Safari Run- A Lazy Mom’s Paradise

Dallas summers offer plenty of great family friendly places to go…there’s the Aboretum, and the Zoo, and splash pads, and parks, and pools galore.  But here’s the thing… it’s hot, and I’m lazy.  

I do plenty of playing with my kids and I love having grand summer adventures with them.  But sometimes I just can’t. I have twin four-year-olds and by the time I have packed up a bag with drinks and snacks, let them change their clothes 300 times, lathered them in sunscreen and bug spray, patiently waited for the 20 minutes it took them to put on their shoes because they refuse assistance, and wrestled them into their carseats, I’m done.  I don’t have the energy to herd them through a mile-long parking lot at a turtle’s pace and then chase after both of them running in different directions through a huge crowd. 

Enter Safari Run in Plano.  I recently got the chance to take my girls to the press opening of Safari Run and I quickly fell in love.

Yes, the kids had a blast and all the equipment was cool and creative and exhausting for them, but come on…look at this- 

Talk about a perfect place to collapse and chat with your mom friends in the blissful air-conditioning while your kids run around like baboons in their native habitat.

And they have a gate!  So if you have older kids you can park yourself in the gated cafe area with a coffee and your laptop or kindle and know that there is no way your little is getting out of there without you noticing.

Also, I would like to mention that the staff is amazing.  They were actually getting the children to join in games of races and hopscotch.  And if your kid gets stuck up at the top and is crying for you, they will gently help them down without you having to prove just how much flexibility you have lost since your yoga days.  I’m pretty sure that even if I got all the way up there, I would also require a rescue mission as at least one joint would have popped out of place. 

I was amazed and the quality of the materials used throughout the place.  The focus on nice amenities and cleanliness was impressive.  Check out this party room…you don’t feel like you are going to come down with Malaria 20 minutes after leaving the place!

Oh, yeah.  I guess since it is a place for kids I should say that my monkeys loved it too.  There is a small area for younger kids and a huge climbing structure for the bigger ones.  Everything is done in a very cute Jungle theme, my girls particularly loved the “waterfall” slides.  

In addition to the open play areas, there was also an arcade where you play with tokens to win prizes.  This is not included in the price of admission, but would probably be great if you also wanted to bring older kiddos with you.

For me, the only two drawbacks are that it is about 30 minutes from my house, and that they charge by the hour instead of as a flat fee.  The cost for open play is $10 an hour per child or $18 for 2 hours per child, which I feel is a little steep, but you get what you pay for in this case.  A park is free but your ability to zone out while not sweating to death is much more limited, and less expensive options are often not as clean or well-staffed.  If we lived closer I would probably go for a membership package (https://www/safarirun.com/memberships/details) as it is a pretty good value.

Overall, I give this place a lazy mom’s stamp of approval.  I would have made a logo of a stamp or something, but…well I’m lazy.