We went to Perpetual Motion in Lowell, MA today and here is my review.....
Date: 3/31/2009
Parking: Plenty. I made the mistake of parking when I pulled in and saw the sign. I had to walk down an alley way to the other side of the building. The alley way had broken glass on the ground and garbage. There is a sign that points to the indoor play area, but being my first time there I didn't realize the door was on the other side of the building. Now you know :)
Gate/Admissions: [$$] The price was $9.50 for my son and free for me! They have a pricing structure based on age. Click here for their pricing page.
Birthday Parties: Yes
Bathrooms: There are two in the under 6 area and two in the 6 and over area. They are large. The one we used was in the 6 and under area and it has a huge counter for a changing table and a small sink!
Cleanliness: It was clean. I saw staff sweeping and putting toys away while I was there.
Store: They have a lunch counter with tables set up between the two play areas. It is very large. The menu items were pizza, hot dogs, yogurt, chips, cookies, milk, water, juice and a few other things. You can also bring in your lunch!
Overall: We enjoyed ourselves. Here are the highlights: large sandbox, indoor swings, a slide into a ball pit, a huge train with stairs and slides, circular bike thing you can ride on and a great climbing structure. I like that the older children's indoor climbing area is separate from the younger one, but it got me thinking about a family with multi-age children. If you go with a toddler and a six year old you really need two adults. The younger children are not allowed into the older children's area. Just keep that in mind incase you fall into that category. The space is really large and bright. It is in an old mill building so the ceilings are really high and the windows are huge. Getting there is pretty easy. You really have to look to see the sign as your driving by. It is not right on the main road it is set back and you have to drive down an alley to get to the indoor playground area. I would go back. If you live around Lowell I would imagine this would be the perfect spot for a rainy day!
I have 2 children, and they did fal in the different age bracket catigory. My son is 2 yrs older, and my daughter couldn't go into the 'big kid' area,even though I knew she could do everything in that area. We had been there before, and they HAD let her in that area,...so I KNEW by for sure. I even told them that I was going to be with her the Whole time...they didn't care. I can understand keeping ages seperate,..esp. keeping older ones out of the younger area,..but if the parent is telling them their child had done that area before, and would never be alone,..it's been awhile,..but I want to say there was a hight issue with her,...ANYWAY..we had to leave, both kids were VERY mad at me, crying...I did like going there the 1st time,...I think they should review their separation rules abit.
ReplyDeleteI had a horrible experience at Perpetual Motion and I'm tempted to call the Lowell Board of Health. First of all, there were signs on ALL the bathroom stalls that you should not flush the toilets. Not flush the toilets? Imagine how disgusting it was to take a toddler in there...The explanation was that there was a leak going into the downstairs. However, I'm certain that this is a health violation and they should have been closed until the problem fixed.
ReplyDeleteAnother issue was the general cleanliness. There are dust bunnies all around and my friend was so disgusted she struggled even with sitting on their benches.
But perhaps even the most important issue: the staff does little to monitor the play areas and it can get rough. There is a 'ball pit' that you need to climb high on a ladder to gain access...not meant for the parent, just the child...and there is no way for the parent to see inside the pit. It could be easy to imagine a child in trouble in there. My daughter had a head bump from another kid jumping on top of her. Okay, no big deal, but it could have been.
I will never be back.
My son has had 2 birthday parties at Perpetual Motion and we've also been there a few times on raining days. I'm very surprised that someone else had a cleanliness issue, as I've found this place to be impeccably clean each time that I have been there!
ReplyDeletePerpetual Motion is a tragedy waiting to happen. The owner is the only one interested in safety rules and when she is not there, the teen staff could care less what goes on. The foam ball pit and the ladder up there seems so unsafe. Kids jumping in with no regard to other kids in the pit...would you let your kids dive into a pool with other kids below?
ReplyDeleteI just dont understand why they allow this to happen.