Whimsy

Kids ranging from 2 to 6+ all had a great time at this birthday party. The adjoining café was perfect for parents to eat and mingle. Staff was friendly. Everyone (including parents) were asked to take off their shoes in the play area. Free brand new socks for parents without them! Very nice touch.

Made a visit last Friday with a friend. We arrived around lunchtime and as your not allowed to take your own food in, we were expecting to be able to buy our lunch there. Well we were very disappointed as there was not much on offer, only a few pastries and one vegetarian panni. My friends daughter had the Mac and cheese, we have never tasted something so awful, it had no sauce and what cheese flavour it had was very strong and she would not eat it! Please supply a better choice if you aren’t allowing food to be brought in, also more healthy options.”

My 17 month old came yesterday and loved it here. There awere a ton of various toy selections and the big slide structure was a hit. I loved the open space and that there were 2 – 3 employees constantly keeping toys organized (maybe a bit too often since kids tend to wander off then want to come back to the toys they left behind, but the toys were already stored away!). I love how they sometimes open on weekends since I work and can’t take my toddler during the weekdays. $ 20 for unlimited play is pretty sweet.
I would like Whimsy to be more consistent with the No Shoes policy. There was an older girl who was running up and down the slides with her shoes on for quite a while, and another dad walked right into the café with his shoes on too.

I had my daughters 2^nd bday party here a little over a month ago. I was very pleased! The place is the perfect size for a toddler, plenty to do without being too overwhelmed. We reserved the place for 2.5 hrs because I had her 1^st bday at Gymboree and it felt way too rushed and I didn’t want to feel that pressure again. The party was on Halloween and my daughters theme was «Itsy Bitsy Spider». Claudia and team had everything set up already when I arrived and it was perfect! Better than I would have done. Claudia was very accommodating to the theme and it took very little effort from me. The whole planning process was easy and painless. Claudia was very prompt on returning my emails with the questions I had and the party was a hit! All the kids were crying when it was time to leave because they were having no too much fun :) The place is super clean which is huge thing for me. For food we did a few fruit and cheese platters with pizza and it was great. It’s definitely not a cheap place for a party but they do all the work so it’s worth every penny (especially when you have a very busy toddler to run after). Thank you Claudia and team for hosting my daughters bday! We just may be back for her 3^rd!!!

We just had our son’s second birthday party here. We booked sight-​unseen based on the recommendation of the Silicon Valley Toddler blog, so we were a tad nervous. But what a wonderful space for toddler parties! Our son was so happy he could not stop exploring, and I even got a glowing review from my MOM on the party (and that never happens).
Claudia (the owner) was great to work with for making the reservation and she promptly answered all my questions over e-​mail. And on the day of the party Linley and Sarah were total pros to keep the party flowing — they were great to work with. They helped with suggestions for how to arrange our custom party decorations (we had a train theme) — and even helped us gather everything up at the end so that I could say goodbye to the guests. And the Whimsy party flow is brilliant (they get folks moved from the main room to the café for cake cutting and then out through the café doors). I was so pleased with the event and will definitely consider Whimsy for our parties in the future!

5 Stars doesn’t even seem like enough to give! We just had my sons 1^st birthday party here and did the personalized package and while a little pricey it was soooooooooooo worth it! Claudia is absolutely amazing!!! The time and care she took with the details of the party and putting it all together was wonderful. Everyone one of my friends commented on all of it. From the theme centered crafts to the amazing party favors our guests loved it! The fact that we had no clean up after and was kept on a schedule made it ideal for younger children where too much stimulation leads to meltdowns.
The theme was Very Hungry Caterpillar (because my son eats EVERYTHING) and it was executed even better than I had imagined! Seriously check out their Facebook pictures!
I should also mention that this isn’t my first party at Whimsy! I also had my daughters 2^nd party there and the experience we had then made us come back wanting more and we were not disappointed at all!
I would have all my parties here if I could.
The only cons I have are the space issue in the café. It is ideal for no more than 15 kids and their parents.
Thank you Claudia and Whimsy staff for making my birthday dreams come true and lessening that second child mommy guilt I was feeling lol

