Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for starting this thread--I'd like to see reviews and recommendations of the places I have not been. Here are my experiences.

We've been to Scramble several times in the past year. My son is 4. I think it has something to offer for babies at about 9 months up to kids of about 7 years, but I think the optimal age is probably 4-5. I say this because some of the spaces are small and it is nice when kids are big enough you don't feel like you need to follow them through. We spend about 2 to 2.5 hours there and my son is exhausted and takes a great nap.

Hidden Oaks, we went a couple of times when my son was 2 and early 3 and liked it. I think that is probably the best age for it. We could spend about an hour in there. He loves to look at the animals and play with the puppets and do the puzzles.

We have done the soft playroom in Alexandria recently, so my son was 4. Somehow I missed the fact that you can only stay for 1/2 an hour. It really was not worth the drive for us, and I think it was for a slightly younger age, maybe 9 months or so to 2 or maybe 3 years old.

Building Museum we went to once when he was newly 3 and I think he was too young. For one thing, the ticketing system was sort of a pain in the neck with a kid who could not wait well, and then a lot (but not all) of the stuff was for older kids. I think it would be great for an older 4 year old to 6 year old. We will definitely go again--they had some cool stuff in there.

This was not in the link, but people had recommended Wegman's Wonderplace at Museum of American History and we went recently. At 4, my son was too old for it. He liked playing with the things there, but we got a ton of stink eye from parents of babies who clearly thought he should not have been there, though the stated age is up to 6, and it was pretty uncomfortable for me.

For your 4 year old, take him to the area right across from Wonderplace, Spark Lab(?), for 6-12 year olds. My 4 year old still tolerates Wonderplace to play with her 2 year old brother, who loves it, but she loves loves loves Spark Lab.

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for starting this thread--I'd like to see reviews and recommendations of the places I have not been. Here are my experiences.

We've been to Scramble several times in the past year. My son is 4. I think it has something to offer for babies at about 9 months up to kids of about 7 years, but I think the optimal age is probably 4-5. I say this because some of the spaces are small and it is nice when kids are big enough you don't feel like you need to follow them through. We spend about 2 to 2.5 hours there and my son is exhausted and takes a great nap.

Hidden Oaks, we went a couple of times when my son was 2 and early 3 and liked it. I think that is probably the best age for it. We could spend about an hour in there. He loves to look at the animals and play with the puppets and do the puzzles.

We have done the soft playroom in Alexandria recently, so my son was 4. Somehow I missed the fact that you can only stay for 1/2 an hour. It really was not worth the drive for us, and I think it was for a slightly younger age, maybe 9 months or so to 2 or maybe 3 years old.

Building Museum we went to once when he was newly 3 and I think he was too young. For one thing, the ticketing system was sort of a pain in the neck with a kid who could not wait well, and then a lot (but not all) of the stuff was for older kids. I think it would be great for an older 4 year old to 6 year old. We will definitely go again--they had some cool stuff in there.

This was not in the link, but people had recommended Wegman's Wonderplace at Museum of American History and we went recently. At 4, my son was too old for it. He liked playing with the things there, but we got a ton of stink eye from parents of babies who clearly thought he should not have been there, though the stated age is up to 6, and it was pretty uncomfortable for me.

Anonymous wrote:My kids love Hyper Kidz in Columbia. It's too crazy for me on the weekends but is great on weekdays. They will seriously leave me alone for hours there unless they need water/bathroom.

Anonymous wrote:Here's my list and quick feedback.

Scramble - Lots to do, big, crowded, definitely can keep kids entertained for awhile, hard to do with one parent/multiple kids, good food.

Climb zone - Great for adventurous kids, doesn't feel crowded so there are minimal lines, bounce houses for younger kids

Zava zone - American ninja warrior for young ones, 5yo loved it

Sky zone - Good for about 40 minutes before it gets boring

Busy bees - total mad house, narrow/crowded, good for very young kids but not older ones (4yo was bored).

Magic Ground - terrible front desk, small but good for an hour

Badlands - Unique, crowded but spread out enough that it doesn't feel like it, good value for money but still expensive, great food/beverages, definitely can spend a lot of time there, good for all ages

Nook - clean, relatively quiet/zen, emphasis on small group play/coloring/etc. Not for rough housing/running.

Building museum - Not worth the money, IMO. One building zone is very crowded, another activity room is timed. They have special events that are great.

Playseum Bethesda - Very narrow/closed in but lots of different rooms to explore. Cleanliness is an issue. Animals in one room (e.g., rabbits). Option to buy more, like decorating cupcakes, painting like color me mine, nails painted, etc.

Port Discovery - Fantastic but hard to keep track of more than one kid if 1 on 2, 1 on 3, etc. Currently closed for reno. Expensive but worth the money.

Anonymous wrote:Oh and I’ve also been to Hidden Oaks. It’s nice, but the nature center is very small though. Worth stopping by if you’re in the area and it’s a nice day, but not worth a special trip.

Some of the other indoor playrooms are BeeHive and Kids Choice (both in Woodbridge), and Busy Bees in Fairfax Corner and Falls Church. There’s supposed to be a Luv2Play opening at or around Fair Oaks Mall at some point? But I haven’t heard anything about it since I first read the announcement before Christmas.

Anonymous wrote:On that list I’ve only been to Scramble. It has both good and bad points. It’s big enough to appeal to even somewhat older kids, I’d say through maybe 3rd grade or so. There’s a lot of stuff to do so kids won’t get bored. They can go in the big play structure, but also play with the large, soft blocks or the soccer balls, and for younger kids there’s a baby area and a toddler area. The areas are fairly well attended/monitored by employees to watch out for horseplay or kids too big to be in the baby areas etc. They also have a cafe, so you can eat lunch there. Prices are average, and they have decent healthy options so it’s not all just greasy cafeteria food.

The downside is they don’t allow outside food or drinks. Of course they won’t say anything about your/your kids water bottles, or baby food/snacks. But anything else you’re supposed to buy there and I’ve seen people get reprimanded for it. It’s also crowded and VERY expensive on weekends. It’s not too bad if you can go during the day during the week (though there are cheaper options in Virginia, some of which aren’t even that far away), but the $20 fee for 2 and up on weekends isn’t worth it IMO, even with in/out privileges for the day. It also annoys me personally how they sell MLM children’s books in the bookstore, but I’m sure most people don’t really care, it just bugs me.