This month, the battle for indoor fun supremacy in Beijing got a little more crowded with the opening of Mitty Jump (Chinese only), a kid play area to rival the likes of Fundazzle and Family Box. We sent two play area experts (Reina, age 6, and Ty, age 7) to scope out the fun and give us their assessment.
In short order, the pair had surveyed the entire complex and begun stashing the giant radishes from the garden in the tree house (I’m not making this up). Each radish weighed a good 5-10 kilos, so it was also enjoyable to watch them struggling with the oversized veg. Meanwhile, Ty’s sister and I settled into one of the many mini-ball pits filled with foam-rubber balls and began launching them at the marauding pair. And that was all in the first 15 minutes.
The main areas of Mitty Jump are the tree house and swaying bridges, a spaceship, a squishy volcano with about a half dozen ball pits, Mitty’s home with a small vegetable patch, a bouncy castle, a mini train, and a mini football pitch (soccer to my fellow countryman). Interlaced throughout are tractors, tents, toys, several shelves of picture books in English and Chinese, and a baby swing. There is also a good deal of seating along one wall and a row of large lockers for bags and such for free. In the back, there is one room that seems to still be a work in progress that contains a pair of large tables and what looks like a large viewing screen.
Amenities
Mitty Jump designers took it upon themselves to include some nice touches to assist the adults while their kids are at play. There are security cameras, including some screens where you can keep an eye on Junior when he is playing inside the spaceship (it is also fun for the kids to make faces for the camera), I counted 5 IQ Air filters on full blast, a decent sound systems at a reasonable sound level so as not to be too obtrusive, and the whole place is covered by three WIFI links. Nor were the bathrooms ignored. Both the boys and girls toilets have built-in changing tables, little toilets for children, and even port-a-potties for those undergoing toilet training. Alas, for adults, there are only squat toilets, so you may need to venture into the mall if you are unaccustomed to using squatties.
One nice touch about the design is just how soft most of the surfaces are since they are coated with some sort of rubbery latex. No doubt, this greatly reduces bumps and bruises. It also makes some surfaces a tad slippery, so non-slip socks are available at the front desk. It also did not escape my notice that staff were cleaning the various areas and wiping down toys the entire time we were there.
When I put the question to our experts about Mitty Jump, they both enthusiastically declared it was fun and that they would gladly return; Reina requested to attend the next day. Ty observed that there were a lot of things for little kids (presumably the 2-4 year old crowd), but he still had a great time.
For a single visit, kids are RMB 160 and if you want to play too, there is a RMB 50 charge for one adult on the weekend (the fee is good for two adults on a weekday). Otherwise, parents can sit outside the play area at no charge. Mitty Jump allows for single visits, but the savings really start to add up if you buy a pre-paid card of 16 visits for RMB 1,580 or 32 visits for RMB 2, 480, then the price drops below RMB 100 per visit.
Note that at the time of writing, the English portion of the website was still all in Chinese.
Photos by Christopher Lay
