A parents dream!! Comfy couches, plenty of tables, hours of fun! What more could you ask for!!…read more Stopped here after a friend suggested it. It was the perfect "go run around" place!! Girls had the best time! Came out when they needed water and even got a small little prize as we were heading out! Bathrooms and locker area was so clean! Staff were deep cleaning the baby area, SO impressed with the attention to detail!!

We visited 2 Hours of Freedom on a Sunday afternoon for a 4 year old birthday party. The…read moreinflatables are well maintained and clean for such a busy place. It was nice, as an adult, to not completely sink in once I stepped onto the inflatable to supervise mAll, I'm not sure I've EVER seen a bathroom of a children's play place so clean before!! Props to the owners and staff. Definitely an upgrade from the children's bouncy place that was here a decade ago. The staff was friendly as well.

Had a great time at Funtopia with my kids. So many climbing walls, it was a good time (especially…read morethe Christmas theme for the winter). I had the chance to check out their party rooms as they were running kind of a family open house for their Christmas time. Lots of fun challenges for the kids as they put snowflakes and cookies on the climbing walls for kids to collect for a prize. They had a food buffet showcasing some of their food options pizza, pizza puffs, meatballs, chicken tenders. Salad and hot chocolate. The staff was super friendly and good with the kids. We had a great time. The party space accommodates several groups at the same time.

Great variety of activities for all ages. Plus, there are tables for parents to hang out or work…read more Free wifi!

"Northbrook Play" is a children's play area located inside the Northbrook Court. It's a wonderful…read moreuse of a vacant space, as many retailers have closed their brick and mortar stores nowadays. I would say if you happen to be nearby with a young toddler, stop by and let your kid release some energy and gain some fun playtime. It's a small venue. Parents get to sit down on comfy couches and watch their love ones play. I would say some parents there were too comfortable and they were on their phones while the kids were left unattended for a little bit... Anyways, all I wanted to say was that parents may take a short break to catch a breath. There are a theater stage, a walkway leading to a small slide, climbing obstacles, a fun selfie station and an infant playground. There is not much else, so don't make a long trip coming here. There is a designated stroller parking and shoes are asked to be taken off. I saw most kids do that, yet the parents were walking with shoes on. I wasn't sure what the policy really was. Certainly everyone's shoes should be dirty enough and shouldn't be worn on this relatively clean area. Our 2-year old toddler had fun. There is a tree house downstairs in the mall for kids as well, free of charge. I found this mall pretty boring and noticed a good amount of vacancies. I think they started some type of renovation or expansion. The restrooms were quite clean and maintained, with toliet covers provided. "Northbrook Play" is completely free and anyone is welcome.

Can't believe this place is free. The cleanliness and well-made decor remind me of other play areas…read morethat you have to pay to get into. We came here with some friends who also have young kids. The parents hung out on the comfy couches (enough room for us and much more) while the kids ran around and played. There's no staff on site, so I'm amazed how well they keep it clean. There's things to climb, a slide, a stage for pretend play. Not too many interactive activities like at a children's museum per say, but my kids just needed a place to run and climb around. There are certain times of the day it's closed (for cleaning I'm guessing). We came at 4pm on a Sunday afternoon and had the whole place to ourselves. It was luxurious. I'll definitely be back again.

Noggin Buiders Summer Camp is absolutely terrible! First of all, the rooms are very tiny, messy,…read moredirty, and cramped, which is unexpected given how expensive the price for the summer camp is ($600 for a week! There are cheaper and better summer camps). Not only that, there camp is boring, unuseful, and they follow the material that another university provided for them, and all they did was supply the parts. The instructors are unprofessional (high schoolers at a STEM academy? what?), and it was the worst summer camp ever. The stuff is unengaging and the experience from both the parent and the kid is terrible. Don't come here!

LOVED The Escape Room created just for kids! Ever since I went to an Escape Room with my husband,…read morethe kids have been begging to go to one. I could never find one that was appropriate for my kids (ages 4,6 and 8). This one in Northbrook Court was absolutely brilliant because it's designed for kids and involves math and science. We had a blast, did it with one other family (ages 3,5,6) and were down to the wire in solving the mystery for Professor Quarkenstein. The kids loved it so much they can't wait to come back and do another one!

Easy to enter and plenty of seats. The slides are fun, the kids enjoyed themselves…read more 3 stars though for the following: 1. The price posted online is not what we paid. It said $9. We paid $14 each. 2. The park was barely open and already out of several food items when the kids went to concessions.

