When the rain comes and I mean really pours, parents usually find fun things to do indoors. Sometimes we bake, sometimes we do arts & crafts and when we are really adventurous, we head to indoor play centres. Where they are jam packed with soaked toddlers, loud noise and overpriced moving rides.
Sounds like a great plan!
Mason and I attempted to visit Crash Crawley’s last year when I had a coupon but once we arrived they were closed for reno’s.
We were to join Anna & Eva for the fun today and we arrived ahead of them to find zero parking spots. For the size of the center, parking is limited. The remaining spaces in the complex are for other businesses with the threat of towing if you do not obey their signs. I found a partial space on the road and was more than 1.5 meters over from the sign but I was throwing caution to the wind and figured on a Sunday there probably wouldn’t be too much parking enforcement. It was also pouring rain. Someone has to feel sorry for the parents of kids who can’t play outside!
While waiting for Anna, I decided to call CC’s to see what the scenario was inside. I was told that it was very busy but it would be better if we came at 5pm. Explaining that I was already outside pretty much ruled that option.
Anna showed up shortly after and found a spot right out front! We headed inside and it was a bit more than I expected. Already being at Koko’s I was familiar with the play centre environment but I didn’t expect it to be quite as big, quite as noisy and there was four of us instead of two.
I signed a form, handed over our shoes and forked out $10.00. A bit steep admission for a 2 year old. As we entered, there were paid storage lockers for our belongings. I kept walking I didn't want to shell out more dough. I figured there were cubbies somewhere... I had a jacket, a purse and Mason’s backpack with snacks, drinks and my camera. Already too much. We located the toddler play center directly across from the food seating area. I looked down and there were numerous puddles of water from the parents who chose to sit and play on their laptops while their kids ran wild. They had shoes on. There was also a giant garbage can catching drips from their 20 ft ceiling. Lovely.
My socks were now wet.
The toddler section was not closed off [no security gates] and it was a bit of a maze containing activity centers along the walls. They focused on music, dexterity or computers. Most of the centers were missing parts. 2 out of three of the ‘computer’ stations (the most popular) had a monitor that didn’t turn on or a frozen screen with a missing mouse.
Frozen screen, no mouse. Missing puzzle pieces. No monitor power.
Mason playing with an activity that actually worked.
At first Eva had an issue with the loud noise (who could blame her, it was terribly noisy) and Mason seemed okay with it but then he started to feel bored and wanted to wander which was not optimal since space was limited and the only other play structure that was free and for his age meant I needed to go with him which was not a great idea considering I was weighed down by my baggage. I followed him into the ‘ball pit’ area which seemed okay at first but kids were throwing balls, there was only one other parent in there that didn’t seem to mind this behaviour and the older kids (6+) were trampling about stepping on hands and feet. A quick retreat upset Mason. What else was I to do?
Besides the maze of tubes, slides and balls, there were a few coin operated rides, a small ‘ATV’ track for 4+ (also paid), a birthday room, a paid miniature train ride (no adults), and laser tag. I contemplated getting some food, most of their cafe prices were decent and had vegetarian options (cheese pizza and grilled cheese) but seating was limited. Well I shouldn't say that, there was a ton of seating but rudely occupied with parents with laptops instead of people eating.
I lost Anna in the crowd of people and went to find bathrooms. There were two located at the front entrance but the door was locked. Could they only have one stall in there?? I asked a non-friendly associate and he told me “there were more upstairs” but failed to tell me where upstairs was. So I wandered until I located the staircase and the washrooms. The women’s washroom was large and had one baby changing station. It was covered in water and the two paper towel dispensers were completely out.
I was annoyed at this place, I looked around and the floors were pretty dirty. I can imagine that they have a lot of foot traffic but there seemed to be plenty of teenaged staff milling about. Surely for their minimum wage they could monitor the bathrooms for supplies (the ‘cleaning sheet’ that was displayed don the back of the door stated that it was last cleaned April 1st.) I am assuming that couldn’t be the case.
Once I wiped my hands on my pants and changed Mason, I was no longer in the mood to play. Mason was not too impressed and who could blame him? The layout was poorly, it was extremely loud and not really meant for his age. I texted Anna as I couldn’t find her and told her we were bolting. I felt bad but I couldn’t take much more of this. It wasn’t fun and the only way Mason could have fun is if he could roam freely and this wouldn’t come without abduction or injury.
So we waited at the counter, got our bracelets clipped and our shoes back and out we went. We were happy to see the rain had stopped but this play date definitely was cut short. Anna and Eva decided to stay longer, they had found some fun in the ball pits and climbing through the tubes but even they had a time limit and experienced the same drawbacks we did and left about 30 mins later.
I doubt I’ll be back to this place anytime soon. Even when Mason is age appropriate, they need to put better care into their business to offer a safe and enjoyable place instead of it being a cash cow. I should have asked for my money back because they definitely could not justify charging $10.00 for a two year old to play with broken toys.
Anyhow, a bit disappointing. For those of you who have older children, it may be a better experience. Best to go when it’s off peak hours and not raining.