Jump Zone

We have taken our daughters to Jump Zone (6374 W. Howard, Niles) a bunch of times.  They always have fun and it seems worth the admission price ($8/kid on weekdays, $10/kid on weekends, parents always free).  There are several places like this - giant inflatable bounce houses with slides - all over the City and Suburbs and I'm assuming they are all relatively similar.  We've never had a bad time here.  It's great for really cold days or really hot days.  The kids can run around like crazy and bounce until they collapse.  Remember to bring socks for everyone!  Kids from probably age 2-10 have the most fun here.  It's really one of those rare places where you can take your kids of different ages and everyone has fun.  The slides range from really gentle to quite steep and the bounce houses have different themes to appeal to a wide range of kids.  The workers are completely fine with parents going in the bounce houses and down the slides if your children need some help or reassurance. They might, however, get annoyed if you are pushing other kids out of the way so that you can bounce.  It's one big room so you can generally keep an eye on your kid but it can get crowded especially on Saturdays.  Kids two and under are free.  They have a small play area for babies with some mats on the floor and toys for that age group.    Jump Zone is located way in the back of a strip mall/office complex so it can be a little difficult to find.  There's plenty of parking but you may have to walk a little ways and there is no sidewalk to walk from the parking lot to the entrance so you have to be careful.  

The schedule here could be better.  If you have small kids the perfect time to take them would be during the week while older kids are in school but unfortunately Jump Zone isn't usually open in the morning during the week.  Even in the summer it doesn't open until noon on most days (I think it opens before noon on Mon., Tues., and Sat.).  And I will say it can be a little difficult for your 2 year old to play when there are a bunch of older kids running around.  During the week we like to go do things in the morning when everyone has the most energy and that's not really possible here.

Jump Zone does birthday parties - A LOT of birthday parties.  Saturdays get really busy because there are so many kids there for parties.  We have been there for a couple of birthday parties (and my daughter has asked on several occasions when she will get to have her party here so the parties at least get a kid endorsement).  The way parties seem to work is that your friends show up at a specified time and have about an hour to play and bounce.  This is a shared space, though, not just for your party.  Then the kids get called into their party room for pizza (which is included) and cake (which you supply).  You only get 30 minutes in the party room, though, and with a group of small children it can take 30 minutes just to get them all seated and ready to eat.  That is my major complaint with these type of places that do lots of birthday parties and have a very precise schedule - at the end of the party you feel like you are being pushed out the door (not just at Jump Zone but a lot of places).  I know they need to get those party rooms cleaned up and turned over but part of the enjoyment of a birthday party is sitting down and talking to friends.  All kids love birthday cake but putting it at the very end of the party means you generally rush right through it.  Instead of having the opportunity to say a personal good bye to all of their guests the hosts feel like they have to herd them out the door to prevent getting yelled at.  I know people need to leave at some point but the transition becomes awkward.  Overall, though, Jump Zone is a good place to burn off some energy and a fun place for birthday guests.