I received this question and I cant think of many recommendations so I will turn it over to you all …
I had a question and was wondering if anyone could help with some leads. My son is turning 3 this March and I was wondering if there are any decent venues other than Chuck E Cheese, one can use to throw a birthday party?
I would appreciate your help and input.
Thank you.
If you have any input, leave a comment.
~Guy~
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If the weather is okay, you could always use the shelters in Baker Park. We have gone to a couple of parties there and it has been fun for the kids, particularly the ones by the Pool on Fleming Avenue.
Other places could be the major fast food joints like McDonald’s or Burger King that have the playgrounds.
Hope that helps some.
How about Adventure World?
We have been to kids parties at bowling alleys. They put the bumpers up in the gutters. They used to serve food too, like a choice of hot dog or pizza and ice cream for dessert. I think it was the one on East Street.
Way Off Broadway Children’s Theatre is great for birthdays when kids are ages 5 to maybe 8 or 9.
For younger kids? The duck pin bowling thing is good. I’ve been to Adventure Land USA only once, but it struck me as expensive–and probably better for slightly older kids.
There is the Little Gym, but I’m not sure what age limits are – http://www.thelittlegym.com/gym/programs.aspx?gymid=248
How about “I Made This” in Frederick.
If you want to travel just outside the Frederick limits, Boyds Bear is a good place.
One of the best parties we ever had when our son was little was at the local fire station. The firemen showed them the truck, let them climb inside, handle the hoses. We brought pizza, cake, and plastic fire hats. Just right for 3 year olds!
My son likes Shadowland in Gaithersburg if you are willing to travel there. But the miminum age is probably higher than 3. My daughter had a party at “I Made This” when she turned 5 which was pretty good but is probably better suited for 7+. Adventure Land Park is good but it is hard to keep track of the kids in the arcade area. Parents must stay. Bowling at the Mt Airy (small ball) lanes is always fun. They have bumper pads for the younger kids. We were told about a few bad experiences at Way Off Broadway Children’s Theater in Frederick so we decided not to try them. Good luck!
What is the address or contact info for I Made This?
I Made This is in Everedy Square on East Street, just off the parking lot behind Danielle’s restaurant.
http://www.geocities.com/imadethispottery/Home.htm
When my son turned 3, we had a party for him at Gymboree on Rt 40.
They have a big parachute and games suited for 3 year olds. The staff there was great!
He’s 7 now, and still mentions Gymboree occasionally…
For a three year old? They’re happy to have their friends and to have cake. I have 3 kids under 10 and have never had a party outside my house. And I’ve never hired entertainment. I don’t even give goody bags. But the kids have a blast.
My kids really liked my daughter’s birthday on the Walkersville Southern Railroad. You rent out the caboose and bring your own cake. Adults and kids both liked it.
They also have a Bunny Train the first weekend in April. What fun for Easter season that is.
Here is another suggestion from a FredNet reader.
We decided to invite some of his friends over to the house for a party. Looks like its going to rain on saturday, the day of the party. So I think we made the right choice. But thank you so much for your suggestions.
Frederick Gymnastics is pretty good for kids parties. They’ll set up obstacle courses for the kids, let them jump on the trampolines and play in the pit. The kids I know who have had parties there have always had a blast. Hope that helped!
Maybe the YMCA has something for parties…swimming and a room for the festivities (cake! and loot!)?
I have 3 children…19…12…10 years of age. When they were that young I found a mini petting zoo was entertaining. In Maryland I would try calling several farms like Summers farm or Jumbos to see if they have this available. That age does not have a long attention span do to always finding new curiosity…smile. A simple party at home with a magician, clown [not too dressed up] with ballon making is always fun! The Disney store may have ideas as well. I hope this was helpful…have fun and good luck!
Call Party Fun at 301-662-0889 for the best children entertainment. GUARANTEED!
No body is picking phone there…my bad luck.
try jeepers it’s an indoor amusement park way better than chuck e cheese there’s one in baltimore on mc clean blvd
phone #
(410) 665-0900 they have cool birthday party deals they even have jeepers sleepers sleepover partys the whole place to yourselves over night for large groups of 20 kids or more
I have created a website for just this reason. Have a look at http://www.tots2tweens.com – we have a directory where you can search by location for everything from Birthday Party venues and entertainers to Summer Camps and Dance lessons.
I know Frederick has a Chuck E Cheese. Also I would recommend Adventure World in New Market. The other places mentioned out of town are great, but it depends on how far you want to travel.
Oh yes! Adventure Park USA is the correct name though. Very Fun and full of different activities than an all indoor venue. check out their website for more details.
I’ll never take my kid to Chuck E Cheese again. One of his day care mates had a birthday party there last month. 2 days later, my wife had pink eye…hmmmm, I wonder where she might have picked that up? Then later that week, I had it too. Fortunately, we were able to shield our 2 1/2 year-old from getting it, but it was a pretty lousy week for the two of us. I suppose it may be unfair to single out CEC…I guess any place that caters to lots of kids is susceptible to that kind of thing, but even aside from the pink eye, it was just such a miserable, depressing place. Nothing but loud noises and flashing lights…not unlike the sensory overload you might experience at a Vegas casino. Environments like that just stifle imagination and creativity in my opinion.
