Childs Birthday Party at MOSI (Sarasota: big house, to buy, movie theater)

[ISOnewplace]

Anyone on here ever have or attend a child's (elementary) B-day party at MOSI? We are thinking of having our party there. I was wondering what you thought?

Honestly, I hate the idea of paying for these kinds of parties but we have a small place (no yard) and we can't risk anything outside (park) this time of year so I guess we are stuck. Thanks

[annaegel]

We had my daughters 7th birthday party there 6 years ago. Back then, they had different themes. Hers was the dinosaur theme. It was a nice party. I think all the kids really enjoyed it. I would recommend it. At the time, you get a discount if you are a member of MOSI. The savings on the party was almost the cost of the membership, so we decided to get the membership and take her there whenever she wanted. It worked out for us. Since her birthday party we went several times more. I had the feeling that MOSI really was letting the Kids In Charge area go to ruin. I saw many exhibits were falling apart or not working at all. Things seemed dirty. I don't know if they have cleaned it up since then. That would be my only concern now.

Another idea, though more expensive, is the bounce parties. Not the ones you have at your house, but the ones that have the party at their locations. We had her party at Pump It Up: Pump It Up | Kids Birthday Party | Indoor | Inflatable | Jumping Party | Children's Bounce Party. The kids had a blast there. They do a fantastic job! The only problem with a party at Pump It Up, was when a parent found out the birthday was there, they asked if they could bring the sibling. The fee is the same if you have 10 people or up to 25 people. I believe they now have a party with a limit of 10 kids. It is much more expensive than MOSI, but the kids had so much more fun.

[ISOnewplace]

Thank you Annaegel for your reply. We were at MOSI recently for a Harry Potter sleepover event. It was awesome BTW and we did join. I've heard before that the Kid's in Charge section was a bit run down but I think they must have done some clean up/repairs as everything seemed to be in good shape (or I was just really in a fog after sleeping in a museum all night). They now have some new exhibits including the outdoor ropes course so perhaps they got the message. You are right...the price is good since we are members.

I checked out the bouncy places (Pump it up) but we have had two bounce parties this year already . And yes, the fee structure starts at 10 kids, then 15, then 25. Once you get above 10, it is incrementally more expensive and almost all the kids bring siblings.

I really wish someone would just open up a big indoor playground! I know a lot of parents who feel the same. We just want a simple party but what to do when your bday falls in hurrricane season and you dont have a big house/yard.

Well, thanks again!

[kbrkr]

So funny this topic came up today as My family and I were just at MOSI on Monday for the holiday. It was just a nice wonderful day. The volunteers were just wonderful. They readily answered questions and provided semi-guided tours to those who were interested. The children who were there LOVED it. They have something for everyone and it is very kid friendly. I thought the Gift Shop and Restaurant were very reasonably priced. If my kids were younger, I would not hesitate to have a birthday party there. It was great!

[ISOnewplace]

kbrkr: Thank you for taking the time to share your impressions. We also LOVED our first visit there recently. The parties are in a classroom and they do an activity and I was thinking it might be boring but everyone has access to the museum for the whole day so I am sure the kids will enjoy that.

Have you been to G-wiz in Sarasota? We were there for a few days and popped in. It is a small science museum but my son just loved it. Check it out if you get down that way. I haven't been to great explorations in St. Pete yet but I heard it is nice too!

Thanks again and best to you and your family!

[FloridaKash]

Here's a simple, no mess no fuss birthday. It's not as educational or active as some of the other suggestions, but it is very different.

Do a movie theater birthday party. We did this for my sons 7th birthday. Regal cinemas will setup a birthday party room for the gifts and cake. Before the show they will take the party through the projection room, show them how the projectors work and even give you child a movie poster and the trailer reel of the movie (real film, pretty cool). IN teh theater they rope off a section for your party (you get to pick).

We were new in the area, invited both classes and had a good turn out. As you know, there are tons of birthdays during the school year and all the parents were impressed with the birthday and thought it was so neat to finally do something different than a bouncy place, chuck e cheese, park, etc. It was fun and different and we'll likely do it again.

You can expect a pretty decent turn out as well if you're going to see a highly desirable movie that the kids want to see.

Check it out, its competitively priced. To save money ask the manager if you can buy a LARGE popcorn (1 free refill) and split it amongst the kids (give them cups to put the popcorn in). Also ask if you can buy 2 liter bottles of soda or work some sort of deal with them so you don;t have to buy a kid size drink for every kid ($$$). The kids had cake and soda that we brought in the party room, but in the theater they got popcorn and water (water is free). Everyone was happy.

Almost forgot to add. YOu can get really awesome invitations made on ebay that look like movie tickets with the birthday info on them. They design it, send it to you and you print them at a photo desk (Walgreen's, etc.). You get 2 "tickets" (invitations) for each 4X6. Easily the coolest birthday invitations I had ever seen and the other parents complimented them over and over.

[ISOnewplace]

Hi FloridaKash: Sounds like fun. Thank you for sharing your ideas (and the tips)!

[CMor2Day]

We had our daughter's 7th birthday at MOSI (2 yrs ago) and it was the best! They did a mad-scientist theme and had the kids' hair standing on end using a (electro-vande.. something) plus they we're lenient with the all day passes. They also did a short planetarium show just for age group (extra $$) but they loved it. Once you book they pretty much give all the kids, siblings and parents passes for the day. It was spacious - oh they have an inflate-a-space area (inflated slide (30ft i think) plus a velcro wall and bounce house that just cost the kids like $1.00 a piece extra to do...i think it was cheaper by the kid than adding it to the party itself. We brought our own cake & snacks but they can provide if you ask (they pick it up from publix across the street). Tons of fun - Highly recommend!!

[ISOnewplace]

Originally Posted by CMor2Day

We had our daughter's 7th birthday at MOSI (2 yrs ago) and it was the best! They did a mad-scientist theme and had the kids' hair standing on end using a (electro-vande.. something) plus they we're lenient with the all day passes. They also did a short planetarium show just for age group (extra $$) but they loved it. Once you book they pretty much give all the kids, siblings and parents passes for the day. It was spacious - oh they have an inflate-a-space area (inflated slide (30ft i think) plus a velcro wall and bounce house that just cost the kids like $1.00 a piece extra to do...i think it was cheaper by the kid than adding it to the party itself. We brought our own cake & snacks but they can provide if you ask (they pick it up from publix across the street). Tons of fun - Highly recommend!!

Thanks for your reply. I am happy to hear you enjoyed it! They don't appear to be that flexible anymore. Hopefully they will be when we get there. It's just like the previous post about pump it up. We will be charged $8.50 for EVERY person over our limit and this includes parents and children. They said absolutely no outside food except for the cake. He only has 11 in his class but most of the kids in his class have siblings (2+) and even though the classmate was the one invited, so far we have like 20 people and that is only 5 RSVPs. !

For approx $225 (b/c we are members), they are giving us a party room for 90 minutes which includes an actvity, drink and ice cream. Everything else is extra (and I mean everything). The bounce house area is now $5 per child.

Anyway, it is still a pretty good deal compared to other places and we are excited. BUT...it really irritates me to hear on this forum how nice things "used to be" and then once they have their client base built up, they get greedy!

I will post our experience for anyone else looking for the latest information! Cheers!

[CMor2Day]

I wish you and yours the BEST BIRTHDAY eva!