A teenager managing the water slides:…read more I have ADHD and sometimes get a little confused, so I was really hoping this place would be easy and fun. But the rides were kind of boring, and the park felt old and messy. Also, a teenage staff member was rude to me, which didn't help. Discipline your staff...Overall, it wasn't the fun day I wanted. Hopefully, they improve things soon!

Ever since I was a kid, we would drive by the Par-King where I believed it to be a fairytale…read morekingdom, seeing its castle-like design. As I grew older and visited from a land far far away, my fiancé and I took to our inner child and decided it was finally time to see what Par-King was all about. Be sure to bring cash! The course itself was very entertaining! One of the best mini golf experiences I've had that kept me guessing what the next move would be. Despite the rainy weather, we made the best of the moment. I'm so glad we played after all those years of my curiosity of Par King.

I have been going to Par-King Skill Golf since I was a kid. I'm so grateful that it's still around…read more- one of the few places left from my childhood. I now go there with my nephews every year during my annual visits. We started when they were kids. They are now in their 20's! This is my favorite mini-golf place. So many mini golf places just have a plain green course. They may be shaped in unique designs, but that's usually about it. This place has a roller coaster where the ball goes up this elevator and then down a mini roller coaster. There's a tiki course where the ball comes out of the tiki person's mouth. There are moving contraptions where you have to be lucky to hit it through when a door is open. Every hole is unique. There's also this huge pink castle behind the course. It's retro and fun! You would think that a place that's been around for decades would have pealing paint and things that are falling apart. However, everything is kept in such great condition! If you're lucky you can get a free game on the last hole. It looks like a big roulette wheel. I have only done this once and have saved my lucky token. It's a cash only business. Please keep this business open for decades to come! It's a must-visit when I'm back in Illinois.

My daughter (4) and I found ourselves in the area this Saturday afternoon, and we are always…read morelooking for new play places that won't overstimulate me, but will keep her occupied for a solid two hours. I was very excited to scope out Playroom Cafe. Playroom Café is the perfect spot for a play date/mommy coffee date, with their small cafe menu that offers coffee, small bites, milkshakes and a shockingly semi-healthy kids' food menu. The area is bright, clean and inviting, with plenty of space for adults to relax while the children explore. I love that I can see my daughter from any angle of the seating area. Solid European song selection as well, I can't even tell you how peaceful it was to not have to listen to children's music for two hours. They offer semi-private and private birthday parties and have a super cute private area to help your littles celebrate! I will definitely be adding Playroom Café to our regular rotation and for possible birthday ideas in the future.

Surviving with 2 young, active boys during winter in Chicago requires a search for quality indoor…read moreplayground. Fortunately, I have found some in the city and Chicagoland. "Playroom Cafe" is officially added to my list of children's cafes, even though it is a bit farther away from where we live. "Playroom Cafe" is located on the second floor in the Randhurst Village outdoor shopping area. The admission fee for each child is $17, with 2 adults allowed. The layout is nice and adults can supervise their kids with mostly unobstructed view while sitting down. Food offerings mirror the typical cafe items you can find in most places. Shoes are required to be off inside the cafe/play area for everyone. During our visit, we saw the staff who did a great job keeping the venue clean and things were picked up from the ground in a timely manner. They were also working on setting up a private, members-only party when we were there. Therefore, there was a plenty of people working and serving the patrons on a Saturday afternoon. Our boys had an awesome time releasing their energy and enjoyed the waffles and berry smoothie. My partner and I took turns to hang with them at the play area, which was nice to share responsilities while finding time to relax and sipping a cup of joe. We probably will be back at some point because the drive to Mount Prospect is quite long. Nevertheless, we like "Playroom Cafe" and will recommend for patents who are specifically looking for kids-centric cafes in Chicagoland.

If You do not enjoy this place, I do not like You personally…read more So much fun, so fast and close to the ground. Racing is fun. Food and a pool table in back. Excellent first date spot. Thanks, Kim. Gentle people let's start our engines.

