the latest news at playlab!
Closing a Few Days for Roofing Work: Part Deux
Hi folks, sorry for the short notice, but our landlord has scheduled the roofing repair to happen THIS WEEK, so we're going to be closed Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, while they replace the roof.
It's a bummer to be closed for the next few days, but I'm looking forward to having a building that doesn't leak, especially with the next round of rain on the way.
Stay dry, and we hope to see you this Friday when we re-open for open play, 9am-6pm!
Closing a Few Days for Roofing Work
Hi! We've having some roof repair done this week and next, and will unfortunately be CLOSED next Wednesday and Thursday (Jan 31st/ Feb 1st), and the following week (Feb 7th & 8th.)
Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause, but we'll be using the time to do some repairs and upgrades inside as well :)
See you soon!
New Open Play Hours! Open Monday through Friday :)
Hi! We’re expanding our open play hours! Beginning June 26th, we’ll be open from 9am-6pm, Monday through Friday! We’ll try this extended schedule throughout the month of July and see how it goes; hopefully it will be here to stay :)
Coming Soon: Music Class with Miss Harriet & Friends!
Dec 19th: Music Class with Miss Harriet
Demo Class: Dec 19th, 10a-11
Full Series: Mondays 10am-11am; January 16th-Feb 6th
More information here.
Breastfeeding Support Group Cancelled Today
Apologies for the short notice, but it will be cancelled today due to a family emergency. It will return next Monday.
Our Upcoming 2023 Schedule: Less Open Play, More Classes & Workshops
Hi! No Black Friday specials sales or email barrages this weekend from us (aside from this one), but we have some news to share about upcoming changes!
One change we are bringing to 2023 is shifting to more classes, workshops, seminars, and other scheduled activities for children and parents, which we’ll be running through the week. We hope you find plenty of wonderful opportunities for your children (and yourself)!
Our first two offerings are a sensory play & art class on December 6th, and craftmaking workshops on December 8th & 15th (more info below).
In order to offer these classes, we’re reducing open play. Over the past 6 weeks, we tried out open play for Wednesdays and Thursdays, but it just didn’t catch on. So, beginning in December, we’re just having open play on Fridays and weekends (whenever party slots are open and unbooked).
While we’re sorry that this may disappoint some people, we just didn’t find enough demand amongst our customers to keep offering it. However, we would like to try again in the near future and see if it works then- perhaps spring would be a better time. As always, please let us know what you think; we always welcome your thoughts and ideas.
Now Open Wednesdays and Thursdays!
Hello! We’re excited to be re-opening Open Play days on Wednesdays and Thursdays, 9am-6pm!
Our open play hours will potentially run from Wednesdays through Sundays, though please check our calendar for special hours on the weekends, as we often host private birthday parties.
We have heard a lot of interest in adding more open play hours, especially since our weekends were often all booked up- if there’s enough customer support behind these additional days, we’d love to open up Mondays and Tuesdays as well.
Additionally, we have decided to no longer require proof of vaccination, nor require masks to be worn when visiting.
New Masking Policy: Recommended, but not Required
In our last email blast, we floated the idea about having masks be optional throughout the space, and heard a lot of feedback on the topic.
After listening to your responses and carefully considering the options, we’re deciding to try out a new masking policy.
Beginning Sept 1, masks will be “recommended, but not required” throughout the space for all ages, both indoors and outdoors.
We understand that some people will be upset over this change, and we apologize for that. However, we will still be requiring adults to show proof of vaccination or negative COVID test, still requiring our staff to wear masks, and will still be frequently cleaning the space, as well as common surfaces & toys, etc.
New Mask Guidelines: We Want to Hear From You
We are relieved to see that the pandemic seems to be easing, and we are hopeful that we’re in the home stretch to getting back to our normal lives, especially for LA’s youngest citizens.
You have probably heard that California, as well as Los Angeles County, has relaxed many of the guidelines around mask-wearing in public places. You also might be wondering how that is affecting our safety guidelines at PlayLab. Given that we are a private business, we have the option of setting some of our own rules. Since our youngest visitors still cannot get vaccinated, we want to prioritize their safety and continue our measures to protect them, as much as possible.
We plan to still require proof of vaccinations to enter the space, for all visitors over the age of 12. We are reconsidering the mask policy, based on the new guidelines, and want to ask you what you think:
Would you like us to keep requiring the use of masks for all visitors over the age of 2? Or perhaps easing this rule? Maybe: masks required indoors, but optional outdoors?
We’d love to hear from you as we craft our new guidelines. Send us an email to goplaylab@gmail.com, let us know what you think!
Children's COVID Vaccinations coming to PlayLab, Nov 16
Big news! We are excited to be helping the Department of Health offer COVID-19 vaccinations for children (ages 5-12).
