There’s a new place in the Chicago-land area, as well as now in my backyard, called Wonder! It’s a kid superstore with tons of shopping, classes for kids, a place for birthday parties and an activity area all rolled up in one.
For the record, I have only been there once and was managing a 5:2 ratio kids:adults. So my perspective is slightly tainted but I wanted to put this out there for feedback.
I am not the biggest fan of Babies R Us. It’s overpriced and has mostly basic things but it’s a great superstore for your all in one baby shopping. They have more options than your average Target but still not exactly boutique-like. Wonder, on the other hand, is Babies R Us superstore combined with a boutique. It seemed like you could get that one of a kind cute present there but still the run of the mill basic necessities too. One thing it does have in common with Babies R Us is that you are definitely not going to find a bargain there. But I’m not sure the clientele that shops there needs to find a bargain to shop there.
They also have classes there. Anything from chess to yoga and music. The first class is free so I will definitely check one of those out once I’m more settled. You can throw a birthday party there too. Once again, the parties seem to be in line with an expensive place to have a party. I’m not sure if fiscally you get as much as you would at a Pump It Up or other birthday locations but the pricing is about the same.
Here comes my issue… They have a decent area to run around in. Reminds me of Old Orchard’s play area but inside. They also have a little course for riding their cars around and the kids seemed to enjoy that. Right now that is all free. However, it is supposedly going to cost money per visit or be available per membership.
I get it, it’s a big store and takes money to run it. I can, however, shop at a variety of different malls and have my kids run around in their play areas for free. Also, their play area isn’t cool enough to warrant payment. So either, the play area should remain free or they need to step it up so I would be willing to pay for my kids to play there. Right now, they just aren’t there yet.
All in all, I say Wonder is a really great concept and I look forward to watching it evolve. Your thoughts??
I'm a mother, wife, daughter, and friend. Until recently I was also an employee. Now that I'm a full time mom, I've decided to make my thoughts, concerns and feelings public.
Sophia was there for a few minutes (it’s in our backyard too). It’s a WONDER!land for her…she loved it. I honestly find it VERY expensive and not really that special. It has nice things, but aren’t all toys the same? It’s nice to have close by but if they do start charging to “try out the toys” we will go somewhere else!