Dreams Gymnastics Club

When I decided my son should start gymnastics lessons since he’s already vaulting himself around the house anyway, I looked into Dreams Gymnastics first. I figured he may as well go to a «real» gymnastics training program. Unfortunately, the class that was listed online was not available in reality. It had been dropped because of not enough sign ups and that was the only day and time that I was available.
I looked around and found that the Little Gym fit my schedule so I signed up there instead. My review is actually of birthday parties that I’ve attended at Dreams. I’ve been to two so far and the M. O is the same for all parties. The rules are explained, which are basically don’t touch anything except for a few pieces of equipment. Then they form two lines and start the obstacle course which ends in the foam pit.
The foam pit is a lot of fun. My only reservation here is that it’s absolutely filthy. Half of the foam bricks are new purple. The other half are scuzzy, dirty, moldy looking green. Why not just buy ALL new foam bricks, as long as you’re making the investment?
There were several other mats serving as jump off points into the pit, as well as a long trampoline and a rope swing. The rope swing is dangerous in my opinion. One child was injured by it swinging into his face and literally had a black eye. Basically, I feel that because it swings over the entire foam pit and even a little beyond depending on the weight of the child, it has the potential to seriously hurt someone. A child could fall on another one, since there are kids jumping in at each corner of the pit. Or, the swinging child could let go too late and end up hitting the edge of the foam pit, which is not padded. Imagine a little skull hitting the edge of that?!
This place is a little frightening in those respects. In addition to the aforementioned injured child, several others endured minor injuries such as bumps and bruises. There was a lot of sporadic crying. I’m not sure what the cost is to have a party here, but price can’t be your only consideration. There are a lot of safer venues to play. I had a great party at the Little Gym, which I do recommend.

I originally learned about Dreams through friends, and now my daughter has been taking lessons at Dreams for several years. The most impressive thing about the place is the teachers. They are kind and friendly, but efficient and skilled teachers. They follow a well-​defined structure which helps young gymnasts progress through the levels. Excellent staff and great equipment, including a climbing rope over a soft pit (kids love it!)

I was here with my 5 year old son for a birthday party. It’s not terrible, but it is considerably smaller and less tidy than International Gymnastics in Mt. Prospect. Located in a office court off of West Lake Ave., this is a former factory converted into a gym. The conversion is not quite complete in my opinion. There is a kids fun gym and another, larger and more sophisticated, gym with advanced equipment. We were in the smaller gym and it looks rough around the edges. (see photos)
Still, it was fun for the kids. They accommodated a group of thirty 5 & 6 year olds and managed the group very well, God bless their souls.
I found it somewhat disturbing when we received a birthday invitation from the place and it had a waiver sheet folded and tucked into the pre-​printed invite card from Dreams. The waiver, which had to be signed by a parent and witnessed by a gym employee, had a lengthy list of various and increasingly gruesome potential injuries possible, ranging from simple bruises to torn muscles, fractures and paralysis. Strange we did not have guests need to sign one for a party at International Gymnastics. Seeing the potential dangers and risks, I was tempted to send in my fearless Stunt Baby to substitute for my older son at the party, but my 5 year old handled it just fine.
There were two instructors who had the kids do warmups and run a basic obstacle course, followed by extensive play in their sponge cube pit. They also had a Tumble Track trampoline next to the pit for the more adventurous jumpers. The instructors (Nicki and Vicki) did a great job keeping track of the kids and making sure they played safely.
At the same time, the gym leaves a lot to be desired. The sides of the sponge pit are not padded like at International Gymnastics. Columns in the gym are crudely padded with folded mats wrapped in duct tape. The truck bay doors are covered in large sheets of clear plastic. There are stacks of insulation panels piled up on the sides above the party rooms. The condition of the padded floor, carpeting, mats, and the sponge cubes even, shows a significant amount of wear.
The party room itself was a bit crowded but fit 30 kids at a series of long tables. A second party room down the hall allows them to have one party after another while alternating rooms. Therefore, we were not rushed to get out promptly at the designated end time.
Certainly a good time but as a family we’re sticking with International Gymnastics for classes and parties in the future.

My two year old son has been enrolled at the Little Gym for about nine months. Wanting to expand his gymnastics skills we enrolled him at Dreams once per week. We thought we would be getting instruction in a bigger venue and that they would expand on what he would learn. Instead this turned out to be the opposite. The class was in a very small room, not much bigger than the size of an average master bedroom. They also advertise that you can take two free trial classes. The entire experience was very below expectations. He would have taken a step backwards if he had continued at dreams. Everything learned at LG was not allowed at Dreams. A flip over the bar with our help? Too Dangerous. Walking on the balance beam by himself or with just my wife or I holding his hand, no way! They expected us to hold him by the hips.
We finally decided that the class wasn’t for our son. My wife had registered and paid for the class ahead of time. That was fine, we figured if we didn’t like it we would get our money back. When she went to get a refund, they told us there was a $ 35 registration fee. We can get it back if we register him for a class there within a year.
Dreams was not upfront about the what the class was about. With totally different expectations, we will look in another direction when my son is ready to advance.