The Playground Gym

Fun place to host a birthday party. I had my son’s fourth birthday here and he had a great time with his friends. The kids start with free play on the mat followed by organized games by couple of coaches. Coaches do a good job with games such as obstacle courses that cater to kids of varying ages and ball throwing. There is sufficient space for parents and kids if you have less than 60 people. They were good about clean up. I wish they had bigger trash and recycling bins (I suggest having compost bin as well) and few extra chairs but overall a very good experience.

My entire family loves the Playground Gym. For years now, we’ve done summer camps and birthday parties there. The space is clean and filled with fun stuff. The staff is professional, talented, fun, and caring; my kids rave about the teachers after each experience. It is one of the most affordable places of its kind in Portland. A bonus: the owner is just about one of the nicest guys around. It feels great to support a local business like this.

Awesome play area for kids. We went to a bday party and the kids all seemed to be engaged the entire time. It sounds like they do multiple activities during the week including parcour. The staff was grinding and kept things relatively will controlled. The hosts brought in the food and drink from outside.

Awesome place for a 6 year old birthday party. The coaches were entertaining, the play area fun and interactive, the games age appropriate and safe, and most of all the kids had a blast. Even the older siblings stayed to play. The space is clean and well organized. Everything was set up for the festivities… We just brought kids, food and balloons. Thank you Playground Gym!

We just had our daughter’s 3^rd birthday party at the Playground Gym and it was a hit! All the kids had a great time and the coaches were fantastic. Coach Jason was so patient and fun. He really knows how to keep things interesting and wrangling a group of 3 – 4 years old is a real art. The gym was clean and has a great area for setting up food and plenty of room for parents to hang out and interact with the kids. I was really happy with the experience and am so glad we chose The Playground Gym. We will be back for more fun. :)

Excellent place for the kids to unwind and gain confidence. I enjoyed the ac while my daughter dropped in for an afternoon class. Coaches were fun and kept the kids attention well. Definitely returning.

Came here for a play date for my son today. A fun, small gym that has a lot of stuff to do for young children. My son is almost 3 and everything was just about his age and a bit older. He loved playing on the rings, in the monkey barrel and rolling around on the soft padded mats. They do birthday parties and are booked out a couple of months, so plan ahead.

Despite the fact that I checked the website before visiting and it said «Open Play» all day Friday, this in fact was not accurate. So, after getting all four kiddos ready, lunch packed (fellow moms will understand this is an undertaking), traveling there and PAYING for parking, we walk into the Playground Gym and are turned away because it’s closed to drop-​ins and only children who registered for the winter camp were allowed to play. I would have understood this completely if only their website had reflected this but, because it was inaccurate and out of date, all the effort and expense we went to was wasted and I had four unhappy campers on my hands. So, Playground Gym, in the future it would be greatly appreciated if you would respect your prospective customers enough to PLEASE keep your website/​calendar up to date so our time/​effort isn’t wasted. Thank you!

I really wish my daughter & I enjoyed this place as much as other Unilocalers so we also could have given it a high star rating… but it is a «2 star» place for us… maybe in a year we will give it another try.
Going in thinking The Playground Gym was a 5 star place, I really had higher expectations. My two year old daughter (25 months old, to be exact) played here for a total of 40 minutes. I payed $ 8 for her to play. Yes, she could have played for longer, but we were the only ones there, so on top of many of the things here being over-​her-​head (for example, she was too short to enjoy the cool swinging ropes they had), she had no one else to play with or observe. She got bored in the padded/​main area after a half hour. She wondered to the front of the place, where they have many very used books (some in such bad shape that they just need to be recycled) and a play kitchen (with no fake food or toys to go with it), and we stayed up there for maybe 10 minutes before I declared that we were leaving. She was totally fine with the idea of us leaving — she was done, too.
So like we do with every play place we leave, we went to the bathroom to do a diaper check & wash hands. The bathroom sink only had cold water — I waited for the water to heat up & messed around with the handle, but no hot water. So we used cold water, but it just really surprised me that this was the case (uncomfortable & unsanitary).
Also — the bathroom could have definitely been cleaner. They also had a very small garbage can in it that was full when we were in there — with an empty food pouch & dirty diaper added to it, courtesy of my daughter, the lid barely closed when we left.
Overall, The Playground Gym really needed to be cleaner.
My daughter played barefoot, as they suggested, and before we left I had to «dust off» her feet before putting her shoes & socks back on. Also, before washing my hands in the bathroom, my hands had that «dirty» feeling. I noticed quite a few spots in the padded area (particularly in/​around the base of the «tree house») & front part where the books were that needed to be cleaned. I have been to my fair share of play places, and realize that some are cleaner than others, but The Playground Gym, to me, seemed to be a place where they cleaned certain things on maybe a daily basis, and clearly certain other things are only cleaned maybe once a week… or just badly cleaned. I don’t know, but it definitely was not clean when I took my daughter to play.
Lastly, just a few notes…
A lot of play places offer a small/​discounted cost for younger kiddos to play, and a higher cost for the older kiddos to play. Since The Playground Gym is suitable for kids up to the age of ten or even older, I feel like it should not cost $ 8 for the small kids who can’t do as much or play for long here. I feel like it should have been $ 4 – 5 for my 2 year old to play based on the place & how long we spent here.
They take cash & most credit cards, but they don’t take American Express cards. I didn’t see this noted anywhere before I went, so just thought I’d put that out there for others.
Since I had higher expectations before getting here, I overall feel disappointed, and like I wasted a «play date» with my daughter here when we could have had fun elsewhere. But I guess you never know until you go! And maybe if there were other kids there when we were there, it would have been more fun.
To end on a more positive note, we love «good bye treats,» and the woman up front gave my daughter a stamp on each hand before we left. Small things like that make my daughter light up, so it’s nice that they do this here.
We’ll re-​visit this place again at a future time when I think my daughter will get more use out of the area, and hopefully I’ll have a better review to write then.

