Given today’s 110-degree heat index, we decided to try something new and air-conditioned as a treat for Griff during the last day of this week’s mini-staycation. We had read some positive reviews of BigEBounce in Cary, and headed that way this morning to try out their toddler room. We were not disappointed.

We went during the morning open play hours, but without a reservation. Despite this, the owners let us in for the cheaper reservation price, which saved us $3. Very nice! Parents are not charged an entrance fee.

A staff member gave us a brief tour and promised that the toddler area would be blocked off and monitored to make sure the bigger kids didn’t come in. This was one of the main reasons we chose this facility, since a 15-month-old doesn’t stand much of a chance against a horde of boisterous day camp tweens. (They were expecting 100 older kids in the other rooms during the morning!) The staff were as good as their word, and we had the entire toddler area to ourselves for a lot of the time, although another little guy around Griff’s age joined the fun partway through our visit. This was a big plus, because while he refused to follow mom and dad into some of the more enclosed bounce house areas, Griff was unable to resist imitating what this slightly older toddler was doing.

Standing in the middle of a giant bouncy platform while trying to photograph an overstimulated 1-year-old doesn’t result in crisp, clear images, but here are a few highlights of our visit. Definitely the best $6 we’ve spent in a while! Anyone with a kid under 5 who hasn’t had good experiences at the more mixed-ages places should definitely give this one a try. They also have a giant bouncy maze/slide room for the bigger kids, as well as ping-pong tables and a ton of videogame consoles to keep the older ones entertained. The free wifi was nice, too.