Pump It Up

What a let down from our past experiences at the Lincoln Park location. We’ve been to the city location often with our 2 kids and enjoyed our visits. This location was staffed by 2 college/​teenaged girls when we were there on 1÷1÷16, yes a holiday but if you can’t staff it then don’t open just to make some money. One of the girls walked through once or twice but that’s it, no one else. In Lincoln Park I’ve typically seen a handful of additional staffers walking around enforcing safety rules, making sure kids were wearing socks and making sure the appropriate number of kids are on the bounce houses. Fortunately my kids had fun but we’ll be going somewhere else for open jump next time unless we are convinced that the place is better.

This is the best ‘jumping house’ in the north shore. They tend to not have a lot of open gym times but I try to bring my kids here once a month. We went there today and it was pretty packed with the holiday. The worker kids are nice and everything is in pretty good shape. I have been to a few birthday parties here too and it is always a good venue.

I like this place so much better than little beans or jump zone! It’s better for multiple ages, even a bit older. It’s also cleaner. We are here for the NYE special event and it’s not too crowded and the balloon drop was super cool with glow in the dark balloons. The staff is friendly and actually enforces safety rules, which never happens at jump zone. Bring all the little one and bigger kids!

We live just down the street from this place and really try to love it, but it is over priced and understaffed. We’ve tried buying the groupon a couple of times, but there are so many blackout dates when you buy them that it is not worth it.
I rarely see any staff monitoring the two rooms. I was in one bounce house with full grown adults playing football and jumping all over the place scaring the kids. There was no staff anywhere near us. The adults jokingly told me «We promise we won’t kill your kids». I wasn’t amused.
It’s also never clear to us if our 1 year old is charged. Some times they charge and some times they do not. There is very little there for a one year old. If anything it should be a reduced rate. And the area that could possibly be used by a 1 year old should be off limits for the older kids so you don’t have to worry about your kid getting bowled over.
It’s a double stomach punch to walk in there and realize your Groupon isn’t valid on this day and that you need to pay $ 10 for a 1 year old that will basically be in you arms the whole time. It also seems shady to me when they offer a Groupon just before the holidays and you buy it only to realize you can’t use it for a month because they have blacked out all the days kids are home for winter break.
It’s a shame. If this place was just a little more reasonably priced and better staffed we’d probably be there every week.
we’ll stick with the Kohl’s Children Museum.

How can you go wrong? Kids burn off energy, run all over, remain happy for a good two hours. Just bring a water bottle and have them cool off occasionally cause they get way too into it, I think. Only annoyance is sometimes kids like ⁹⁄₁₀ year olds want to jump all over the little ones and the parents occasionally don’t notice a thing. I prefer coming during earlier times if they’re available to avoid that. Good option though for kids! All yous complaining, keep in mind places like Leaps N Bounds, Discovery Zone, etc from the 80s/​90s don’t exist anymore.

I’ve hosted a few (one at pump it up) and attended a gazillion kids bouncy jumping bday parties. This is why I give it 5 stars.
Variety of setups — there are two rooms of many bouncy set ups so your kids won’t get bored. Staff will transition your kids from one room to another. Also, the staff is nice yet authoritative so the kids listen. And you have the rooms dedicated to your party so you don’t have to say hi to random parents who aren’t at your party.
Group photo — staff will get all the kids together for a group pic before they run for the food. Parents are welcome to take group pic of the kids.
Happy, calm eating time — all pizza is already served on the plate at each seat when the kids come in for food. TVs in the room show all sorts of photos taken during the party to entertain the kids so they stay seated and finish the food. Also, the door is closed so you don’t have kids leaving the room and missing the bday song singing. Finally, this staff is experienced in serving dessert to a large crowd so you don’t have kids rushing to the dessert table screaming for cake.
You probably won’t appreciate these things at pump it up until you are the host/​hostess. At parties I’ve hosted at OTHER venues, I’ve had to ask kids to back off from the cake table, round them back up from the play area to sing happy bday, saying hi to random adults like a blind date then realizing they aren’t at my party, and worst, taking each kid to the grocery store restroom (cooking party).
Happy partying!

First things first; your birthday child will be happy BUT don’t count on the other kids to share the same experience!!! I went to pick my kid up and found him looking as if he was in a time out… Hands covering his face in a corner crying! After speaking with the staff they said my soon to be 8 year old boy was unresponsive and sitting in the waiting area for 20 minutes after they finished jumping and already transitioned into the party room??? You guys didn’t count heads?! Horrible choice of words: UNRESPONSIVE??? I desperately need to see the video to find out EXACTLY how long he was not approached by their staff! Also, to see what the girl on the phone means by UNRESPONSIVE; was my son conscious??? My kid has a large and an extensive vocabulary! Gross negligence AND unorganized is my opinion. I spoke with the male manager before i left after dropping my kid off about booking a party for october 11^th… NO WAY!!! Ladies and gentleman– pump it up is GENERIC in comparison to the 12 inflatables and mature staff at Jump Zone off of caldwell and howard st in Niles. So excited to not spend my 500 dollars at this horrible place. I wish i could give a ZERO for a rating. Not to mention my kid was the only one who did not eat pizza, cake, beverages and NO goody bag UNTIL i demanded to know WHAT happened! Jadon was handed a few cold slices and cake and the party host (the mom put all that together NOT the staff) 3 minutes before the end of the party. HORRIBLE!!! I kept reading the responses from pump it up after each review and my blood was boiling to the point where i made a Unilocal account specifically for THIS! I’ll never bring my kid to this or any pump it up locations EVER again. Generic, unorganized, immature, unprofessional business. My kid woke up this morning from yesterdays experience crying THIS morning! Quit lying by saying that you care about the happiness of a child when they leave your business. Im not done by JUST writing my review!!! All my money is at Jump Zone as of this morning!

