We had a great experience at wonderplay today. We met up with a couple friends after having lunch…read morenearby. I was very surprised that it was too busy/crazy for a Saturday afternoon! There is a parking lot!! It's not big but HUGE WIN... We got two parking spots in the lot and didn't have to search for street parking. PTL! The play place is so big and very clean. There is a variety of spots for the kids; a big climbing area, a camp area, a small play cafe/market and of course a soft Play and library for littles under 4. I especially love that there is a cafe with coffees, drinks, juice and snacks for people to enjoy in their many seating areas. It perfect! The staff is super nice! We will for sure be back.

Wonderplay and Coffee is a fairly new indoor kids play and climb facility with a coffee shop…read moreattachment. We spent a cold Chicago morning at Wonderplay after hearing positive feedback and stories through social media. To avoid cabin fever (for our toddlers and ourselves as parents), we loaded ourselves in the car and bit the $22-play-fee bullet (two free adults included). Play areas are shoe-free and socks-only. There are little cubbies for adults and kids alike to store shoes, jackets, and bags. It was pretty chaotic at the entrance when we arrived but we still managed to find an open cubby. We arrived to a PACKED facility but manage to find our way to a corner with our coffees (I ordered a Vietnamese iced coffee; it's VietFive so I pretty much had to!) where we can tag team playing/supervising our toddler. There's a nice area for little ones under 4 to read of quietly place; surrounded by couches where caretakers can relax. Our toddler most enjoyed the adjacent market/kitchen are which included several wooden climbing structures and slides. Next, we went up into the climbing area which requires supervision for the littlest ones. Our brave little toddler had fun going through the whole structure twice before tapping out ("all done") despite the older kids 3+ as well as adults darting around / past us every so often. Last area we played in was the camping area. Our toddler loved the different play houses available and how it was less crowded than the kitchen area by the time we ventured over. There was a large climbing dome in the middle but it was still too advanced for us to really partake. I'm glad there were sanitizing stations throughout the facility. I wish that bathrooms weren't socks only since I did see liquid on the floor as well as a dirty shoe mark. And my only easy peasy suggestion would be adding adult height ledges so that we can place our coffees safely out of reach from the kids. We had a lovely time and plan to be back again!

This place is absolutely phenomenal. We have been members for several years and my kids have grown…read morefrom the baby classes to older kids tumbling classes. They love free play and everything Fit City has to offer. Both of my kids also attended the preschool program, Learn and Play PreK, at Fit City Kids and we have been so happy with the early childhood educational experience the preschool offers. The unique program blends creative play with age-appropriate academic learning. Students make friends while learning in a safe, fun, and creative environment. Ms. Daye and Ms. Vanessa provide outstanding structure, guiding students to burn off their energetic wiggles and teaching preschool academics that prepare them for pre-k 4 and kindergarten. My 3-turning-4-year-old has mastered all her letters and numbers, can do basic addition, and writes her name and other words. My first-grader, who attended the preschool there several years ago, was more than prepared for elementary school. The unique environment lets students release their toddler- and preschooler-level energy in the indoor play space during cold Chicago winters. In warmer weather, students enjoy the outdoors at a local park or the outdoor field right at the school. You should check this place out! Next year, they will offer a full-day option, and you can customize morning, afternoon, or full-day attendance to create a schedule that works for you. So much more to offer than a traditional daycare.

