Owned by Kevin Kennedy, a former personal trainer, Kids U is tucked into one of those weird little half-malls you find in New Jersey, and you'd almost miss it if you didn't know what lay inside the unobtrusive building. But when you do walk in, there before you rises the incredible structure called The Playquad. 2,000 square feet of multi-level indoor jungle gym 2 stories high. I loved watching the kids' faces as they entered and saw that ginormous beast of a play thing--their eyes would just saucer out and they could no longer hear what you were saying. It was obvious the only thing going through their minds at that moment was "Must play. Must play."

While my son and his friends probably would have liked to stay overnight in the Playquad, Kids U has a very nice gymnastics room as well, where the friendly and helpful KU workers led the party guests through a fun obstacle course with uneven bars, a mini-climbing wall and a long trampoline, all set to music (and every time a song ended, all the kids were instructed to freeze and yell "Happy Birthday, Miguel!", which made them all giggle every time.)

After a mad dash into the nice little back party room for pizza and sandwiches (supplied by Mangiamo's and very yummy--cost of food not included in party fee), Kids U is brave enough to let the full-of-pizza children back on the Playquad for the remainder of the party--very brave of them, I think. At the end of the party, we literally had to drag the kids out of the building and they looked exactly how you want your guests to look at the end of a successful bash--flushed, sweaty and exhausted, but with huge happy grins. Nice work, Kids U.

A 1.5 hour party at Kids U includes: exclusive use of the facility for your party guests, custom invitations, decorations, staff to run your party, balloons, drinks for the children and all paper goods. Themed parties available at an extra cost. For more information or to book a party, call 201-225-0008.

Originally published 2011