From the minute we opened the door, my boys were mesmerized. The entrance puts you in the arcade, in which the lighting is slightly dimmed to see the brightness of the games. Off of this main area are the bathrooms, the Jump Hall, Build a Bear area, mining room, the lazer maze, and the birthday party room. The boys stopped and slowly just looked around, trying to take in everything they were seeing. They looked through the glass door and wall which led to the Jump Hall (where the inflatables and soft ball shooting range are) and fell to the floor to take their shoes off. "Can we go, can we go, can we go?" was the mantra they began to chant.
Upon entering, we were greeted by staff and asked to fill out a waiver and information for each child including 2 emergency contact numbers. Parents are expected to stay with their children as walk ins, but my impression was that for birthday parties not all parents choose to stay. The walk in price is $15 per child which gives you access to Jump Hall, Magic 5 Kingdom (for the 5 and under crew), Lego room, and Princess Dress Up Castle. The entrance fee includes a $3 card for arcade games. For an additional fee, Jump N' Slide offers the lazer maze, build a bear, and mining for gems.
The large carpeted Jump Hall boasts 3 inflatables, one to suit everyone's desires. There's a bounce castle with a basketball hoop for those who like to jump, a competition mountain in which my boys love trying to see who can get highest, and an inflatable obstacle course with giant slides that go so fast, kids fly off the end! Luckily there are small gym mats on the floor to catch those kids as they slide off. They couldn't get enough of this place!
We spent over an hour doing the competition mountain, obstacle course, and their favorite, the shooting range, where kids put on safety glasses and aim soft balls at targets across the room. Total hit!
I had to urge the boys to leave the Jump Castle to check out some of the rest of what Jump N' Slide has to offer. Past the inflatables is a doorway that leads to a large open indoor playground for younger kids, the Magic 5 Kingdom. They have their own small bounce house with a ball pit, there are cars and bikes of all kinds to ride on, balls to play with, foam wedges for the littlest ones to climb on, and a "road" on the floor to ride on. My little one loved the motorized motorcycle!
Off of this space is the Lego room and the princess dress up room. Both of these areas occasionally hold birthday parties, but otherwise are open and included with your admission. The Lego room kept my older one engaged while the little one rode on the bikes and cars. There are two tables in the lego room, at least 2 big bins full with Legos, and the top of the table is lego plates for building. We could have easily spent another hour or two here!
While they were busy playing, I got a tour of the rest of the facility. There is a large open room upstairs off of the arcade that is used for birthday parties; complete with a seating area for parents! They can take care of everything, from decorations to cupcakes! Party packages are listed on the website.
The arcade games offer some old favorites and new exciting options. Games cost between $.50-$1.00 to play, and tickets earned are kept on that game card. This is a great feature, as my boys love to save up their tickets for bigger items, but I can't always keep track those pieces of paper with the amount on them. The game cards are the same size as credit cards and I can keep them in my wallet so I'll be sure to have them next time.
We didn't get to experience the Lazer Maze, or the Goldmine, but these are high on the priority list for the next time we visit. And there will definitely be a next time! Unlike some other new indoor venues, the entry fee to Jump N' Slide allows unlimited time in the Jump Hall (including the soft shooting range) and Magic 5 Kingdom (which houses the Lego room and Princess room). With the amount of things there are to do, the price is worth it! We stayed for 2 hours, but there was so much they didn't get to do! My boys are asking to go back!
There is a table in the jump hall for parents to sit, and benches along the Magic 5 Kingdom wall. They have some drinks for sale and don't currently offer food, but are equipped with a full kitchen, and will continue to expand their services as the business grows.
Jump N' Slide is located at 145 Wells Ave #2 in Newton, and is open on Fridays from 6pm-9pm, and on Saturday and Sunday from 9am-9pm. There is ample free parking. Walk ins are welcome and they are currently booking birthday parties. There is also a Halloween Bash on Oct 31, with games, prizes, a movie, and lots of fun! Check the website to pre-order tickets and save! www.jumpandslideboston.com
Macaroni Kid Newton-Brookline was given tickets to Jump N' Slide to review the facility for my readers. All of the opinions in this article are my own.
