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| - Update: went back last night with my toddler and some friends. They still won't allow water in, but they'll allow you to bring your own food in for a birthday party. I no longer understand their logic.
I brought my two year old for the first time yesterday. She had a great time. The owner was very nice, and checked to make sure we were having fun. It's very clean, there is ample seating, and there is a room for parents with free wifi. They also have video games, which is kind of cool. Also, admission is 2-for-1 if you're with a child who is two or under.
So why 3 stars? There were a few things that could be changed/improved:
1. The temperature. Because of the size of the place, the fans keeping the bounce houses blown up, and the skylights, this place is hot. I was sweating after being in there for 10 minutes.
2. The variety. There are a couple things for really young kids, an obstacle course, a basketball hoop, and a giant slide. Other than that, everything else is either your basic bounce house, or a bounce house with something like a slide inside of it. My kid would be happy with that for a long time, but an older kid would probably get bored after a while.
3A. The no drink/food rule, specifically the rule about water. Nothing, not even water, is supposed to be brought in from outside. I guess I can understand the logic behind that, but it's water. Bottled water is pricey, and water fountains can get kind of gross.
3B. The snack bar. There is a snack bar that doesn't offer much in the way of snacks, other than cotton candy and popcorn. They do offer chicken fingers, hot dogs, and pizza, but those aren't really snacks. Not for a little kid, at least. The snack thing is actually why we ended up leaving. She wanted a snack, but I couldn't give her anything I had packed, and it wasn't worth getting pizza or chicken fingers because she'd probably eat 2 bites. Bounce house places are pretty popular with toddlers because they get some of that energy out, so a place like this can expect a large portion of their customers to be toddlers and their parents, especially during the week. There needs to be actual snack food available for them. Go to any toddler place in town (Fidgets, Giggles and Hugs) and look at what they offer, then expand your snack menu.
Most places in town have tried to implement a no outside snack rule and failed because that's a really difficult thing to do with little kids. In fact, the very first thing my parent friends look at when a new place opens is if outside snacks are allowed. A lot of toddlers have food sensitivities or allergies, so they need specific items. Toddlers tend to be picky and stubborn, and go on these food strikes where they only eat one thing for a week. My daughter once decided to live off of yogurt. If a kid is going through a phase like that, the parents can't visit an establishment that absolutely restricts outside food. It just doesn't work.
I can understand not wanting pizza and happy meals brought in, especially for parties, but it doesn't make sense for snack foods, especially when a bunch of your customers are toddlers.
This place has the potential to be a 5-star establishment, but some of this stuff needs to be fixed, and the food rule needs to be reexamined.k
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