We just had a fantastic 5^th birthday party for our daughter this past weekend at Whimsy. Claudia made the «Pinterest-​perfect» party! We had selected the custom package and really had the opportunity to create an amazing event. The décor was beyond my expectations. My daughter had asked for a specific character for the theme & Claudia ran with it! I wish I had taken a picture of our daughter’s face when she walked into the café! It was as if her dream had come true… and she’s pretty low key. I had provided some ideas, but Claudia pulled it ALL together. And no joke, we walked in 15 minutes prior and everything was ready… for the first time I didn’t have to sweat for a second (& I’m an ex-​corporate event planner)!!!
I really enjoyed working with Claudia and all of the details came out extremely well. Her professionalism, responsiveness, creativity & flexibility was truly appreciated. The food was super tasty too! It may bother some folks to have the catering exclusively through Whimsy, but honestly, it was exactly what we needed. It had a gourmet twist & the food choices for kids were just what they love. I also liked the organic choices for the kids.
Our daughter, her friends and the adults had so much fun & raved about the entire space. There were plenty of creative play opportunities for the children and adults could either see their kids play or enjoy adult conversation in the adjacent café where the party took place.
Overall, wonderful experience, Claudia was awesome to work with & we would absolutely recommend Whimsy to anyone looking for a private party in a place that is fun, not just for the kids, but for adults too!

I spoke to the Owner Claudia over the phone about a potential birthday party. She was so unfriendly with a lot of attitude. I had many questions but a short friendly answer would have been enough for most of them. She kept on going and repeating the same thing over and over again not giving me a chance to talk. About food, she said ANYWHERE you go, the most they will let you bring us pizza. After her repeating this three times. I told her that they are the second venue I’m talking to and the first one had no issue with our food. Guess what she said in reply:“then you should defiantly go there because I had never seen or heard that”
There’s so much more that I rather not waste more time writing about. But the setting up was for the party and her explanation made no sense!
She ended up by saying she has to go and that he had thought this was going to be a quick conversation. And that I can get her email or leave mine. That’s when I said I have to go too.
They will never see my face there to play to have any parties. Lots a customer!

Whimsy is a great facility! My nearly 3 year old daughter loved it! There’s costumes to dress up, play kitchens, a play structure, train set and a reading area. Also coloring tables. We had lunch in the café and it was delicious. I had the Caprese sandwich which came with a side salad. My daughter had a grilled cheese. Really yummy. We will be back!

I come to Whimsy with my 3 and 4-​year-​olds
often! I love the fact that I can drop my kids off in the play area then go to the café and grab a cup of coffee, chat with friends and/​or get some work done. The ladies here are super sweet and attentive to both my children and myself. The kids are always WELL taken care of. They are excited to be dropped off and never seem to want to leave. Both café and kids area are CLEAN (they have you take off your shoes and ask that you wash your hands before entering the play area) and well maintained. Thank you so much for making this a truly unique and relaxing experience!

This review is well overdue. My daughter had her fourth birthday party here last month. They just recently instituted the option to have a weekday birthday party here, and I believe we became the first «guinea pig» to try out this new option.
Sarah the owner was absolutely phenomenal to deal with. She is very organized, very helpful and very thorough and all the preparation and execution of the party. We also had catered lunch for the adults and kids and the food was phenomenal.
Almost every single mother/​friend that came to the party thought it was one of the most put together, fun and delightful venues for a toddler party. The weekday party experience in particular was fabulous. You are limited to 12 kids for weekday party and while they do keep the place open for other kids, I was assured there would be a cap on the other kids should it get to that point.
I was hesitant about not doing a weekend party where the space is closed for private party, but it turned out it had absolutely no effect on our experience. In fact, it actually was great to be only able to invite 12 friends because I had a good excuse for not inviting her entire class! Also, Having a weekday party is more economical. Additionally, I know the mothers of my daughter’s friends really enjoyed having our party on the weekday versus weekend when dads may feel obligated to attend yet another birthday party and it consumes precious weekend family time.
As the birthday girl’s mother, having her party at whimsy was a dream come true because I did not even lift a finger with planning, and I was even able to have coffee and pastries with all the other moms while our kids were entertained in the Play area and being watched by wonderful whimsy employees. Seriously, I don’t know of another venue and certainly haven’t been to a children’s party where this would be even remotely possible.
So in summary, kudos to Sarah and Whimsy, for this fabulous birthday party from all perspectives: the birthday girl, the birthday girl’s mother, the birthday girl’s friends, and the birthday girl’s friends’ mommies. It was enjoyed by ALL.

