20250105 (YYYYMMDD) - UPDATE to initial review.
As we were about to leave on 20250104, I was asked to come to the counter. One of the operators/owners of the establishment wanted to talk to me about a portion of the initial review I posted that night while there. The part we discussed was the section about being made to pay a charge for an additional adult. According to owners/operators, I should NOT have been asked to pay for an "additional" adult charge as all "child" tickets include one adult. They then refunded me that charge and the taxes. That was very gracious of them and I said then and say again, Thank You.
Now to be fair and open here, I referenced the main Playtopia website for the St. Catharines location. According to the "Prices" page (https://stc.playtopia.onelinkpos.com/shop/weekends), you will see that none of the tickets are actually labeled as "CHILD". What can be seen is the top 2 tickets available for ages 1-3yrs and the second as ages 4-12yrs, state "1 Child, 1 Adult" under the ticket name. The third ticket states it is for "Youth 12-16". There is NO mention of an included entry for an "Adult". As such, I am actually required to pay for an entry for me. Next time I am in the area, I will visit the establishment and return the refund they issued to me. Just believe in being honest.
My other points I feel are still valid. If an adult is accompanying their "Youth (12-16)", as I was, for a reason such as "they are NOT capable of self care such as autistic children/youth, physically limited or disabled, etc.", I feel the adult should be given a free or very reduced admission. They are there to CARE for the child/youth that is attempting to have a tiny bit of fun. Also, some "adults" attending may actually be "Seniors" or "Disabled" or a combination of those. Someone like me who is physically unable to play with my kid while there, may cause further physical, permanent, damage to my body. I'm only there to watch my son play and care for him when needed while he is there. Maybe Playtopia could offer a "VISITOR" pass with the shirt ticket as RED so that it is easily visible by the court monitors so they know that the person should NOT be on the equipment but are there to support someone there. I also think that maybe the "No Shoes" rule could be changed to mean "While on the equipment" only and NOT while just walking near the equipment to find a seat/bench/foam block to simply sit on while keeping an eye on your child/youth, special needs or not.
20250104 - I thought I would treat my son to a bit of fun as he is a bit stressed as we are having to move. Well this place sure was a big mistake for him. I am 60 years old, disabled due to multiple back fractures amongst other issues and I have Diabetic Neuropathy in my feet. Relevance shortly. My son is 13 and is afflicted with Autism, Global Developmental Delay and Speech Delay.
First thing as we try to enter, the switch for the door to open it, was not working so that made it difficult to get in. As we get to the counter, the girl asked if we had been here previously. I answer no so she gives me a long speech about needing to register and sign the waiver. When she is done that, I tell her that I've already done that online. Now she points out about my son falling into the "teenager" admission price and go in about that he can't use the trampoline stuff and repeats that a few times, each time I tell her "I know. I read all about that online." Finally she punches in the ticket for him, $20, and gives me the total of $32.76. I question that and she points out there is an $8.99 charge for me. I point out to her, my cane and that I'm disabled stating "What do you expect me to play on?" I get an "Oh well, that's policy." gesture. RIDICULOUS! I pay and we go in only to find no where enough seating. In fact, we had to stand for almost an hour. We got 2 pop and 2, fairly small, slices of cheese pizza which honestly, were barely lukewarm. We stood at the shoe rack eating. Soon we were able to sit as a family was leaving and they came and told us to grab their table. I asked about how things work here since it's our first time. I find out we now have to buy a card and load it with tokens for the arcade games. Great! More money!
So we head for the play area only to see the signs about no shoes, only socks. This is where the Diabetic Neuropathy comes in. Everyone who has this condition will tell you that walking is extremely painful WITH shoes. Now they want me to remove my shoes, the only padding that makes it barely possible to walk, and walk in here on a fairly hard surface. The pain is excruciating. Now this area is also no drinks, so his pop goes in with our shoes. Now is when we find out the one whole side is trampoline oriented and he's not allowed on the trampolines because he turned 13, three months ago. So that means no basketball, ninja course, battle site. Then there's the toddler area. Obviously he's out there as he's too tall and too old. That leaves him with ONE play area. I finally find somewhere to sit (since I'm not climbing and jumping around with my son and trying to break more bones in my back.).
So here I sit watching him trying to have fun on the single thing he can play on. I'm also sitting here, trying to ignore the extreme pain and tingling going on in my feet. I guess, allowing me to sit WITH my shoes on, NOT IN PAIN, would cause so much damage to that very small spot on the floor my feet would occupy.
So this is DEFINITELY our one and only time coming here. This place really is not for any child over 12. I would also say that if you can not play on the equipment with your kid(s), be aware they MAY charge you $8.99 plus tax to use a parking spot for your rear end at one of the very few tables they have. Oh and be prepared to pay $2 (1.99) for a can of pop. That's right .... $24 a case!
So there's my review. You may disagree and you have all the right too. I do not think I'm special or deserve to be treated special. I jusat beleive in fair treatment for all. As everyone should now rrealize, the world and it's people are NOT black and white. There are differences in all of us.
This is about our experience and how I felt about it.
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