We didn't get to give our son a big first birthday due to covid so we wanted to make his second birthday extra special. We checked out many places in the area but chose Exceptional Explorers. The facility is new, clean, bright, open, and inviting. There is a multi level giant play structure to explore, with several slides, plenty of open play areas, noodle structures, a lego wall, ball wall, and a huge peg board. When we met with Boris he stated their goal is to have families enjoy the event and to let them take care of everything which is exactly what happened. They coordinate everything, food (many options to choose from), balloons (bouquets, giant arches), and even have someone available to take photos. I think this is what we appreciated most. We didn't have to worry about taking photos, and really enjoyed watching our son and his friend play. We couldn't have been happy. The kids had a blast and we highly recommend you check out Exceptional Explorers. You can sign up for open play and they offer a variety of classes. read more

I've been a party guest here, but this was a lovely experience as a party host! We had my daughter's third birthday here and it was a seamless planning experience. For an extra fee you can add on balloons and catered food, so you really just need to show up with goodie bags and cake. The space isn't huge, but I would say it's perfect for a 2/3/4 year old birthday party. There are lots of slides and play areas toclimb, and for an extra $100 charge they will blow up a bounce house. Leading up to the event - it was extremely easy to communicate and ask questions via email. Everyone was so responsive which was really amazing. At the party there were four staff members onsite to assist for around 20 kids. They handled absolutely everything and I hardly had to lift a finger. The party length is 1.5 hours which I thought was perfect. An hour of play time and half an hour of pizza and cake. Only knocking off a star because you can't bring in your own balloons, and the balloons they sell are incredibly expensive for what you get. Ballon cost aside, it's a great place for a party and I really appreciated having to do minimal work with a wonderful outcome. Most importantly - the birthday girl had the best time. read more

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I just had my daughter's birthday party here and it was great!! The staff went above and beyond. I highly recommended!!!

Not a fan. I have been here for both open play and a few birthday parties. I actually won a certificate at a tricky tray. Its pretty small and could use a few updates. I also feel like the staff were not friendly as I thought they would be considering they are working with little ones. read more

This review is regarding their open play. The facility is clean, the floor is padded and so are several of the bars. I brought my daughter here (16 months) on a Friday morning and unfortunately a lot of the parents at this location on that day, especially of kids over 2, didn't watch their kids at all. They're on their phones or chatting with their friends. So, the play area was pretty chaotic and one (roughly 3 year old) went on the slide right after my daughter and hit her pretty badly. His mom was not nearby at all and had to be located later. For little ones I think indoor playgrounds with either more staff (I recall sports n games had staff that walked around the open play areas) or more structure like a Gymboree or MyGym where the caregivers are required to pay attention to their kids, are a better option. I would imagine that if you rent out the entire place for a party it could be a nice setup. read more

I had a great experience hosting a first birthday party at Exceptional Explorers! Mark and Boris at Exceptional Explorers helped me figure out the logistics, especially given Covid, and pick out the balloon decorations. They set up the balloons just the way I envisioned. The kids had such a fun time playing there. The facility is immaculately clean (bonus during Covid times), very well-organized and tastefully decorated, and the staff were friendly and attentive. I was impressed by the variety of play sets -- the kids were all different ages but all found something they loved there. One thing I wish I had known was that the facility is a bit hard to find. It's located behind a restaurant and not in the main strip mall as the other businesses. Some guests had difficulty navigating to it and our food delivery was delayed due to the same reason. I would advise giving party guests and vendors detailed directions. Overall, I highly recommend Exceptional Explorers to anyone looking for a fun and unique event space for kids. read more

Exceptional Explorers - Indoor Playcenter Near Me - Livingston, New Jersey

We hosted our daughter's 5th birthday. Erika and the team were proactive from planning to execution and ensure everything was seamless. I The kids loved the play area, bouncy castle and the glow in the dark party. Its a great place to host parties for smaller kids (under 20 kids). Everything is clean and the staff were attentive to the kids and helped out during transitions. I would recommend Exceptional Explorers for birthday parties for kids under 5. read more

Took my kid here for his friends birthday party. The place is not that big. Not much to do. But kids stay busy. There classes might be worth checking out. Overall it was ok. read more

I wanted to wait to give a review on this as I'm a believer in letting go of minor errors or mistakes. However, there were of number of instances where I just had to cancel my membership and direct my friends elsewhere. - the staff is very friendly, however there is one staff member in particular (who another mom warned me about) who is not kind and very rude. When we wanted to enter the first time, she didn't want us entering because of the short window even though it was available at the time-because she said the kids before her made such a big mess and were terrible (red flag number one talking about your customers). Each time we entered she was not only rude, but made me only want to walk on egg shells. - my daughter unfortunately was bullied twice at this place by an older girl. The staff doesn't watch which I understand it is the parents job, but the child's parent was not watching theirs and ended up hurting my daughter who was scared to go back. I feel that there is a prejudice from this place as I spoke to yet another mom who felt she is treated differently as well. - they do not clean thoroughly for the small toys section. Multiple toddlers and babies lick and chew on the toys and when we left for the break for staff to clean and set up, they did not clean as I had hoped. read more

