Weekend Diversion: Night Of The Ponies
Pedway, First Store Open At Block 37
Around Town
Around Town
Red-Light Cameras Not So Special?
It’s that time of year when our kids begin to get stir crazy. With the parks snowed over, and the temps discouraging any neighborhood meandering, these indoor play areas are godsends. The idea is that you pay per visit (or pay less by becoming a member or buying visits in bulk), and spend a few hours with your kid, playing in their space. Each location has huge interactive areas, stocked with toys you can ride on or slide down, dress up clothes and props. Many of these places indicate they serve a 6 month - 6 year age range, but we’ve found that kids 12 months- 4 years are most entertained. These three locations also offer a cafeteria area for you to brown bag it. Check websites for hours and more info.
Fantasy Kingdom, located at 1422 N. Kingsbury (note: not this “fantasy kingdom”, down the street, NSFW), is the big kahuna of the bunch, boasting the biggest space. Catch Storybook Mom on Thursdays, and singing with Miss Abby or Super Stolie (who also plays venues like the Double Door) on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Check it all out for $12 a visit; extra for parking in their lot (but there should be enough free spots out front).
My Corner Playroom, 2121 N. Clybourn, has drop in interactive playtime ($15), as well as music classes, arts and crafts, and drop-off preschool (ages 2-5). This space is a bit smaller then Fantasy Kingdom’s, but still full of model trains, feather boas and slides galore. Free parking is also a plus, as is the proximity to the grocery store.
The newest of the lot is Room 2 Play, on 2255 S Michigan Ave. Moms we know love this ground-level, windowed play area in the South Loop. One pass open play is $12; parking located at 24th and Michigan is free.
Picture of Room 2 Play from their website.
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
I'm a big fan of Fantasy Kingdom...went today actually. But my corner playroom is disgusting!! We have been there one time and will never go back. Everything was filthy, my daughter was playing on the ground (of course) and when she got up her clothes were black after 15 minutes. We left shortly after.
Fantasy Kingdom is the place to go. Its always always clean and the owners are very friendly.
Another view of the Fantasy Kingdom:
http://www.oakparkdad.com/2007/09/fantasy-kingdom-girly-birthday-party.html
We have been to both Fantasy Kingdom and Room2Play and while we liked Fantasy Kingdom, Room2Play's open environment and natural light were fantastic. The place is kept very clean and the owners are also extremely friendly and helpful.
Room2Play is THE hot place to be in the South Loop, word is spreading like crazy and everyone who goes there keeps going back! The key is that the owners are so incredibly nice and attentive, they make sure the grown-ups are taken care of, too. I had my daughter's birthday party there and was actually able to relax, talk to my friends who had come, Jo and Sherry took care of everything! Check it out!
We really like Room2Play. Fantasy Kingdom is great, too. But, we love the huge space of Room2Play. It's light and airy and really clean. I agree, the staff is incredibly friendly.
I took both my daughter (4) and my nephew (2) and they played for 4 hours straight! While we were not trying to complete a marathon, I ended up meeting some new moms and so I had my own social hour!
We really like Room2Play. Fantasy Kingdom is great, too. But, we love the huge space of Room2Play. It's light and airy and really clean. I agree, the staff is incredibly friendly.
I took both my daughter (4) and my nephew (2) and they played for 4 hours straight! While we were not trying to complete a marathon, I ended up meeting some new moms and so I had my own social hour!
Wow, this is like a Romper Room Convention.
Actually I'm really disappointed I thought you were discussing another kind of playroom
(wink wink nudge nudge).
I've been to all three playrooms - multiple times.
My Corner Playroom is geared more for younger children and it is getting a little "long in the tooth" and needs to rotate out the old and broken toys. If there are more 10 children with parents it begins to feel very cramped.
My son had his 4th birthday party at Fantasy Kingdom and it's a great space with a fun castle structure with slides and secret hideaways with themed dress up areas. But the food/party area is very small and with lots of children with parents, we were tripping over each other. It's housed in a warehouse, so the space can seem very dark with little natural light.
Room2Play is also a great space - with three times the space of My Corner Playroom and twice the space of Fantasy Kingdom. It has wonderful brand new toys and activities to promote imaginative play for infants up to older elementary children. My now 6 year old happily spends hours there and asks when can we return again. It also has a wonderful mural and a wall of windows that make the space feel light, airy and child-friendly. A great place to spend a day, have a birthday party or enjoy their parent's night out play dates!