This is the first commercial place I write about in this blog, the Bounce Fun Center in Clinton. It is a bit out of the way from new haven, probably half an hour drive, but we had so much fun when my kids were small.
It is the most perfect bounce house for young kids, from toddlers to maybe 7. It doesn’t have quite crazy slides like in Monkey Joe’s. Instead, it has challenging slides and fun bounce houses for toddlers and preschoolers. One tricky thing is to look at their calendar. Sometimes they only open for 2 hours, so if you plan to stay longer, find a different day. Their admission is not as high as Monkey Joe’s either. There is also a tip. Around memorial day, they have a promotion selling gift-cards that offer a 50% discount on daily admissions (for example, if you pay $10, you get a $20 gift card).
It has a toddler area with ball-pit, slides, and rubber ponies. For bouncy houses, they have a basketball one that has a slide in it, a bouncy house with a taller slide, an arena just for bouncing. Downstairs next to the bouncy room, there is a arcade room. I don’t know about you, but I haven’t seen any arcade games as cheap as 25 cents anywhere else. Thus it is completely affordable to indulge the kids on some silly games, watching them getting scrolls of tickets, and then use them to get some rubber frogs from the counter.
They also have a store that sells chips and juice, for around a dollar. Maybe it is the feeling that the place isn’t trying to screw your money on top of the admission, it makes me feel like it being really friendly.
Upstairs, there is a quiet area that you can sit on the couch and eat. there is also a room with toys, books and crafts.
I think the place would be really fun for a preschooler’s birthday party. But I didn’t end up doing it because I wasn’t sure everyone wanted to drive that far. But when you have a day to spend with small kids, you should check it out!
New Haven Kids! 