Would you like to hear something awesome? Two words: trampoline park!!!! I know we all loved jumping on a trampoline that our friends had in their backyard when we were kids. But trampoline parks are a little bit more advanced than that. Trampoline parks started to gain popularity in the last few years. Well, in Europe, they are not as popular. I only know that there is one in Portugal and one in Finland.
But United states of America are quite a different story. Just the city of Dayton, where I currently live, has two trampoline parks. One of them is called Defy Gravity, and I yet have to check that one out, and the other one is called the Sky Zone. I took the kids that I am taking care of there today, and since I am still so excited about it, I decided to write about it and maybe convince you to go there and become a child again for a while.
Where is Sky Zone situated?
I have to say that I am pretty lucky because Sky Zone is situated only a fifteen minute drive from my house. And I am a little bit ashamed to admit that I have only been to Sky Zone ten times this year. Well, that is something, but I wish I would go there more often.
Sky Zone is situated on 976 Senate Drive in Centerville, Ohio and it is a little bit hard to find. The buildings around Sky Zone are just big halls, one of them is a gym, and if you see the sign for that gym, you are on the right way. The gym is called Centerville CrossFit and Sky Zone is situated on its left side.
The Sky Zone building is all black, with a bright orange sign above the door.
Prices and best times to go
Making your inner child happy at Sky Zone is cheaper than you might think. Sounds too good to be true? It is not. In general, you can either choose to jump for thirty minutes or for an hour. The price for thirty minutes is twelve dollars, and the price for one hour of jumping is sixteen dollars. And of course, the one hour package seems like a much better deal, and thirty minutes might sound like not a lot of time, but trust me, it is more than enough.
Because, believe me, all that jumping is exhausting! The first time I went there with some of my friends, we obviously thought that half an hour is not enough at all so we bought the one hour package. Needless to say that we were almost too tired to keep jumping after only twenty minutes, and one of my friends suggested to just go home. At the end, we stayed for the whole hour, but I would just like to give you an idea how tiring this trampoline jumping can be.
The opening hours at Sky Zone are different from day to day, but in general, the best time to go is as soon as it opens, because in most cases, you will have almost the whole area to yourself. Avoid going to Sky Zone on weekends if you can, because weekends are the time when families bring their kids there and it can be pretty crowded, and annoying when you have to wait for your turn to jump into the foam pit. How many people will be at Sky Zone also depends on the events they are hosting. Feel free to keep reading to find out more about these events.
The process and rules
Unfortunately (or luckily), you cannot just get to Sky Zone, pay and jump. There are certain steps that you need to take before jumping. And you have as many as four options to do so. To be allowed to jump at Sky Zone, you need to sign (and read!) the liability waiver.
It is very long, but you have to actually read it, because there are parts of the text where you need to type ‘I agree’ and you can easily miss them if you are just skimming through the text. But what is the liability waiver for? Long story short, basically when you sign that waiver, you agree not to sue the Sky Zone if you get hurt.
First option: do everything online. This is the easiest and the most recommended option. You can pay for your time online, and sign that liability waiver online. Then, when you arrive to the Sky Zone, just tell them at the reception your last name (or whoever paid for the reservation) and they will see that you already signed the liability waiver online.
I would highly recommend you to do this, because it will shorten waiting times if there is a lot of people there. They only have three computers where you can read and sign the liability waivers there, so just imagine that a group of thirty people is in front of you and each person takes five minutes to read and sign the liability waiver… No, thank you!
Second option: buy tickets online and fill out the waiver at Sky Zone. Almost every time I went to the Sky Zone, there was someone who had no idea they can sign the liability waiver online, which triggered some unavoidable arguing at the reception desk. Like I already mentioned, if you can, do both things online.
Third option: fill the waiver online and pay at Sky Zone. This option is less common, but it can be useful if you do not have access to your credit card at the moment for some reason. Because, unfortunately, credit card is the only acceptable form of payment on the Sky Zone website. So go to the Sky Zone Dayton website, find the online waiver section, fill it out and when you get to the Sky Zone, pay, and you are ready to jump. Well, almost. You will still need to listen to the instructions.
Fourth option: do everything at Sky Zone. This option will take the longest, but if you do not have access to the internet, or you spontaneously decide you want to go to the Sky Zone. The price is the same, it just takes more time.
This is where you will be filling the waiver form if you decide to do it at Sky Zone.
After that initial procedure, you will get a sticker that you stick on your shirt, specifying the time slot for your jumping, and special, bright orange socks with rubber pads on the bottom, called Sky Socks. The rubber will prevent you from sliding and falling on the trampolines, and it will also allow you to run up the trampoline wall.
But I will tell you more about what else can you do at the Sky Zone, in the next few paragraphs. When you walk on the floor with those socks, you will feel like a gecko because these socks will stick to the surface.
Well, you will not be able to walk on a ceiling with them, but you will feel like a superhero, that is for sure. Pro tip: Do not wear an extra pair of regular socks under the Sky Socks, because that will make them slide off. I made that mistake during my first visit to the Sky Zone.
In the past, you had to pay for the socks separately. Luckily, a few months ago, the socks started to be included in the price of jumping. Before that, you had to pay three dollars for a pair. And the good thing is that you get to keep these Sky Socks after you finish jumping.
P.S. If you are from Europe (or elsewhere outside the United states of America), the sock sizes will most likely confuse you. If your shoe size in Europe is between 38 and 41, you should take socks that are size 8.