It has been super cold for the last week or so and a friend and I decided we needed to get our kids…read moreout so they could have fun and run wild. I've seen Fit City Kids, having lived fewer than two miles away, but this was our first visit and it was great. The entrance fee wasn't bad, especially since one can stay for the full open play time. They have several different areas for play. There is a basketball court area, a play soccer field, gymnastics space, and an indoor playground. There's also a small area that is specifically designed for children aged three and under, although we were told that kids can play in any section (except for the bounce house, which is for the private parties). Our one year olds mostly played in the soccer area, having fun just running around. There's one half of the place where you can wear shoes or not (the basketball/soccer areas) and then in the other half you may not wear shoes. There are one or more party rooms in the back of the facility. (I'm not sure if they overlap parties or not; there were four happening on the day we were here.) Food is not permitted in the facility except for in the party rooms or in the front "lobby" area. They have a few snacks for sale, and based upon the water I bought for my babe the prices don't seem ridiculous. I really appreciate that they don't appear to have any restrictions on bring your own snacks and water, just asking that you respect the areas in which you can eat them. They don't have a water fountain (unless I just wasn't looking in the right places) so bring your own drinks. One downside is that I found only one changing station in the entire place. Don't look for it in the women's room (or probably the men's room, either, I'd expect) but in the individual gender neutral bathroom. With the number of children who might be here at any time and the age ranges they welcome, I was really surprised to see just the one. On the other hand, it was an actual changing table rather than a station that is bolted into the wall and folds down, which always make me a little nervous. They also don't have much space for parents to sit. There are some tables in the "lobby" and a few benches outside the various play areas, but it might be difficult for someone who needs a chair/seat, or someone who's disabled, especially if they want to be closer to the activity areas and keep an eye on their children. Another thing they need to work on is the parking lot. Their parking lot is really large, especially for Lincoln Square--and it's free!--so that's all to the good. Ideally they'd have straight parking spaces since that allows for the most spots; the lot is a bit narrow, so they've opted for diagonal with a few straight. But they need to paint the lot! Driving through this lot was difficult because people parked like they've never parked before. We will definitely return. There are several indoor playgrounds around and I'd like to try the different ones that offer entrance to kids as young as mine in part so we can figure out which are our favorites. But after my experience here I imagine we may be purchasing a membership in the future.

This place was incredible! My kids had so much fun! They…read morehad climbing structures of varying levels of difficulty for my bigger kids & a fun toddler area for my littles . They even had ninja warrior style ramps up to some of the climbing structures which my kids could do safely with the harnesses. And in the back there is a zip line obstacle course, video games, laser, tag, and more. We did not have time to do everything because there was just so much to choose from! I definitely recommend the physically active options over the video games. It is a bit on the pricey side, but definitely worth it!

We went to a birthday party this weekend at climbzone! I have seen ads for it all over the place…read morebut this was the first time seeing it. What a fun place!! There climbing walls, a soft play area, ropes course, zip line, laser tag, and bumper cars. As well as rooms/alcoves for birthday parties. It seems like there are activities for kids of all ages. I can't wait to go back with my little one.

I've been eagerly awaiting Bunny Ears' opening since I stumbled upon them at AppleFest in Lincoln…read moreSquare last year. Before they opened, they were doing pop-up events at markets, fairs, and festivals, and they had an activity in the children's area at AppleFest last year. They opened in the last month or so and today I finally was able to visit! On Fridays, they have a session called Fluffle Babies (did you know that a group of bunnies is called a fluffed? I didn't!) for children up to age one and their caregiver(s). My baby is less than a month from turning one so I needed to get in here quickly! It was a fun morning. The owner was our host, and she had selected a topic for us to all share about so that we had a starting place for conversation. We introduced ourselves and our little ones, and shared our perspective on the morning's discussion topic. Then she introduced the art play for the day, which this morning was edible paints where we used rice cereal with food dye to color the cereal. Jinny explained that it's helpful to teach children not to eat paint, even though this is edible, because when they start playing with tempura paints, acrylics, and so on they will not be edible. My little one stirred the "paint" a little, ate some, smashed her hands in it, and crawled around. It was a fun morning for her! There are several different stations and tables for kids to partake in their activities. I'll be this is a fantastic place to have a kids party! When you enter you'll take your shoes off and there's a partial wall with a door to keep children from scampering off once they enter the art space. There's a tinker bar, several sinks, a play area with magnetic tiles, a place for playing with water... there are so many possibilities for children to have fun and be creative. I attended one of the toddler classes and it was good, but perhaps a little advanced for my daughter; it was ages 1-5, and there's a huge difference in one year olds (which is my daughter) to five year olds. Given that, the fact that I live in one of the outer neighborhoods now (instead of five minutes away), and that the class is on a weekday so I can't miss work each week I am not sure I'll be able to continue the class. But we may stop in on an open play day or something. I love the concept of this place and am look forward to visiting again and continuing to learn some fun ways to encourage artistic creativity in my little one! They are good about safety. Once the class starts, they lock the door (ask me how I know--luckily the babe was inside with grandma in the event I was locked out the entire time!). They have some great options for parents with slightly older children, as they have offered drop-in play for Maifest and they have it for Square Roots, too. I love that they offer this for parents to have just a little free time while their kids are having a blast on their own. Parking is street only or the lot across from Old Town School if it's not in use/blocked.

