We had the most incredible pony party for my daughter, thanks to Debbie! She brought her sweet…read morehorse, Cherokee and he made even the most nervous little riders feel so comfortable. Everything felt super safe, too. Debbie was so kind, caring and put everyone at ease. She was super easy to communicate with, arrived on time and made the whole process a breeze. I cannot recommend her enough.

We had Debbie and the adorable animals for our son's 3rd birthday party and it was the absolute…read morebest experience! From kids to adults, all the guests loved it. Debbie is highly professional, she arrived early and setup everything beautifully and cleaned up after thoroughly. The animals are very well-behaved and gentle. I HIGHLY recommend Debbie and Little Reds Barnyard Friends!

Roll up your sleeves, loosen your hips, steady your stance and get ready for some putt-putt at…read moreGolden Tee Golfland! Castro Valley hosts this mini golf spot that's an affiliate of the Golfland family and features its two 18-hole ranges perfect for beginners and experts alike. After a few rounds on the green, consider venturing into their arcades to play some good old fashioned video games (Time Crisis and other dual player shooters, Mario Kart and other racing games, and fighting games) and skill games (like skee ball, table air hockey, and claw machines). Be wary, however, for those who have game cards from other Golflands, they're location specific so they won't work here unless you have one from this spot. Starting from the giant parking lot which is just off of a busy street, you'll make your way through the gates and stroll up the long walkway to the front desk where you'll register to get your clubs and balls (you'll get your choice from among a few colors). From there, you'll have your pick of the two courses, one for novices and one for the more adventurous. Make your way through the obstacles and mark your scorecard to determine the winner of bragging rights! We came for a birthday party and logistically, they have the main room amongst the beginner course which is well lit from all the open windows but I believe they have another space near the arcade for those looking for a more enclosed, private gathering. Once the guests arrived, they hosted an orientation and got the members all equipped and ready to go. The youngsters had a lot of fun and can't wait to return! The staff were all very friendly and helpful. You'll interact with them more at the arcades especially if you'll be redeeming prizes with your hard-earned digital tickets. The ticket values on the top tier prizes were pretty large but for frequent visitors or lucky winners, you can get some pretty neat stuff here. The mini prizes definitely reminded me of my times at the arcades when I was a kid, very nostalgic! Overall, Golden Tee Golfland is a well-maintained, family friendly environment conducive to an awesome time outdoors as well as an exhilarating experience soaking up the old school arcade vibe. We accumulated a ton of steps during our visit here and the kids could not stop hitting the greens to get their fluorescently colored balls into the holes. The obstacles are fun - there are water effects and moving doors and bridges. While most of them functioned as expected, there were a few hiccups with some like balls getting stuck or certain doors just not functioning as expected. For wetter seasons, the holes for the balls do end up pooling which makes picking the balls out a bit of an unpleasant endeavor. For being exposed to the outdoors, the place was in pretty good shape, however. It's a bummer that the Golflands don't have a unified system for the game cards as it just incentivizes families to just pick one and stick with it instead of venturing out and exploring the other amazing locations like this one. If you're a local, this is a great place to take a date or the family - it'll tee you up for a good time!

I took my daughter here today after school as little daddy daughter date surprise. We did the more…read moredifficult course and we had a good time. There was hardly anybody there because of the time of day - got there about 315pm. The place was clean and reasonably priced. I did online ticketing to save a few bucks. The one thing I noticed that there wasn't anybody at the front counter. I had to go inside to get somebody attention. A bell to call attention would be a simple solution.

Before I started this review, my son said "How many stars should we give art camp?" and when I…read moreasked how many he wanted to give, he emphatically said "5 Stars!" LOL the child has spoken! 5 stars it is! There are so many camps to chose from in the East Bay but what we have been loving about Aran's Art Camp is the intimate group size: there's no more than 10 kids per art camp and we've lucked out with an even smaller group during our time here. The camp is taught by a mix of Aran herself and her staff and they've been nothing but wonderful. My kiddo comes home from art camp every day bursting at the seams about everything he's worked on and learned (giving me safety tips about glass fusing and teaching me what a pinch pot is!) and he looks forward to going back each day. Each week is a different theme so if you wanted to sign up for multiple sessions, your child will definitely be working on something different each time. While the hours are 10-2, they offer before and after care for an additional fee which basically turns this into an all day camp if you were to maximize on the 9-3 aspect of it. There's a lot of half day camps out there so if you use their before and after camp, you get a good chunk of the day covered! Lastly, they go to the park every day after lunch to let them move around and get some sunshine and Fridays is pizza day! My kid said he would love to come back to art camp again next summer.

Such a cute art studio with a variety of artsy activities! They have a variety of colors of paint…read morealong with a lot of different things to paint. It's pretty quiet in here compared to other places which I love! Parking is super easy since it's in a plaza, the people that work at this studio are super friendly and nice, and they offer so many other activities - I saw a kids painting night happening before, they have glass fusing, etc. They also have an area in the back where it looks like they do most of the classes so the pottery painting is almost always available!!

Space to Grow Therapy now has an on-site facility, filled with lots of fun for your kids providing…read morecolorful sensory gyms and playrooms! There are slides, swings, rock climbing walls, and plenty of toys to keep your kids busy. The site has plenty of parking out front. In addition to free play, they offer occupational and speech therapy services, on-site and in home. The therapists have extensive experience, and are passionate in what they do and ensuring they are providing a quality experience. I would highly recommend this business if your child needs any services, or a fun place to play!

