Author: Andi

Today we checked out a new park that opened in Eagan. It’s called Good Times Park. It’s an indoor playground/gym/picnic place/art station/bouncy pillow/soccer field. It wasn’t too crowded and the kids (ages almost 2-almost 4) had a great time!

Some pros:

• It wasn’t real crowded. (Probably because the opened last week and not many people know about it.)
• There are lots of things for the kids to do. We were there for over 3 hours and the kids only stopped running and playing to eat.
• There are good activities for various ages.
• You can bring your own food in to eat at the picnic area.
• They don’t sell soda in the vending machine and most of the snacks aren’t too terrible.
• It was very clean. (Also probably because it is so new.)
• There’s a separate changing area with tables, a bench, trash and a sink.
• You can pay ahead of time. Since there isn’t any staff to let you in or take your money, you do it yourself.

Some cons:

• It’s a little expensive. I am not sure I would go many times in the summer as the weather gets nicer. You get a fairly good deal for a monthly membership, but I think I might spend my money at the zoo or Children’s Museum instead.
• You really should buy your admission ticket before you come. The first time you come, you need to create an account and it takes a little bit. The kids get restless. I am sure it is simpler to do once you have an account, but it’s a little tedious the first time.
• There’s glass windows to look at the park while you are trying to pay. The kids get upset that they can see it, but can’t get it.
• There aren’t any clocks. At least none that I saw. I was always wondering what time it was. It would be nice if there were at least some clocks in the picnic area.
• The slides on the big playground are FAST! Thankfully the first time down scared Maddie and she wouldn’t go near it again. Little kids would be better off going down on their stomachs, feet first.
• The big inflatable jumping pillow is great. The kids love it. But it’s annoying to take your shoes on and off when they go in and come out. I am sure you could just leave your shoes off the whole time, but the kids seem to play better and run around with them on.
• The art corner is a great idea as well. But with crayons and markers….I can see this being a disaster down the road. They will color everywhere and it will get messy and hard to keep clean.

And here are pictures! I was the first one in there today, so I took lots of pictures.

Overall, we had a blast and we had to drag the kids out of there. It was perfect for this rainy day we had today. It’s definitely worth checking out.

We love the Children’s Museum! It’s not too far away and Chuck works in the connecting skyway, so we can go meet him for lunch. They have two floors full of various rooms for the kids. I can stay on just one floor for hours with Maddie and she doesn’t get bored. It’s wonderful! (Maddie has gotten so big since the last time I wrote about the museum!)

I just renewed my membership so I can have a free guest come with me. We already utilized it and brought Chuck’s mom with us. It’s fun for grandma to hang out and Maddie loves showing her everything!

I have pictures from a couple various trips we have taken there. It will be nice when Dannie is a little older and gets to enjoy in the fun, too! Although, she is pretty happy in her carrier watching all the kids run around!

The shopping and cooking area is her favorite. She could play there all day!

She also loves the puppy and the music area. Some times she even takes the puppy into the singing area!

There are gears, water tables, bubbles, blocks, a climbing wall (in the current exhibit….Dora), a room like a forest with tunnels to crawl thought like ants, lighted rooms and a room for babies/young kids, too!

And Dannie has fun when we are there, too!

Some other random thoughts:

• The fee to get in is a little high (not as bad as the zoo), but if you decide you want to get a membership, the cost of admission can be put toward a membership.
• You can bring in your own food and eat it in the room they have with tables.
• They have a coat room and lockers to leave your jackets or bags.
• They do birthday parties.
• They have an arts and crafts room.
• There is an outdoor play room with lots of fun activities.
• They have a nursing area and a floor that is just for reading and being quiet.
• They have face painting and a photo booth.
• Someone runs a story time or active play time in the rotunda (I think around 10:30, if I remember correctly).

If you haven’t been here with your kiddos yet, I highly recommend it! You could spend the whole day here!

Yesterday I told you about Gleason’s Gymnastics. Today, I’ll tell you about IGM Gymnastics. This is another local gymnastics studio that lets the kids just run around. There were some things I liked better about this place than Gleason’s and some things I liked less.

First, this place has a HUGE bouncy house and slide! Maddie wouldn’t go in it, but she was a bit crabby. I am sure with time, she will love it! I really wanted to go play on it, but Dannie was strapped to the front of me and it just seemed like a bad idea to jump on it with her.

There were lots of things for the kids to play on. I know Gleason’s changes things around every week, but since I have only been here once, I don’t know what they do. But it sure looked fun!

Maddie isn’t sleeping in this picture, she’s trying to figure out how yet another thing works!

There was also a big floor with balls for the kids to play with, more balance beams, and even a little play area for really small kids!

Unfortunately, they only had two trampolines for the kids to jump on, which was kind of a bummer. And the foam pit was much smaller here. Maddie loves playing in that. And the other downfall is that it is $8 per kid no matter how many kids. Gleason’s is $8 for one kid and $10 for more than one kid (family price) which is nice. I’m not sure if IGM has a punch card like Gleason’s has, either.

Since they are only open on Fridays, I probably will only be bringing Dannie with me next year since Maddie will be in preschool on Fridays, so it won’t matter too much to me, but it may matter to someone else.

So there’s my run down of the couple open gymnastics places I have been to! You should definitely give it a try if you have kids! They will love it!

There’s a couple gymnastics studios around where kids can just run around and use the equipment. We have been going to Gleason’s and Maddie loves it. The first time she was there she was a bit skeptical, but she warmed up to it. By the next time we went, she was taking off her shoes and running to the trampolines before I could pay and get Dannie out of her car seat!

Maddie was fascinated to figure out how these bars worked. She is definitely Chuck’s daughter!

Maddie runs and runs and runs along this line of tape.

Maddie had a fun time with her friend playing with the foam blocks and then playing under the parachute!

I love that there’s a place for her to run around and have fun. Especially when we seem to have a winter that just won’t end! If you have young kids, I highly recommend checking out this place or seeing if there is a gym like this in your area!

Sadly, when I was there yesterday, I found out that there is only one more week of open gym this season. I’m kind of bummed, but I understand there probably isn’t very good turn out during the summer. But just an FYI if you were going to check it out. But….there might be another local option. I’ll tell you about that one tomorrow!