Good Times Park — Attraction in Eagan

This is horrible we are getting arrestedThe Good Times Park is a place that many people see as a sanctuary of joy, a place where children can play, families can bond, and laughter fills the air. It is a place full of colorful swings, slides, and the occasional sound of music playing from a distant vendor’s cart. For most, it is a space of happiness. However, for me, my experience with the Good Times Park has been different. It is a place where I often feel alone, reminded of the harsh realities of my life as an orphan, and of the mean lady who often makes my visits there even more difficult.

Being an orphan is not something I ever imagined would define my life. I lost my parents when I was very young, and since then, I have been in and out of foster homes. I never really had a place to call my own. The Good Times Park, with its bright colors and cheerful faces, was one of the few places I hoped to find a sense of belonging. I would often walk through the park, watching the other children with their parents, and I couldn’t help but feel a pang of longing deep inside. I wondered what it would be like to have a family that would take me to the park, to share a moment of joy with me.

Yet, there is one person who has made it difficult for me to enjoy the park: the lady who is often there. She is an older woman, and her presence seems to cast a shadow over the park’s otherwise sunny atmosphere. She is the park’s caretaker, or at least, that’s what I have gathered. Every time I visit, she seems to be watching me with disdain. She never smiles or greets me like she does with the other children. If I get too close to the swings or the slides, she often scolds me, telling me that I shouldn’t be playing because I don’t belong there. Her words sting, and it is as if the park, a place that should be filled with joy, becomes a reminder of my loneliness.

The harshness of her attitude is even more difficult to bear because of the absence of my own family. When I see children laughing and playing with their parents, it reminds me of what I don’t have. I can feel the emptiness, and the lady’s unkindness only deepens that feeling. Her presence feels like an additional weight on my shoulders, as though I am being constantly reminded of my lack of a family and the cruelty that exists in the world.

I sometimes wonder why she acts this way toward me. Perhaps it is because I am an orphan, a child without a place to call home, and she sees me as different. But the truth is, her behavior only adds to my sense of isolation. I wish that people like her would understand the pain of being without a family and the importance of kindness. The Good Times Park, which should be a place of joy and healing, often feels like an unwelcoming reminder of my struggles.

Despite her mean demeanor, I try to find moments of peace in the park. I sit on the benches, watching the other children play. I try to lose myself in their laughter and the sense of normalcy that surrounds them, but it is never quite the same. My heart aches as I realize that my life will never be like theirs. I have no one to share these moments with, and the cruel lady’s behavior only reinforces that loneliness.

However, I still hold on to the hope that someday things will change. Maybe the lady will be kinder, maybe I will find a family, or maybe I will learn to see the park differently. For now, I continue to visit the Good Times Park, though the experiences are bittersweet. The pain of being an orphan and the meanness of the lady linger in my heart, but I still try to find a glimmer of hope and joy in the moments when I can.

In conclusion, the Good Times Park is a place filled with contrasts for me. It is a space that should represent happiness and connection, but for me, it often feels like a symbol of my loneliness and pain. The lady, whose coldness hurts more than I can explain, is just one part of the challenge. As an orphan, I long for the simple pleasures that others seem to take for granted. While the park may never be...

We visited for the first time in Jan 2024 on a weekday and had a bad experience that resulted in an ER visit.

My toddler is 2 and baby was 7 months at the time. We got there right in the morning at 9:30am and initially, my toddler had a great time bouncing on the inflatable bouncer. However, it got crowded very quickly.

There was one kid maybe 4 years old named "Eli" (wearing green in the photo) who kept pushing other kids and whose mother was on her phone or yelling at her child on the sidelines (the only reason I remember the kid's name) without physically removing him from the situation. I saw this kid push 2 other kids who left the inflatable crying. He eventually laid on top of my daughter and wouldn't get up until I yelled "hey, you can't do that!" and ran over to them. My daughter was crying and obviously distraught. The mother there said nothing and did not remove him from the inflatable.

Many of the parents of younger kids were respectful but I noticed the parents of older kids weren't. At the other play areas that my daughter could participate in - like the blocks - I noticed parents said nothing as their kids bossed others around and kept all of the blocks to themselves even if they weren't physically playing with them.

In addition, there weren't a lot my toddler could play with besides the inflatable. The toddler play area is mainly for babies that can crawl and my toddler got bored of the area in less than 1 minute. The smaller slides are overrun with bigger kids and it was overwhelming for my daughter to navigate with other kids on it. And on the larger wavy slide, she was brave and tried going down herself, but it was too fast and steep for her and she hit her head on the side of the slide.