I agree about the craziness of CEC. Went there for a party recently and was really freaky. I almost felt like I was in a movie that was parodying CEC, but it was the real deal – from the parent/kid matching hand stamps, to the animatronics, to the cardboard pizza. All of it was a little sureal. But I must say, my son seemed to have a good time.
Also, sorry about the pink eye
but I can’t help but think of the scene from knocked up though. He-he.
I definitely agree about CEC as well. It’s just too much. This year we allowed my son to take 2 friends to Hershey Park for the day. Since he’s only 5 (and we’re close friends with the other children’s parents) we had a large group and it was a great day!! The nice thing about all the extra parents is that it allowed the adults to go on some rides as well!!
Universal kids just opened on Route 40. There are 19 themed rooms where kids can explore the universe (ocean to outer space). On mainstreet USA you will find the Police station (has a jail), the fire station (has a fire truck), the beauty shop (has princess dress up), cosntruction zone, post office, etc. In addition, there is a bubble room, trains room, and much more.
Universal Kids in Frederick just opened and we went there for a birthday party recently. My kids had a great time and want to go back soon.
Had a TERRIBLE experience with Holiday Cinemas. Booked a birthday party and reserved the party room but the theater changed the movie time by 1.5 hours and never told me. When I called the morning of the party to inquire about the time change I noticed on-line, they told me the time was changed and they didn’t have the party room for me either. I had to scramble at the last minute and had a wonderful birthday party at Beans in the Belfry in Brunswick. Don’t even bother with Holiday. I don’t know they stay in business.
I tried to find more information about Universal Kids but have had no luck locating them on the internet…no website, phone, address, etc. Does anyone have any information? Thanks!
They didn’t make it, it’s closed already!
Val, here’s a bit more info from the forum:
http://frederick.disqus.com/universal_kids_exploration_center/#comment-2524845
Universal Kids has a Yahoo Group.
Go to Yahoo, Groups and search for Universal Kids Frederick and sign up for the group.
You can see photos of the exploration center rooms.
I like the idea of throwing a birthday party at a local fire station. Are there certain fire stations in Frederick that allow this? And what happens in the event of an emergency?
How about having your child’s next birthday at the baseball stadium with the Frederick Keys! Contact me at 301-815-9955 or visit http://frederickkeys.com/group-birthdays.php for more information. Call now to reserve!
I just noticed that there is a bouncy house room in the Sad Mall on Rt. 40.
Universal Kids in frederick is closed. They are not there any more. I checked in the FSK Mall and they have set up a Party room with 3 big bouncers. $85 per hour.
Check it out!
Is there a name for either of the party rooms in the Frederick malls?
Sorry not in the FSK mall, Frederick Town mall.
There two rooms, one is where the bouncers are and the other is the room with the tables. Yes they have a name for those two rooms like Joe’s or JOAN’s , oh I am not sure!
I also had a HORRIBLE time with HOLIDAY CINEMAS. I called to reserve the room which was open. I asked when I needed to have my deposit in. The response from the person and the website is two weeks before the party. A week later when I went to pay the deposit, they had given it away to someone else with not even a phone call. I could have understood this if it was stated that ‘the only reservation is a paid one’ but I specifically asked and was told different. The practice dirty underhanded business tactics. We have since ended up having a pool party at Health Unlimited in Mt. Airy. Great place! Very professional…and what kid doesn’t love having a pool party in February?
I am agree with holiday cinema managment. My this experience is not with having or attending a birhday party but about taking my kids to watch movie ther. The ticket window lady said that the movie has not started yet so my and my kids waited out side thinking the movie running that time is previous show and when I asked the manager he said yes this is the current time show and when I told him that your other employee told me wrong time and he.., as a being of manager, said to be very riudely that then believe who you want . And I said I believed the lier…Sorry but that was disapointing as we all missd the movie for about 10 minutes.
I found this online: http://www.vimeo.com/3927735
I had a joint party for both of my kids the year before last at Port Discovery. It was fun a little hard to keep track of all the kids at once, so I suggest tell the parents they MUST attend as well. The only hiccup we had at the event was an issue with the party room. We were initially in the larger room because it was a joint party and we had approx. 30 kids and 20-25 adults. There was another party that was a joint one as well but it was two friends with two completely different families. They requested the larger room and we didn’t know so we had to move to TWO smaller rooms that had NO ventilation!!! It was hot and completely unfair but all in all it was fun for the kids. As far as I knew the larger room didn’t cost extra just had to request it. The party total was about $340. Good deal.
For people looking for a great place to have a kid’s party, there is a beautiful Andalusian horse farm in Mt. Airy, MD, that offers two venues to choose from: The Unicorn Party and The Vaulting Party. The first party features a 20 min. musical horseback ridden production, with a “real” Unicorn as the star, and rides on the gentle Andalusian horses. The Vaulting Party (gymnastics on horseback) teaches the kids basic vaulting moves first on a padded barrel and then on a slowly walking horse (with a professional vaulter as a spotter). Both parties include time to pet and brush the horses and a fun place for cake and opening presents. Kids absolutely love it! Both parties are suitable for boys and girls, alike. Find more information at http://www.springfever.com.