Hooray is one of the newer indoor play areas for young kids located on Upton Drive out in the Red Mill area of Virginia Beach. Online they advertise that they are for ages 6 months to 8 years, but I think this is more geared for the baby and toddler age. (Hey- it's nice that something is!) The areas are divided into sections. The first is for babies, and features soft things for little ones to climb on and play with. I wish I had known about more stuff like this when RT was learning to crawl.
The second section is for smaller toddlers. It has some smaller slides, things to climb on and through, and lots to play with. Both of these are gated so that little kids cannot escape, and bigger kids can't come barreling though.
Outside of the gated area is a jungle gym type play area with two slides, a rock climbing wall, and things to climb up and in. One big hit of this area was the light up memory game that was on the back wall. Also, parents can climb up if they want to or need to, unlike some of the other indoor play areas in the area. (Who hasn't had to climb up in one anyways- I mean really?!)
In the back is a little "town" with a movie theater, grocery store, vet, and other small buildings. This area was really cute, but I couldn't get RT to play in it for more than a few minutes. He's a climber and spent most of the time on the slides. In this area, the shopping carts were a huge hit.
On the far side is a cafe with what I thought were super reasonably priced drinks and cafe type food. All we had was popcorn, but it was delicious and freshly popped.
So, breakdown of our thoughts. The place was a little more expensive than some of the other indoor places like it. The $12.00 admission fee did let kids come back all day, but it was a 45 minute drive for us. So while that is a nice perk, we were not able to use it. The weekdays are cheaper at $10.00. (Younger children are cheaper.) They also offer monthly memberships which include classes, but I'm not sure what the classes are. During the summer they have a punch card option which would save money too. With all of that being said, the place wasn't over crowded, they had a staff member in the cafe pretty much the whole time, and it felt really clean to me. They do offer birthday parties and have lots of special events there too, including parents' night out and holiday pictures.
All.The.Trucks!
Overall, I'd come back here. It seems like a place where I'd be able to get something to eat and sit and talk with some friends while RT played. I love supporting local businesses, and even more so when it caters to toddlers.
In other news, a huge Mazel Tov to my friend Nancy who welcomed her little girl this week!
