We went to Makutu’s Island today so my son could get some wiggles out between errands. We will NOT be going back until he’s much older, if ever.
This has been on my list of indoor playgrounds in the Phoenix area to check out, and I’m glad I didn’t make the drive to Chandler only for this place, as we left after about an hour.
First, a little history. Makutu’s Island was initially built as a Club Disney concept back in the 90s when there were other indoor playgrounds like Discovery Zone (anyone else remember Discovery Zone?). Then in the late 90s, Disney decided the “Club Disney” concept wasn’t really working for them and closed all 5 locations down. Except the one in Chandler didn’t close, they rebranded using non-Disney characters and it became Makutu’s Island.
First impression was a little negative as we had to walk through several smokers on our way in. There are laws here in Arizona about how close folks can get to entry ways while smoking, and I find it odd that several people decided to not only violate those laws, but do so outside of a children’s indoor playground. Gross.
Upon walking it, it had the standard waiver / check in protocol you see at all indoor playgrounds. The staff is super friendly and they take your photo with your child as a safety precaution. I haven’t see any other playground do this, so that was interesting.
You walk into the main play area and it seems very impressive. There is a huge tree-like structure in the center with slides, climbing structures, etc.
In the far back corner is the toddler area for the three and under crowd which was super small, and quite frankly, lame. My son was bored with that area within 30 seconds and he just turned 2. Nearby they had a fish tank which was nice and clean that I saw lots of the little kids enjoying.
We then focused our attention on the main climbing structure, but there were a ton of kids there, and my son was struggling to find an area he could safely play in amongst the chaos. (Not their fault, I went on a Saturday afternoon and there were birthday parties.) He was getting bowled over by bigger kids running around and it just felt too chaotic for this mama’s liking.
As I was walking around, I started to notice how dark and dingy the climbing structure really was. When you went into certain areas it was really hard to see, and you’d lose visibility of your kid REALLY fast. If you have older kids, like 5-6 and up, I think this would probably be fine, but with the 4 and under crowd, the darkness is unwelcoming and intimidating, and the sheer magnitude of other kids makes free play unsafe for them to explore outside of the toddler area.
There were other activities for kiddos, including an arcade area (which is incredibly well lit, compared to the climbing area), and a trampoline jumping thing, all of which were an additional cost. The games required tokens (think Dave and Buster’s type pricing, 4/6 tokens per game). When you’ve already paid to get in, and then immediately run into additional costs, and those items seem more appealing than the thing you paid for (due to the flashing lights, sounds, and generally well lit nature of the gaming area), it’s irritating.
For one child on a Saturday, it was $25 plus tax, which included a pair of Makutu branded grippy socks, which were required. As his accompanying adult, I was able to get in for free. 😅 There are Groupons that can give you a discount, but they are only valid for entry Monday through Friday.
I won’t beat it to death, but if you’re looking for an indoor playground to take the 5 and under set, there are better options in the Phoenix area.
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