Totter’s Otterville

I took my daughter and her friend (7) to Totter’s Otterville today, and they had a blast! There is a wide variety of things for them to do, and we were there 2 ½ hours before they decided they were tired. Staff were visible, and responded to any issues (eg one kid was too aggressive with no parent visible). Some of the areas are a little tired, but it is a good value for the money. I like that there is only one exit, and all the areas are pretty easy to see. If you have kids that like to wander, it is much less stressful than the Museum Center (for instance). My daughter loves the face paint area, but there are so many areas to choose from for all ages (up to about 10). There are quiet activities (crafts, trains, puppets), as well as run off steam places (ball pit/​slides). It is a little bit of a drive for us, but as an occasional visit, we have fun and find it to be a good value.

Today I took my 2 year old son to totter otterville and boy was it eventful. I received a 1 free child admission at the Cincinnati zoo around Halloween time, the brochure they handed out, made this place to be way more spectacular than it actually is. First they really do not have this place properly labeled, since I was following gps to get here I had to drive up and down the street a few times before I realized the totters otterville sign was VeRY small on the Johnny toys sign. As we walked in I was very surprised how run down it looked just from the outside and the few seconds of walking in the door. My sons favorite part was the indoor jungle gym and ball pit along with the conveyer belt. All the other toys were thrown together in different little rooms. And they were basic hand me down toys (or toys we already have at home) the grocery area was trashed «play food boxes» were all taped together from being ripped apart, the dress up area was all on the floor and many were ripped, I didn’t even let my son play in that area. They had no one running the craft and arts area it was all do it yourself. No puppet show. The face paints were old and gross and all over the place (we skipped that too). Outside the Trolly ran for a half hour! They had archery targets in the yard as animals for the kids to look at on the Trolly, which was so odd! (I know this because my family is big into archery and use these exact targets to practice with). The maze outside was super muddy and majority the plastic boundaries were ripped down or torn and we just walked out the back and moved on. The fishing pond had only two magnetic fish in it. The sand pit had hardly any sand (that could be Bc they are nearing the end of the season). And the play grounds outside needed major wiping down (we skipped that as well) basically we spent our whole time on the indoor jungle gym and ball pit. Maybe the weekends are better??? Overall my son had a great time and that’s all that matters, of course kids don’t see what us parents see. However, I will not be returning until they do some major updating! I’m glad I didn’t have to pay admission this time either!

Am I the only one who thought there’d be otters here? Lol. Pretend village and waterplay were a hit. Play area outdoors needs updating: sand in the sandbox, mulch in the muddy maze, and slides rinsed down. At least adults are free.

Recently my son turned 2 and we wanted to have an awesome party for him to celebrate. I love hosting parties but I hate cleaning up afterward so I decided this year we would have his party at totter’s otterville.
With the party package you get a party room where everyone and keep their jackets, all the presents stay there, and you meet back at the room for pizza and cake. Also with the package you get a «helper», our helper was very nice, the kids loved her, and she made sure that every child was included or at least had the option to be included with every activity.
I know this is going to sound silly but anyone who has kids will tell you the hardest part about having an offsite party is getting all those presents back to your car, well Mr. Totter has thought of that too. After my son had opened all his presents and we had eaten they let me use a cart to wheel everything to the car which made it so much easier.
All around we had a great time and I highly recommend doing the puppet show, the kids loved it!

Hmm not sure how to review this place. I was excited to come to find that it was a bunch of little rooms with used, non-​battery, toys, dirty & all thrown around, one small climbing area & a pretty outdoor that couldnt be used due to weather. Its just not neat & updated & it is prized equal to other places that are neat & updated. Only pro? It has free refils on the soda.

