We visited iPlay America yesterday and I wanted to recap how they’re doing when it comes to COVID-19 safety in 2021. They had hand sanitizing stations, signs on the walls about social distancing, and designated spots on the floor to keep the lines in order.
Everyone has been itching to get back some normalcy, and in mid-Winter this definitely brought alittle fun into our weekend! I was surprised to see quite a few birthday parties going on during our visit too, so if you’re wanting to host a birthday party soon, this may be your place.
You can see for yourself it was pretty empty for a Saturday at the time we got there at 2pm. I thought it would still be a bit more crowded than I’d prefer, but it wasn’t at all. There was a very small line to get in and it was distanced properly.
There was a sign in the front stating that all rides may not be operating at the same time due to limited staff, but every ride was operating except for the carousel and the climbing section.
A favorite is always the freedom coaster. It’s a cool indoor spinning coaster that is included in the iRide Plus wrist band package or 14 credits without it.
Being that we had the iRide Plus bands, which I highly recommend by the way, the kids went on this note than anything else. I also went on 2 times until my headache set in from the spinning.
I did notice the staff sanitizing every seat on every ride in between riders which was great. It obviously adds to the wait time, but since it was pretty empty the wait times weren’t long at all.
Like anywhere, there were many people not abiding by the social distance floor markers in line and it didn’t seem to be enforced at all. I guess that’s a risk you’re willing to take if you go out to a kid venue during this since they don’t understand it all too well.
The main area where the social distance lacked the most is the go karts line. Everyone was really on top of eachother even though they did a good job sanitizing each car after riders exited. I guess it’s more the young tweens hovering over eachother.
To ride as a single rider on the go karts you must be 56″ or taller. I believe this is mainly to be able to reach the foot pedals, but honestly I notice many of the kids who are tall enough still struggle with the steering wheel being hard to turn. Even for me it’s a bit tricky. We only rode them once even though the iRide Plus band allows for unlimited, and that’s because they really aren’t all that fun yet for my son. He isn’t able to ride alone, and I feel like for this one the driving is the whole fun part. They don’t go super fast like other go karts, and they are great for the kids but they stop everyone anytime someone crashes so it makes it kind of annoying. You just start getting alittle speed and the stop everyone every 30 seconds it seems due to a crash.
It just leaves much to be desired and I think they can do a better job with this attraction honestly.
The arcade is really fun, and has alot of different style games. You can get an 4 hour unlimited “non-redemption” game pass which is worth it if your kids like to play games like 1st person shooter, or driving/racing games. Anything that gives tickets or prizes isn’t included when you purchase this card, but you can add credits to it for those as well.
My son and I spend a good 20 minutes playing the walking dead game. It was really awesome being able to reload as much as we want and continue on the story when you’d normally need to stop or add more credits.
The virtual reality game(s) aren’t included even though they’re non-redemption. I’m not sure if that’s a glitch or if it’s because they’re newer and a premium type attraction.
All of the boardwalk style food vendors are closed and that was really a bummer. The on site restaurant is amazing and a great break in between games, but it does cut into your time as service takes a while, so it was really nice to have the option to grab quick bites, drinks, and snacks. I’m not really quite sure why they’re still closed, even with COVID indoor dining is allowed to resume in NJ, but maybe it’s the 25 or less people thing. Hopefully soon they’ll reopen but beware, eat before you go out be prepared to dine in there.
They have the stands open although there are only about 4 of them. It makes it feel like you’re down the shore, playing squirter gun & balloon pop games for prizes always makes me happy.
The laser tag and Top Golf Swing Suite is open as well although we didn’t do it this visit.
We stayed until about 530pm at which time the crowd really started to roll in. I’d say the number of people there nearly doubled by the time we were leaving, so if you’re weary of crowds right now, earlier is your best bet.
I love how they still have holiday lights and trees up. It makes it feel so festive and like a happy place!
Over all, we had a great time. The kids had fun, and got out to stretch their legs and be kids. And I got to spend some much needed time being a kid myself riding the rides and playing grab claw games!
2. Pick flowers and make plant baskets. By now your lovely outdoor garden is probably starting to whither. At least here in New Jersey we’ve gotten a slight frost or 2 and temperatures are sure to drop quickly. Instead of watching the flowers die or waiting to rip out a woody stick skelton version of your coleus plant, try picking the flowers and displaying their last bit of life in a vase indoors or pruning and potting your plants for inside or as front door decor.