The day or 2 after our visit, my toddler, baby and I caught the worst viral cold/flu we have had. I know we got it from the park because we did not go anywhere else that week. My baby was physically going limp in my arms and dozing off and I ended up taking her to the ER.

I understand that the park doesn't have any liability for other kids' behavior or parents' supervision, or whether or not our children get sick, but I felt like the behavior was not acceptable or welcoming for us to want to come back and it seems like the culture of the park, based on other negative reviews here.

The rule on the website states "Adults who fail to supervise their children in the play areas may be required to leave the park" but I don't see how this can be enforced with no staff on hand.

The park also looked dirty and I'm not sure how often it is sanitized - and I wasn't able to locate a staff member to update them in real time.

It does look great for older kids 5+ who are more assertive and are able to use all features of the park but for my younger kids, it wasn't a great fit.

Constructive feedback: I do think the park can benefit from maybe 1 staff member on hand at all times for safety and ensuring the Standard of Conduct on the website is followed, and maybe a large indoor swingset with baby/toddler attachments.

Edit to add: Although one staff member was cleaning when I arrived, I looked and could not find anyone after the aggressive incident to voice my concerns. The woman whose child was aggressive was yelling his name and it was echoing throughout the park, so I'm sure if a staff member was present at the time, they would have heard what was happening. I did tell the child twice that he couldn't do what he did and I know the mother heard and still chose not to remove him from the situation. I admit I could have talked to her directly, but if no action was taken after her yelling at her child, I do think an external force was necessary to enforce the Code of Conduct. I wish I could have found staff at the time because I definitely would have addressed the...

The concept of this park is good and has activities that are probably most appropriate for ages 2-8. However, there are a few things that need improvement:

1. Pricing: The cost per child per visit is $8. This is a good deal if you plan to stay for at least a couple of hours, but not great if you don't have a couple of hours or your kids quickly lose interest. Another option would be to get a monthly or annual membership. A "Family Membership" for my 3 kids is $275/year. This is crazy. A Household Membership to the Minnesota Zoo allows me, my spouse and our three kids plus another guest in for only $159 per year and our membership is tax deductible. A Household Membership to the Science Museum of MN is $99/year. A Family Membership to the Children's Museum is $99/year. I could buy a membership to two of these places for less than what it would cost for my annual membership to GTP. And, the three other venues have more space for my kids to roam and also change their exhibits frequently, whereas Good Times Park is always the same. Good TImes Park management should consider lowering the cost of one-time admission prices, as well as change your memberships to family pricing like other local attractions.

2. Entrance: At Good Times Park, if you are a member, you get an access code and can use that for quick and easy access. If you are not a member, you must log into a computer each time you visit to enter all of your contact and payment info before you receive a daily access code. I've seen numerous people spend 10 minutes+ sitting at a computer in the lobby typing in the necessary info to gain access to the park while their kids impatiently wait for their turn to get inside to play. Someone should be staffing the entrance to speed up this process.

3. Staffing: The park is not staffed (aside from the owner sometimes being their to tidy up). The only way to get help with the time-consuming entrance process is by calling the owner by phone. Also, other than by video, the owners aren't actually monitoring how many people each person pays for vs. actually brings into the park. And, don't make the Minnesota-nice move and open the door for someone you see struggling to pay for admission. You'll get a nasty phone call from the owner telling you it's against park policy. Other businesses, like museums and sporting event venues, would not survive if they left their doors unattended and relied on the honor system. It would be great if we lived in a world that worked like this, but it's not reality. You should not expect your customers to be rude to visitors when you have made a decision to forego staff to attain greater profits.

I have also been at the park when the owners were not present and there was a group of kids getting a little crazy and no parents supervising them. The owner must have seen this on her video surveillance (there are cameras all of the park monitoring you so that the owners don't actually have to be there to know what's happening). They called my friend to find out if it was her kids (it wasn't). I think that it's ballsy to leave your business unattended and then randomly call customers to find out if their kids are the problem. Hiring on-site staff could solve this problem and give you some personal interaction with your customers.

4.) Design: The restrooms, eating area and office block your ability to see the opposite side of the park. Good luck managing multiple kids who want to go in different directions. And be prepared to get a phone call from the owner if one of your kids gets a little unruly.

Like I said, the concept is great, but the owners need to make some...