies	Lots to do. Takes ~4 hours to get there.
Vancouver	Canada	http://www.tourismvancouver.com/	Varies	Lots to do. Takes ~4 hours to get there.
Las Vegas	Nevada	http://www.vegas.com/	Varies	Lots to do. 2.5 hours by plane.
Los Angeles	California	http://www.lacity.org/	Varies	Lots to do. 2.5 hours by plane.
San Francisco	California	http://www.ci.sf.ca.us/	Varies	Lots to do. 2.5 hours by plane.
San Diego	California	http://www.sandiego.gov/	Varies	Lots to do. 2.5 hours by plane.
Golden Gardens Park and beach	Seattle	http://www.seattle.gov/parks/park_detail.asp?ID=243	Free
Alki Beach	Seattle	http://www.seattle.gov/parks/park_detail.asp?ID=445	Free
Lake Sammamish	Issaquah (ETS)	http://www.parks.wa.gov/parks/?selectedpark=lake%20sammamish	Free, but requires discovery pass	http://www.discoverpass.wa.gov/
Gasworks Park	Seattle	http://www.seattle.gov/parks/park_detail.asp?id=293	Free
Argosy Cruises	Seattle	http://www.argosycruises.com/	Varies
Mt. Rainier	(STS)	http://www.npca.org/parks/mount-rainier-national-park.html	Free
Mt St. Helens	(STS)	http://www.fs.usda.gov/mountsthelens	Free
Hiram M. Chittenden Locks (a.k.a. Ballard Locks)	Seattle	http://www.nws.usace.army.mil/Missions/CivilWorks/LocksandDams/ChittendenLocks.aspx	Varies
Olympic Park	Olympic Peninsula (WTS)	http://www.nps.gov/olym/index.htm	$15 per vehicle	Snow almost year round. Might be dangerous in Winter.
Ye Olde Curiosity Shop	Seattle	http://www.yeoldecuriosityshop.com	Free	Store that is somewhat of an oddity museum too
Family Fun Center	Renton (STS)	http://www.fun-center.com	Varies	Many kid-oriented fun rides and activities
South Center Mall	Renton (STS)	http://www.westfield.com/southcenter/	Free	Large mall, and with the adjacent strip-mall area, its HUGE.
Pike Place	Seattle	http://www.pikeplacemarket.org/	Free	Check out the Wall of GUM! Parking is difficult and expensive.
Deception Pass park	Oak Harbor (STS)	http://www.parks.wa.gov/parks/?selectedpark=deception%20pass	Free, but requires discovery pass	http://www.discoverpass.wa.gov/
Camlann Medieval village	Carnation (ETS)	http://www.camlann.org/	Free
Olympic Game Farm	Sequim (WTS)	http://www.olygamefarm.com/	$11-12	Buy 4-5 loafs of wheat bread at Safeway beforehand to feed the animals.
Marymoor park concerts	Redmond (ETS)	http://www.marymoorconcerts.com/	Varies	Fun park to visit even when no concert
The Gorge Amphitheatre	Quincy (ETS)	http://www.livenation.com/venues/14067/gorge-amphitheatre	Varies	High profile shows, but 3 hours drive east
St. Michelle Winery	Woodinville (NTS)	http://www.ste-michelle.com/events/concertCalendar	Varies	Store and concert venue
The Triple Door	Seattle	http://www.thetripledoor.net/	Varies	Restaurant with shows
Seattle Theatre Group	Seattle	http://www.stgpresents.org/	Varies	Multiple theatres and venues
Showbox	Seattle	http://www.showboxpresents.com/	Varies	Various shows
Evergreen State Fair	Monroe (NTS)	http://www.evergreenfair.org/the-fair.aspx	$5-7	Fair every August. Admission doesn’t include rides
Evergreen fairgrounds	Monroe (NTS)	http://www.evergreenfair.org/	Varies	Various events year round
Bumbershoot Festival	Seattle	http://bumbershoot.org/	$50-55 per day	Every August
DEFY (Flying Circus)	Tukwila (STS)	https://www.defy.com/seattle/	$6-16/hour
Willows Mini Golf	Redmond (ETS)	http://willowsrun.com	$6-11	Call ahead to reserve time
Mini Mountain indoor ski	Bellevue (ETS)	https://www.minimountain.com	$55/lesson
Goodwill Seattle	Seattle	1400 S Lane St, Seattle	Varies	Largest Thrift store in the state
Uwajimaya	Seattle	600 5th Ave S, Seattle	Varies	Massive Asian product store
Lolli and Pops	Multiple Locations	https://www.lolliandpops.com	Varies	Unique collection of fun candy and snacks
Wings over Seattle	Seattle	1301 Alaskan Way, Seattle	$13-17	Unique ride

BeatTheSystem@COMIC-CON

This year, I decided it’s finally time to see the San Diego Comic-con…the largest comics, sci-fi and fantasy convention in the world. For many years I’ve yearned for it, and wasn’t able to go for various reasons (mostly since I didn’t live in America), but this time, things aligned just right…or so I thought.

