Another Great Local Business

Abby at Jump Planet in early 2007

Jump Planet is a fun fun place. We've been there before, attending birthday parties for other children, but only recently did we realize that their free play is affordable and fun. And (this is key) they wipe. Lizzy. Out. If she doesn't sleep tonight, after the morning at preschool and over an hour of running, jumping, bouncing, and sliding at this place, then there's no hope at all on that front.

My main worries about places like these are generally cleanliness and safety. Jump Planet is clean - at least three times during the hour and ten minutes we were playing I spotted employees wiping things down with disinfectant, mopping the floors, etc. I imagine that after the doors close for the night they have other, more complete cleaning routines; this is not your fast food or mall play space.

Lizzy at Jump Planet in October 2011

As for safety, not only is everything soft and bouncy (even the floors are padded) but there are special rules; e.g. crawling over walls internal to a given ride is acceptable (as long as one watches for smaller children) but crawling over external walls is forbidden. And the customer service people manage to impart these rules while remaining cheerful and convincing even excited children that the rules are reasonable. They have great customer service - it's clear that the people there love their jobs and are basically nice people besides - and the kids and parents coming in obviously liked them back. My personal knee-jerk safety question is covered too; they're a nut-free facility.

They do parties for birthdays as a large part of their business, and they've got a Halloween bounce party coming up. I'm considering it...