OK, THANK you so much for making this post. BECAUSE of it I stopped by to check this place out!! And anyone with kids will just flip out!! My son almost passed out from excitement!!! Any parents out there looking for a place to let your kid have some serious fun this is it. I hope it can do well and I'm taking many of my mom friends there. The woman and her son who run it are sooo nice too. They let us take a tour and inspect the place!!!
Just an update on Universal Kids. The new fall hours are 10 am to 3 pm and 4 to 7pm on weekdays and 1 to 8 on Saturdays. The consignment is open the same hours except it opens at 10 am on Saturdays.
If you have kids and are looking for something fun to do together, this is the place. Frederick has needed a place like this for a long time.
Lori
· 1 year ago
Starting December 1st Universal Kids will be open for play on Sundays too!!!
140 W. Patrick St, Frederick (by Weis, across from the old fashioned Burger King) 301-662-3310
The new days and hours open are as follows:
Exploration Center is open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday 10 am to 3pm an 4pm to 6pm (closed Thurdsays) Saturday 10am to 1:30pm Sunday 1pm to 5pm
Consignment Center will be open the same days and hours except on weekdays open untl 7pm and Saturday from 10 am to 8pm
Birthday Parties have been a great hit and are booking up quickly.
Come visit Fredericks new place to play.
nst21710
· 1 year ago
I have to say, I was sorely disappointed with Universal Kids. I went there for a birthday party and was really excited to try this place out. Not only was the employee in charge rude to quite a few parents (so much so, that other parents complained to the host), but they have many, many rules and not many benefits. Sure, the kids can go into different themed rooms, but the parents are not only expected to pay to enter, but they are expected to stay with the kids in every room and clean up after them. Please don't get me wrong; I have no problem cleaning up after my kids, but why make me pay for being there? I am not playing with the toys and I have to be in the rooms at all times and clean. I can do that at home. :)
Most places like My Gym give the kids free reign to roam while the parents watch them from a centralized location. They are typically more relaxed when you have a birthday party and have the whole place to yourselves. It's not like we were dealing with strangers; everyone knew the host.
The other problem with the birthday party was that they say you get two hours, but that's not really the case, If there is a party after yours, they will tell you to make sure that everything is clean before your two hours are up. They told the host of this party 40 minutes before the end of her party that her time was going to be up promptly at the end of the hour and to clean the party room (right before cake was even served). I think that's poor planning. They should stagger parties by 30 minutes so that you can use your full 2 hours.
Also, there is no designated party person. CEC, My Gym, etc all have party coordinators that help round everyone up for food, and cake, and clean up the party room. Universal Kids does not have that. Parents are required to do it all and you only get the party room for 30 mins, which is typically not enough time for toddlers to eat pizza and cake without scarfing it all down.
Sorry for the mini rant. I usually don't post negative comments on websites, but I wanted to make sure others don't have the same experience.
amf2706
· 1 year ago
I must agree with the above completely. I have been to the center several times with my children during times when the center was not busy and a different manager was on duty. My children (both under 5 years of age) love the concept and continue to ask me to play at "the kids store". However, based on my experience this past weekend at a birthday party, this will not be a play center of choice for us in the near future.
Upon entering the center, I was "barked" at by the manager for my youngest to stop and listen to the rules. Are you kidding me? (a 2 year old)
The manager on duty during this exerience was extremely rude to the person having the party infront of her guests. This was a large party of people. The manager barked at her to start cleaning up 1:20 minutes into the party and told her there would be another party coming in in 40 minutes and that she was only to have the "Party room" for 30 minutes. This was never explained to the host prior to the party time. She thought she was paying for 2 hours and having the room for that length of time. She served pizza and cake for these guests and there is no other place for people to sit in the center. Chidren can barely eat a snack in 20-30 minutes, so that is most definitely not enough time for a large party group to have pizza and cake. Also I did not see accomodations for younger or older people who are disabled and can not stand for long periods of time unless they were going to sit in the party room on a chair.
Another thing that bothered me was that they knew they were having a party for let's say 30 people and it is winter time. There was only a flimsy plastic coat rack that held about 5 coats. No place for coats, Hats, Boots, etc. and much of the outerwear ended up on the floor. They do have a consignment shop where they could clear one of the racks as you enter the store and use it as a coat room of sorts for people to hang up their clothes and the like so that they are not all over the play area or the lunch room. It is little details like this that are completely missed by not having a coordinator or a service based business backround. Having a party coorinator would be a great idea and is highly recommended by this reviewer!
