Chicagoist: Indoor Play Areas: Better Than Your Living Room

AKG

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 09:17:19 -0600

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!

goldenshfinkter

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 02:34:29 -0600

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).

kbw

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 09:16:41 -0600

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!

kbw

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 09:16:06 -0600

martha0327

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 09:16:02 -0600

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!

spm

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 17:06:20 -0600

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.

dspangler

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 10:48:28 -0600

Another view of the Fantasy Kingdom: http://www.oakparkdad.com/2007/09/fantasy-kingdom-girly-birthday-party.html

julieo

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 18:50:03 -0600

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.