Location http://www.crossironmills.com/
Address: 261055 CrossIron Blvd, Rocky View, AB (Balzac area North of Calgary)
Play area is in the Resources Neighbourhood between entrance 2 and 3.
Gordie’s Review (19 months old)– Climbing the volcano slide is so fun!
Cost: Free.
Supervision: There is an employee at the front of the play place. They ensure that your child is of an appropriate height, you are your child are wearing socks and there are not too many kids in the play area at one time. Parents are responsible for supervising their own children.
Age Range: under 6? There is a dinosaur bone at the front of the play area that children need to be smaller than to play.
Surface: Soft fall rug.
Footwear: Socks.
Safety Features/Concerns: Children have to be signed in and out of the play area (for 25 minutes at a time). There are unlatched doors at the entrance to the play area to deter children from leaving by themselves.
Play Area Features: Dinosaur themed climbers; a volcano rock wall climber/tunnel/slide; panels along the wall.
Seating: There is bench seating along the inside perimeter of the play area.
Additional Kid Friendly Services: Stroller rentals at entrance 1 and 3.
Overall Assessment: CrossIron Mills is probably my favorite mall to go with Gordie. He loves climbing up the rock wall climber at the play area and then going down the slide. It’s nice that it is a monitored play area because it is never too full and there aren’t any big kids bowling over the little kids but it does mean sometimes we have to wait to get in.
In Gordie always clamours to go see ‘the bears’ at Bass Pro Sports. He really enjoys climbing up all the stairs to the 2nd level and then taking the elevator down. He’s also a big fan of the interactive floor mat. There is a projector on the ceiling that projects different patterns on the floor that kids can interact with by walking on the mat. He spends almost as much time there are he does in the play area running back and forth over the mat.
One of the best things though, is there is just so much to look at throughout the mall. Every section has a different theme with its own beautiful decorations. The giant fans by the resources entrance was a huge attraction for Gordie when he was a baby. We go to Cross Iron Mills fairly often and I always know we’re going to have a good time.
When ever we go to Crossiron, we avoid the Dino play area unless we have time to play. The kids love it and if we walk past, we usually have crying kids, unless we stop for a play. They also love the interactive floor mat, and it is a nice way to take a break. They don’t tend do leave the area until you pull them away!
The bears and all the attractions at the Bass Pro shop also draw my kids.
We get around the mall by looking forward to what is coming next.
Love the floor mat too – it’s so cute watching the kids try to play soccer!
We absolutely adore this mall! There is so much to learn and do!
It was very hard for my daughter because at first they let anyone in this playplace. And now they have a sign that you have got to be undera certain height to be allowed in. My daughter was so upset. I understand that there has to be some sort of a limit, but if parents just watched their children instead of letting them go on thier own it would be better. My daughter is only 4 but she is tall for her age it was a hard lesson she had to learn but it would have been better if they had the rules in place when it opened, instead of telling her now that she can’t go in. Other then that it’s a great playplace, my son who is 1 1/2 loves it.
We love this play area. We usually sign up when we first get to the mall (depending on the day, sometimes there is an hour wait,) then we walk around the mall and end the day with time in the play area. I like that their is a moderator who doesn’t allow bigger children in, though I can see that being a problem once my daughter gets too big and my younger two still want to play. I also like that they limit the number of children at anyone time, so things don’t get to crazy. I also like that a parent has to stay with the child at all times, so rowdy children are usually kept in check.
I had big hopes for this play area, and though my son (2 1/2) had a good time, he wasn’t able to get up and climb on all of the toys. He was able to get up on the volcano slide (which is awesome), but there wasn’t anything else he could get up on. Seemed like most kids had the same issue so the slide was chaotic and the other toys mostly empty. I don’t think I’d go back.
Not sure if they moved it recently, but it was located between entrance 3 & 4, not far from Winners. Height restriction of 107 cm.