This place is a nice concept… But oh my, it needs serious updating, cleaning and some organizing.
For $ 7.50 kids can play indoor and outdoor (when weather permits) but might as well just let them play in your own house… This is like a daycare that got all the toys that no one else wanted.
It seems that the norm is to come in PJs (parents and kids!).
In the Dress-​up area clothes are ripped and all over the floor. Most electronic toys don’t have batteries…

A good place to go on a rainy day. However, the owners need to put some money back into the place.
*Update the play clothes — they are ripped and dirty.
*Paint the place — it hasn’t been painted in years.
*Clean the place — the carpet looks filthy and dingy.
*Add better decorations — e.g. The scarves and pictures in the dress up room are a perfect example.
*Replace burned out light bulbs.
Parents do not want to take their children to a place that looks like it’s crawling with disease.
Again, the concept is great, but I cringe when my daughter wants to get down on the floor and play. Also, the food is a good price.

I love the idea of this place and my son has a blast inside with all of the different pretend areas, but the owners really need to put some money into renovations and repairs. At least put batteries in the light up toys in the baby areas! I have high hopes of what this place could become. The outside area is just disappointing and sad.

Took my little ball of fire 3 yr old grandson yesterday. Lots of different play areas for the little ones at a fair price. The place is starting to look like its way past due for renovation… Chair upholstery torn/​worn, entrance has poorly stocked shelves, toys starting to look like Goodwill stock.
But, the kids don’t care, they seem to have a great time.

On visit number two, we had a better experience so I’m bumping this place up to four stars. We got to ride the train this time and I asked if I could let him play in the ball pit & indoor playground area and was told that I was welcome to do so and could even get in the ball pit with him. I wouldn’t try it with lots of rowdy kids in there, but it wasn’t too crowded this time so we hopped on in and had a ball (so to speak!). Most of the indoor playground was still too advanced for him, but there was one low slide that he could go down.
It’s still a little shabby around the edges, but a good value and fun for little kids who aren’t really going to notice that. Here are my 3 biggest tips:
– call ahead to confirm details (closing time on a minor holiday, train times, etc)
–whenever possible, shoot for non-​peak hours, such a better experience when not crowded (i.e. near opening and closing times)
–watch for deals for even better value (check Groupon in particular).

I been taking my kids to totter otterville for years but lately I have noticed seems to be less customer friendly. First, they did away with the yearly pass which we bought every year. They now offer only a quarterly pass which we don’t buy because I can never be sure that we will go enough time in the three months to make it worth it. Second, the some of the concession prices have become ridiculous. $ 3.17 for a large fountain soda!!! Are you kidding me??? $ 4.29 for a kids chicken nugget meal with 3 hard chicken nuggets!!! These are not family friendly prices. Lastly, they advertise activities on their website calendar, then fail to put out the sign up sheets so customers can participate. My daughter wanted to play bingo which was on the calendar for 12:30. We arrived at 12:15. No sign-​up sheet. When I asked they dug it out but by this time no one else signed up. They used to go around and yell bingo time or story time to get the kids involved but they did nothing. My daughter got to play one game of bingo all my herself. She was so disappointed. There was a space activity On the calendar for that day, no signup sheet was ever put out and the activity never took place. They used to have story time everyday but I haven’t seen in awhile. These changes are definitely encouraging my family to find other places to play.

Absolutely a fantastic place to spend a day with your younger children. They have a lot of interesting things for them to do. They serve a little bit of easy food like pizza. There is a ball pit and all the tubes and such to crawl around in. They have a water station (with aprons to keep me dry) a big train outside to ride. Lots of hours of fun! On top of that all they mark you and your child when you walk in the door so that they can only leave with you. There is a reason why this place is five stars!

Such a great place to bring kids, and adult admission is free. For the reasonable price, kids can interact at different centers that are not electronic based, so this is great for all ages. Special needs kids can also find a lot of great ways to play and socialize. The snack bar features all baked items (nothing fried) if the kiddos get hungry, and they offer healthy choices like pretzels and fruit cups.
I bring my son here at least every other Saturday, great place!

