Welcoming a new patron: Funhaven in Ottawa! Birthday parties and more

06 Dec, 2012

Welcoming a new patron: Funhaven in Ottawa! Birthday parties and more

Posted by andrea tomkins in: - Ottawa for kids| Easy ways to make kids happy| Fishbowl patrons

I’m so happy to welcome Funhaven to the Fishbowl today.

I’ve written about Funhaven before. We’ve had birthday parties here and on top of that, had many many hours of fun as a family (which you can also read about here).

There are not enough words to describe how much my kids love Funhaven. Everytime we drive by (which is OFTEN) they remind us of their deep desire to go back. We are so lucky to have them in Ottawa.

If you haven’t been, I think the best way to describe Funhaven is as a giant newfangled arcade… but it’s more than just video games if you catch my meaning. There are a lot of other activities to be found here: laser tag (the dads seem to like it just as much as the kids IF NOT MORE), a climber/jungle gym with built-in ball cannons… shown here:

There are mini bowling lanes, simulators, bumper cars (I am pretty sure they’re the best in town), and something called Laser Frenzy which has participants creeping and crawling over a web of laserbeams with the goal of not touching them. (Think about every movie you’ve seen with a heist that takes place in an art gallery and you’ll get the picture.)

To summarize: if you’re looking for things for kids to do in Ottawa, this is it.

I like Funhaven because it’s safe, clean (this is very important to me), comfortable for parents, and I know the kids are going to have a great time. Our only issue is that the kids never want to leave, even when they’re clearly tired and falling flat on their faces. (KIDDING. Sort of.) But when energy is running low there’s pizza to be had, or you can dip into their self-serve sundae bar… 10 flavours of frozen yogurt and 50+ toppings to decorate it with.

The amazing thing is that I see kids of all ages at Funhaven, doing what they do best. Older children congregate at the Dance Dance Revolution machine and the video games and around the climbing wall, and the younger kids, well, they’re everywhere… but no one seems to be stepping on each another’s toes. It’s funny. When we had Sarah’s birthday there last year we started off in the climbing area (see picture above) while we waited for the guests to arrive. I assumed they wouldn’t be thrilled but they couldn’t tear themselves away.

Sidebar: In case you’re wondering about Funhaven as an Ottawa birthday party locale I will say that it was pretty close to perfect. The staff are incredibly organized and most importantly the kids totally wore themselves out (in the most fun way possible of course). It made for an unforgettable birthday.

Important things to note:

1) Funhaven is on Facebook, and I really recommend following them there for special deals and other insider scoop.

2) They’re started selling annual memberships. You can get the details right here but I will say that I think this would make a very welcome and unique family Christmas gift so FORWARD THIS POST TO GRANDMA AND GRANDPA RIGHT NOW. Only 1000 passes will be available and they must be purchased before Dec. 31st.

Thank you for your patronage Funhaven! You’ll be seeing us over the holidays for sure.

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