Entertainment Complex? Birthday Party Venue needed... (Boston, Brockton: YMCA, price, transportation)

[AandD]

In Austin we had places like this: Welcome to Main Event Austin and this: Attractions .

Some google searches haven't turned up anything similar near enough to Sharon for me to schedule a birthday party for an 8 year old. I need some ideas!

Places I know of, or considered:
"It's 2 Cool" in Canton.
YMCA
Various "indoor inflatable playgrounds"
Children's Museum in Easton
Ward's Berry Farm
Capron Zoo

We've always made a big-deal out of birthday's, so I'm looking for something super-fun, that kids 8 and under would think is really cool.

[Atlantica]

Not sure if these are "near enough" - I guess it depends if you are driving all the kids, having parents drive or arranging transportation:

Pirate Adventures in Plymouth Harbor
Brockton Rox game
Pawsox game
Charlie Horse West Bridgewater
Jungle Plex Kingston
Fenway Park Tour
Duck Tour Boston
USS Salem Quincy
Franklin Park Zoo

[lrfox]

I had not one, but TWO birthdays (10 and 11) on the Battleship at the U.S.S. Massachusetts / Battleship Cove in Fall River. SO cool. you get a private room in the galley area (they serve lunch and Cake- provided by you). You get to tour all three ships and play around on them. It's adjacent to a nice waterfront park which is fun for feeding ducks and such too. They also have a nice Carousel overlooking the bridge and Mt. Hope Bay.

As has already been suggested, any zoo is cool for this too (I'm partial to Roger Williams in Providence).

The Brockton Rox (Single A Baseball) are AWESOME for parties. They do wonderfully with group events. I've always been impressed with them

Dave and Busters (located in Providence Place mall) may be a BIT too much, but it's not bad for next year maybe. The Charlie Horse is good and along these same lines.

New England Aquarium may have some deals for Birthdays and so might the Museum of Science. I have no experience with them, but can only imagine that if they do host events, they're a lot of fun.

Edaville Railroad isn't a bad idea, but they're not open until June 20 so it may not work if the birthday is earlier (I'm assuming it is?).

Out of all of those, I LOVED the battleship. It's so cool. Fall River may be a bit of a hike, but the battleship is a great experience at that age (you can literally explore the entirety of the interior and exterior). Any Zoo or Aquarium may be fun too.

[JBTD]

3 words - PUMP IT UP!!!!!! Check it out

[AandD]

Pump It Up seems a bit young for 2nd graders. My son seemed to lose interest after kindergarten.

The battleship birthday looks WAY cool.

Do you think families would drive from Sharon to Boston or Fall River? People here feel differently about distances than we did, and I'm not sure how to gauge what's (in general) "too far" for someone to take their child for a birthday.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by AandD

Do you think families would drive from Sharon to Boston or Fall River? People here feel differently about distances than we did, and I'm not sure how to gauge what's (in general) "too far" for someone to take their child for a birthday.

I didn't think of that when posting that info. It may be a bit difficult to convince people to drive from Sharon to Fall River. This is not only the because of the distance (which really isn't that bad at all... right around 1/2 hour), but because of the underlying feelings towards Fall River.

Fall River is mostly a dump. It's NOT a wonderful city. The Battleship is on the waterfront (which is one of the few highlights of Fall River) and quite literally separated from the rest of the city by a large, elevated highway, park and bridge. No one has to pass through any undesirable areas as the Battleship is right off the highway, but the idea of "Fall River" will probably be a bad one to many from Sharon, particularly since many will not be familiar with the city (even if they are, it's not probably not a good thing) and base their opinions off of reputation which also isn't wonderful. The good news is that parking in Fall River (near the battleship) is free and easy, while parking in Boston isn't. Some sort of carpool or caravan may be a more encouraging idea for parents.

I'd ask around and see what acquaintances in the area think. I think the issue with Boston would be parking (unless you go to Franklin Park Zoo where it isn't bad). Most people aren't going to want to pay to park. When you talk about driving to Boston or Fall River, it's really too far for parents to "drop kids off" and then come back later on (especially in the case of Fall River where there's little for a parent to do while waiting to pick a kid up) so parents have to stay. If they have to stay in Boston during the party, parking is an issue though it's cheaper and easier on weekends. Museum of Science is easy to get to and not too pricey for parking, though.

I guess you're picking up on New Englanders' (particularly in MA and RI) issues with distances. It's amazing that 1/2 hour to 45 minutes by car is a "road trip" to some people around here. I can't stand that mentality, but it's something I've become quite used to. Anyway, good luck, I bet you'll find mostly mixed feelings on it, but there may be ways to work it out.