Update on 6/2015: This business has closed permanently.
In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight…
Well, there was definitely no sleeping in the jungle this morning when we visited Plano’s Indoor Safari Park with some friends. Quite the opposite…there was lots and lots of running and playing and jumping and climbing.
Of course like most moms who bear the summer heat in Dallas, we’ve been on the hunt for some indoor activities to keep us busy having fun without breaking the bank. I recently found a groupon type deal and thought, “Hey, we should try it…it’s a good deal, it looks fun, it’s geared for little ones and it’s inside!” Thankfully, the Safari Park didn’t disappoint!
We got there right when they opened to maximize playtime and to beat the crowd (I did make a quick stop at Wally World across the street when I noticed a sign on the door saying socks required…they ended up not being strict about the socks, but at least I had them just in case!). We jumped right into the action with a train ride through the jungle. The boys had a great time looking out the window and spotting giraffes, tigers, zebras, rhinos, monkeys and other wild animals. We tried out the toddler zone, but after a few minutes of climbing in the tree house and sliding, the boys were ready to take on the “big kid” play area.
Let the exploring begin! The ball pit was a blast and with the jungle gyms, endless tunnels, slides and trampolines there was never a dull moment (or a moment of sitting still!).
Next up were animal rides. I had a feeling Tanner might freak out a little, and he decided he definitely wasn’t up for riding Mr. Elephant. He was a good sport and sat on the elephant long enough for me to snap a cute pic! They also had fun safari hats for the riders, but of course we are in an “anti-hat” phase.
We wrapped up our safari adventure exploring the putt putt golf course and the hands-on play centers. The train table was definitely a hit with the boys! I’m sure when they’re a little older the pirate ship table and the castle table will be lots of fun for their imaginations too. We did skip the ceramic painting area…we’ll save that for when the boys are a little older!
As we were leaving, Tanner kept insisting on one last train ride (he couldn’t sign “more, more, more” fast enough as he peered through the fence at the train). The staff was great and announced that it just so happened to be time for the train to take a few more laps through the jungle. So the boys got one last ride in and we avoided a toddler melt down! Huge points for this in my book!
Overall a great morning of fun with friends…friendly staff, clean play areas and lots of fun to be had in the good ol’ air conditioning! We will definitely be returning for more indoor safari adventures this summer!
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Kali and her hubby, Lance, have been married 7 years and have one little guy, Tanner who is 18 months old. She loves Dr Pepper, traveling, taking pictures, cooking, reading a good book, flip flops, orphans & adoption, good friends, comfy clothes, and her family. Being a mom is the hardest job she’s ever had, but definitely the most rewarding and one she wouldn’t trade for the world!
Follow her at http://beingthebaileys.blogspot.com
such a great time and we can’t wait to do this again!!!
We are doing this on Wednesday and I’m really looking forward to it!
I was greatly disappointed. I really don’t think it was worth it. We won’t be going back.
I had my 3 year old’s birthday party at the Plano location – WORST experience of my life. DO NOT GO TO THIS PLACE!!!! DO NOT TAKE YOUR CHILDREN HERE!! The people are rude, disorganized, and the owner is the most horrible business owner I have ever met. From the moment we got there it was afwul. It was disorganzed, the party room had not been cleaned from the previous party I had to track someone down to help me – there was cake and napkins and garbage every where, this left me about 10 minutes to get my party set-up, i ordered balloons I had to ask where they were and when someone brought them, they were already droppy. I ordered chicken salad sandwiche’s which they sat in the room for an hour ( we didnt eat them they looked a little suspect even upon arrival), they forgot to order my pizza – when I had spoke to Asmita twice during the week regarding our food order, once to place the order and then she called 3 days later to ask if I was going to place an order (?). The pizza was never ordered (?) and we didnt know until it was time to go into our party room, so we decided to let the kids play a little longer, but the pizza didnt arrive until after closing (6pm on Sat) and the kids were tired and hungry. An employee told me yeah .. Asmita causes a lot of trouble. I also had ordered chicken nuggets, but we received popcorn nuggets – they were gross. I had no way to serve them, so I had to use a papertowel (that I brought). Our assigned party hostess said it was her first day and i overheard her tell someone else she had not been trained on parties. She had all the kids in the mechancial animal area ridinig the toys one at a time, when I realized what she was doing and that this was going to take too long (35 minutes with 12 kids all having to sit ) I ask her to call for some help, another girl came very reluctantly and never smiled for these kids. After when the owner AJ (CJ ?) came in and I “started” to tell him how awful this experience had been HE PUT HIS HAND IN MY FACE! He never apologized. I walked out. As I was headed toward the door I told him he could keep my deposit, but that was it and he YELLED at me. I was pretty shook up and could not get to the door quick enough to get out of there. I would NEVER go to this place or have your childs birthday at this place! I was shocked and horifed by the owner’s display – what a truely awful experience in my life!
Thanks for sharing. I’m so sorry such a special time for your family was ruined by their poor management. We have also since heard many complaints about similar issues. So sad that such a fun place is so poorly run 🙁
Great post! The fact that you means someone is reading and liking it! Congrats!That’s great advice.