We had a 4 year old birthday, everything went smoothly and was so much fun for the kids! They made…read morebracelets, painted the walls, built a fort, and celebrated! We brought snacks, cupcakes, and some table decorations, bunny ears did everything else. Thank you for a great time! Staff was friendly, helpful, and everything was efficient!

This review is way overdue, as we've been regularly going to Uppie Yuppy for nearly 2 years now,…read morehave attended many Birthday parties, and my son had his Birthday party here in August of 2025. This place is wonderful and the staff are so friendly/helpful. I have a 2.5 & 5.5 year old and they absolutely LOVE coming here to play. Great for when the weather is bad, but they also consistently have fun events every week as well as camps. When we had my son's Birthday here last August, it was one of the most low-stress and cost-effective options we could've picked. The kids had a blast, pizza was great, and we were able to add on things like extra drinks/snacks for very minimal cost. All we had to do was bring decorations and cake! The staff were very attentive and helpful throughout the entire party. Overall, Uppie Yuppy has been a wonderful addition to the neighborhood and I'm so grateful to have this option for my kiddos!

This is a great, family-run place to have a fun-filled party for your kids--or even just to bring…read moreyour kids for a few hours to let them enjoy themselves and let you take a breather. There's a nice party room with a big screen movie projector as well, and the best part--you don't have to clean up afterwards.

Attended an adult show and tell at the back of this museum. Ticket price included access to the…read moremuseum itself. While seemingly randomly strung together some of the exhibits were impressive include large displays of pinned insects. Live animals and insects are also on display. Gift shop one of the must unique I've ever seen.

Well this was serendipity because my beloved koi fish passed away and they're also museum that I…read morediscovered and not just for insects and taxidermy did you take their time and they try to stay within your budget and they're non profit. The service they gave me was on my beloved fish do beware that they take their own time and they don't try to rush you and if you need a taxidermy project on your beloved pets quality was good the staff was very informative and friendly and for the services that I require they were up front then the pricing so and to be in a budget if you need more time to pay for your taxidermy

Perfect place to have your toddler's party!…read more There's a reason Purple Monkey keeps popping up every time I looked up toddler birthday party! I was a bit hesitant for the price of the venue but it was so worth it. First, it's private. Just for your kid(s) and their friends. It's a large room with a section that has tables and a kitchenette for the food and cake part and the rest is for the kiddos. There's a play kitchen, train set, a slide, all the things any toddler would love. Even my 11 year old enjoyed it because it reminded him of his younger years. I love that you get a "helper" with the part packages. Ours was Shannon and she was great. Helped decorate a bit. Cut the cake. All the things you need help with that you may not have time for and feel bad asking someone else to take charge of. Overall we had a great party. Couldn't ask for more.

Food was great and the helper was very attentive .we will definitely come back for another round!!!read more