On Tuesday, November 16, we’re volunteering PlayLab Eagle Rock to host a one-day vaccination site. Stay tuned for more information and for appointment details.
Changing "Open Play" days, increasing more reservation days
Update: Beginning October 1st, we’re offering open play at Playlab Eagle Rock on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Read here for more info.
We will be offering private reservation playdates Mondays-Thursdays, so you can have the entire space to yourself or your group. Click here to book your time!
Update: Beginning Thursday, August 5, we will require all adult visitors to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19.
As the Delta variant spreads through LA County, we want to do everything in our power we can to protect families who visit PlayLab.
During this surge, we’ve decided that we are going to require all adult visitors to show proof of vaccination when visiting PlayLab, to help protect children, families, and our staff. You can show your actual card, or a picture of it on your phone.
For those who cannot get vaccinated, we will also accept proof of a negative covid test within the past 72 hours.
More Open Play Days!
Beginning July 1st, we are adding more open play days!
We will now be open Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays. (Tuesdays and Wednesdays will be available for private reservations, for those who still want them)
Our hours will be 9am-6pm for open play days, and Saturdays will be 1pm-6pm. (We also will be closed on Sunday, July 4th.)
The other big news is that we’ve been able to increase our capacity to 20 people at any one time, so we are able to lower our prices- we will no longer be charging for adults :)
Effective July 1st, the admission of $12 will only be for children, though we do ask that your group limits itself to 2 adults.
OPEN PLAY RETURNS!
Beginning Friday June 4th, we’ll be offering open play at PlayLab Eagle Rock on Fridays, Saturdays and Sunday! Our business hours will be 9am-6pm on those three days (on Saturday, June 19th and 26th, the hours will be 1pm-6pm). At this time, we will only be opening the outdoor area (we plan to open up the interior rooms later in June).
We will have a limit of 15 people in the space at any one time, so we recommend you call prior to your visit to see if we have room. You can also check our Twitter feed to see capacity updates.
We will be swapping out clean toys throughout the day, and wiping down surfaces, though please be advised that toys will be potentially communal during open play hours- toys will likely be touched and played with by more than one child before we can swap them out.
Admissions will be $12 per person (both children AND adults*). You can stay as long as you like- no time limits. Masks will be required for any visitor over the age of 2, and we ask that you maintain social distancing from others, as much as possible.
*In pre-COVID times, we previously charged admission ONLY for children, while adults were free. We reluctantly decided to amend that policy due to our much-reduced capacity in the space. As COVID begins to recede, and our capacity can increase, we plan to bring back our original policy & pricing as soon as we can.
New Reservation Options: "Movie Night" and "Dinner Night"
We’re rolling out a couple new choices for reserving the Eagle Rock outdoor location: Dinner Night and Movie Night!
With the Movie Night, your family gets 2 hours to relax on the deck and watch a movie! Just bring your favorite DVD, or a laptop with an HDMI connection for watching on streaming websites. We’ll provide the projector and bluetooth speakers to make it a great experience. (Optimal twilight conditions for projection beings at 7:30pm but you can start your reservation earlier, based on your family’s individual needs- like if you want to use the two hours to eat some food first, and watch a shorter video). Available Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights, for $110 per session..
With Dinner Nights, you get 90 minutes, anytime between 530pm-9pm, to play and eat in the evenings! Bring your favorite takeout or order some delivery, and we’ll have tables and toys set out for an evening of family fun. Available Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, for $70 per session.
Both reservation options can be found on our playdate reservation page, selected on the drop down menu. Any questions? Call us at 323-616-3585!
We're reopened at Eagle Rock!!
Hello! Our re-opening at PlayLab Eagle Rock has gone very well, thanks to our spiffy new & revised flexible reservation system- and lower prices, too.
WEEKEND AVAILABILITY
Sunday (tomorrow) is nearly 100% booked, but at the time of this writing, we do have some last-minute opportunities early in the morning and in the afternoon. Check out our full availability here.
PS. We usually need at least 12 hours’ time in advance for bookings, but if you want a same-day reservation, please call us at (323) 616-3585 or email us at goplaylab@gmail.com, and we may be able to accomodate you.
BIRTHDAY PARTIES
We’ve received several calls lately asking if we’re available to host birthday parties. Unfortunately, we don’t feel it’s safe enough to host large gatherings here, especially when several different households are attending. Our current limit is 10 visitors, which can accomodate three families or households.
We are doing our best to follow the current orders from the county health department. At this time, it doesn’t feel like hosting birthday parties or gathering are in the spirit of those orders, and we do not want to contribute to any spread of the virus.
However, when the vaccinations have been widely distributed and the local city & county guidlelines allow it, we plan to be able to offer our space for parties & gatherings again.
