FUNbelievable — Local services in Lakeside

It's UN-Believable how UN-Friendly the owner and staff is here! They take the FUN out of FUN-Believable!

We have been going to this place FOREVER! I am so sad we need to take our business elsewhere. Met my mother in law there this morning so she could hang with her grandkids for a few hours while she's here from out of town. This is something we have done for years. We've never been harassed like we were today. Upon arrival my mother in law (grandma) was stopped because she had a gift bag in her hand. She brought a gift for one of the grandkids who has a birthday next month when she will be back in arizona. They told her no gifts because she didn't pay for a party. She said ok, can I give her the gift outside later if I leave it in my car? They told her she couldn't give her anything birthday related on the property. I asked if she could just take it out of the gift bag (since it was just a couple of books) and bring it in. The man at the counter said no because it's birthday related! I said no, they're just regular books. You only know they're birthday gifts because we told you. After some back and forth he reluctantly allowed us to bring them in (not in a gift bag). We made it clear were not trying to sneak a birthday party in, that was the only birthday related thing. Then he actually checked grandma's bag to make sure there were no birthday items! Seriously felt like we were trying to enter a prison! I asked to speak with the owner to let her know our experience rather than post a negative review online. I thought it would be fair to speak with her directly so she could understand our feelings. Unfortunately, she was ruder than the employee! I told her this experience makes us not want to come back because of how we were treated and she said, that's fine. So to summarize, Andrea (the owner) doubled down on her employees rude behavior and doesn't care if she loses business from treating old lady's like criminals.

UPDATE Since I'm unable to reply to owners response, I'll add it here. When grandma was told no play-dough and paint she was bummed and said I've been able to bring that before but ultimately was not the issue. She complied completely. It was the complete lack of people skills accompanied by rudeness that was the issue. Grandma is very sweet! She was kindly asking if there was any way she'd be able to go outside with play dough and come back in. She was trying to comply. There was absolutely ZERO aggression. Just confusion on her part. It was the not allowing ANYTHING. The employee seriously tried to make her not bring the books in because they were a birthday gift (not in birthday bag anymore). He only knew they were a gift because we told him and took them out of gift bag to COMPLY! Everything we did was to comply! The comment from the owner is exactly what I would expect after speaking with her. No personal accountability. Unapologetic. We...

I've been bringing my kid to Funbelievable for a while and have really enjoyed it, but I didn't realize how much I love it until today. They were closing early for a private event and I needed somewhere to work on class stuff while my kid played, so I decided to try out another indoor playground. While this other place might be bigger and prettier, it really falls flat on what it has to offer the parents. Having experienced this other place, here's what I realized I really love about Funbelievable:

The main play structure is in the middle of the room, with seating around the outside. This means I can easily walk around and find my kid, wherever they may be in the structure. At Funbelievable you can even enter the play structure yourself and play with your child if you want - not allowed at the other place.

There are a few seating spots with outlets, which has been massively helpful for me doing classwork. Other place has none I could really use.

The café!! At Funbelievable I can order meals and healthy snacks when I didn't have time at home to make them. I can get a frappe type drink or a latte if I want, too. And I haven't had a bad meal yet! It's all been tasty. This other place has an Instagram-looking cafe, but they only serve vending machine food and bitter Keurig coffee.

I really appreciate that the gate between the play area and the reception area is magnetically locked. You have to be buzzed in and out by the staff, essentially. This definitely helps keep the kids from wandering away. The other place has gates, but no locks, and talk about stressing me out!

The staff at Funbelievable have been very kind and they really seem to watch out for the kids. They really take safety to heart. The music they play is kid friendly and fun, without being a nuisance, too. After experiencing other indoor play places, Funbelievable really, really shines even more and I'm so very grateful to have them...

Let me start by saying—I have never been banned from any location in my life. If you know me, that’s actually hilarious because I avoid confrontation and I’m definitely not someone who complains easily.

Here’s what happened: I have three kids, so naturally, I buy the punch card deal (around $200 for 10 visits). On our most recent visit, I noticed something strange. I had just purchased a new card, but something didn’t add up. I asked to see a record of our visits, and immediately something jumped out—two punches were used on a Saturday. Not only would I never go on a Saturday (and definitely wouldn’t leave one of my kids behind), but I wasn’t even in the state that day.

So I asked to see the punch card prior to that one, and again—I found four punches used while we were in Miami. I even showed staff proof via Apple Photos (which show location), but instead of helping, they dismissed me and refused to show me any more records.

I told them I’d be disputing the charges if they couldn’t offer a refund or at least a credit.

Now here’s where things get even more concerning: I went through all of our credit card accounts—Visa, Discover, Amex, and Mastercard—and between my husband and me, from April 2024 to April 2025, we had close to $5,000 charged at this place.

We absolutely did not authorize $5,000 in charges here, and it raises some serious concerns about how securely they handle credit card information. Are they even PCI compliant?

If you still decide to check this place out, I highly recommend paying in cash only. And honestly, that’s a big if—because it’s not the cleanest or safest environment either.

RESPONSE to owner reply*

I actually did provide your staff with proof :-) I would be HAPPY to show the time stamps w. location of me not in Cali while my card was stamped .... But you never reached out to me, despite me asking for your staff...