REVIEW: Merle Hay Play Place

Submitted by Urbandale Mom
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I recently attended a scheduled play date at Merle Hay Mall’s play area. Because we met at 9 a.m., a full hour before the stores opened, we had the play area to ourselves.

Overall I found the play area to be clean, safe and fun. Although there aren’t as many bells and whistles as the bigger, newer malls have in their play areas, my little one didn’t seem to mind. Plus it was easier to keep my eye on her in a smaller space.

No food or beverages allowed and no shoes for moms or kids makes for a cleaner play area. We did smuggle in a spill-proof sippy cup without incident though.

My daughter enjoyed climbing in, over and through the foam-like objects, sliding down the tree slide, sitting on the kid-sized benches and meeting other children.

When we needed a little wind-down time, we headed to the library area of the play zone. I have walked by this play area hundreds of times and have never noticed this feature. What a brilliant idea! Dozens and dozens of children’s books were neatly stacked on kid-sized shelves on the east end of the play area.

We spent lots of time looking at new books and relaxing before heading home. The kid-sized fabric-covered ottoman-looking things at this end looked a little stained and nasty – but that was my ONLY criticism of this venue.

Overall experience: A-