We held our sons 5th birthday party at Exceptional Explorers. The party itself went fine - the venue was clean and well staffed, kids had a good time. Communication with the staff was mediocre and the pizza was cold (had already arrived before the party started and served 1.5 hours later). However, we were really caught off guard when we were told after the party ended it was customary to tip 20%. This was totally unexpected on a $700+ party where we are expected to provide our own cake and decorations. If this was expected that should have been communicated up front and included in the quoted price. read more

The space is very well kept. Clean, well organized, and our daughter (3) loved it as we attended a birthday party here. The people working here also did a great job and were very friendly and attentive. We look forward to bringing all of our kids! read more

We hosted my son's 5th birthday party at Exceptional Exploerers! We were very pleased with how everything turned out and our guests all commented on how clean, spacious, and inviting the space was. We had 5 staff assigned to our party, which is way more than the typical 1-2 you get at similar places. They even had a floater constantly checking the equipment to ensure children were safe while parents supervised as well. They offer many add-ons like balloons, bouncy caste (a total hit), and extra party time. Excellent communication, flexibility, and experience. We will continue to support this small business by attending open play and recommending them for parties. Thanks for making the day so special! read more

Exceptional Explorers - Indoor Playcenter Near Me - Livingston, New Jersey

To start off, the place was super clean and easy to navigate. Especially for a place for kids I was impressed at how fresh and clean all of the equipment was - nothing seemed at all worn down. That said, I don't know that we will go back. Price wise, it's slightly higher but on par with nearby indoor play spaces. Activities wise, it was pretty much just a jungle gym and some pool noodles. It seemed like there were other games and toys but they were not accessible. Somewhat annoyingly, these toys were visible, so my child could see them, but they were being stored behind plexiglass. While I understand that it would.be chaotic to have too many things out at once, I was left wondering if there could be a better balance of things out vs stored and if it might be better to not have inaccessible items visible for such young kids. Experience wise, I was a little disappointed. My kid was having some typical three year old meltdown issues and two times tried to hit a balloon arch that they had and both times I stopped him. As I was gathering his things to leave in response to this meltdown, he was sitting next to the balloons and an employee came over and reprimanded him. I was right there, physically preventing any hitting/touching and he was essentially a kid behaving like a kid in a space designated for kids. I'm not saying they should let kids do whatever they want, but I had already separated my child and was addressing the behavior and it felt weird to have an adult talking to a child so roughly when he wasn't actually doing anything harmful. Summary: very clean, basic indoor play space, but not as kid friendly as I would have hoped read more

would highly recommend ! the staff was very organized and helpful ! great play space as well. the kids enjoyed the glow in the dark dance party and the food ! read more

We were so pleased with this adorable play spot that can gather kids from different age groups and with divergent interests, from slides, to legos, stem projects, to baby dolls, puzzles or simply just running around the super soft floors! We hosted a birthday party there and our child along with all our guests were extremely happy and had the greatest time! In addition, their manager Jennifer and staff were extremely professional and handled all the setup and cleanup, made the balloons, put the decorations and they even placed the food order for us. It is definitely one of the cleanest indoor playgrounds in the area! THANK YOU, We will definitely come back! read more

Really great 3rd Birthday Party! We hosted 14 kids ranging in age from 2yr-6yr and all had a blast and never stopped moving. We did the Bounce Castle/Tattoo/Coffee add-on package and seemed very well received by our guests. All adults enjoyed coffee, bounce house was in constant use (with an attendant which was lovely and meant parents didn't have to patrol making sure kids were ok) and all the kids got multiple tattoos from the very patient staff helping out. Everyone commented on how clean the venue was. Party felt like a really special private playdate which was the vibe I was going for - let them run around and be silly! read more

I had a wonderful experience planning my daughter's 1st birthday at Exceptional Explorers! The space is beautiful and very clean. The owner and folks that work there are very responsive in the planning process and executed the vision I had for the birthday perfectly. My guests enjoyed the party very much. Look forward to taking my kids back to play in the space again! read more

Great play spot! Super clean, and geared towards deep play without tons of toys and clutter. Kids are engaged with the activities they have set up. Our play time flew by since my son was having such a great time! read more

Employees were very attentive, and the place did a good job of promoting an overall sense of safety with their COVID precautions. Great experience overall! read more

Exceptional explorers was simply exceptional! So much for the littles ones to do and Exceptionally clean! I'm so happy we finally have a beautiful fun play gym in our area! read more