Out and About: Getting Wiggles Out at Portland's Newest Play Space

Yes yes yes. We know. It rains in Portland. And that whole “it rains a lot” thing becomes a bit more problematic when you have young kids who are bouncing off the walls, eager to get out and let go of some energy.

Enter: the indoor playground. While Portland has a number of indoor playgrounds, there’s always room for more. (Did we mention it rains A LOT here?). The Hollywood District has just opened up the latest–The Wiggle Room.

The Wiggle Room is brand new, and feels it. Everything is clean—immaculate even—and organized. Big windows let in lots of natural light, complementing the earth tones and natural feel of the place.

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The centerpiece of The Wiggle Room is the indoor play structure. At 16 x 20 feet it isn’t overly large—if you’re used to Playdate PDX, it will feel quite small—but it has things to climb on, a slide, firemen-type poles to bounce on, and moving wheels to swing across.

In front of the play structure is a separate room geared toward infants and wobblers. That space has padded blocks, large trucks, and some room to roll and crawl.

A separate room that opens up onto the play structure (you can keep an eye on your kids from it) has more sensory play. While we were there, there was playdough with lots of playdough tools, a puzzle, blocks, and interlocking plastic circles used for building.

The website says that this space is geared from ages 0 to 7. My oldest is 7, and he was a bit on the older end for this place. While playing with his 3-year-old brother, he was doing fine. But I probably wouldn’t bring just him and his friends. I’d say ages 0 to 4 or 5 would be the sweet spot.

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We didn’t end up staying as long as we would have liked because, well, it was just one of those days. (We still need to work on appropriate responses to feeling like space is needed – a swift kick to the jaw, not one of them.) But the decision to leave was mine. I didn’t feel pressure from the owners or the other patrons to leave, even though my kids were not on their best behavior.

One unique thing to note about The Wiggle Room is that the space is owned by a licensed pediatric occupational therapist, and was designed with that in mind. As a smaller and less stimulating space, it is also a great choice for kids with sensory challenges.

Parents: there is free WiFi here, and it worked well. They have a very limited café with drip coffee and packaged snacks like apple sauce, hard boiled eggs and cheese sticks. You can order Hot Lops pizza as well, and are free to bring in your own food and drink.

The Details:
The Wiggle Room
Where: 1925 NE 42nd Ave, Suite C
When: 9 am – 6 pm weekdays; 9 am – 4 pm Saturday; 9 am – 1 pm Sunday; Closed Tuesdays.
Cost: $11 all day for first child; siblings are $8 each after the first.
Other information: Bring socks! Socks are available to purchase if you forget.

For more out and about family adventures, check out our monthly field trip column!

Ali Wilkinson
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