For BC Day, Mason and I decided to spend our time in Langley/Cloverdale.
Our first stop was lunch at ChooChoo's Restaurant, a place I wanted to try out since seeing somewhere on the Internets as a good place to take kids. I was surprised they were open so late (9pm) on a holiday but it worked for us! Free street parking right out front and we were cheerfully greeted by a hostess who offered some train toys for Mason to play with while we ate. Sure beats the one Matchbox car he has in my purse for boredom. Mason was easily distracted by all the train paraphernalia around the restaurant and once I got him settled in his seat, we were just in time to see the train zoom around us!
The kids menu was pretty basic: $5.95 for a hamburger, grilled cheese, mac & cheese, chicken nuggets, or pizza with choice of fries, veggies, apple slices or cantaloupe. Drinks were extra, so was dessert. Mason chose grilled cheese with apples. Okay he picked the gc, I chose the apples. I ordered the tuna/avocado wrap + salad for me. The service was friendly but on the very slow side. The restaurant was hardly busy. Once our orders came, I was very disappointed.
- Mason received 4 tiny wedges of grilled cheese with the cheese being a color I couldn't even place. It wasn't orange or yellow. Gross. The apples were fresh but only a few of them
- The wrap I ordered was sitting in a pool of balsamic sauce that used to be inside the wrap, they gave me Italian dressing instead of balsamic and they completely forgot the avocado (which they gave me a 50% discount off my meal)
Won't be going back there!
So now that lunch was over, it was time for some F-U-N!
On my first road trip as a child, I went to Alberta and back with my Grandma & Grandpa Weir and Aunt Cheryl/Uncle Bud and my two cousins. One of the stops was to Flintstones Bedrock City in Chilliwack. I have an album full of pictures but they aren't digital so they still live in one of those photo album things. It originally opened in 1975 and changed hands on September 6, 2010 and it was re-branded Dinotown. I didn't get a chance to take Mason there before it closed down a year later to become an RV development.
So we drive from downtown Langley to Cloverdale and appreciate the free parking just outside of the grounds. I grabbed our daybag + the $2.00 coupon I downloaded from their website. There wasn't a line up as the weather was warm but really grey. We paid $11.95 for Mason and $8.95 + tax for me. (Kids under 2 are free). We also got a free meal for Mason at the BP in Cloverdale (expires in Sept - so we have to go back soon lol).
Upon entering the gate, I realized that Dinotown should have been renamed 'bouncy castle land'. Sporadic 'Dinotown' mascots and disassembled attractions were scattered around the site. Upon my first impression, I was not impressed I paid $24 for Mason to bounce. Mason on the other hand was like a kid on candy and running like a wild child to each bouncy thing. He clearly was loving it.
Mason enjoyed going in this dragon thing quite a few times
Hey Mason, be a dinosaur!
This would have been a blast! A waterslide with a stop wall but I didn't feel like changing into my bathing suit for a few minutes of fun!
He spent about 20 mins in this maze thing for the younger kids
This didn't interest Mason but hey PAPA! You should build me this for the backyard at your house!
Isn't this thing supposed to be in water? lol
Yabba Dabba Dino Town?
Are you having fun??
Dinotown Characters
Did I just feel a raindrop?
I decide after two hours of bouncing and seeing Mason's hair stick to his head (he's never been this sweaty!) It was time to go. Just as I head towards an exit, one of the staff yells out to me, "The Dinotown show is to start!, don't miss out!"
So we make a detour to the stage and see a few umbrellas and comfy plastic lounge chairs. I find one sorta under an umbrella and give Mason permission to play on the 'stage' until the show starts.
Then the music starts and a puppet (pterodactyl) starts squawking. Do I really want to stay for this? I want to leave but Mason seems to be enjoying it. I give him his over sized hat while I get pelted with raindrops.
I can only handle 15 mins of the cheesy dancing and prerecorded singing and dancing which references very outdated lyrics. It was probably part of the original Dinotown place in Chilliwack. I notice the costumes are getting raggedy and that pink thing had a dirty costume. Finally I told Mason it was just too wet (it started pouring by this time) and I wanted to leave. Luckily (for me) he didn't protest much.
So my take on the whole Dinotown? (which is only open til Sept 3) If you don't mid spending over $20 (with coupon) for your kid to run around and play in bouncy castles, by all means! The water-slide would have been a lot of fun on a hot sunny day however the place probably would have been packed and not as fun.
There were lots of picnic tables with umbrellas but only an ice cream stand with pop and water for beverages (cash only). Bathroom facilities were 3 porta-potties with a hand washing station (in addition to the anti bacterial things in the loo). There was also a covered eating area. The staff were high school students which were very observant of the kids and I was impressed in their ability to multitask and ensure the bouncy things were safe.
I didn't post pics of every 'attraction' but I did take a video of the grounds.
Can't say I will be back next year but it was a good day for Mason to run around and get some exercise.