Sky Zone does not have lockers, only shelves, where you can put your shoes. So, if you can, leave everything in the car. I usually just put the car keys in my shoe. I have been to the Sky Zone quite a few times and nothing has gone missing so far. And there are water fountains next to the shelves for your shoes. Make sure you drink enough because you will sweat a lot, I guarantee you! There is also a station with refreshments next to the front desk, but things there are quite pricey.
This is how the Sky Zone reception area looks like. Pretty colourful... I mean, pretty orange.
And this is the refreshment station. Try the icee shushee if you are thirsty!
To ensure that everybody stays safe and people do not get hurt while jumping, Sky Zone has quite a few rules that you have to obey when you are jumping. There are multiple staff members at every jumping area, who will tell you all the rules, answer your questions and watch for uncool behaviour on the trampolines. There are also signs with specific rules for each area.
Just in case you forgot what the employees told you, the rules are clearly written on signs like this one, and you will find them in different areas through the Sky Zone building.
So, before you start jumping, a staff member will explain all the rules to you, and after the briefing, you will get a green sticker for your shirt (yes, another sticker), which means you were told the rules. Needless to say, you cannot jump without that green sticker. All the staff members are extremely friendlyand funny.
This is the sticker you will get. And you can keep it as a 'souvenir'.
It is advised to start your jumping on the area with wall - to - wall trampolines, because it is the easiest place to get the hang of jumping.
Areas
Sky Zone Dayton is divided into six main areas, and at the moment, they are adding a new area with a ninja obstacle course. I am really looking forward to trying that out once it is finished! So what are the areas that you can jump at?
The first area is the wall - to - wall trampoline zone. And it is just as awesome as it sounds. This area is divided into the small kids zone, the flip zone and the adult zone. If you are visiting Sky Zone with your younger brother or sister, for example, you will not be jumping in the same area.
But do not worry, these two areas are just a few meters apart. The area for learning the flips is basically just one long stretch of a trampoline, that runs from wall to wall. And the adult zone looks just like the children zone, except a little bigger.
The most important rule in this zone is that you are only supposed to jump on one square, even if there is nobody else around. And the most fun part are the wall trampolines. You can basically throw yourself into that wall and you will bounce back. Or, if you would like to put your gecko Sky Socks to a good use, try running up the trampoline wall. It works!
The only catch here is that you have to try to keep your balance, otherwise you will fall. Well, even if you fall, there is a trampoline under you. I am just warning you so you can avoid potential embarrassment if you are there with your crush or something.
Then, you have three dodgeball areas. The area next to the wall - to - wall trampolines is the first dodgeball area. Dodgeball is fun by itself, but when you play it on a trampoline, it is even more exciting. The bad part about dodgeball is that some kids will throw the ball really hard and they will aim at your face, even if they are not supposed to.
Well, I tried, got hit in the face, and survived, but it hurt! If your group has kids and adults in it, you might have to separate, because they generally do not allow adults to play dodgeball in the same area as the kids.
Then, there is an area, called Sky Slam, which is basically basketball on a trampoline and it is just as much fun as it sounds. There are two baskets - one for kids and one for adults, and again, if you are taller, you will have to play on the adult one, no exceptions.
On each side of the Sky Slam area, there is one more dodgeball area. And, last but the most important and fun area - the foam pit. This is definitely my absolute favourite part of the Sky Zone. It is basically like a swimming pool, filled with foam cubes and trampolines above it. And what does that mean? It means that you can try to do crazy flips and dives without worrying of getting hurt. And it might sound like a landing will be painful, but it is not - that is why all those foam cubes are there, after all.
And I am proud to say that I was able to learn a double flip there. After 3538356 unsuccessful attempts, of course. Since the foam pit area is filled with foam cubes, it is really hard to get out of the pit, especially if you are doing a crazy dive and get buried deep into the pit. It is hilarious to watch people in front of you struggling to get out, but when it is your turn to do so, you will feel bad for laughing because it really is hard to get out.
The foam pit area has quite a lot of rules, and there are always staff members there to ensure safety. The most important rule is that you should always try to land on your feet.
Emphasis on ‘try to’, because when learning to do flips or other crazy dives, you will be landing on your back a lot. You should also always face forward when you jump, and you are not allowed to get on the trampoline until the person that jumped in front of you, gets out. You should also not attempt to do triple flips - double flip is a maximum.
One of the many things that I love at Sky Zone (other than all the trampolines, of course), is the energetic music they play. It is just loud enough and the rhythms are quite fast - perfect for jumping!
Special events
Sky Zone hosts two special events every week. One of them is a workout on a trampoline and it is so much fun and you will be so tired afterwards that you will be questioning your existence. The second event is Glow and it takes place every day from nine o’clock at night until Sky Zone closes. Glow means that you will paint your face and your clothes with the UV paint, you will get those UV bracelets that glow in the dark, and they will dim the lights.
The Glow is like the best disco party you will ever go to. And the music is louder than during the day. And did I mention that it is awesome? And the best part? The paint is included in the price and the price is the same as during the day, so twelve dollars for a thirty minute jump and sixteen dollars for one hour of jumping.
Oh, and did I mention that you can celebrate your birthday there? You will literally have the whole place just for yourself and your friends. Well, and your birthday cake!
A few words for the end…
This is the most fun I have had in a while! Especially with the trampolines on the wall and the foam pit. And jumping on trampolines in not only fun, it is also good for your body, because you will burn around two hundred calories in half an hour of jumping. Not too bad, is it? So you can stop in a local bakery and get that cupcake, because you basically just burned all those calories that it contains.
