It’s ok. Nothing more, nothing less.

We threw a party at the Kingstowne location and also had a good experience. We decided to sign our kids up for classes.

My son was enrolled in a class for 2-3 year olds and my wife had an emergency issue, which required either we do not attend the class or I bring his sister who is 4 along. I called the gym and inquired into whether I could bring my daughter along to my son's class as a participating guest. The woman on the phone said yes without any qualifications. I even asked if there were any concerns about my daughter's age and they said no "she's welcome to join in on the fun!" This sort of tracked my observations since my 4 year old's class had siblings who randomly participated without any concern. If we didn't get confirmation, I would have been more concerned about proceeding and would have skipped the session.

We went to the class, which had like 7 kids, and it was clear my daughter wasn't welcome. The instructor (who was the same "nice" guy from the birthday party) repeatedly told my daughter to not participate, went out of his way to not give her those sticks the kids were using during circle time, etc. I ended up leaving the class after ten minutes because my daughter was in tears.

Here is the thing, I would have preferred greatly to have avoided the entire situation. That is why I called before arriving at the class and asked if she could attend. I did not just show up with an additional child unannounced. I was willing to pay a day fee or even skip that session if we couldn't all attend. If there was an issue, I would have kept my kids home. But to be told one thing, and experience something else that was very, very different was not only frustrating but completely soured my family on the gym.

I’ve been to parties at Burke and Kingstown Alexandria. The kids have a great time. Although it can be difficult to round up the kids for the structured activities. And some kids just keep free playing. (This was for 2yo and 3yo parties)
And the pizza/cake time can seem chaotic because they don’t have a separate party room. You just sit at the front bench in the entryway. But it all works out.

The Bethesda location is really easy because you/they order from the Dominos a stone's throw away and they set up all the tableware for the children to eat. You just bring in a sheet cake and some beverages. It's seamless. Their weekend parties tend to be mid afternoon or late afternoon/dinner time because they have classes in the morning. Highly recommend. The staff is very engaging with the kids and everyone has fun.

Anonymous wrote:How do you handle food? And what times do you usually have parties there for this age group?

Have them delivered to the place 30 min before you serve. We asked for delivery 15 min before we wanted to serve and they came 30 min late throwing us off schedule and cutting short some activities and we forgot to take group picture.

Anonymous wrote:How do you handle food? And what times do you usually have parties there for this age group?

Oh as for times, I do remember my friend saying there were limited time slots available. They have to work around the class schedule. The parties we went to were both Sunday morning I think starting at 10 or 11 am?

I’ve been to 2nd and 3rd birthday parties at My Gyms (one in Burke and one in Manassas). Both were cute with a mixture of free play and lightly structured activities. At one party they just brought in cake and punch, and the other had pizza delivered, and cupcakes from Giant. The staff helped serve the food along with the parents of the birthday child. Overall my kids had a good time at both parties.

How do you handle food? And what times do you usually have parties there for this age group?

We held by daughter’s 4th birthday party at the My Gym in Bethesda this summer. They did a great job. Kids loved it. It’s an excellent choice for a 4 year old party. They make it easy and no stress.

We had our kid's 5 y/o party at the Falls Church location and recommend it. We organized two prior parties by ourselves, one at our park and one at home, and I'd say the extra money you pay is well worth the stress-free experience. As PP said, it's a mix of structured and free play. But one caveat is that I think it really depends on the instructors organizing the games, I can tell that it can be a hit-or-miss.

We've been to at least two before. The kids always have a good time. It's well run and parents can really just sit back and take pictures.

We attended a 4th bday party at one. Kids all seemed to enjoy it. It's a mix of structured and unstructured activities.

Has anyone held a birthday party at MyGym recently and would you recommend it? I'm looking for a party location for a 4 year old somewhere in DC or Bethesda. I haven't been here before, so not sure if it would be fun or not. Any feedback?