The Play Spot

I'm excited to say that there is a new play area in Hampton Roads. Open in November, The Play Spot is located in Chesapeake in the Grassfield area. The owners are the same family who own Higher Vision Studios in Virginia Beach, which has been around since 1999. After their son was diagnosed with and beat eye cancer, their family knew that creating memories together was priceless. 

The goal with The Play Spot is for families to play together, rather than parents sitting and watching kids play. Family play sessions are sold in two hour ticketed intervals. Everyone over the age of one must have their own ticket. 

Ninja Warrior Classes are also offered during the week. These classes include 45 minutes of Ninja Warrior Training followed by 30 minutes of Open Play Time for each parent and child. Classes use obstacle courses, martial arts, and gymnastics to improve agility, coordination, balance, strength, and flexibility. Classes are for ages 3-5 or 5-10. Birthday parties are available, and summer camp information will be out soon. 

Disney On Ice: Mickey's Search Party

We had such a fun time at Disney On Ice, Mickey's Search Party tonight at Norfolk Scope. Here until January 1st, the show includes Mickey's crew, Moana, Coco, Toy Story, Aladdin, Frozen, and Tinkerbell and the pirates from Peter Pan. This show, more than others, included tons of stunts that kept even us adults wondering how it was done. You can purchase tickets here.  Shows are Friday and Saturday at 12:00 and 4:00, and Sunday and Monday at 1:00. Easy to find parking is available at Scope, in the Wells Fargo garage across the street, or at MacArthur Center, and there is a Tide stop right outside of Scope. Enjoy! 

Richmond Tacky Lights

Tacky Lights have been seen all over Richmond for the last 30 years, but this is the first year that we have seen them. The tradition goes back to 1985 when a Richmond DJ booked a transportation bus to tour ten houses. It was a huge hit then, and still is now. Official houses on the tour must have over 40,000 lights to be considered. 

You can drive around to check them out yourself for free, or book a tour through one of the many transportation services in Richmond. Checkout the list here:  Although many houses aren't officially on the list, driving around the city you'll see lots of houses that have decided to lean into the tacky decorations. 

EVO

We ventured over to Peninsula Town Center in Hampton last weekend and checked out EVO for the first time. EVO Entertainment has a movie theater, arcade, and bowling alley. We didn't check out any movies, but we did eat, play games, and bowl. 

The bowling is rented by the half hour or hour, rather than the typical rental by games style. The clock counts down on the screen which is great for young kids who have trouble transitioning and need a little bit of a reminder. 

We grabbed arcade cards to play games. You can purchase the cards based on time, which don't allow you to play the claw machine type games, or you can purchase a card based on points which allow you to play all games. We opted for the hour style card which was the perfect amount of time. On Wednesdays they offer half priced games. 

*We were given free passes to visit EVO but all opinions are my own. 

2023-2024 Virginia Experiences Gift Guide

A team of bloggers across Virginia have teamed up together to bring you the 2023-2024 Experiences Gift guide. Click to checkout the guide. Our area is the Coastal Virginia section, or have a look to plan for a road trip. I love experience gifts because they make lasting memories and don't take up space in our house!