#AD Gifted for Review

Children’s parties – or more specifically, planning for them, can be pretty exhausting.  In the past, we have chosen to host our daughters’ parties at the house, which in hindsight has been a really bad idea. I’ve been so busy rushing around trying to keep everyone (children AND parents) content and happy that I miss out on the really important parts – sharing my daughters birthday, celebrating her coming of age and making special memories.

During the Summer holidays we went along to review Jump In trampoline park in Warwick, and were recently invited back to check out their NEW Jump In Trampoline Parties. With 3 different packages available depending on your requirements, and the ability to invite another 9 friends (or more!) to come along and enjoy the fun, this felt like an ideal way to celebrate Neve’s birthday, all without all the stress of planning a party in my own home.

About Jump In Trampoline Parties

If you haven’t been to Jump In before or aren’t really sure what to expect, you may find it helpful to read my previous review here. Jump In trampoline park in Warwick has something for everyone – split into different zones including dodge ball, a giant foam pit, battle beam, giant air bag and twist ladder, as well as a smaller area for toddlers and soft play zone for under 5’s. There are three different Jump In Trampoline parties packages available in Warwick all of which are 2 hours in length, but vary in terms of the full offering.

Each party package price covers 10 children (with additional children an option for an extra fee) and include Jump In socks for all guests, a dedicated party host, and a choice of either Pizza (margherita and/or pepperoni) or a Hot Dog in brioche bun.

Plates, cups and napkins are included, and best of all – the mess is left behind, so all you need to worry about is bringing the birthday cake and party bags, or any themed accessories or balloons you may wish to use.

Prices for Jump In parties start at £150 or £180 for the Dome Party Experience.

Our Jump In 360 Dome Experience

We headed along to Jump In Warwick on a Saturday lunchtime for my daughter’s birthday, along with 9 of her friends.

You can see a video of our Jump In Trampoline party below, and read on to learn more about our full experience.

After booking our Jump In trampoline parties, were sent an online confirmation email with all the details of our event, including a link where parents could read and download the health and safety waivers in advance, and a real bonus – I could even download invites to print at home. This was really helpful, as it meant no additional expense was required, and all the details like the address of where to find Jump In were already populated. I simply had to add the birthday girls details and the date and time of the party and pass on to her friends. Pretty stress free so far!

We arrived at Jump In around 15 minutes before our party was due to start, and at the start time our party host came out to meet the group in the foyer and introduce herself.

Her name was Tabby (which she described as ‘like the cat!’) and she was really enthusiastic and friendly – the children warmed to her straight away. A few of our group were a bit late as the car park outside is quite small and was very busy on a Saturday, so this is something that you might want to bear in mind when advising your guests.

We were asked to assemble in the main cafe area and children were all given socks to wear which are included as part of the party package. There isn’t separate area for the party group to congregate, so we did find that a few of the children got distracted by the pick and mix (inevitable!) and other guests but as soon as they’d got their socks on, they had a brief chat with Tabby and were taken straight as a group through to watch the safety briefing.

The safety briefing is a short 5 minute video that highlights appropriate behaviour whilst on the trampolines, as well as reminding them of basic rules such as ‘one child per trampoline’ to avoid injuring others.

Tabby advised us that as parents / guardians we could either stay and sit in the cafe area or dome area during the party, or were welcome to come and watch on the sides if we preferred.

We were then taken to the 360 degree dome area where we were quickly shown how to work the controls that projected videos and music onto the roof of the dome. With the lights dimmed and the huge projections above our heads it felt a little ‘space like’ and was a real hit with the guests. The children could scroll through and select a choice of music and videos with scenes from the Lion King being on when we arrived. I will be honest here that tech devices don’t seem to like me very much, and looking up at the roof to change the selections wasn’t particularly straight forward. I personally would have found it easier if this had been linked to a device so we could change the options on screen instead.

Inside the 360 Dome there was a table laid out with plates and cups, as well as lots of bean bags and inflatable chairs on the floor – something the girls were really excited by. The children were told that at any point during the jump they could come back here to chill out, and help themselves to water as required. This was a great addition to the party.

