Just 4 Fun — Attraction in South Miami

I took my 8 and 3-year-old here yesterday. Of course, with it being a Saturday, I expected over a thousand kids (and there were). Alas, I like this establishment, but there are a few drawbacks I’d like to share as well.

CONS: The physical set up of the play equipment is not optimal for parent supervision…especially those of us watching small children. The play area for ages 0-4 is set adjacent to the big kid play area, with merely a narrow “walkway” dividing the two zones. Mind you, there are a few scattered booths set up for parents to sit, but they’re all stationed around the general perimeter of the room…and most are taken. So those of us with smaller children are unable to sit near them in order to supervise. Rather, parents must either buy socks so they can stand (and block) the designated “play” zones, or they must crowd the dividing “walkway” in order to retain their soled shoes, which now impedes all movement back and forth throughout the room. Ideally, with the amount of equipment they’ve wedged in, the owners need a room with square footage comparable to Chuck E. Cheese. Minimal areas to eat. Other than their off-limit party rooms, the only tables in the place are attached to two large posts. There is an empty place to eat in the rear of the room, but this area was reserved for painting pictures. Mind you, not one person was paying for this “painting” service. All 20 seats were empty…a complete waste of coveted space, time and money. Shoes are stored in open cubbies based on a kind of “trust” system where you store, then grab and go. Now, I don’t know about y’all, but this is Miami in desperate times of COVID. I do not trust leaving my childrens’ expensive shoes out for all hands to grab. I think I spotted a few personal lockers tucked away in the back, but these were never offered to us for use.

PROS: They are horribly understaffed and the few staff members they have are young…but they were very much on the ball. I didn’t see any workers on their cell phones or off to the side chatting. There are way too many children running amuck for that. Rather, staff were out and about, monitoring the floor, asking parents to avoid stepping on play areas with regular shoes (if that heavyset girl told me ONE more time…good Lord!). I also watched as staff tidied up by picking up random legos repeatedly off the floor; they told children to stop throwing balls out of the ball pit; they asked parents to avoid sitting on tables and they monitored the amount of kids flooding the trampoline. Staff members were kind, yet somewhat assertive… (I imagine they would have to be with the amount of kids flooding the place.) I love the way they allow customers to return…even after they’ve gone. Due to the lack of space, we ventured over to GameTime next-door for lunch. Once we finished, we promptly returned back to Just4Fun for two more hours of play. It’s a nice asset, especially for a mere $18 fee. I like the way both parents and children are given ID bracelets with a corresponding number, rather than a frivolous blacklight stamp that can easily be washed away (Chuck E. Cheese). This ensures a heightened level of security (even though me and my son’s bracelets weren’t actually cross-checked when we left).

Overall, nice little entertainment zone for youngsters, but way too small/crowded for...

I have some mixed feelings about rating this place the way I have and I’ll tell you why:

We visited for the first time today. When we walked in, we had a great first impression. My daughter was immediately attracted to the vibrant colors all over the property and promptly headed toward the play area. They have slides, a trampoline, a ball pit, a carousel-like rope climber which is really meant for the kids to hang on to while the carousel goes round and round, and several other items along the way. The staff is very friendly and pleasant and the place looks clean in general, although it doesn’t have that “clean” smell when you walk in (in comparison to other indoor playgrounds). I would describe Just 4 Fun almost like an obstacle course where the kids can have fun, play and release serious energy!

However, as we spent more time there, the place began to get more and more crowded (which I expected). We walked in at around noon and by 2 pm the place was crowded (keep in mind today was a teacher planning day and most kids are off school). As more and more kids walked in, it became chaos. There were too many kids on the trampoline, which could certainly be dangerous (guidelines state there should be no more than 4 kids at a time; there were about 10). Children were running all over the place; others were throwing the balls from the ball pit out onto the walking area and throwing them over the railings; behavior that could cause someone to fall or get hit on the head, etc. I’ve been to other indoor playgrounds and never seen such chaotic activity. Just 4 Fun rules state that parents should look after their children at all times. However, unfortunately that is not always the case. That’s why other places like this have several staff members at the entrance/exits of most of their attractions. I think that’s what this place needs. There were a couple of staff members that would walk out once in a while to remind the kids of the rules, but by then, the chaos was just too much. I think they really need to establish a better policy, maybe having a couple of staff members dedicated to overseeing the activity that goes on with the children. If it weren’t for this, I would have rated them 4 stars as my little one certainly did have fun.

Thanks Just 4 Fun and I hope you can make some changes...

Unfortunately - WHOA does this hang out need some serious TLC (not the girls group from the 90s!); it’s just very very dirty and not well taken care of in here!

It was very dirty all throughout and also some places looked dangerous even & could cause a child to fall because the equipment is not set in and attached correctly due to it being overused and etc.

I wish I could have captured more photos for you but let me give you details here…

…So- the inside of the playground just needs to be sanitized, wiped down and vacuumed- the tunnels and walkways and padded floors- dust & dirt everywhere.l

The ball pit had so many balls with gunk on them. It was a nightmare.

The floors need a serious facelift here. From the tiled areas to the padded floors in the play areas…

The toddler/infant area…let’s talk about that….whatever was supposed to be white in that playground is pretty much grey and overused. The stepping pond ; it’s a actually a swamp ; can’t see any fishies in that murky water. Also some flooring there is on this carousel thing they have is detached and loose and can cause a child to fall if not secure. No one is really monitoring the grounds either to help ensure things are maintained and safety is a concern.

The art section was pretty much just a table with chairs and cabinets but nothing for the kids to do there unless you brought your own things. I felt the space could be more inviting and better used.

I also found it a little strange that they sell alcohol here. It just was not fitting; leaving the area to just a little coffee or juice or ice cream bar would be much for fitting then displaying & selling wine at this setting.

FYI also- I went first thing in the morning fyi and this place totally was not cleaned up before opening.

This place has so much potential/ it’s honestly such a great space and set up to have your kids play while you hang back & can keep an eye & they have a lot of things to keep them busy. Also, the front hostess was kind.

Butttt we cannot return here. Its just not safe we feel and not clean enough. We want to support a business that shows it cares for their visitors (children our most prized possession) with how they...