We LOVE the Playground gym. It is our go-​to rainy afternoon play spot. Great location great atmosphere, super friendly staff. They remember us even if we don’t come for a few weeks. We have never done a class, only open play, but its a blast. They are right next to starbucks and they don’t mind at all if parents sit on the benches or chairs and have a snack or drink while the kids play.
The place is small enough, that you can see EVERYTHING from every seat. Its great for little kids as there is no escape! Though some will spend the whole time running to the water fountain! :) We love the Playground Gym and will be going back many times!

It’s clean and the instructors are very professional. That said, I think the place charges too much (the summer camp is outrageous), and the playroom is rather small. Also, if you sign up for classes, they automatically deduct monthly charges from your bank account — there is no alternative.
However, it’s a good resource to have in rainy Portland.

Best party place ever! I had to switch my sons party here for last minute reasons. I had never been but they had an opening. I wasn’t totally sold at first but WOW it was awesome! You get the whole facility for just your party. They kept the kids running, jumping, climbing and so on the whole time. They had a blast! I wasn’t as excited about open play when I went back. It’s a lot more fun when teacher led.

Attended a birthday party here and it was well maintained, safe, clean (always a plus) and a whole lot of fun! My active 2 yo son LOVED it and went non-​stop! The staff are knowledgable, attentive and seem to really like children! We LOVED it and will be back to play! I’m telling all my mommy /​daddy friends about it for not only play dates but birthday parties…

Upon 1^st stepping foot into this colorful (not the usual primary-​color awfulness I see in kid-​land) gym, I was extremely impressed.
First off, my hyper 3 year-​old was very focused on the gym’s vast array of equipment. There are balls of all sizes… huge stackable cushiony shapes to play in & on… swings (rope & otherwise) & rings to swing from… a dance-​floor… and an INDOOR TREEHOUSE!
My youngest was thrilled, as the gym coaches set up a variety of obstacle courses during «Open Gym».
The place is soooo extremely padded, that I actually relaxed while my girls performed stunt after amazing stunt.
My 7 year-​old takes gymnastic & martial-​arts classes at the gym now. She has really grown comfortable with both of her coaches (1 male, 1 female). In our short time at the gym, my daughter is growing more confident & relaxed.
I have had quite a challenge finding an environment simple (& safe) enough for my toddler, yet dynamic & challenging enough for my 7 year-​old! Until now.
My only wish… that the gym stay open late into the evening. That way I can put the kiddos to bed (hire the sitter) & come play myself!

We love this place. We learned about it through my son’s friend’s birthday party. The owners, Casey and JJ, are great coaches and the kids love them. They’re encouraging and supportive, and they have definitely taught my sons some useful, meaningful skills. We’re super happy we found this place.

Wow! It’s amazing, ask the universe and you shall receive. I was thinking how great it would be to have a place for my 3 year old to play that was run by professionals. Although the pp&r can’t be beat for sheer volume and convenience of classes, I’m often disappointed in the quality of instruction.
My friend told me about this place and I’m so glad I went. It’s basically a gym with soft floors for the little ones to run around and play on gym equipment. Very educational, physically. First class was free, but I’m planning on signing up for classes so I can get in on the free open gyms. Just what we needed to get through the long rainy season!