The group then went up with Tabby to the trampoline areas. I have to say trying to control 10 children at a party in such a large space can’t be easy, but Tabby guided them around each different area, showing them fun different jumping techniques such as twisting and spinning which they all seemed to really enjoy.

We did find that some of the children were a bit excited and with so many areas to discover, they wanted to explore other areas of the trampoline park. A few times during the party Tabby was also pulled away by other members of staff. For that reason (and something I think is sensible anyway), I think the parties should still require additional adult supervision / a few parents to assist up by the trampoline floor, as otherwise they may have wondered away from the group.

The party guests had lots of fun and enjoyed checking out all the different zones and areas to jump.

Tabby had very quickly learned everyone’s names (which was pretty impressive considering 9 out of 10 were girls!) and calling them all by their names definitely made them all feel a bit special. Tabby also helped teach them some new trampoline techniques, giving them high fives and encouragement when they managed to practice a new skill!

For the last part of the party we headed back to the 360 Party Dome and the girls were able to select which music they wanted on – this randomly ended up being the soundtrack from Mamma Mia (somewhat bizarrely!) and Erin has been singing the songs pretty much ever since.

The pizza was delivered in cardboard boxes just like a real takeaway (something which the girls were VERY excited about) and was honestly one of the nicest pizza’s I have had in a while – with stuffed crusts and everything!. Whilst there was the party table within the dome, it didn’t really get used, as the  children really enjoyed lying on the comfy chairs looking up at the ceiling whilst tucking in. Before the party I was a bit worried that pizza alone wouldn’t be enough (you can chose from pizza or hot dogs and additional food items are an extra fee), but there was PLENTY of pizza to go around, so much so that the adults got to have a slice too! 🙂

Tabby very kindly supplied the lighter for the cake and got some additional napkins for us, helping us coordinate the happy birthday song and wrap all the slices of cake for the party bags too. She really took the pressure off the parents during the latter party of the party in particular, helping ensure we had everything we needed. She was an excellent party host. The end of the party felt very chilled and relaxed, and with some red faces and VERY worn out children after over an hour of bouncing, was the ideal way to bring the party to a close.

Overall, we had a fab time at Jump In at their VIP Dome party. There are a few minor things I would recommend to make the Jump In trampoline parties experience even better, but overall I felt that it was excellent value for money, and the kids had an absolute ball. Both I, and the girls, would definitely consider a Jump In party again.

Pros:

  • The girls loved the party dome – being able to choose their own music and having the option to lie/relax on the chairs whilst eating their food was a big plus. It was also really handy for them to be able to have a drink break whenever they needed.
  • The Pizza provided was absolutely delicious and came in pizza boxes just like a real takeaway.
  • Children got to play on all the different elements of the trampoline park (although not necessarily with the whole group).
  • Tabby the party host was friendly and approachable, clearly very knowledgeable about trampolining, and great with the children, very quickly building their trust and a gaining a good rapport. She also very quickly learned all the children’s names and remembered them all, which is no easy feat!
  • From a parents perspective, all the hard work from party invites, entertainment and catering was done for us, meaning we could focus on sharing the experience with our girls!

Critiques:

  • At times the party organisation did feel a bit chaotic and the host was pulled off by other members of staff. For that reason, I think parents (or at least a couple of them!) should be asked to supervise too, as even with all the will in the world, 10 children is a lot to watch in that environment for one party host alone.
  • The party dome is fab, however there is no private party sign, which obviously means a few other children attending on the day did wonder in or pop their heads around to see what was going on (this is inevitable really as it does look pretty cool and is in an area with relatively high footfall). As the entrance to the dome was open, it also meant you couldn’t really leave bags and possessions like birthday presents in there, as other guests could have come in to the space. Perhaps a locker in the room so that presents could be securely stored or a private party rope across the entrance would be a good addition

You can learn more about Jump In Birthday parties and the range of different options available on the Jump In website here. Why not check out the Friday Night Takeover or After School Sessions too?

Fancy booking your own? My readers can take advantage of an exclusive offer of 10% off the price of any party package. Use the code “Warblog” when booking online at www.jumpin.com or via the Contact Centre on 01926 356290

*We were given a complimentary party in exchange for our honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own*