Cowabunga’s

WOW THIS PLACE IS A LAWSUIT WAITING TO HAPPEN!
1^st off, it was an absolute zoo, and on top of that not one bounce house was monitored… like nobody in sight, multiple times I stopped «big kids» aka 12 yr old ish from running up slides full speed the little ones were trying to go down. The big slide with a wave a very small child maybe 2 yrs old was just standing at the bottom waiting for people to come down each time. I kept telling him he had to move before he got hurt. Kids were running around crying and getting hurt all over. I mean one thing after another. AND THENNNNN See those lights in the photos? yes the long big ones… well there is no netting or anything between those and the bounce houses. While my daughter and her friend were in the basketball one a little boy threw a basketball and it hit the lights above and one of those giant lightbulbs cam crashing down into the bounce house between my child and her friend. They were unbelievably lucky it did not land on one of them and shatter or shatter when it hit the ground of the house. 1. Bouncing children with glass… and 2. The powder inside those is toxic. OMG STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE!!!

We just had our son’s 5^th birthday party here, and it was a wonderful experience! The staff had everything completely under control and moved us smoothly through the party. Everything was set up for us in the party room, so we were able to actually enjoy the party rather than run around getting everything together. We had 25 kids at the party, and the two bouncy rooms and the party room were large enough that we did not feel cramped. At the same time, because we were in small rooms together, it felt like an organized party and not just a bunch of kids running around (although there was a LOT of running around!) All of the parents at the party were impressed with how seamlessly the party flowed from room to room, and the bouncy houses were awesome (even for the adults)!

Kids love it here and ask to come often. I’ve never ordered lunch from here so I can’t talk about their daily lunch options. But it’s clean and the staff is friendly.
I’ve had 2 parties here for my kids. Each time we had great party pros. Both very enthusiastic and able to get the kids’ attention when necessary. The party ran smoothly and they pretty much do everything for you. I brought in my own paper goods, dessert and favors. They took care of balloons, pizza and set up. Both times, my kids left saying they had a great time at their party and they loved it.
Side note – first time I did a party it was June 2015 and they ordered their pizza from Hornets. It was delicious. Second party was December 2015 and they ordered the pizza from Andreas. I preferred hornets but otherwise all party goers were more than happy! Also, no one else seemed disappointed in the pizza. It was happily eaten – it is pizza after all.

My kids (ages 3 and 6) love this place. We’re only a five minute drive away, so we go here probably once or twice a month. For $ 20, we could easily spend an entire afternoon here. The stacking cups are a huge hit, who would’ve guessed… in between bouncing, my kids build all kinds of things with those cups. On more than one occasion, a staff member has helped them.
Caveat: we’ve somehow managed to avoid the craziest crowds. Not sure how, but it’s always been fairly empty and the kids have had the place to themselves. I suspect that will change when the weather gets colder. We’ve also been there a few times when the private party rooms have been open to the general public — again, not planned, just pure luck. Those days are an especially good deal, because you essentially triple the number of bouncers your kids can play on.
Still, the kids ask to come here every time, and to date, the biggest issue I have is that sometimes the pens run out of ink at the little table where you fill out the waivers.
Given the convenience of location for us, we opted to have my younger child’s birthday party there. Compared to a party we had for my older child at Jump On In a few years ago, Cowabunga’s was a dream. The party flowed smoothly from room to room, and the two high school kids assigned to our party were very polite, engaged the children, and were super helpful serving food and cleaning up. Jump On In felt like a big party factory, and the staff were indifferent at best. Cowabunga’s was just a much more pleasant experience over all. We also outsourced the pizza and cake to Cowabunga’s — it was on par with every other birthday party sheet cake and pizza I’ve ever had in terms of price and taste, but it’s a huge plus to not have to bring it myself.

This is our second time at Cowabunga’s in north reading MA. This location opened earlier this year (February 2015). We also got half off coupons for this summer from Coutopia.
The venue itself is great. It’s just regularly $ 10 per kid. Parents are free. Bring your own food and drinks if you want. They have a seating area with utensils. Stay all day. Re-​entries are also okay. They are extremely flexible with their policies.
There are cubbies and racks around the place to put your belongings. There are ample chairs and benches for parents to stay and watch your kids.
There is a main room with 3 large playhouses/​slides and 2 smaller ones for the younger kiddos. There is a bicycle track in the middle (bikes/​scooters) provided. There are a few arcade games.
There are also 2 or 3 smaller rooms with playhouses and slides too. However those are reserved for private parties. These sections were open the last time we came but are all closed this time. Kind of takes away from the experience but not too much.
So one tip: do not order pizza from this place. It’s $ 37 for 2 one topping pizzas. It took over an hour to get here and it just may be the worst pizza you’ll ever have. There’s even an ample amount of black pepper under the pizza. Look at my pictures. The Chinese food next door is horrible too. Bring your own food or buy from more reputable places.
This place is also very understaffed. Often times there’s one person upfront handling three lines of customers. I even saw someone leave money with a sticky for their purchase. Maybe this is just a weekend thing?
Your kids will have fun here. Don’t be surprised if they spend a lot of time with the speed stack cups! Parking is easy as this is inside a shopping plaza. Stop and shop is here if you want to buy bread and deli meats. Bathrooms are somewhat clean… at least the men’s are. My wife complained of the woman’s.