Otterville is the BEST place to take your children for a birthday party or an informal play day. During warm weather they have a small trolley/​train for a quick ride around the property, outdoor water play, a maze, construction zone, and an archaeology pit. Indoors is even better — water zone, ball pit, miniature dollhouse, wooden train sets, face painting, role-​playing areas like dress-​up, café, grocery, and many others. There’s even an infant room that’s safe for your tiny tikes.
My friends and I often choose going here over the Cincinnati museum — parking is free, the entrance fee is lower, and the security is better, in my opinion. Parents can choose a central location to sit and children can go into any of the surrounding areas to play. Staff check the wristbands on the way out to insure the children match up with the adults they came in with. Fees are per child, adults are free. It has a decent café inside, as well, so you don’t have to leave the play area to get food — they’ll even deliver it to your table for you. They’ve introduced a wider selection of foods for healthier choices than the standard pizza and soft drinks (which they also have!).
I highly recommend it for children up through age 10, no hesitation. Ages 10 – 12 might start feeling they’ve outgrown it, but when they’re not trying to «look cool», they have as much fun as the younger kids!
If you’ve thought about it but not tried it yet, please go!

A Better Bargain Than Children’s Museum
I have taken my 3-​year-​old daughter to both the Children’s Museum at Union Terminal and, now recently, Totter’s Otterville. TO (not the ego-​inflated football player) is a much better value for both parents and kids alike.
T.O. might not be quite as large upon first viewing at the Children’s Museum, but don’ t let the looks fool you. It has just as much imagination for the children stuffed inside as any place in this city.
My daughter loves to dance these days. She immediately made a bee-​line for the ballet studio. They had bars and mirrors, at the appropriate sizes of course. She spent 45-​minutes using the bar, spinning, watching (and emulating) the dance video that playing. As any parent knows, 45-​minutes for a kid in one place is a freaking eternity.
She went through each of the «stations» like the grocery store, the post office, the pizzeria, the veterinarian’s clinic (complete with real animals), etc. She tried on dresses in the clothing store and ended finding a princess dress that she wore, complete with princess shoes about 3-​sizes too large, for the next hour throughout the other stations.
After shedding the dress, it was time to go outside where there were 2 large sand areas, a fishing bridge (complete with magnetic toy fish being pushed along through a fake current that can be caught with the magnetic fishing poles provided), and the playground.
Finally, what trip isn’t complete with a train ride, right? Yep. T.O. has a train ride for the kids to cruise around.
Now for the best part. You get all of that for only $ 8. Parents are free, train ride is included with the admission and they don’t charge for parking.
One word of warning: If you think you can do some toy shopping while you’re there, forget it. T.O. is located in the same building as the now former Johnny’s Toys. Apparently, Johnny’s didn’t have quite as much value to add to consumers as Totters Otterville does.

I work during the week and don’t get to do many things that I’d like to do with my 2 year old because of weekend chores, but this weekend, I think we all had spring fever, and I was determined with the good weather, to get out of the house a bit. Still too cold for a playground (and too muddy), I chose Totter’s Otterville.
For $ 8.00, my little one could make believe she was a veterinarian, the charade complete with stethescope, lab coat, thermometer and examination tables; play in water tables (thanks, Totter’s, for the plastic aprons!), shop at a grocery with checkouts, metal carts and produce bins; play with giant lego-​type blocks, deliver the mail, play «house», run a diner and more… anything a kid could imagine.
The facility was clean, the staff beyond pleasant. The only wee gripe I might have is that some parents are truly oblivious to their children’s behavior, and that’s not Totter’s fault… We spent 2 and half hours there, well worth the $ 8.00, then onto get some ice cream at Sweet Tooth in Newport.

Totter’s Otterville is located inside Johnny’s Toys. It is a place where kids can let their imaginations go free and parents can be free to take a relaxing rest at one of the many tables. Totter’s Otterville is comprised of indoor and outdoor stations like, the grocery store, ballet studio, water station, crafts station, puppet show station, face painting, and more! They also serve a wide variety of food at a reasonable price. It costs an admission to get in but there is no cap on how long you can stay, and parents are free.
Totter’s Otterville does a great job of making their stations very accessible to a wide age range of children and kids from 1 – 8 can get something out of every station.
The workers are extremely friendly and all seem like they want to be there and that they enjoy their job.
Overall, this is my go to spot when I have a full day to fill with the girls I watch.