On the crap end of what is left of The Shoppes at Carlsbad Mall, someone decided to open an Indoor…read morePark that caters to younger children. It's like if someone crossed a SkyZone Trampoline Park with a McDonald's Playpen and slapped it with a coat of pastel paint and candy stickers.
Sorry, CANDEE stickers.
I will say that the prices are very reasonable. $25 buys you two hours of playtime. Grip socks are extra, food is extra, some of the games are extra. And the area itself is impressively clean, especially considering the number of young children traipsing about.
On the negative side of things, however, the list is a bit longer. First, there's not a ton to do. Candeeland has limited space to work with and much of it is taken up by sitting areas for parents. The empty space could easily house 2-3 more small activities without sacrificing any existing areas. Still, what activities they do have are pretty intricate, with the multilevel play area having a nice array of padded areas for children to crawl through and a toddler area with nice pneumatic tube setup to delight the young.
Next, even though the place is less than a year old, there's already some breakage of some of the area. There's a floor made up of touch screens that displays numerous games for kids to step on a play with. However, it's apparent that some larger kids have smacked a number of screens, causing them to go out or flicker.
Which leads to my biggest issue. There are not that many people working here. This means that there are usually people minding the gate and checking if your kid is leaving with the right person. But, there aren't enough people on the floor to ensure safety or police older kids from doing things they shouldn't be doing. Candeeland really is a place that caters to those between 3-8 years of age. Older kids either don't fit on some of the slides or play a bit too rough with the environment. More than once, a screaming 12 year old almost barreled over my kid, knocked her off a slide, or hit her with one of the nerf axes. Sure, they balk when you glare at them. But, they just go back to screaming and thrashing about while their parents sleep oblivious in the corner.
So, does my seven year old like Candeeland? Yes, she loved it and wants to come back.
Did I like Candeeland? M'eh, not particularly. Still, I'm sure I'll be back eventually...