Amazing place for my kids! Sensory seeking and the owner is amazing! Super accommodating and…read morefriendly! We will definitely go many more times! My daughter's friends are begging me to take them since she's talked about it so much!!

Okay, I'll be honest--I have lived in Hayward and driven past this place so many times, but I never…read moreeven noticed Sector 19. I'm so happy my kid's team chose to celebrate here after our championship-winning game! This location is so clean and has so many fun things for the kids to do. As soon as we got there, the gentleman at the register was ON IT. He was helping everyone and making sure the entire team was well taken care of. The league covered the kids' meals, while the parents purchased their own food and drinks. It did take a while to get our food, but it was completely understandable. About 15 families walked in all at once, and they still had regular customers there enjoying the World Cup game on their many TVs. They have an arcade and laser tag. The arcade prices weren't bad at all. The kids each got a $25 game card and had enough credits to play for about an hour. Once we got our pizza, it was definitely worth the wait! Even though it was a personal-sized pizza, my husband and I were both able to eat from it, and it was enough to satisfy us. To be fair, we had also sampled some of the other parents' food while we waited, but I still thought it was a pretty good portion. Overall, I would love to come back whenever we're in the area or after one of our games. A special thank you to the gentleman at the register. He was truly a team player. Not only was he helping customers at the front, but he was also bringing out pizzas, checking to make sure everyone was doing well, and just had awesome energy the entire time.

We had my son's birthday at Sector 19 and had such an amazing experience! The laser tag was…read moredefinitely the highlight. The arena is a great size with plenty of places for the kids to run around and hide, and the equipment was easy for them to use. The kids came out of every game so excited and ready to go again! The staff was also incredibly friendly and accommodating throughout the party, which made everything so much easier for us. The kids loved spending time in the arcade between activities, and there was a really good variety of games to keep everyone entertained. Another huge plus is Craft Pizzeria, which is attached to the laser tag and arcade. We had pizza there for the party and it was so convenient having the food, arcade and laser tag all in one place instead of having to coordinate everything separately. Overall, it was such an easy and fun place to have a birthday party. The kids had an absolute blast, the adults could relax and enjoy themselves, and my son had an amazing birthday. We would definitely come back and highly recommend Sector 19 for birthday parties or just a fun day out with the kids!

While the zoo wasn't the largest, each exhibit was spacious and thoughtfully designed for the…read moreanimals. They were packed during the weekend and tickets were actually sold out. While I arrived on time for my reservation, they weren't too strict about timing. Make sure to download your tickets beforehand, as cell service was practically nonexistent. There was a grill station and several snack stands in the main area, along with a restaurant overlooking the city on the California Trail. Most options were standard American fare with nearly $20 price tags. The tropical rainforest primates were my favorite, as they had the most interactive layout. They swung across ropes and lounged in their hammocks. The reptile room was easy to miss but ended up being one of my favorite sections, as the creatures were surprisingly plump and active. Unfortunately, the animals along the California Trail were more elusive and the exhibits were spaced farther apart. The gray wolves were barely visible, while the larger cats were kept at a noticeable distance from visitors. Some pathways led to dead ends and could have been labeled better. The gondola was required to reach the California Trail and became a bottleneck throughout the day, especially around lunch when the restaurant drew more visitors and again near closing. There were also separate lines for strollers and everyone else. It might be a highlight for those who have never ridden a gondola, but personally, it felt more like an unnecessary delay. For the nearly $30 price tag, I found the Oakland Zoo well maintained and interesting enough to visit. I finished everything in about 2.5 hours, although I would add another 30 minutes for the gondola wait alone. Definitely arrive at opening and tour the California Trail before lunch to avoid the biggest crowds.

Spacious and nice outside, however sooooo many animal habitats are "closed"…read more The gondola has a huge line and you'll need to wait a long time. The bathroom stalls feel like they have zero privacy. Hugeeee gaps let people walk by and see you, and they're so short that if you stand up in the stall you're seen from the chest up. One of them had no space to sit for my legs and I'm petite too. It's very odd and uncomfortable and embarassing to use the bathrooms here.

Just a heads up--Yelp's location information for this park is not accurate. If you're driving up to…read morethis park, it's located past the clubhouse and fire station, across from the baseball field. There are 3 main components to this park: the playground, the field, and the walkway that surrounds the perimeter of the park. The playground: there are 2 play structures sitting on tanbark (with slides, monkey bars, climbing structures, etc.) which is great for kids, and there's also a swing set with 2 swings. There's even a swing set for babies! There's also a ton of picnic benches, and bathrooms. This makes the playground a great place for kids' birthday parties, which I see happening all the time. The field: there's a ton of grass. Sometimes you'll see kids' soccer teams practicing on this field. The trail: it's pretty great because it wraps around the park, and it's under some really tall eucalyptus trees (lots of shade). One downside is that the asphalt is cracking *very* badly, thanks to the tree roots. Be careful where you step! All in all, it's a great local park if you're in the area.

Play ground. Picnic tables. Ball field. No smoking…read more Clean and green. Safe neighborhood if not a bit isolating up in the hills. No views whatsoever even though you are way up the hill. Fenced good for keeing kids and dogs from wandering off. Hot in the summer. The hayward hills are like that. Also they have a bunch of old non native type trees that fall down in heavy rain. Wet soil loosens the roots and they are known to kill people. More younger shade trees. Much needed. Hot, bad choice of non native trees. No view. 3 out of 5 tail wags.