Lava Island — Local services in Aurora

Lava Island is a fun concept and the kids loved it—lots of space to play, run, and explore without screens or arcades. That part was great. Unfortunately, the actual party experience was pretty disappointing.

I never received any reminders after my initial booking email, and there wasn’t anyone who reached out ahead of time to confirm details. At other places, I’ve had a party host check in a few days before, which makes things run smoother.

When we arrived, the front desk host had me spend about 10 minutes going over all the room rental rules, which I’d already seen during the reservation process. It felt unnecessary and took away time I needed to get set up. Nobody explained how the party room worked (supplies drop off) or even showed us where it was (pointed in general direction) —we were left to figure it all out.

Pizza and drinks were dropped off at the right time, but there was no help with serving or cleanup. The only staff interaction we had was being offered refills and forks for cake.

The biggest issue was how the room time ended. There was no clock in the room and no warning that our time was almost up. Instead, my belongings were removed from the room and placed outside on a bench while I was busy with the kids. That was really concerning, since my purse and other items were just left unattended around strangers.

For the price, I expected at least some support or attention from staff, but it really felt like we were on our own. The kids had fun, but from a parent’s perspective, the whole experience was unorganized and not...

My kids and I have always considered Aurora's Lava Island our favorite place to go—even though there's an Urban Air just down the street from our house in Centennial. We were happy when a location opened near us, but I confess that since we arrived, it's been nothing but disappointment. We bought all-day tickets and were told that, even though I wasn't playing, I would have to pay for the entire day. I questioned whether that was the policy, then it sounded okay to leave my kids and not stay, since they were forcing me to pay for something I wasn't going to do (a tie-in sale?). Of course, I was told no—I would never leave my kids alone, anyway. Furthermore, the cafeteria is extremely slow—I bought two waters and a soda, and it took 10 minutes to deliver. Hours later, we bought food, and it took another 20 minutes, even though there wasn't a high volume of people or orders. The bathrooms were dirty, and the equipment was already broken (the soap dispenser didn't work). The place is much smaller than the one in Aurora. Of all the 5 stars I gave the Aurora unit for the friendliness of the staff, organization in the cafeteria and assistance from the managers, I would prefer to give -1 star to the...

It’s a nice enough place for kids to play, but they also have cash grab policies that are worse than even Disney. Parents have to pay same the full price as kids, even though half the facility isn’t open to them, so I saw a whole heap of parents paying by the hour to sit at a table and watch their kids have fun. They don’t allow outside food or drinks, which is absolutely understandable, but they won’t allow you a cup for water, instead referring you to the drinking fountains with filters that are indicating they are need of changing.

Like so many entertainment centers they make the cardinal sin of trying to grab attention with all the big flashy play equipment without actually considering the small things that really make a guest’s experience memorable in a positive way. I’d call it an amateur mistake, but this is their second location in the area, they should know better by now. My warning to them as someone with extensive experience in the hospitality industry is to shape up, or expect a brief existence. There are competing options that do...