Groupon only good for one kid per visit. What a joke. I’ve bought these before and used it in one visit with all my kids. This apparently is no longer allowed. So now I need to come 4 more times in the next week before school starts and it expires, pay $ 20 each time for my other kids? NO.

I would not recommend this place to anyone. This place is supposed to be open till 5pm. I reached there around 2:10 paid $ 18 for 2 kids and at 3pm they asked us to leave because they were closing for the birthday party. They didn’t even bother telling me that when I was purchasing the tickets. It was a total rip off. I paid $ 18 for just 45 minutes.
Take your kids to jump zone instead.

Any child who can stand up costs nine dollars to enter. They may not be able to run or jump, but they are charged. The blow up things are run down and it’s hot, and smells like mildew. That’s probably why there was a giant spider in the entry way of the play areas. Even though the toddlers were too small to play, we had already purchased a ticket for the older two! Two of the five activity items were out of order… no climbing wall and no games.
Don’t bother buying a Groupon because they do not honor most of them.

Love this place! There are many jumpy houses to choose from. There is a new feature where there is a large interactive video game (projection hung on the ceiling, that connects to an oversized floor mat). Place is clean and well kept. Also, there are many Groupon offers.

I came here last weekend for my nieces 5^th Birthday Party. In comparison to the one in Chicago I would say this location seems like it has less bouncy houses and is a little run down. They offered a black light version which was cool but I wouldn’t really recommend because it was more like a dark room with a colorful disco ball then the black light fun I had envisioned. All the kids all had fun and the pizza was yummy There were definitely some issues though. My friend told me they placed bottled water in the room without asking her and the guests drank them before she even noticed and she was charged for it. When she was ready to pay they added the bottled water silently. When she noticed the $ 25 charge for water they said «oh well your guest drank them». Her argument was the guest drank them before she even noticed they were in the room. Furthermore she never asked for bottled water so why were they placed there in the room in the first place? After the arguing my friend just paid the bill so she could leave and then they had the nerve ask for gratuity! I thought that the whole situation was pretty shady so check out your party room before allowing guests inside and be prepared to be solicited for tips.

Whenever I get an invitation to a party at Pump it Up I groan… and my daughter shouts with glee, which is pretty much the only reason I’m bumping my rating from 1 to 3 stars.
Kids absolutely love it here. They love the two rooms filled with bouncy houses, inflatable slides & rock climbing walls. Parents (or maybe just me?) loathe the noise, the smell & the chance that my children are going to get hurt. Then again only who my husband seems to get hurt during our most recent visits because he hasn’t learned that bouncy houses are not for people in their mid 30s.
As my daughter has gotten to the old age of 3 ½ I no longer have to supervise as closely and can spend most of my time socializing with the other parents while the kids literally bounce off the walls.
The parties always end crammed in a party room for pizza, cake & the bday child gets to enjoy their food from the inflatable throne. Oooh la la. And then before we’re rushed out of this bday party factory for the next 20 parties that day you’re given a Pump it Up themed gift bag. The place literally does everything for you, which I’m guessing is why so many parents agree to have their children’s bday parties here. I’ve been lucky enough that my kids haven’t asked for a Pump it Up party quite yet, but if they do they must just be «closed» on their bdays.

This place is just okay. It’s a good place to go when it’s cold or raining. They have 8 bounce apparati, and each is a little different. 3 are slides. 1 is a basketball court. 2 are mazes, and one is a climbing wall. They also have a section of foam pieces that fit together and a climbing wall that is out of order. It’s not the cleanest of places either. But it’s good for about an hour until the kids get bored, which is good because the open jumps are only about 2 hours anyway. The main reason I’m not too fond of this place is because the front desk person is extremely rude and condescending. It’s much better to go here in the winter when school is in session if you have little kids because they have more consistent hours for the open jumps. In the summer the times are very sporadic and even if you check their website the morning you’re planning on going they will tell you it’s at a different time and make it seem like it’s your fault they changed the time on you. Some other Unilocalers mentioned jump zone. I haven’t been there yet but will go after reading the reviews, just so I’m not inconvenienced by pump it up’s ever changing open jump times.

