The Big Bounce (Cedar Park)
April 28, 2010 by Julia
Filed under Cedar Park, Featured, indoor playscapes, party places and party rentals
We have been anticipating the opening of The Big Bounce for months, as it seemed that the place announced a soon-to-open date last fall. Finally The Big Bounce in Cedar Park has softly opened its doors with a grand opening to happen sometime in early summer, from what I understand. We’re always on the look out for new places with air conditioning in anticipation of the sweltering summers around these parts, and boy are we happy to have found The Big Bounce!
another one for the younger kids
What I like most about this place is that the jumpy houses for the little kids are on one side of the facility, and the bounce houses for the bigger kids are on the other side. They are separated by a low metal gate with an opening that is a handicap accessible ramp from the toddler side down to the bigger kid’s side. The positive obviously is that the little ones are more “protected” from the bigger kids who sometimes get a little bit crazy when they are bouncing and running from one inflatable to the next. The negative is that a parent with both little and older ones cannot really be in two places at one time, as I found out with my toddler and my preschooler both wanting my attention to watch them jump in the two separate areas.
velcro numbers in one of the inflatables for the younger kids
The little kids’ area currently has three inflatables, all highly entertaining to my toddler. They are low to the ground, easy to climb in and out. One of the inflatables has velcro numbers which my kids loved as did several of the other children, sticking the numbers up on the walls. Because the inflatables are so new, they are still a little bit slick with the mandatory socks-only rule so the kids were slipping everywhere.
The older kids area had, I think, 5 large inflatables of all configurations including an obstacle course and a large firetruck slide. There was also a climbing gym with one of the fastest slides, according to my kiddo. Most slides at playscapes are twisty, but this one is straight so a kid zips straight out. I did notice a handicap sign on the climbing structure, which I have not seen at any other indoor playground.
I appreciated that the entire floor was covered in industrial foam to cushion falls better than industrial carpet over concrete. Because the place is still so new, the foam combined with the fresh paint make the place a little bit “fume-y,” but that’ll fade with time. There is also a theater room to the far right of the entrance which projected anime cartoons the day we were there.
In the back is a concession area to purchase snacks. I didn’t have cash on me so when I bought a snack for my kids, I was given a receipt to pay by credit card up at the front anytime before leaving. I forgot to ask about their policy on outside food, but I noticed several moms there with kids eating snacks from home at the tables by the concession stand without anyone saying anything. All around the place are picnic tables which is actually nice, but my only concern is the one picnic table placed directly in line with the ramp. I saw several kids (including my own) run full speed down the ramp and nearly collide with that picnic table.
movie theater style popcorn!
Overall, for such a newly opened facility, I thought that The Big Bounce had its act together. The place definitely is fun, and they have individual party rooms around the perimeter of the place so no doubt this soon will be a popular place for birthday parties once families discover it.
The Big Bounce is just south of New Hope on Bagdad, set quite a ways off the main road, just north of the big church next door.
The Big Bounce
1754 Bagdad Rd.
Cedar Park, TX 78613
(512) 528-0038
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Thanks for sharing the review! How much is admission?
The website says $7 (under 3) and $10 (over 3). I can’t find my receipt at the moment, but I could have sworn that I paid only $13ish total for 2 kids. There is also a BOGO coupon in the Community Impact newsletter.
A BIG thank you from the Big Bounce! Our admission is 4 & under…$7 and 5 & up…$10. Half price on Mon/Wed! We will be introducing monthly memberships this summer! We are excited to be open & hope everyone enjoys it!
Yikes! $7 for my 15 mo. old is really pricy! I’ve never paid more than $3 for him to play at an indoor inflatable area…Thanks for letting me know about the coupon!
Holy cow that is expensive. We have been anticipating the opening of a bouncy house so close to us
. Maybe we can check it out on a half price day just to say we’ve been once.
The Big Bounce not only has inflatables; but we also have a theater, two-story play-scape, concession stand & free Wi-Fi! We are family owned & operated & we’re very excited to join the community of Cedar Park!
We do offer group specials for groups such as ‘Mom’s Day Out’
We hope you check it out…you won’t be disappointed
I have taken my kids for the past 4 weeks. Ages 1,2, and 7. We LOVE it. I usually go on 1/2 price monday from 10-12, then back when my oldest gets out of school from 3-5. Well worth the money and so close to home. I really like the movie room, playscape and the fact that you can bring in food (though the snack items that the sell are cheap). Because it can get busy on the 1/2 price days I would suggest the afternoon times, until Summer and all bets are off.
This is a great place to take all age kids. They do not charge for my 16 month-old. It costs me $3.50 to take both my little boys (sixteen months and two) on the half-price days, however, the last time, we had to wait outside for an hour. They were stating they were at capacity, but were not letting new people in as others left. The manager has been very nice and I have not seen him check out any little girls. I can’t believe someone would write that. Anyway, good place, fun times!
