Our children have their birthdays in a span of less than a half year. This year we decided not to have individual parties but instead to let each of our children bring a friend along to play at the Mahoney State Park Indoor Activity Center (Playground).
The highs and lows of our experience! 🙂
| Name | Mahoney State Park Activity Center: 28500 W. Park Hw Ashland; 402-944-2523; PARK PERMIT REQUIRED | |
| Open hours | Memorial Day-Labor Day: see hours below; other times: check with them | |
| Cost | $2 per person; Mon. & Fri. 4-8 pm; Thurs. & Sat. 11-8 Sunday 11-6; no Tu/W | |
| What to Know | Kids must remove shoes, so socks are required. The room gets fairly warm during the winter –dress accordingly; possibly bring ear plugs – the room is loud | |
| Recommended Ages | Certain areas would work for littles but overall a tall structure | |
Having a ball!
The kids loved the experience, but as for the adults, the room got a little loud. Notice again the ear plug recommendation. If I had to do it all over, I would try for a weekday time with the possibility of less people. Of course, the activity center is not always open during winter weekdays.
Life in a bubble …
The interesting thing was that the kids got rather warm while playing despite the fact that it was freezing outside. One of the kids knew this from a previous experience and brought along shorts. The rest of the kids pushed up sleeves. We had not intended to buy snacks, but suddenly popsicles seemed refreshing to the kids.
Other snack foods are also available. Could be worth the price, especially if you wanted to stay and play the day away.
Netting a victory for fun!
This was a great way for the kids to burn off lots of energy. Since the structure is so large and full of so many possibilities, the 5 year olds and 11 year old had equal opportunities to enjoy themselves.
Slip sliding away …
The favorite part of the day for my kids was getting to experience the place with their friends rather than just with each other (our normal protocol). You can rent a party room area where you can serve even outside food. That costs $60 for 2 hours. We chose to feed the kids lunch in advance. Our outing cost $20, plus $10 for the popsicles. Since really this was the cost for 4 parties, I feel like that $7.50 per party is a pretty good deal. We may combine parties again next year!
Time together was the highlight. Fun to see all of the kids interacting with each other and not just with the friend that he/she specifically brought along.
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