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Indoor Inflatable Party and Play Centers
Reprinted from Gwinnett Daily Post - http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com
Duluth, Ga./GWINNETT DAILY POST/January 15, 2005
By Caroline Ruse
Staff Correspondent
c_ruse@hotmail.com
Although a child’s birthday is an occasion to be celebrated, planning and playing host to a party for a crew of little ones can be an exhausting experience. Premonitions of screaming kids, cake icing on the carpet and piles of discarded wrapping paper to throw out can cause stress even before invitations are in the mail.
Luckily, there are several venues in Gwinnett County that provide children of all ages with unique ways to celebrate their birthdays, minus the stress and the mess.
Parties for the tots Recommended ages: 1-7
Tumble Tots in Norcross is a party venue perfect for young children, and it offers a more private party experience than larger venues. The play facility is reserved for one party at a time and includes a moonwalk and ball pit, jungle gym, climbing dome, play house, doll house, dress-up clothes and musical instruments.
“We have a really nice play facility. It’s so nice for the younger children — the little ones really love it,” said Paula Soller, who has owned Tumble Tots for 11 years. “It’s very friendly, bright and colorful.”
All parties also include a craft activity, led by the staff. Children have a choice of five crafts that take about five minutes to make, Soller said. Choices are picture frames, masks, crowns, magnets and beaded necklaces.
“They usually choose one craft and everyone does the same thing,” Soller said. “But if the girls are making princess crowns, usually the boys have something else to do.”
Tumble Tots also offers story time, led by the staff, and face painting during parties, although Soller said they’ve recently substituted temporary tattoos for face painting. Each party has a choice of theme, such as Clifford, Barbie, Spider-Man, Bob the Builder or My Little Pony, and the cake, tablecloth and story time follow the chosen theme.
Parties cost $190 for up to 12 children on weekends and $150 for up to 8 children on weekdays. Cost is $10 for each additional child. Parties include cake, lemonade, a craft activity, story time, face painting, theme tablecloth, gift bag, balloons, invitations and plain paper goods.
Tumble Tots is located at 6375 Spalding Drive, Suite D, in Norcross. Call 770-729-9660 or visit www.funttots.com.
A birthday bounce Recommended ages: 2-12
Give your child’s party guests an experience that’ll blow them away at Jump!Zone in Duluth, an indoor inflatable play center for kids. Owner Bill Swarthout said it’s a great place for birthday parties because it offers such a wide variety of activities for the children.
The play arena features six massive inflatables including a 40-foot-long Spider-Man obstacle course, a fortress with two slides, an 18-foot-high fire truck slide, a 32-foot-long dragon bounce house, a large obstacle course and slide designed for smaller kids and a custom-made bounce house with four basketball goals inside.
Swarthout said the slides are generally favorites among the children, but the venue doesn’t appeal only to kids. “Parents like it because they don’t have to clean their houses,” Swarthout said. “It’s indoors and an enclosed, controlled environment.”
In addition, adults are allowed to play on the inflatables with their children as long as they adhere to the 200-pound weight limit.
Jump!Zone has been open for 14 months. Swarthout said the venue books an average of 40 parties per week, and the majority of parties are for children between the ages of 2 and 12 years old. Swarthout said restrictions are generally placed on children older than 12.
All birthday party packages include one hour and 15 minutes in the jump arena, use of a private party room, full-color invitations, paper goods and utensils. Jump!Zone will also have staff on hand to help supervise the children. Rates are as follows: $120-175, up to 15 children; $140-215, up to 20 children; $160-240, up to 25 children. Cost depends on date and time of reservation. Pizza ($12 each), drinks ($2 per 2 liter), balloons ($10 per dozen) and goody bags ($2.50 each) are also available.
Jump!Zone is located at 3215 Hill St. in Duluth. Call 678-318-3544. or visit https://jumpzoneparty.com.
A climbing good time Recommended ages: 5 and up
For a more adventurous experience, your child and guests can go rock climbing. Adrenaline Rock Climbing in Suwanee has been offering birthday parties for a little more than a year, said Trey Johanson-Smith, one of the venue’s owners. She said she usually books 10 parties per week, but that parties take place separately.
“It’s open gym, but there is only one party taking place at a time,” Johanson-Smith said. “It’s actually very neat for the kids because they get to see more elite climbers.” Johanson-Smith said Adrenaline’s gym features walls specifically designed for novices and children. She starts every group on the novice wall and advances the children who show they’re ready to climb the tougher walls. “We watch the children and take them to where they will have the most fun,” she said. “We really pride ourselves on working with the kids who are afraid of heights. Our coaches are very sensitive to the kids’ needs.” Adrenaline party packages include two hours of climbing, one coach for every five climbers, climbing equipment and shoes, invitations, thank-you notes, table settings, sports drinks and a T-shirt for the birthday child. Rates are as follows: $125-140, up to five climbers; $240-265, up to 10 climbers; $340-375, up to 15 climbers. Additional climbers are $23 each. You can also add birthday cake ($30), goody bags ($3 each) and pizza ($8 each).
“It’s amazing what the kids can do in two hours,” Johanson-Smith said. “By the end of two hours, they’re little champions.”
About Jump!Zone Indoor Inflatable Party and Play Centers
Jump!Zone offers safe, active play with an unstructured format in a comfortable, indoor setting. The core attractions are large inflatable play structures like slides, obstacle courses, bounce houses, and forts. Located throughout the nation, the 'Jump!Zone' concept is perfectly suited for children's parties and play. Jump!Zone is now offering franchise opportunities in almost every state. Jump!Zone's home office is in Suwanee, GA. Jump!Zone can be reached at (877) 297-5489, franchise@jumpzoneparty.com, and www.jumpzoneparty.com. |