I can’t believe the good reviews. In my experience, this place doesn’t yet really grasp the concept of customer service. See the above comments about them being “at capacity,” yet refusing entrance to customers as it emptied.
Another example: my friend wanted to arrange a last-minute party here. Not only did they refuse to, claiming they needed 24 hour notice–even though they were empty!–she had assumed the party would be there and told her friends, and Big Bounce REFUSED to let a latecomer who hadn’t heard the news enter with a present, demanding that the present be left at the front and grabbing it from the latecomer.
My friend ended up going to the Lakeline Mall inflatable place, where they not only accommodated the party but threw in some special consideration upon hearing how Big Bounce had treated her. I doubt that, if Big Bounce keeps going like this, it’ll be around too long. I know I’d rather spend my money on a place that ultimately treats its customers right.
It just sounds like the service there is very inconsistent. We’ve only had pleasant experiences there for parties and just for fun, which is not to discount at all a bad experience someone else may have had.
I took my almost 4yr old son there on a Monday and was charged $5.50+tax. My husband had mentioned that the place was half-price on Mondays so I had gone to check it out. I was distracted (by my ever-questioning, super-excited son) when paying for admission so it didn’t register in my mind that I didn’t get the half-price deal. I’m holding myself accountable for not being more focused when paying, but I would have appreciated the employee who rang me up to have caught the oversight. If you were ringing up customers at half-price all day, it’s unlikely that you would have forgotten to do so late in the afternoon, but whatever. My son really had a great time so I’ll let it go.
So let’s start.. I thought that the staff was friendly. They greeted me with smiles as I came in (granted, I’m one to approach with a warm smile so I notice that usually others reciprocate) and everyone who worked there looked like they were in their teens or college-aged. I don’t recall if they had Big Bounce tshirts on but I didn’t get the impression that they did. Although this in no way reflects on how they behaved, I remember feeling unsettled that they didn’t wear uniforms. I noticed basketball shorts on the younger guy and shorts on one of the girls and jeans on another. In case you need help or have a question, it’s just easier to spot staff members if they’re dressed similarily and so you can differentiate them from the other adults.
As one reviewer mentioned, they do have this nice firm yet spongy floor covering the entire area so if someone takes a spill, it cushions you a bit so it’s not such a hard fall. I also like the wheelchair accessability ramp–I have a friend whose youngest child is in a wheelchair so I feel like they might appreciate taking their kids to a place where both of their kids can play and have a good time. I noticed a bouncy with a wheelchair symbol on it, but it looked like a normal bouncy with kids happily playing in it. But maybe it’s safer? Also, there’s quite a few picnic tables set up in different areas around the place so you can follow your child around and sit comfortably while watching them. Or you can sit in the main area near the toddler area/concession stand and supervise from there, though you won’t have much visibility into some areas if you choose to do that. Some parents were sitting and chatting and I saw a dad using his Tablet–so I’m thinking they have free WiFi as well–but I don’t know for sure, so call ahead and ask if that’s something you want to bring out with you.
There are signs posted that the age limit is 10, which is fine because the kids that I saw who looked close to that age (probably 8 or 9 years old) were launching themselves off various surfaces and crashing into each other. No one was being irresponsible, or unaware of a smaller child, but I get that once you’re older than 10, bouncing around in a bounce house might not be your thing. Or if it is, then it sucks for those older than 10.
The toddler area seems like fun for littler kids and my son went there for a bit before heading back over to the bounce houses with the slides. On some of the bounce houses, I peeked through the mesh openings and noted that there are inflatable sections of tubes that kids can sit on, bounce off of, or launch themselves into. Then there’s one bouncy that had what looks like a forrest of spears..think of one of those inflatable punching bags, that when you hit it, it bobs right back up, only on a much larger scale. He really had fun with that, as well as the the one with the steep slide. Then there’s a play structure near the back by the concession stand that has inflatable elements but also a hard plastic slide so my son enjoyed that as well.
I didn’t check the prices on the concession stand but noticed a small freezer off to the side with pics of ice cream cones on it. I didn’t ask about their outside food policy, but I noticed one of the tables had McDonald’s Happy Meals spread out over it, so I’m guessing it was okay to bring it in. We were there for a solid hour before my son’s frenzied bouncing wore him out. It was nearing closing time, but as we were leaving, my son thanked me profusely for bringing him there (awww!) and that he wants to go there with all his friends again. Tomorrow. Well, we’ll see.
It was fun for him, so that part I like. Unfortunately, I think I’ve been spoiled by a bounce house down in Houston (actually pearland, tx) that I visited that was pretty amazing. They had stuff for adults to do as well like: free mechanical bull riding–safe for even toddlers!, air baseball, and they allowed adults on all the inflatables. That place also had a air hockey table, and coin operated video games. Pretty cool. But this place wasn’t bad, and I most likely will bring my son back.
Thanks so much for your thorough review too!