HOW WE CLEAN
Want to see our process of how we clean our space and toys? If you’ve got Instagram, check out a video outlining our cleaning regimen here.
FINDING PLAYDATE PLAYMATES
Looking for families to play with?
Several people have asked how they could find other families to share a reservation, while also making sure that they've been careful regarding social interaction and finding people who have taken COVID precautions carefully as they have.
While we are not able to vet people on your behalf, one way is to create your own pod- you can find other families on our "PlayLab Parent Connection" Facebook group! You can reach out to others to coordinate visits, ask about each others' safety levels, etc.
We also recommend joining some of the local parent groups on Facebook as well. (There are several good ones serving the Los Angeles/Pasadena/Eagle Rock areas)
Eagle Rock location will be closed temporarily, effective 12/1/2020
Update: 12/1/2020: The Los Angeles County Health Department has ordered playgrounds and playspaces to be closed, and we are complying with this order. Hopefully it will be lifted after the holidays, but at this time, we will close back down and not be taking any new reservations.
Our Private Playdates just got better! Lower prices and more flexibility :)
We are now offering 3 different time choices, lower prices, and more flexibility when scheduling!
Now you can choose session lengths of 60 minutes, 90 minutes, or 120 minutes! We’ve dropped the prices on our 90 minute sessions, and opened up two more options, in case you want less or more time.
And if that isn’t enough, we are now expanding your choices for times. Instead of having to pick 9am, 11am, 2pm, or 4pm, you now have much more flexibility on when you come- we are available as early as 830am!
To book your session, click here.
Private Playdates Are Now Available!
Good news!
We are proud to announce private playdates at PlayLab Eagle Rock will be available, beginning October 10!
Check it out here: https://eaglerock.goplaylab.com/booking-reservations
Due to the current restrictions, we have suspended open-play/drop-in play for the time being, and will offer four private slots every day, 7 days a week, in the outdoor area for our Eagle Rock location (our Pasadena location remains closed at this time).
The slots will be 90 minutes long, beginning at 9am, 11am, 2pm and 4pm. More info here.
Our Plans on Re-Opening
Hello! It’s been a long time since our last email to you, but we come bearing good news- we are reopening soon! If all goes well, we plan to re-open by early October!
We are taking baby steps to minimize risk, in accordance with state and local guidelines, and we are going to start with opening the outdoor area at our Eagle Rock location ONLY.
(Since indoor playspaces are still prohibited from opening, our Pasadena location will remain closed until restrictions ease.)
Because the restrictions greatly reduce our maximum capacity, we are temporarily suspending our usual “open play”/ drop-in system. Instead, we are also going to try a new private reservation-based approach to your visits.
We are still working out the details, but would love your advice and feedback on the plan:
PlayLab Eagle Rock will offer four private slots every day, 7 days a week.
When you reserve a slot, you have EXCLUSIVE use of the outdoor deck area and toys for 90 minutes. Nobody else will be there, just your family, quarantine buds, and one of our stuff members.
You’ll be able to book your reservation on our website, as well as see available times- it will be very convenient and easy.
In between each slot, we will be cleaning and sanitizing the premises and toys, so that it’s fresh and ready for the next visitor.
You’ll be able to bring your quarantine buddies, or just enjoy it all to yourself.
We’ll offer two tiers of pricing- you can reserve a visit for up to 6 people for $80, or up to 10 people for $100.
There will be some limitations with this new approach:
Until further notice from the state and city, we won’t be able to offer the interior play areas, nor do we feel it’s currently safe enough to open up the snack areas or coffee bar. They will remain closed. (You will still be able to use the restroom, though)
We will also be VERY strict on our wellness policy, and will be screening visitors before they enter- which may include asking questions about recent illness, conducting temperature checks, as well as requiring visitors to wear masks (except for ages 2 and under) and washing hands before playing.
We won’t be offering any private birthday parties for the time being, just these 90 minute private visits.
We would love to hear your feedback, or let us know if you have any questions or concerns! Email us at goplaylab@gmail.com with your thoughts!
We understand this plan and price points may not work for everyone. We thought long and hard about what our income needs would be to open and run the space as safely as possible.
With increased cost to supplies, (i.e. disposable masks, cleaners, new durable toys that will stand up to heavy duty cleaning, gloves, physical distancing improvements to the space) and to help pay some of the debts we’ve incurred over being closed for half a year, we needed to price visits to cover these costs and to provide the best possible experience to you and your family during this crisis.
As the cases decrease and the restrictions ease, we plan to begin offering more reservations at lower prices, until ultimately we can offer open play like we did before the pandemic.
We know the pandemic, quarantine, and social distancing has put a real economic, social, and psychological burden on many families. We hope that your visits to PlayLab will make things a little better :)
Sincerely,
Carrie & Jason
PlayLab Founders