Skyzone Aurora (Fox Valley)

We visited this indoor trampoline park today for the second time. The first time we came with a group of children ranging from age 2 - 13 and this time we came with one other child age 2.

Skyzone contains over 30 individual trampolines in separated areas for people of all ages to bounce and spin both up and down and off the sides from the trampolines against the walls.

There are long trampolines for the more experienced bouncer to preform back and front flips or cartwheels.

There is an area where dodge ball is played and another area containing three basketball hoops for a slam dunk bounce, this area has different hoop heights making it accessible for various ages.

There is also a pit filled with large blocks of soft foam for kids to flip and dive into from one of four trampolines.

Skyzone hosts various events including parties, homeschool bounce events, exercise classes and night glow in the dark events.

There are various tables available on an upper and lower level, canteen and lockers costing a dollar for single use (can not go in and come out and go in again). You can not bring in your own food and drink.

** They have since updated the slides and activities to make it more of an obstical course in places. This is a good improvement.

Overall as a parent I rate it:

7/10 = Great for burning off energy on a cold or wet day! The kids enjoyed the trampolines on the wall as well as the foam pit and my oldest enjoyed doing cartwheels on the long trampolines. I had a go at the hoops which was fun.

There is no doubt this is a fun place... However rating this as a parent... paying $10 for each child for only 30 minutes is not a winner! The time starts as soon as you pay but by the time your shoes are off and the special sky zone socks are on you have more like 20-25 minutes.

You can opt to pay more for longer: $14 for one hour, $18 for 90 mins $22 for two hours, making it a better deal however if money is a concern... it is expensive for what you get.

The long trampolines on both occasions appeared to appeal to teens and even adults, however little ones are in the same area and there were times they ran across these preventing the older bouncers from being able to play. As a mother of a toddler and a tween I tried to keep my little one away from this but it was impossible at times. There is a large curtain that can be pulled to separate the little people from the large but this did not happen on either occasion we were there despite and employee watching what was happening.

I also felt charging a non refundable $1 for the locker on top of the high entrance fee and $2 for each pair of socks (which you can keep and use again) is cheeky. For three children the total (with socks and locker) is $37 for 1/2 hour of play or $49 for an hour! As a TREAT this is a fun place to come but time limits and prices make it more expensive than many other places that I feel are just as fun.
Overall I WOULD go again for an occasional treat and WOULD recommend for children and adults of all ages. This is a 30 min - 2 hour activity


As rated by a 12 year old:

9/10 = I really enjoyed it, especially the trampolines for cartwheels and the foam pit as I could do flips into the foam. I didn't do the dodge ball as there were a lot of older kids and I felt intimidated. I enjoyed the hoops and managed to get the ball through all three! I did feel this was a lot more fun the first time we went when we stayed longer and we were with lots of kids we knew. I didn't think it was nearly as fun with no kids I knew my age and did think the little kids ran across the trampolines for the flips without anyone stopping them which was annoying.
Overall I WOULD go again with friends and WOULD recommend for my age.

As rated by a 7 year old:

9/10 = Its really fun and I like jumping off the walls. I like the foam pit but it can be hard to get out of. I also thought it should be a longer time to jump.
Overall I WOULD go again and WOULD recommend for my age.

As rated by a two year old:

10/10 = He had a lot of fun running across trampolines and bouncing. He loved the foam pit and did not want to come back in from it.
He WOULD go again and WOULD recommend for his age.


TOP TIPS:

- Eat before you go as it's not cheap

- Pay for longer time to get better value for money

- Look for online deals or special events

- If you have skyline socks keep them in the car so you don't have to pay for new ones next time.

Blackberry Farm Aurora il

We visited this farm and historic village today for the first time with a group of friends, kids age range from 1 to 13.

The farm contains a number of authentic historic buildings including a small working blacksmith, one room school house and home belonging to pioneers.

Each building is furnished with authentic furniture and equipment, however they are not generally laid out as they would have been. For example one home had a bed where the parkour would have been due to the upstairs being inaccessible to the public.

The buildings have people in traditional dress educating you and demonstrating activities as you come through. They had interesting information and fun facts for the kids. In some cases there are activities you can take part in such as candle making at certain times and chopping wood.

There are also a number of fair like attractions including a train ride, paddle boats, tractor ride, children pedal cars and pony rides. The ponies are small sweet animals who looked well cared for but bored... there is a 70 pound weight limit to be aware of.

There is also a play ground area which is designed in a fun way to look like an old town. with houses and wooden walkways: it has a number of slides, climbing equipment and a zip wire.

There is also a small farm area which at the time we went contained a pig, turkey, chickens and new chicks, a calf and rabbit.

The park also hosts and interesting museum with 12 old fashioned shops.

At various times of year they host events which can include activities from pioneer times including making cornbread and sewing.

There are numerous picnic areas, but depending on the size of your group you may need to reserve an area in advance. There are three well spaced toilet blocks which were clean and stocked, but at the busiest point there was a queue. All areas appeared to be accessible for disabled persons as there are wide paths and ramps, however most rides would probably be inaccessible.
Opens seasonal from the start of May until the end of October. See website for opening hours.

Overall as a parent I rate it:

9/10 = I thought it was  fun, nicely laid out, easy to find, a reasonable price and had a good variety of activities for younger children.  I did feel there could easily have been more for older children which would extend the range of people it attracts. The only thing I currently felt truly appealed to a 12 year old was the pedal boats and the historic buildings and activities in them. I would also have preferred an authentic layout to the historic buildings so the kids could really imagine what life was like. (they furnish it but not authentically, which they told us) I enjoyed the museum. Overall I WOULD go again and WOULD recommend to families with children up to about age 8. This is a FULL day out.

12 Year old rating:

6/10 = Mainly this was fun because we were with other kids. The historic houses  and museum were sort of interesting and I liked chopping wood. I thought everything else pretty much, was too young. It could have had bigger pedal cars/go karts for older kids and maybe trampolines or a maze. Something more enjoyable for my age as it was for little kids. I WOULD go again with friends as its still a day out, but WOULD NOT recommend for my age.

7 year old rating:

9/10 = I had fun. I liked the train ride and tractor ride and playing in the playground. I also liked the pony ride although it lasted about 1 minute. I didn't care about the old houses or chopping wood and carousel was really slow. I would love to see animal feeding or a petting zoo area. I WOULD go again and WOULD recommend for my age.

2 year old rating:

10/10 = The youngest loved the train and tractor, loved the slides, carousel and pony ride and also looking at the animals. He WOULD go again and WOULD recomend for his age.

TOP TIPS

- Take a picnic

- Look for online deals and special events

- Unless its quiet when you arrive, leave the pony ride and carousel until near the end after everyone has been on. It gets quieter later in the day.