Our McDonalds just got rid of their playland & put in a couple of xboxs, air hockey, foosball, activity centers for the younger kids.... They did a really nice job. (At least i don't have to try to rescue my child from the tunnels, anymore) and it's free.

[ 03-19-2006, 10:07 PM: Message edited by: Renee S ]

The area I am originally from also had a couple of these type of indoor playgrounds which only lasted a couple of years. They are great initially but tend to become very expensive after a while and you have those parents who do not supervise their children as well as they should and things become a bit wild. One of the things that I really liked about one of them was that they had separate areas for different age groups. This took away some concerns for the toddler age group. It also enabled you to direct your child to the area you thought was appropriate for their development. It did tend to get dirty.

About 7-8 years ago, we had two such centers in our metro area, Discovery Zone and Leaps N Bounds. Both closed after about 2-3 years. What I liked about them was the opportunity for the kids to engage in active play indoors in the winter. Parents were encouraged (allowed) to climb thru the play structure, too. There was very limited food offerings, but enough to satisfy for a snack. I like DZ better than LnB becuase there was only one way in/out of the play area at DZ. The play structure at LnB was bigger and more complex - which made it more fun, but a kid could come out of it at any number of exits which kept a panicky mom running all over the place. Obviously not designed by a mom.

Things I liked: a place to meet other moms with young kids, active play, party rooms

Things I didn't like: see above; dirty, expensive if you had more than one kid, game arcade on site (defeats the purpose of active play and increases cost per visit).

When these places first opened, I remember thinking it was such a great idea. I don't know why they closed, but I suspect liability was a problem. All you need is one kid getting hurt or saying someone did something inappropriate in the tunnels and boom, it's over.

Good luck on your project. I think your amenities for the adults sound good.

Hi Everyone! I am a student doing a project for my Senior Design class. I am trying to develop a new type of indoor family play center. I really need some input from parents out there as to what they want in a play center.

My concept is a child centered indoor play arena that families could pay to become members of. This play center would have all sorts of stimulating play for children aged 12 and under (cognitive as well as physical). In addition, there would be a variety of amenities for entertaining the adults. For example, some of the possibilities are comfortable couch seating for viewing the children playing, a walking track around the play area that allowed parents to exercise while their children played, a coffee shop, a work area with computers and wireless internet, a café, etc. These are just some initial things that I thought that parents would like to use after work or on the weekends.

I would really appreciate it if you guys could give me some feedback on the idea: Would you be interested in a membership play area like this? What type of activities do you engage in after work or on the weekends? What kind of things or areas would you want in this type of center?

Please let me know what you think. Any input would be extremely helpful!

Thanks so much!