I've been to multiple K1 Speed locations, so this isn't coming from someone who doesn't understand…read morehow the experience should be. I actually like the brand. But the K1 Speed Buffalo Grove location is easily the worst I've ever been to. I want to be clear. This incident has lost our business completely and to be even more clear...because of very very poor management. From the moment we walked in, things felt disorganized and poorly managed. The experience quickly went downhill. Rude staff, lack of clear communication, and an overall feeling that nobody there really had control of what was going on. Empty on a Friday. What's more concerning is that the lack of organization didn't just feel frustrating, it felt unsafe at times. When a place involves high-speed racing, there's no room for sloppy management or confusion. The environment should feel controlled and professional, and this felt like the opposite. The most frustrating part was dealing with the general manager, Nick Hurst. Instead of trying to resolve the situation or even show basic understanding, he came across as dismissive and unwilling to help. When issues come up, leadership is supposed to step in and fix them, not make customers feel like they're the problem. What's disappointing is that this doesn't feel like a K1 issue it feels like a this location specifically issue. I've had good experiences elsewhere, which makes this one stand out even more, in the worst way. At the end of the day, there are plenty of entertainment options in the area that value your time and money more than this place does. I would strongly recommend choosing a different location if you're set on K1. If anyone from K1 upper management is reading this, seriously, take a hard look at what's happening here. Between the poor management and the safety concerns, this location isn't just underperforming, it's actively damaging your brand and right now it feels like it shouldn't even be operating in its current state. Would be more than happy to share more.

This place is great with a caveat - your kids need to really be in the sweet spot for it. Like, 2-5…read moreyears old. Also, prices are now up to $20 per person, whether an adult or child. Last time I was here I was amused to see the grocery store was a Whole Foods and the sandwich shop was a Potbelly's, but I guess those sponsorships have expired and everything's kind of generic now. Kids won't care but I thought it was fun. The main draw of this place is the sheer amount of variety they have. Kids can play with toy cars, instruments, water, trains. They can paint, build things, read. They can pretend to be a vet, build a house, grocery shop, run a sandwich shop (oh I guess I mentioned those). There's a whole bunch of little science-y things, and some areas that rotate periodically. Toddlers and young kiddos have a blast, but I feel it'd be hard to keep older kids engaged. It also feels pretty pricy, especially charging parents, though I didn't know you could save a couple bucks buying online ahead of time. Parking is mostly easy but it is a popular place so be prepared to have to do some conflict resolution at times.

This children museum is a bit of a hike for us. We have to drive at least 50 minutes but our girls…read morelove the grocery store (resembles Whole Foods) and sandwich shop (resembles Potbelly) exhibits so we would suck up the drive. We have the Dupage Children Museum (DCM) family circle membership and Kohl Children Museum used to be the one of six in-network museums with free admissions. However, it is no longer the case as of the summer of 2025. Now with our DCM family circle membership, we will receive a 50% discount from the full general admission fee. It is still a good deal. Our girls would usually spend at least two hours here. We have visited Kohl several times over the years and I generally find it best to arrive at the early morning, members-only hour because there will be less people and less chaotic. And also because we have visited so many times during different months, we noticed they rarely change up the exhibits.

One of my grand-darlings had her birthday bash here and it was a ton of fun for all involved…read more  There are a bunch of ninja stations for the kiddos to burn up much of their energy before a birthday celebration meal.  They get 2 hours of supervised fun and it is broken up into 80 minutes of ninja stations and then 40 minutes birthday meal time.  My daughter arranged everything and I was just one of several parent/grandparent photographers/observers basically. Maggie was the welcoming receptionist and she provided a gift t-shirt to the birthday girl (part of the BD package) and got everyone signed in and made sure they had all of their waiver forms signed haha.  This place isn't cheap (ballpark $600 for the birthday package per the daughter) but it seems you get what you pay for - a clean and well maintained facility, a staffer to direct the kids' activities and help serve food, plenty of fun ninja activities to choose from, a private room (there are 2 of them) for the birthday meal, and pizza (by Viccino's, a local favorite anyway) and fruit provided from a local vendor, plates and utensils, and most importantly - a big and grand blast of a time for all the kiddo participants and us by-standers as well.  Apparently, you can also bring your own food in, but there is a healthy $25 per entree charge for doing so, and besides it's an additional hassle.  There is a downstairs and upstairs party room and both are nice and spacious.  One of my grand-darlings has been here several times as a birthday party guest, and she has always had a great time.  I didn't pay, but I still can say a big thumbs up for this place!

Had my kids birthday party here - and everyone had an amazing time. This place is great for all…read moreages, which I loved! The staff was phenomenal and went above and beyond with making sure everything went smoothly. HIGHLY recommend this place to host an event!