Hyper Kidz Columbia — Attraction in Columbia

On Tuesday, May 20th at around 4:30pm, I took my 3 children to the HyperKidz in Columbia to celebrate my 4 year old sons birthday. My 4 year old is severely autistic/non-verbal and has a cognitive understanding of a 15 month old child. Because of this disability and for safety reasons, he can currently only play indoors or fenced in areas. We have all been to HyperKidz before and everyone, especially my 4 year old,and would always have a blast. The smaller toddler area is perfect for him, and he's able to navigate it perfectly. When I arrived, I told my older daughter and son to stay in the car while I paid and filled out the waiver. Since I came in as a lone adult, I explained to the 2 female employees about my 4 year olds autism and that we were there for his birthday, but that it was easier for me to pay without him present so he can have my full attention. Once I paid, I sent in the older 2 children to remove their shoes and get their bracelets from the desk employees while I got gathered my 4 year old out of the car. As soon as we entered, my son was so excited and knew exactly where he was. As he made way to the entrance door, my older children ran over to me saying "Mommy he can't play." I asked what they meant, and they said "his area is closed". At this time my 4 year old was already through the main entrance area, and tried to make his way to the toddler area. I had to grab ahold of him so that he didn't harm himself, and try to lead him in another direction. Since he doesn't understand, he started to throw a tantrum. In a public place, this is somewhat difficult to deal with, and hard for his siblings to watch, which is why our outings are limited. The employees gave no notification/warning about the area being closed, so I had told them that a heads up would've been nice. After only a few seconds, it was clear that us being there was going to be an impossibility, so I said this isn't going to work, and that I need a refund. The employees said absolutely nothing, and issued the refund. I had to instruct my older son to go outside to call my husband who was enroute to celebrate our sons birthday, not make the drive, and my older daughter to gather our things and hold the door so that I could handle my son safely out of the door. Once in the car, we were all in tears. However, I give a lot of credit to my older two children (ages 7 and 10) for not only getting into gear and figuring out to help out with their younger sibling with a disability, but also for consoling me and letting me know this wasn't my fault...something that isn't their responsibility but I digress. As I drove away, my older children started to ask why the 2 employees behind the counter were looking at us like that. Personally, I had only noticed an eye roll at first. However, I asked them what they meant by "their looks", and they said that they stared at myself and my son as if we were a problem, and as if we shouldn't be there. THAT broke my heart. My children are going to remember that. I'm going to remember that. My son's autism doesn't allow him to have a clear understanding of who/what/where/why, but I can say with certainty that in his head he was thinking "What did I do wrong?" I even looked at the Columbia locations website afterwards to see if there was something that I may have missed. There was a notification saying that they were closed temporarily until 2PM. My refund receipt has a time stamp of 4:38PM. I do not know what the training protocols are within the employee handbook. I know that I took preliminary measures to try and make sure everything went smoothly, but we had been there several times with no issue, and friendly employees. The 2 employees working yesterday, to whom I can only assume one is named Breanna H, (that is what is on my receipt) in my opinion are severely lacking in the customer service department, have no sensitivity towards a person with a very visible disability, (to which I had explained) and CLEARLY didn't want to be bothered. There was no explanation or apology for...

Used to be a great place, but I’m not sure what changed but it’s now not very friendly. My son had a horrible day yesterday. We went with two kids. My son went up in the new slide area next to the new counter. He got to the edge of the slide, got scared, and didn’t have the courage to come down. I could see the distress on his face and was watching him from next to the ball pit. He started panicking as he was already on the slide and didn’t have enough strength to go back up.

I decided to climb the steps to pull him up, and halfway someone screamed, “Sir, you cannot go there—no adults are allowed up there.” I immediately came back down to the ball pit, hoping to support him so he could come down. Then again, someone yelled, “Sir, you cannot be in the ball pit.” I went outside, and my son started crying loudly in anxiety. I had no choice but to watch my distressed child in horror and waiting for him to lose his strength and give up the grip and slide down involuntarily. After he noticeably cried in agony for few minutes, finally, another employee came and helped him get off the slide.

Afterward, I tried to engage him in other play areas because my daughter was also there and enjoying herself. I didn’t want to leave immediately because of her. My son then went to the area for 2 years and younger, which he seemed to enjoy. He just turned 3, but since he is scared of long slides, it’s natural he would feel more comfortable in a simpler area. Immediately, someone showed up and said this area was only for children 2 and under and that we couldn’t be there. At this point, I was frustrated.

After being asked to leave the 2-year area, he climbed into an even bigger slide area where it was hard to see him. He was too distressed, and I had to ask the help of my friend’s older children to bring him down. He was seriously freaked out and wanted me to pick him up for comfort. Because this time he couldn’t see me from above, he experienced separation anxiety, which made the situation even more stressful.

As a business owner myself, I understand the need for policies to protect the business. Adults recklessly climbing on equipment could damage the play areas, but the enforcement felt more like a military drill than reasonable guidance. This is supposed to be a place for children, and children will be children. While policies are necessary to protect the business, staff should be trained to use common sense sometimes. A father climbing to rescue his distressed child is not the same as a father climbing to play on the slide himself. If a 3 year old goes into 2 year area and is not aggressive or if the area is not already full of infants, may be it is okay to let them have their time for a while.

I do not need to be addressed but I do hope management takes my experience into account and tweak their policies or update the staff training so other families in similar situation doesn't have to go back home and say what a horrible day. In the long run, it will serve both the customer and the...

This place is amazing! There is a lot for the kids to do, at all ages. I love that the space isn't all about video games, but instead it's about movement and using your spatial skills.

The only sort of bad experience I had was in paying. The cashier miscalculated my change. After a bit of respectful back and forth, she realized her mistake. She apologized a few times, but still didn't give the correct change. So I missed out on $1 of the rest of my change (whatever), but hopefully the owner will see this as a teaching moment.

The floors are padded with foam, so falls are fine. One of my favorite parts is the emphasis on cleanliness. There's a staff member that comes around now and then with seventh generation cleaner amd sponge if he notices something that needs that sort of attention. The water fountains have Zoono, which is apparently a non toxic antimicrobial. In the bathrooms, there are booties (shoe covers) available to put on over your socks since there are no shoes beyond the gate.

There is staff all over in bright neon green shirts to guide or gently remind your hyper kid about the rules. There is a lactation room for nursing mamas if they need quiet or less stimulation to feed their babies.

If you have children that may be over stimulated easily, then you will want to check it out for them first. It's is very colorful and bright. There's music playing, a toy piano that kids can jump on, and of course kids yelling and being loud.

They have a blue light stamp system (like chuck e cheese) for security, except they use animals. Very cute. The building itself is located around the back, so you would pass the storefronts facing traffic to continue around the rear.

Also, there's not a lot of parking directly in front of the building. I got here right before 11 on a Monday morning, and had to park at the other end and walk down. This wasn't a big deal, just good to know, especially if you're carrying tiny ones.

Filling out the waiver online beforehand is super helpful.

Overall, this is a fantastic place for kids and I will be returning with my kiddos, just maybe with...