JW Tumbles Play Zone
2499 N. Harrison StreetArlington, VA 22207
703-531-1470
Website
Bottom Line: A pricey, but fun place for little ones to burn off some energy on a too hot, too cold or too rainy day.
Hours vary, so call first to see when it's open. There is an entrance fee, but no limit on how long you can stay.
Pricing:
Non-Members: $10/1st kid, $5/siblings
Members: $8/1st kid, $4/siblings
The Review:
Last Friday, the weather was relatively nice, but the parks were still wet and muddy. I was looking for something fun to do with the kids out of the house, that would work well for all three, but not be “too much” as Wendy had an afternoon birthday party to attend. So after ruling out the zoo (too far, too exhausting) and the local parks (too muddy for the semi-walking/crawling baby), we settled on the new “PlayZone” at JW Tumbles, right in our own neighborhood.
They don’t have much info on their website, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. As far as I could tell, it was a glorified McDonalds play land, and I wasn’t sure it justified the additional cost. Since we are not “members”, it was going to cost me $10 for the first kiddo and $5 for the next two — $20 was a lot more money than Mickey Ds “free” (or the price of a coupla chixen nuggets). However, a quick survey from my mom’s club yielded enthusiastic reviews, so we decided to check it out.
Because the weather was nice, we strolled over to the shopping center and Wendy rode her bike. It was her first time riding to a destination (versus just riding in a safe, empty area like an empty parking lot). She did a great job on the sidewalks and we arrived without incident.
I have to say, the Play Zone fit the bill of what I was looking for to a tee and was totally worth the gate fee. First off, it’s much bigger than the Mickey Ds playland and MUCH CLEANER. The best part is, while it is kid-sized, the openings are big enough that it’s easy for a mom to crawl in with the kids (and presumably for staff to clean it). All 3 kids (ages 5, 3 and 1) LOVED it. I could go on, but I’ll just let the pictures do the talking. In short, it gets a thumbs up from our family too!
Find more parks by visiting my main Arlington Parks & Playgrounds page.
![The Meanest Momma](https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-S0-UAwPX6Rk/TwXG1TDRHII/AAAAAAABDeo/WFIw0U8-VRI/IMG_2075.JPG")
I have heard a lot of people talking about this place but none of them had actually been there to play yet. It looks like a lot of fun. It doesn’t look crowded but I know their open gym times (in the old section) can get crowded.
It wasn’t crowded at all when we went, but then, it was a fairly nice day outside. I’m sure it gets busy on cold or rainy days.
[…] not currently in a class are $8, and non-members are $10. Siblings are 1/2 off. Check out what The Meanest Momma had to say about this playground. She has some great pictures to give you an idea about what to […]
Thank you so much for the pictures. We went to a birthday party there yesterday, my son immediately wanted to plan his party there also. So we came home & I wanted to show pictures of the play area to his dad,there were none on their website. THANK YOU so much for posting pictures.
Very helpful list of activities in the area. Thanks!
Wow, this is an incredible list! What a lot of hard work you’ve put it into. Thank you for sharing this as a resource with us local moms. I have mentioned a few parks and other activities on my blog, though not as formally organized as yours. I’ll be sure to spread the word about your list – I heard about it through my moms group, Vienna Moms.
This is great, thank you for posting pictures. When I briefly walked by and saw this it looked much smaller. This is the playzone in the Harris Teeter shopping center right?