DEFY Iowa City — Attraction in Iowa City

My family went to "Planet 3" at 6:30 p m. on a Saturday evening, when there were approximately 15 other patrons in the building. The first question asked of me was whether the three (3) kids with me had socks. They all had them -- two (3) with P3 pairs, and one (1) with "SkyZone." I quickly learned, however, they do not allow jump socks from other locations, and I was told I would need to buy a $3 pair to replace the ones from "SkyZone."

Despite being incredulous regarding the change in policy -- with the employee acknowledging it had been permissible to wear a competitors socks at one time, I was informed it was a corporate decision to ensure customers wore a set specifically from P3. Willing to accept this -- despite my displeasure, I next provided my son's name and was promptly questioned as to when the last time we had been there. Guesstimating about two (2) months previously, I was advised by the clerk that seven (7) weeks ago they had made a switch in waiver forms and I would, therefore, need to complete new ones for the kids.

Curious why I should be bothered filling out the same thing I had already done nine (9) months before, this time the excuse I received was P3 had switched waiver programs. I noted the waivers should have been automatically transferred, and I was unwilling to waste more of my time repeating the process. The employee simply relayed he would be unable to let my kids jump without the new waivers.

With it being apparent at this point that P3 did not want my business, I said I would drive to one of the trampoline locations in Cedar Rapids rather than bounce over such ridiculous hurdles. The male smugly added that those places were owned by the same corporation and I would need similar waivers. In an attempt to confirm that "SkyZone" and "Airfx" are both tied to P3, I was amused as the guy reluctantly admitted the latter was independent of P3. That he intentionally gave misleading information -- while also trying to swindle me another $3 for the new pair of socks after confessing P3 and "SkyZone" are owned by the same corporation, is enough to keep me from ever returning.

It is customer service such as this, that causes businesses to tank. If P3 thinks it is worth charging $3 for an unnecessary extra pair of socks -- and to force people to waste time completing the same waivers over and over, more power to them. Some people may think nothing of these type inconveniences, but ultimately P3 will lose enough business via such tactics that I predict it won't still be in Iowa City in five (5) years.

As it were, I drove the 25 minutes to "Airfx" in Hiawatha and had a great time with the kids. I found it cheaper, they allow competitors jump socks, and additional waivers were not required from the last time we were there. We even added a round of miniature golf for what it would have cost just to jump at P3. It's a no-brainer where my family will be going when they want to burn off excess energy...

We didn't have a great impression of the place. My wife called ahead to ask a question about memberships, was given one answer, and when we got there they said the opposite. Now they were nice and refunded the affected memberships and accommodated us. On the subsequent visit I was told we owed money. I had to call my wife to see what the cost of the refunded tickets were and they did end up being the amount we were told we were owed. After telling the kid my findings, he glanced at his screen and said, Oh, yeah. It's written right there. So that was an entirely avoidable irritation.

The facilities themselves are okay. They're fun enough. But with two leaks in the ceiling that leave mini streams down the ramp to the play area that nobody wiped up in the two hours we were there, it gives it a run down feel. There are eight activity areas.

The main trampoline area. There's a lot of trampolines here with some elevated surfaces around the pillars to jump onto and from. There are a few two feet high inflatable obstacles to jump over.

Zip line over a foam pit. It's a pretty short line, but still fun.

Basketball area.

Foam pit diving area. There's a diving board-like tower to dive into the foam pit.

Gladiator-style pugil stick fight area. There's a padded I-beam elevated over a foam pit that two combatants edge their way out towards each other on. Like "chicken" on the playground, the idea is to knock your opponent into the foam pit first. This is a lot of fun for everyone.

Dodgeville zone. Ceiling high netting creates a zone where two teams can throw balls at each other.

Warrior course. A ninja warrior type course kids are able to do.

Children under 6 area. Only kids 6 and under are allowed here according to the sign. It has small trampolines, and a fun-looking trampoline that starts horizontal and curves up onto the wall. It's a shame they didn't include a trampoline like this one where older kids could play on it. However, the age limit didn't stop older kids from playing here, and none of the kids playing in the area looked 6 or younger, which brings me to my final point.

The staff assigned to monitor the play area never actually do anything. There were rules broken constantly, none more so than the age limit in the tots area, and none of the rotating staff did anything. I got the feeling that their main concern was making sure those with wristband colors whose time was expired left the play area after the announcement went over the loudspeakers.

Maybe we were spoiled by our experience at the Fun Station on the quad cities, but Defy feels like a worse version, and the all-day pass for jumping costs ten dollars more at Defy. I haven't been to the Cedar Rapids Fun Station, but the all-day pass that includes all their activities is still cheaper than Defy's all day pass. I guess you'd be better odd going there if you don't mind the...

EDIT EDIT! Back to one star. This place is an absolute joke! Jason the shift lead threatened to call the cops on me for sitting in the a massage chair! Totally unprofessional and he escalated a situation that could've been handled differently. Ariah part of the flight squad is rude and condescending! I used 2 flight passes today. I gave my other 3 away! I will never set foot in here again. The drive to SkyZone in Cedar Rapids is well worth it.

EDIT After the problems we had (see below) Anne, the GM reached out to me on her own. We were already planning on using the leftover tickets we had the following week. I spoke with Anne in person, and she went far and beyond to makeup for the previous issues. I was the first person to encounter problems with computer switch. Since then, staff has been trained accordingly to deal with this type of issue. I can't say enough about Anne and her professionalism in handling a tricky situation. The kids had a blast and we will be back!

The check in process is a complete nightmare. I purchased 14 tickets over a week ago. In the meantime they switched their computer setup. The cashier couldn't find my tickets because they didn't transfer to the new system. Finally a manager came over, who couldn't of been more than 18. We weren't going to use all the tickets that day, we were going to use them the following week instead. With the computer change, I couldn't reserve time unless I purchased more tickets! Seriously?! She said I could call the day before to see if the time slot I wanted would be available. Then she had the nerve to ask me if I wanted a voucher for the unused already purchased tickets! She took down my name, number and number of unused tickets on a piece of paper and said that would be our way in for the next time. I had to ask her to write down all of her info for me, so that I had some record of the action taken. If you come here...be prepared for a hassle.

Response to GM Thank you for responding. I understand that the computer issue was unexpected, however, I don't think the manager on duty was prepared to deal with this issue. It took us almost 30 minutes to check in, which is unacceptable. I will call to speak with you, but in all honesty, but the only reason we will be returning is my 10 year old wants to go for...