I’ve been here a few times now with my 1-​yr old. Everything looks new and clean and the owner, who I believe is the lady always sits at the front desk cuddling her newborn baby, is very nice. We were always greeted since first time visiting and then we signed up for monthly membership. Though the space there was relatively small during peak hours (10am-​2pm), so I chose to go there after 3pm. There were usually only a few kids left and not those big kids who ran and bumped around everything. My kid could then enjoy 2 hours of relaxing play.
Overall this place is worth to go because it was still new and the owner was at the shop overseeing everyday. I also saw some staff watching/​helping kids out in the play area from time to time. I used to take my kid to Play@Los Altos, but my feet got itchy every time after we went. Whimsy definitely did a much better job on sanitation and it’s now me and my kid’s favorite playground.

My 3.5 year old son and I had the pleasure of attending a friends sons 2^nd birthday party. We were 15 min late and were informed right away that we’d only have 10 min to play. What?
She seemed very unfriendly and wasn’t very clear about shoes/​no shoes. I don’t like that they bake your shoes. Perhaps a shoe cubby?
It was weird to sing the bday boy happy birthday without his cake/​cupcakes before we moved to the café.
I found the café small and not set up well for parents and lots of kids. All the parents bumping into each other and in each other’s way.
We weren’t so much as 30 minutes in the café before the staff starting putting the food away and we were told they need to clean up for the next party. Again, what?! No way I would spend my money on this place for a bday party. Totally over rated.

We (my 2 yo son and I) have been coming here for some time now, and I have to say that Whimsy is really a wonderful place to live close to (it’s a twenty minutes drive from our home, which in the Bay Area measurement system can be considered near).
Usually there’s plenty of parking space very close by, which is kind of important when you have one or more wiggly kids on your hands.
The staff is very kind and friendly, both at the front desk and the girls that play with the children.
The café is a really neat feature. As a SAHM of a *very* attached kid, I’d never imagined to be able to actually enjoy a coffee on my own, while browsing some magazine. But after some visits there, my son felt comfortable enough to let me have my coffee on my own! It’s worth noting that he doesn’t speak English, so he really has to feel at ease to be able to let go of me, even if it is for fifteen minutes.
The toys are plenty, of excellent quality, always clean and well set up; the Hape play structure is great too and there are some nice «quiet» areas where you can sit and read a book with your kids, if they need some time to chill out. There are some comfy chairs and seats scattered around for grown ups to sit on, should your kid need you there with them while they play.
Bathrooms are always super clean (the ventilation system must be pretty good too, considering I’ve never smelt any nasty odor, and with such an amount of young kids using them, that’s kind of amazing), and there are diapers and wipes that you can use for your little ones.
Over time, I have noticed some nice improvements, like the baby gate between the play area and the café, and a clearer indication of where the latter actually is.
The only reason I’m giving four stars instead of five is that you don’t get a daily pass for your 20 bucks. That means that if you want to go and have lunch elsewhere and then come back, you have to pay again. So you have to plan accordingly, since twenty dollars are… well, twenty dollars.
Apart from this, I love Whimsy and I think that after all it’s good value for money, especially if you think about the fact that it’s still cheaper than, say, Play in Los Altos, or U Me in Palo Alto.

I have been here a few times and each time is awesome. My daughter loves playing here. The toys are great, food yummy and staff very nice. It’s clean too.