So many feelings. First of all I loved this WAY more than I thought I would. I HATE slime but my…read moregirls love it. So deep breath and who cares if clothes get ruined?! We went on Good Friday, lots of kids were off of school. We got the first time slot! Highly recommend this! The place is self guided and you can always go back to feel some more! If you think about germs and are easily grossed out, there's plenty of hand sanitizer around, or bring your own! But everyone is basically reaching in to feel the same slime you are. There's a small area the kids can take their shoes off and play in. Some squishes and slime they can go into (it's hard and doesn't stick to clothes!). They also have the "get slimed" station. I believe it's $30 and from the looks of it, it's just blue water. Didn't seem worth it to me. But my kids loved watching! The best part is being able to make your own slime! You can pick the consistency, smell and color! And as an added bonus you can pick out 3 charms! There's no food or drinks allowed in and they have a complimentary coat/bag check! Take a picture of your bag in case you drop your ticket! In addition, I find it hilarious that people are complaining about the price. Of course the place raises the price during peak hours. Now do I think $56 for a ticket is steep, yes! But plan ahead and always purchase tickets ahead of time! We paid $135 for 3 and were there almost 3 hours! We only left because we had lunch reservations!

If you see ticket prices online in your budget BUY THEM. Made the mistake of driving an hour a half…read moreto get there before close and the pricing almost DOUBLED. Family of 4 and paid $222 (the AGM on site didn't have a hospitable bone in their body and informed us "ticket prices hike due to demand") and didn't seem to care if we left or stayed. The museum itself is short lived. With a couple extra add ons for more $$$ The slime-tenders were a lot more pleasant than the AGM and made our experience more memorable. Also google is wrong and you can NOT pay upon arrival so that was misinformation as well. Overall 6/10 experience

If you want to host a birthday party with a RUDE, UNPROFESSIONAL manager go for it. It was a…read moreproblem on Sunday instead of solving the problem she made it worse. Screaming and making the guest feel uncomfortable and unwelcome. I called to complain to a superior never received a response. What made me feel sad about this situation the other worked said she is very rude and they are used to her acting that way. How can people be comfortable working with a manager like this? I hope if you guys HOST a party you guys don't have the same problems.

When you're looking for stuff to do with your kids, you have 3 main questions:…read more 1. Will my kid have fun? 2. Will it make my kid tired enough to sleep? 3. Can I do this without spending a fortune? Next Level checks all 3 boxes. The giant attraction of Next Level is a huge cargo net-type thing that kids love to climb through. It's pretty amazing. I've never seen another attraction like that. There's also a large play structure with stairs and slides and a zipline and tunnels and such. Another area has the popular giant foam building blocks. There are two large inflatable-surrounded trampolines. Next Level has a small play area for very little kids - the other attractions are probably too tricky unless your kid has a great sense of balance and agility. I appreciated that they had a small air hockey table available for $1 per play. The larger air hockey table is $2 to play. The seating area has mostly large picnic-style tables. Everything seemed very clean and well maintained. The bathroom even smelled like cleaning products, which is a great sign. The price is reasonable, but I docked a star because they don't allow outside food. The perfect play place allows for snacks to keep the kiddos fueled up. Still, my kids had a great time at Next Level. It's perfect for kids in the 4-6 age range.

We loved our play date at Mini City! All day play (?) is $15 and we had a blast playing for hours…read more They have tons of different areas, including kitchen, laundry, grocery store, public transportation, train table, etc. They also have climbing areas, slides and a smaller baby area! We were first inside the day we went, so everything was neat and clean. The only reason I docked a star is because online it says they only allow in kids who have registered ahead. We called all day and no answer! My friend wrote to them on IG and they said just show up. They open at 9:00am, I called when we got there at 9:30 (per instructions on the door) and the lady said she would be there at 9:45 so give her a couple of minutes. I imagine due to covid they're short staffed / don't have as many kiddos going in, so it didn't deter us much, but just something to note. We would still happily return! A great rainy morning activity!

Everything seemed old and small i don't understand the hype?…read more I was a guest at a party and it was hard to watch the management continue to scold the parents and the kids. My mother approached the play area with shoes but did not enter and was scolded... She was not planning to enter. After watching the way the management treated their clientele, i would not recommend. I think what this owner needs to recognize is stomping around in stilettos like Miss Hannigan from Annie isn't an appropriate way to conduct business with children or an adult who chose your venue to host their child's party. There are companies that will bring play areas to your yard. Check instagram. I had a party for my child at a gym where we had a company drop of a beautiful play area same rate way more hours of play.