Yesterday my husband and I took the kids to the new Monkey House in Maplewood, a “party and play center” near Maplewood Mall. I heard it had just opened up a few months ago and we were curious. Plus, we wanted a place for them to burn off their energy other than at home!
The Monkey House is located at 1815 Buerkle Road in White Bear Lake, just north of 694 and the Maplewood Mall area. It’s kind of hidden among a bunch of exciting warehouse-type businesses like carpeting and medical supplies stores (ok…not THAT exciting!). But it’s exactly what we expected otherwise – 5000 square feet of indoor fun!
There were 4 huge bouncy houses, plus a play area with a foam pit, a slide and more. Kids were running around everywhere from activity to activity. There were bouncy balls with handles, too, that kids can sit on and bounce around on.
Heidi especially loved the big inflated slide. I even went on it with her several times!
Thor loved the foam pit and the bouncy balls.
After about an hour the kids got hungry. At the check-in area of the Monkey House you can buy snacks for $1.00 each, such as Ritz cheese sandwiches, Oreo cookies & fruit drink pouches. You can eat them there and sit on the couches provided. It’s a good “break” area if you want to have a snack or use one of the two private restrooms. However, we chose to head home instead of staying – it can be tiring for everyone after a while! Thankfully, Thor took a good long nap later in the day.
Open Play Times are weekdays (Tues – Fri) 10am – 3pm, and weekends (Sat-Sun) 10am – Noon. Sometimes on holidays and no school days they’ll be open special hours.
Cost is $6.50 weekdays, $7.50 weekends. Parents and children under 1 play free with a paid child admission.
One cool deal they have is a stamp card, where for every paid admission you get a stamp, and when you fill it with 8 stamps, you get a free admission! It can fill up fast if you have more than 1 child or come often!
You will need to sign a waiver for your kids when you come the first time (waivers are good for a year). Their rules are typical for an indoor play center:
*Remove shoes, but must wear socks to play.
*No food or drink in play arena.
*No diving or head first sliding.
*etc. etc. etc.
Their party/event options are varied. What I like is that when you book a party, you get the whole place to yourselves. (That’s why their open play times end early.) The cheapest party package is their “No Frills, Just Play” option for $99, which includes 1 hour of private play, but doesn’t include food or the party room.
For a private party with the party room, you get 1 hour private use of play arena, and 1 hour private use of party room for up to 30 guests. It’s $179 on weekdays and $269 on weekends. For an even longer party – 3-1/2 hours – it’s $379 weekdays and $499 weekends. (Though I don’t think many of us would need it that long.)
All the party options (other than the “no frills” option) include 1 gallon of fruit punch or Sunny D, 2 large Pizza Ranch pizzas, a party host, printable invitations, and supplies including cups, plates, napkins, utensils, candles and balloons. You can bring your own cake or they can order one for you. No pinatas, streamers or other “messy” things.
The party room is nice and even includes an inflated “chair” for the birthday boy or girl! Thor tried climbing in it when we checked it out.
Visit their website for a link to their Facebook page and “like” them to get $10 off a private party.