Kids Empire Colorado Springs — Attraction in Colorado Springs

After sending the following email to both the local & corporate emails for Kids Empire nearly 3 months ago & receiving zero response, I think it's finally time to share our poor experience:

"...We booked our party for April 27 on March 1. I emailed the general info email to ask about the drinks, snacks, & favors & received a reply. I also emailed the general info email (since I didn't have a local email) about the lack of printable invitations for the Colorado Springs location (they listed a different location's info) & never received a response. I ended up printing the electronic one, though the QR code didn't work for most RSPVs. That was all understandable on its own but in hindsight is frustrating... I received a call earlier this week to confirm our party details & was told I could drop decorations by at least 24 hours prior to the party so that they'd be set up in time for the party. I made a special trip to drop them 48 hours in advance with my son's name/age/party time/party date/etc. written on the box in Sharpie and spoke to the staff about our guest count, table location, & number of tables. When we arrived today, it was evident the venue was very busy given the number of cars in the parking lot. We came 15 minutes early since we had to bring our own cupcakes to ensure we could get settled and put those in the appropriate location. We stood in line for about 20 minutes & therefore didn't get to enter until 5 minutes after our party began. We were holding our cupcakes the whole time as people continued to crowd in, filling all available space & even standing outside the doors to wait. Only one register was able to check in for parties, though that was not evident until you got to the front of the other line & were told they couldn't help if you were there for a party (& there was no indication to those waiting but not part of a party that they could or should use it). I was able to bring two of our guests to the front of the line before squeezing my way past the other people & waiting to be let in, but by the time we placed our cupcakes down in our table area, several others had arrived. They waited 40+ plus minutes to get inside to the party the last time I checked my watch. Our frustrations were amplified as we discovered our decorations were not set up, nor did we have the appropriate number of tables. I had to wait in the concession line & then still get the attention of the woman busy checking in party guests to inquire about our decorations. She found them & sent an attendant to help with set up, but my son was really disappointed to not see his decorations set up upon arrival & then to see that his friends couldn't get inside to play with him for so long. So, I tried to take him on the ride-ons with the points card; however, two cars would not move after using 10 points, & when we finally could get one to work, he'd get stuck behind people who were not paying to use them but were just sitting on them in the way. I had to act as an attendant for a large part of the party so that these 5-year-olds could actually (and safely) use their ride points. I did get the wasted points reimbursed, so I appreciated that, but it again required waiting in a line to get someone's attention to help. Next we asked if any of the sleds to go down the slide could be unlocked, but we were told no because people were misusing the little scooters. That makes sense because there were zero staff available to enforce any rules because of how busy they were with check-in and SIX parties scheduled at the same time. As a result of said staffing shortages, I had to go retrieve our drinks and ask for the gummy bears and balloons. The Huggy parade happened but without a specific time nor an actual announcement, so we were in the middle of eating cake and didn't get to take photos. I had to return to the concession line to ask for our goodie bags after our first 3 guests had...

We just had the best time ever here. This place is enormous. There is a gigantic multi-level play structure with lots of different areas to explore. Inside the play structure is a soccer field, an oversized lego area, a few really fun, super fast slides, and little bumper car-type vehicles they can drive around a track (small extra charge for that, very low speeds/safe, and plenty of room for an adult to sit and drive with the child). There's also a separate roller slide that they can go down by themselves or on a sled. There are little toddler bikes for them to race around in, a dance room with a disco ball and festive lights, and more. In addition, there is a separate infants/toddlers area with age-appropriate climbing structure, slides, and a ball pit. Admission is for the full day, so you can leave for nap and come back. There are free lockers to stow your belongings. Not much to eat if your kid gets hungry, though they do have snacks and ice cream for purchase, and no outside food or drink is allowed. The staff is all wonderful and super helpful. We were there for hours and didn't even discover some cool other areas until our return trip. We were there on a Wednesday morning and again that afternoon, and it was pretty dead all day - maybe 25 kids at a time, which is nothing considering the size. It's really a shame because this place is AMAZING and I hope they get a lot more business than I saw today (but it's nice that it's not a mad house). My son made two new friends despite the low attendance. If I lived closer, I'd definitely buy a play pass. The prices are very reasonable. I pay as much to go to a smaller kids indoor play area that is literally 10% of the size. This is all physical play and not imaginative play. The kid(s) will be exhausted and very content, guaranteed. If your kid is independent, you can just sit back and relax because there's only one way in or out, and you must be buzzed through by an employee, so pretty much no chance of kids running out the door by themselves. I could not recommend this place highly enough. Good for ages 1-10, roughly....

I have been twice. The first time wasn’t bad, a little dirty in the ball pit and some trash but overall nice. The staff wasn’t the friendliest but it is ran by teenagers. I was disappointed in the parents for not having the older kids stay out of the toddler area that first time but again not terrible. The second time I went I watched an adult bleed on the floor, in the play set area and then finally ask for a bandaids. The guy cleaned up the blood with a paper towel and no one cleaned any other area! It wasn’t a few drops. It was all over his leg and on the stairs to climb in. Needless to say we left when that happened! That is absolutely gross! This same day prior to that incident, the system was down and about ten people were waiting to come in and couldn’t because there was no way to verify waivers… what made it bad was that the staff didn’t communicate this… so people were mad. On this same visit I watch four kids get hurt, one was knocked out by the large pink slide and the mom went to complain. No employee watches the safety of these kids and parents that day left kids to play freely. That boy was knocked over by another because the second boy coming down didnt wait. With bigger kids in the play set they should be mindful of the smaller kids but they weren’t, four larger kids went in the rope section and proceeded to go down… one of them fell straight down kicking a smaller child. While every person should be able to have fun it bothers me that there are no rules for play in these areas. There is no one watching it to make sure kids follow the rules. Yes I think parents should be watching but there are other indoor play areas that are safer and will be getting my money. I have been on a weekend and weekday. This is a brand new place and has potential but not if the people working there don’t care!

And please watch Your kids on the small bikes- the ground they scoot on is slippery- the third kid I saw get hurt fell backwards! The employees don’t watch out...