After my wife and I worked out the terms of my parole, I bought some plane tickets and found a nice hotel that was reasonably priced (the Bristol at $164 a night), signed up for membership as guided by the Comic-Con website and waited for ticket sales to be announced. However, as I learned the hard way, the demand for comic con tickets far outweighs the supply and every single ticket sold-out within less than 2 minutes. It was generally reported that they sold out in 96 minutes, but in reality that’s just the time it took to complete the financial transactions with the 100,000+ buyers. If you tried to go on the sale page after 9:02 that morning, you got a site-full page and that was it.

I was at a place with a bad internet connection, and by the time I was able to login, it was too late. Naturally, I was heartbroken. Not only did I miss my one-and-only chance to go, I was also stuck with a $300 plane ticket and $900 hotel, both non-refundable. However, there are other things to do in San Diego, so I decided to go anyway…very smart move, as it turned out.

At San Diego, I did the various attractions (I highly recommend the USS Midway and the Seal tour) and on Thursday (the 2nd day of Comic Con), I decided to go to the convention center and check it out. I wouldn’t be able to get in, of course, but I figured I’d at least see some nice-looking geek girls. I was right about the 2nd…but not so about the 1st. As it turned out, starting around 4pm, many people lined up the streets and offered their badges for sale. After some haggling, I scored one for $20 and spend the rest of the day at the convention. The next day (Friday), I went on CraigsList San Diego even earlier and scored a Friday Badge for $30 (it was earlier in the day, so worth more). The seller was at Comic Con himself, so we met at the entrance to the hallway and he sold me his spare badge. So, not only did I successfully GO to comic-con, but I also scored the badges for under their original price (which was $40). In addition, I got the badges without standing in any lines, while official ticket holders took many hours to convert the online registration to a physical badge. I’ve been told people lined up as early as 5 am for that, while those who showed up at opening times waited in line until almost noon just to get in.

You might be wondering how is this possible? As is well-known, Comic-Con takes various measures to prevent ticket-scalping! Well, this is true, and a ticket buyer can receive a badge only by showing an ID matching the name she or he used to purchase the ticket. The badge itself also has the person’s name printed on it. However, once that process is complete and you have a badge, the ushers who guard the hallways can’t really verify the identity of each and every entrant, and so anyone wearing a badge can walk right in without further scrutiny. Naturally, buying a ticket from a scalper ahead of the convention is a risk, because without an ID card matching the name, you’ll be denied a badge, so the trick is to get the badge itself…and that can only be done during the convention.

I’m not going to say that anyone should go ahead and just fly over without buying a ticket, of course. There’s always a risk of not being able to find a used badge, or that Comic Con will figure out some way to screen everyone (as a security expert, I don’t think that’s feasible, but who knows…maybe they’ll develop retinal scanner a-la Minority Report…). Also, a down-side of this method is that used badges are easy to find only around mid-day and later, so the ROI (return on investment) is limited. However, this is an important lesson for anyone who wants to go and can’t deal with the messy ticket sales system.

Here are a few more tips:

• Scalpers sell at inflated prices, and its not unusual to see a single day ticket offered at $250 or more. I don’t think it’s worth it when you can score a ½ day badge for $20-30 as I did. Your call, of course.

• Even though it violates policy, there are no active steps against reselling tickets – at least none that I’ve seen. Scalpers and resellers stand around road-blocks near the convention center, typically holding out their badge with their hand to indicate they are offering to sell.

• Selling your badge violates the terms and conditioned you sign when you buy the badge, so if you do it, you’re taking on some risk. Buying one, though, whether Comic-Con likes it or not, is not illegal and since you didn’t “agree” or “sign” anything, you are not risking any more than having the badge confiscated and yourself escorted out (which is very unlikely, as I said). I’m not a lawyer, so I can’t guarantee the above, but I’m fairly certain that buyers are in no legal jeopardy.

• Before 4pm, it’s hard to find sellers on the street, but CraigsList should have plenty. Naturally, the earlier in the day, the more the badge is worth, so take that into account.

• You probably don’t have what it takes to identify a forged badge, if you run into one. I can’t teach you how, I’m afraid, but it’s probably not going to be a problem, because the ushers don’t have the training and time to verify badges. They just glance at them quickly, because every usher has to handle about 5-6 entrants every second, and there are no “quiet times”.

• On the same note as above, I doubt the ushers would be able to recognize or detain people who are ineligible (for example, carrying a badge from the day before, or even without a badge at all) under all the volume. I wouldn’t encourage it, given how easy it is to get a badge if you really want one, but if all else fails and you have nothing to lose…might be worth the risk.

And finally, if you’re worried about my actions violating ethics or hurting comic con…well, I don’t feel bad about it at all. My badge was original and authentic, and if anything, the re-sale I was part in is better, because the thousands of dollars I spent at Comic-Con and in San Diego are an income for the vendors, income for the airlines, the city of San Diego and a boon for the US Economy. While Comic-Con failed to earn their $40 from my ticket, they are, in fact, a well-greased money printer. They charge an average of $22 per square foot of booth space, and the convention center has about 600,000 of those. Even with a 30% margin for walkways and volume discounts, we are still talking about millions of dollars (not to mention the tons of advertising and cross-promotions). I would certainly hope that Comic Con will find a way to allow everyone to attend, but until then, they’ll have to deal with the results.