Tree's A Crowd

The TreeHouse

Address: 985 South Rand Road, Lake Zurich, IL

Hours: Sunday & Monday: 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.; Tuesday - Saturday: 9:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Admission: $10 (ages 1 - 15); Free for 16+ with a child

YAY!

• Offers hands-on learning? No
• Engages an active toddler in play? Yes
• Provides interaction with other children? Yes
• Allows children room to play without long waits? Yes
• Is clean? No

A great venue for children ages 6 & up who need to burn off some energy. It features a large plastic tree that branches off into tunnels and slides, and offers lots of space to run around.

Unfortunately, it is not ideal for toddlers or younger because (1) it is really difficult to keep track of your child once he gets in the tree house, (2) the adult area is far too removed from the play space, (3) the changing tables in the bathroom butt right up against the sink so there isn’t any room to change your child/baby unless the bathroom is completely empty, and (4) it is worn out from lack of maintenance. I was shocked to learn it has only been open a year! Unlike Monkey Bizness, which is a similar venue also open a year, it is really tired.

Monkey Bizness, which I’ve already reviewed (see: “More Fun than a Barrel of Monkeys”) is far superior not only because it is well maintained, but also because it offers a variety of play structures, bouncy houses, slides, climbing wall, an art area, and a crawler area. The layout facilitates keeping track of multiple children easily. Overall, it just offers more for children 6 months & older.

At the TreeHouse, my normally fearless son was terrified. It was a bit overwhelming in size and scope, and it didn’t help that bigger kids kept mowing him down. After trying to make a go of the tree house and the basketball area, he ended up playing in the crawler area as did most children his age.

And this play area is not worth the drive or admission fee as we have more toys in our basement. The crawler area was pretty weak, and the few toys it offered were well chewed. It also had this weird prison-like vibe because of the black, mesh wrap-around fence & high gate. Not sure why crawlers need high fences. Are they known for prison runs?

The TreeHouse was a big disappointment. But now we know that Monkey Bizness is the best indoor playground for us.