Now for the fee. I know this is phychological, but I would rather pay a little more for my children and not pay for me when I have to clean up after them . I don't mind cleaning up after them and for the most part they are great to do it themselves there, but to charge me to watch my kids and clean up after them just does not go over well with me even if it is only 3 dollars an hour.
All in all, the concept of this new business is a good one and your kids will love it. As a parent, I was extremely embarrased for my friend and angered to some degree by the poor business sense, horrible customer service. I have 18 years experience in Business Management and Customer Service and I can assure you they need some lessons in this area. This is a new business so hopefully changes will come and I will be pleasantly surprised by someone elses review.
All Comments
The new fall hours are 10 am to 3 pm and 4 to 7pm on weekdays and 1 to 8 on Saturdays.
The consignment is open the same hours except it opens at 10 am on Saturdays.
If you have kids and are looking for something fun to do together, this is the place.
Frederick has needed a place like this for a long time.
Universal Kids will be open for play on Sundays too!!!
140 W. Patrick St, Frederick (by Weis, across from the old fashioned Burger King)
301-662-3310
The new days and hours open are as follows:
Exploration Center is open
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday 10 am to 3pm an 4pm to 6pm (closed Thurdsays)
Saturday 10am to 1:30pm
Sunday 1pm to 5pm
Consignment Center will be open the same days and hours except
on weekdays open untl 7pm and Saturday from 10 am to 8pm
Birthday Parties have been a great hit and are booking up quickly.
Come visit Fredericks new place to play.
Most places like My Gym give the kids free reign to roam while the parents watch them from a centralized location. They are typically more relaxed when you have a birthday party and have the whole place to yourselves. It's not like we were dealing with strangers; everyone knew the host.
The other problem with the birthday party was that they say you get two hours, but that's not really the case, If there is a party after yours, they will tell you to make sure that everything is clean before your two hours are up. They told the host of this party 40 minutes before the end of her party that her time was going to be up promptly at the end of the hour and to clean the party room (right before cake was even served). I think that's poor planning. They should stagger parties by 30 minutes so that you can use your full 2 hours.
Also, there is no designated party person. CEC, My Gym, etc all have party coordinators that help round everyone up for food, and cake, and clean up the party room. Universal Kids does not have that. Parents are required to do it all and you only get the party room for 30 mins, which is typically not enough time for toddlers to eat pizza and cake without scarfing it all down.
Sorry for the mini rant. I usually don't post negative comments on websites, but I wanted to make sure others don't have the same experience.
Upon entering the center, I was "barked" at by the manager for my youngest to stop and listen to the rules. Are you kidding me? (a 2 year old)
The manager on duty during this exerience was extremely rude to the person having the party infront of her guests. This was a large party of people. The manager barked at her to start cleaning up 1:20 minutes into the party and told her there would be another party coming in in 40 minutes and that she was only to have the "Party room" for 30 minutes. This was never explained to the host prior to the party time. She thought she was paying for 2 hours and having the room for that length of time. She served pizza and cake for these guests and there is no other place for people to sit in the center. Chidren can barely eat a snack in 20-30 minutes, so that is most definitely not enough time for a large party group to have pizza and cake. Also I did not see accomodations for younger or older people who are disabled and can not stand for long periods of time unless they were going to sit in the party room on a chair.
Another thing that bothered me was that they knew they were having a party for let's say 30 people and it is winter time. There was only a flimsy plastic coat rack that held about 5 coats. No place for coats, Hats, Boots, etc. and much of the outerwear ended up on the floor. They do have a consignment shop where they could clear one of the racks as you enter the store and use it as a coat room of sorts for people to hang up their clothes and the like so that they are not all over the play area or the lunch room. It is little details like this that are completely missed by not having a coordinator or a service based business backround. Having a party coorinator would be a great idea and is highly recommended by this reviewer!
Now for the fee. I know this is phychological, but I would rather pay a little more for my children and not pay for me when I have to clean up after them . I don't mind cleaning up after them and for the most part they are great to do it themselves there, but to charge me to watch my kids and clean up after them just does not go over well with me even if it is only 3 dollars an hour.
All in all, the concept of this new business is a good one and your kids will love it. As a parent, I was extremely embarrased for my friend and angered to some degree by the poor business sense, horrible customer service. I have 18 years experience in Business Management and Customer Service and I can assure you they need some lessons in this area. This is a new business so hopefully changes will come and I will be pleasantly surprised by someone elses review.