I have to say I am surprised by all the five star reviews. I did not find this place to be a warm, friendly «whimsical» spot for my daughter to play. The woman at the front desk was so rude to me that when we finally were able to enter I turned to my daughter and saw she was fighting back tears. In later interactions the woman was more pleasant, but it really seemed like she was struggling to be nice and really wanted nothing to do with me. There are a lot of very cool toys, especially pretend play things like doll houses and tea sets. But somehow during the two times I’ve visited the kids did not seem to be having that much fun and there was A LOT of crying. I’m pretty accustomed to crying, but it was enough to make me cringe. There is a Hape play structure which looks neat, but beware the two «death slides.» My daughter pummled out of both of them crying (one of which is quite short and looks like a baby slide). I guess that’s how the Germans like it — hard, fast, and a little violent.
The space overall is just too small. I’m sure rent is astronomical in downtown Saratoga, so I can understand, but at full capacity I think it would be down right unbearable. There were just a few kids there on my last visit but still we had to wait for a table in the café. Most of the tables were occupied by a contingent of Russian Momfia in very complicated looking boots. There was literally a kid playing with 20 dollar bills on the floor.
This place definitely fills a niche for a certain clientele. Honestly all I could think is that every mom in a 20 mile radius who decided not to vaccinate her kid probably shows up here, making me very paranoid about my 6 mo old touching anything. I personally won’t be going back, there are just too many more joy-​filled options out there and no amount of cool expensive toys can make up for that.

First time here and we had a great time. It is a really cute indoor playground and full of activities for young toddlers. The staff are helping and friendly.

Whimsy is such a cute indoor play place. My kids love it and the café is well stocked for children and adults alike. My wife brings her laptop and gets work done in the café (free wifi). The two ladies who own and run Whimsy are also super nice. Great place. Highly recommend.

I decided on taking my daughter to spend a few hours here for her second birthday today. The women who own the place are very sweet & inviting. I called ahead of time regarding some questions I had (whether I could be remain in the play area as my daughter is stuck on me practically) & she was very informative & nice about everything. Upon arrival I was greeted, asked to sign the waiver, and paid the $ 20 entrance fee, there is also an unlimited drop-​in monthly fee, however I’m not sure what that fee is.
There is an overwhelming amount of activities for kiddos to engage in; costumes, quiet nook area to lay in, books, karaōke machine, small runway for the kiddos to strut their costumes, play kitchen, arts/​crafts, small air hockey table, the list is endless… all of their stuff is quality stuff, not the cheapy toys, which I liked. Further, the place includes a decent sized play structure that is appropriate not only for toddlers (smaller slide) but for bigger kiddos (large slide, monkey bars, etc) as well. The space is not very large, but it’s perfect. Kids drop in all throughout the day, but there were never more than 10 kiddos while my daughter & I were there. I ate before I went there so I didn’t really get a chance to eat at the café they have here. The café was filled with mama’s chit chatting or on their lap tops, taking a break while their kids played. The staff members that supervised the kiddos were great; they trailed after the little ones & played with the bigger ones. My daughter never let’s me leave her sight, and she was literally hanging out independently, it was a proud moment & I felt that she was safe.
Everything was very clean & organized; overall it was a great day at the Whimsy. When I told my 2 year old we were going ‘bye bye’ she said, ‘no’, she had a good time too! I will be back again!
Don’t forget your socks, it’s a no-​shoe zone for both kiddos & parents.

My son and I went to preview this indoor playground.
My son immediately ran around and started playing with everything. Of course, he left me to do all the paperwork and to pay the bill. When I finally caught up with him, I asked, «Do you like this place?» With eyes aglow, he screamed, «I love it here!» and promptly ran off again.
There are so many toys. So many different little areas to discover and imagine and play. Plus, the crafting area was amazing.
3 hours later… My son was very tired. He is 2.5 but thinks he is a teenager sometimes. He wants to come again. Soon.
It is a brand new business. So, we did not sample too much of the official menu. My son didn’t really like many of the pastries or the sandwich. His tastes run towards a grilled cheese or a simple bowl of rice with seaweed and chicken. Arugula– not so much.
We aren’t quite sure if the littlest ones can be left alone while the caregiver is having a cup of coffee. But, many moms with independent children did have a moment to sit and have an adult conversation.