I truly enjoy taking my kids to different playspaces for the experience, but there's nothing like supporting a business right in your own community. About two weeks ago, I posted the Children's Safari event featuring the Gabba's from Nick Jr. I was excited for my kids, because I personally find the show annoying. I do enjoy some of the silly songs on the show and find myself reciting some of the lyrics just to get my kids to eat or when I want to watch my youngest go nutz with the "Hold Still" song.
After picking up my eldest's pre-school friend from her home, we headed on over to Safari and found a prime parking spot right in front of the building. Score! Not only that, but the moment we pulled up to the prime parking spot, the theme song from "Yo Gabba Gabba" came on Sirius XM's Kid's Place Live radio station. Twilight Zone, right? I kid you not. So after we danced in our seats to the song, the kids unbuckled themselves. As I turned to let my son out, I noticed the building was a little dark. I then saw a high school aged kid wearing an employee shirt come out and I ask him if Safari is open. He tells me that they open at 3:30 p.m. for open play. I said, really? Facebook said the Gabbas were here and the event starts at 2:30 p.m. He told me that was yesterday. Disappointment! I immediately went on Facbook via my phone and there it was. I was right! I then took the kids to the Library where they played for an hour before heading back over to Children's Safari.
We went back to Safari and the same parking spot was still available! After expressing my disappointment to an extremely young looking, yet mature, employee, she gave us additional tokens to the games for the mishap. Okay, I'll take that. She said Facebook was updated, which it wasn't, and that an email went out about the Sunday only event, which I never received. The kids, who were oblivious to what was going on, played with the fake pizza while they waited. As we entered the main play area, there were maybe a handful of kids in the building. One teenager, most likely babysitting two young brothers, was playing baseball with a plastic bat and hitting a plastic ball across the room. When my youngest got too close to the batter, who almost hit my youngest, I finally had to say something. Needless to say, the game ended immediately after I told them this is unsafe. Where was the owner or adult employee, or just someone with commone sense? Why did I have to tell the teen that swinging a bat indoors with other kids around was unsafe?
After my crew tired of going up and down the jungle gym and slide, it was time to use the tokens I received with admission, plus the extra ones for our earlier trouble, and play some games. What a disaster this turned out to be. The majority of the token-only games were broken. All three Skee Ball machines, my favorite, were broken. The basketball hoop game didn't work and I don't think Big Bertha has ever worked since we first visited years ago. She spit out tickets but she doesn't move at all. She just sits there with her mouth open. We played one game of the life-sized Hungry Hungry Hippos and during the game the Hippos apparently had enough to eat because even they stopped moving. The Hockey game...broken. There were two games that worked which we tried but that was about it. I'm sure a few others worked, I hope, but the games that got my trio's attention were pretty disappointing.
One Facebook fan of Valley Stream Mom's said that in her experience at Safari was that she expected a little more for the price she paid and the proprietor wasn't very friendly. I totally agree. If you're going to own a children's play space the least you could do is like children (or act like you like them) or be friendly. I personally don't care for the place but as a parent it's not always about you but about your children. I want to do what makes them happy and brings them fulfillment but Children's Safari, in my opinion, wasn't it.
Children's Safari gets a time out.
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