Monkey Joe’s

Why didn’t they have a place like this when I was a kid?
A lot of fun, even if all you do is watch you kids play.
Only downside is the crowd, had some trouble with some older kids and having three (4, 5, & 6) it can be a some work to keep track of them.

My 18 month and I went today to burn off some energy. He had a blast! Our only major complaint is that there were TONS of big kids in the toddler area the entire time we were there. There was no staff intervention to alleviate this issue at all. We noticed a lot of the arcade games out of order also, but we didn’t have intentions of playing these anyway. Food is general concession stand fare. Although I did see that they offer a select few ‘healthier’ choices (string cheese and other things). I don’t intend on feeding my kiddo much while he is jumping and climbing anyway, so we aren’t bothered by food selection. Overall, we had a fun day.

Monkey Joes certainly has its place in the techno, modern family complex. It’s just plain old rambunctious fun for sure. But I feel like this chain should do a bit more to promote nutrition while still offering kids that youthful abandon they so well deserve. I mean, would it kill this place to offer some healthy snacks? It’s like a circus of awful food. Folks, it’s the 21^st century here. Word is out, soda and chips are bad, empty calories. God forbid you’d be able to buy an apple, or some whole wheat crackers. A little red box of raisins perhaps? All the food options are deplorable from a nutrition standpoint and MJ shouldn’t just compliment the fun with wholesome refreshments, but should celebrate them.

We like it here. It’s a cheap way to spend the day playing with the kids. Pay $ 5 and parents are free. If your kid is under 3, you can crawl on the inflatables with them. They also have a designated inflatable for little ones.

My husband and I went for the first time with my 20 month old son on a Sat. afternoon. It was very busy, but the staff was great about making sure there where no kids over 3 in the under 3 play areas. He wanted to go up the big kids slides there where some older kids (girls) that helped him. Will go back in the upcoming snow days :)

In short– this place is incredibly unresponsive to needs and issues that occur with children. I went on a weekday with my small children and we were informed that bus full of children had arrived unannounced. No problem until there was problems with the children and the parents/​chaperones responded to my concerns with «I don’t work here.» There was ONE girl working the floor and she was on the verge of tears. I asked manager if we could get a credit for another day due to the situation and she flatly said no. I responded by saying that I wouldn’t be coming back and she said that was fine by her. Gotcha.
Never. Been. Back.

We have frequented MJ’s a few times during our time in Milwaukee as parents. It is a fun place to go when you need to get out, or meet for a play date. However, it is not my favorite place to go for those type meet ups. It’s loud which makes it hard to visit with anyone you go there with. It is VERY expensive. I have been to other play bounce type places for much cheaper. On top of the admission price expect to pay for the game area and snacks (unless you are a mom of steel that can deny their child’s whining for hours on end). I think there are better places to go, for less money in the Milwaukee area.

My three year old daughter and five year old niece went here to play yesterday. The highlight of the day, was the five year old running out of the bounce house in hysterics, telling us a little girl was beating up my three year old. True story. She left Monkey Joe’s with a black eye and a scratched up face. Charming, let me tell you. The sixteen year old employees seemed to care less, and made no attempt to rectify this situation. Based on the horrific experience, we will NEVER be returning (not that my daughter wants to, she’s now terrified of all bounce houses, and never wants to return) and I would caution any parents against taking their children here.

OK, my kids love this place and always want to go. They have lots of bouncy toys and slides. It is a great way to wear the kids down. Why I only give it a 3. It might be my imagination, but every time the boys go, I give it 4 days and they either have the stomach flu or a horrible cold. I have a feeling this place is a huge incubator for illness. I’m sure they wipe things down and the place does look clean, it’s just my observation.

Fun place for kids, they can jump, climb and go down huge inflatable slides and they get exercise at the same time. Nice atmosphere, pretty loud but has nice bright colors that are attractive and kid friendly. Parents can relax in the grown up part that has a TV and nice chairs, off the path of the running kids. For the kids point of view and how much fun they have there, I’m sure they would rate it at a 5 star. As a parent, I do think it is a wonderful idea. Every time we have been there it is clean and the prices on snacks is very reasonable to cheap. On the down side, the staff who works there really do not care to pay too much attention to what goes on. They are younger adults to older teens and it appears they are they to get paid and not really enforce any type of rules or safety. I have had a party there for my son and the service was just awful and I would never do it again but the kids didn’t notice and had a great time.
Overall, bright colors, kids running around, clean facility, great idea for kids, staff needs major improvement though. If you are a parent and stay with your child, you will really enjoy it.

I brought my daughter to Monkey Joe’s for her friend’s birthday party and the kids had a blast. There are plenty of bouncy houses, giant inflated slides, inflated obstacle courses, video games, and a few arcade-​y games. The employees were great with the kids and with the birthday party organization.
There was an area by the windows with a TV (Packers game was on) and recliners for a handful of parents, and this is the part where stars get killed off for me. It was a freaking madhouse of insanely jacked up kids running around, running into other kids, playing way too rough around younger kids — with no parents in sight. And yes, if Slacker Sally’s 9-​year old is body-​slamming his buddy in a bouncy house meant for my 5-​year old, you can expect me to scold him and call for security; that’s just how I roll. Safety first, kids. While there were employees roaming around and blowing whistles when they saw kids getting too rough or wacky, it just wasn’t enough. Each bouncy house, each slide, each obstacle course needed to be staffed at all times. I saw way too many collisions that if it weren’t for sheer luck could have easily sent at least 2 kids each time to the ER for stitches and a wicked concussion.
In conclusion, I would definitely give them 4 stars if they properly staffed all the attractions and made sure that basic safety protocol was implemented. Maybe they were understaffed the day I went, but that shouldn’t be excused, either; it was a Sunday in January in Wisconsin. Where do parents take their kids when it’s too cold and snowy to run around outside for hours? This place. And Monky Joe’s should know better.

I thought it was nice, it was clean and there were hardly any kids there when we went on a cold day. Lots of bouncy gyms for kids of all sizes, includes a toddler zone but my 3 year old went on basically all of them. Also has an arcade where kids can get tickets for prizes, ala Chuck E Cheese. Great place to take kids when it is cold or rainy. My daughter slept like a rock that night!

This place is awesome. Unlike Pump it Up, this place is walk in play! Which means you don’t need to have a party or group to play on the inflatables. Took my son this past Sunday for a few hours and he had tons of fun. They also have arcade games which spit out tix to redeem for prizes. They offer free wifi, have big screen tv and smaller tv’s around the play area for the parents to watch or enjoy one of the comfy chairs near the larger tv. The snack bar was reasonable for what they offered.