Gymboree Play & Music

I have been attending this Gymboree since my daughter was six months old — she is now two! As soon as I turn onto Shoal Creek, my daughter’s face lights up. She absolutely loves the classes. Her favorite teacher is Miss Eve. She is an incredible person — she has such an awesome energy and all the kids love her. We sing the songs we learn at Gymboree all week. It is a great opportunity to bond and play with my daughter, and it is a joy to watch her explore the equipment & toys, and to watch her interact with the other kids. And — they have classes Mon-​Sat, so we can always find a class to attend, no matter how crazy our schedules are! I was surprised to see some bad reviews for this place — I haven’t had a bad experience there yet.

The first class, which was free, was fun and the instructor was great (Evie, I think). There were 10 other moms there with their babies and fun was had by all. My daughter and I loved the first class so much that we signed up. However we were misinformed that we could attend as many classes as we wanted for the $ 70/​month fee. Every time we went, there was usually none to one other mom/​baby there so it was basically open gym time and the instructor did not teach. My daughter (10 months old at the time) grew tired of the same equipment after a few visits and since there was no interaction or classes were not taught, we canceled our membership before the 3 month requirement.
Canceling is a painful process-​you have to go in person and sign their form. The 2^nd month my daughter got sick for two weeks and we couldn’t do make-​up classes because we decided to cancel before they billed us for the 3^rd month. For $ 70/​month, it’s definitely NOT worth it. We have more fun exploring all the wonderful parks in Austin.
On a side note, I noticed that their parachute looks pretty icky too. All the bubbles they blow with kids constantly stomping around… I was pretty much grossed out when my baby would roll around on it.

Gymboree was great for my son when he was in his early stages of development. He may have started walking earlier than he normally would have… who really knows?
But now that he’s older the classes are stale and grossly overpriced. I have been to classes where not enough people come to the class so they cancel and make it a free-​play. But I am paying for the class. I have shown up and they closed the doors due to weather but didn’t let anyone know until after we showed up for our class.
Canceling is the worst. You must make an appearance, you can’t simply fax in a cancellation letter, you have to physically go to the store and fill out a form. I have a 2 year old and when he sees those pretty colors he wants to play and since I have him home there is no way to get in there and cancel it’s got to be an intricate dance between my husband and myself to coordinate who is going to make it in before they close which we can’t find out because they don’t answer their phones or call you back.
The classes are just shy of $ 20 a pop, and honestly they get just as much stimulation from going to a $ 5 romper room.
Save your money or plan to go for just 3 months while your child is getting the walking motor skills.

I have been to all the Gymboree’s in Austin. They are all great fun for toddlers and parents.

got the groupon deal to go to the Play & Learn class with my 2.5 year old daughter. The classes are pretty much the same. We have gone twice, the first instructor knew what she was doing, but she didn’t seem into it at all. The second instructor was brand new and could find where stuff was. hahah… but my daughter loved climbing up and down the indoor little gym. I think it is great for when weather is too hot to go outside, but it is definitely not worth playing full price for. sorry…