I thought this might be fun, but I had no idea.
Operating the excavator was a downright blast. I initially called to reserve two bulldozer sessions. I'm glad I switched our reservations. Within your 90-minute playtime, you get to dig a big hole, move and stack some large tires from one end of your sandbox to the other, and even play some excavator basketball. I'm not saying that pushing dirt around with a bulldozer wouldn't have been fun; it's just that the excavator activities seemed more diverse and interesting.
It's normal to feel a little trepidation ahead of your experience. Once I stepped onto the dirt and climbed into my machine, all of that went away. What really helps is how detailed the instructors are. Ruben was fantastic. He guided us individually and as a whole through each activity. You'd think it would be difficult to pick up a 30-inch basketball off a construction cone and then dump it into the "hoop" (another large tire sitting on the ground). Surprisingly, I glided through all four of my basketballs and even had time for an extra--we'll call that the money ball. The only thing I didn't have time to do was sit the top tire vertically during the tire stacking exercise.
Is it worth $250? Absolutely! I'll admit that it's the type of thing that's outside my price range. But if you have the money and it's something you've always wanted to do, then you need to call them right now. Seriously.
Thanks to Lily and to Jieun's friend Min for (1) winning the gift certificates, (2) not being in town to be able to use them, and (3) giving them to us!