This place is no comparison to Jump Zone. My review is of the pop in play and not a party. I brought my kids in to play on a boring afternoon. I called to get the hours and was told 3:15 to 5:15. I was NOT told that even though I was paying FULL price, my children would only have access to ONE bogus room. This room consisted of one little slide and 2 little bouncehouses. Absolutely pathetic. My kids were done and bored in 20 minutes. Apparently, there was a birthday party in the adjoining room which is usually open. I totally understand and respect the birthday party, but should have been told. Overall, Jump Zone is way better and bigger. There was nothing much to do here in this one tiny little room. Not coming back!

Very easy turn key party! Show up with a cake and candles and nothing else to worry about. Staff handles everything. Private party and eating room for only your party makes it even better.

Just a note — if you’re looking for this place on GPS, make sure that you type in Elmwood Ave and not Rd because you’ll end up in the middle of some neighborhood! Anyway, there are small signs that lead you through an industrial warehouse section and at least there is free parking.
Two rooms full of playground inflatable slides and structures. Make sure that you remember to bring socks for your kids (and adults, too). We’ve been to multiple birthday parties here and it’s pretty well run where you start off in one room and then, head into the next room. The second room includes a climbing wall and more inflatable jump houses. You then take a group photo before then going into the party room where food is already prepped. There is this huge inflatable throne for the birthday boy/​girl and then, cake/​cupcakes/​cake pops are served. I’ve also been to some parties where they included a Pump It Up ball as a goody bag gift for the kids.
We also came by on Friday’s open pop and play (check the Entertainbook for a coupon for buy one, get one free admission) where we treated my son and a classmate to a fun playdate. Surprisingly, this place was not crowded at all and the kids had a blast bouncing around and going between the rooms.

I would give this place more stars becuase my son had a blast. He was a bit afraid of the slides (he is 2 ½) but he had a blast in the bouncy houses.
My 3 start are for these reasons:
1. the place smells like B.O. and socks. It would help to get a few air fresheners in there. I felt dirty being in there.
2. I love music, and pop music but I felt like I was in a club downtown. It was sooo lound and some of it was innapropriate for little kids.
3. They should have separate open times for little kids and big kids or separate rooms. The little kids are trampled by the big kids. Some kid did a flip into my kids head and didn’t even acknolwedge it… having separate times would really help out.
Which brings me to reason 4
The parents that go there and think they can just talk on their phone or read a book and not have to watch their kids. They let their kids run around like animals and don’t bother to think that they may be hurting other kids. So many of the parents just ignored their kids.
I think it’s a nice concept, however I probably will not go back for a long time.

If you have kids this place is UNAVOIDABLE, you will get sucked in to having to go to a party here.
Ok, so its a costco size warehouse with inflatable slides and jumpy rooms… thats really it, and a room for pizza and cake.
its fun for the little ones, and they need more seating (comfortable seating please) for the parents who arent chasing their kids around.
I have 3 little ones and we have never hosted a party here but been to plenty… not my favorite place but kids love it.

My son came here for a birthday party for one of his kindergarten classmates. Located on the back roads off of Greenwood & West Lake Ave., amidst industrial buildings, Pump It Up is easy to miss. Luckily, there’s a turnout on nearby Pickwick Lane and I was able to spot the building after that.
Once inside, you go down a long corridor with separate rooms called «Arenas», almost like the walk through a multiplex theatre. Each door is marked with the name of the party. In the arena, there’s some gigantic inflatable obstacle courses and a 20-​foot slide.
Incredible fun! The room was managed by two teenage boys in their blue Pump It Up uniforms. I could tell they too were having a blast, interacting with the kids and entertaining them at the same time. A total opposite of the demoralized, zombie-​like staff at a Chuck E Cheese kind of place.
Some of the kids got such a vigorous workout on these things that they were covered in sweat like they got out of the shower. Looking at the state of the equipment, it was clean and well-​maintained. The rubber material of the inflatables was clean, without all the ingress dirt of the rentable bouncy houses you see at block parties or festivals.
We moved to a second arena. This one had a climbing wall maybe 25 – 30 feet high. A few footholds were missing, so it made it nearly impossible for kids of this age group to reach the top, but one girl actually did. The climbers wore safety harnesses and the other kids had to keep a clear distance away for safety. Once again, the teens running the party did a great job at managing the activity safely. After playing, all the kids had to wash their hands, which once again shows you the place cares about keeping things clean and safe.
On to the party room at the end. This room had an inflatable birthday throne for the birthday boy or girl, and rows of tables with Pump It Up balloons all over the place. Pump It Up catered in thin-​crust cheese pizza fresh from a place called Viccino’s, rather than attempting to make their own from cardboard, ketchup and shredded wood shavings like other less sophisticated party places. There’s even a stand-​up plastic sign on the table stating where the pizza came from. And let me tell you, it was good pizza by grownup standards too.
At the end, all the kids received Pump It Up balls and took home the balloons as souvenirs from the party. Great place to have a party indeed.