Monkey Joe’s

After going when they first opened to going this week, I will NEVER go there again. The place was absolutely disgusting. Both bathrooms (for kids and adults) were so dirty I couldn’t let my 4 year old touch a thing. Her clothes came home and were put in the wash with bleach… The guy at the desk with miserable and suddenly disappeared. The guy behind the concession stand was busy with his iPhone and Apple Watch that he couldn’t be bothered. When he got up he was mopping the same area for 15 minutes and couldn’t be bothered with anyone else. I attempted to tell him about the facilities and he could care less. The place is the bottom of the barrel. When you put a place like that in the «ghetto» it becomes «ghetto.» Families, be aware. It’s a waste of money and you’re bound to get grossed out after paying. Never again will I EVER go to this place. There’s so many other places that are worth trying. Monkey Joes… you’re disappointing. Close down, clean up, get new employees, and then try to re-​open.

Surprised at low rating. I take my daughter here every week end. The staff that work there always go above and beyond for my girl. You guys do a great job, thank you.

I’ve been going to Monkey Joes in Hamden now for a couple of years. At first it was really nice, especially on a rainy day. But the last couple of times I have been there the place is just filthy. Worst part is on both occasions I got there when they had opened up, so it’s not as if they had been opened the whole day (dirty would be more understandable in this case in my opinion). My toddler was in the toddler area crawling around and there was clearly dirt, hair, and other debris. Also, half of the items in the toddler room didn’t work and some of the wall toys were no longer there. Still being the only people there, on the way out I actually picked up a used juice box by the exit door and put it on the counter. I’m sorry but what happened? This place used to be so lively and clean and now well, it’s just depressing.

Took my niece here today. I have to say I was very disappointed. It was right after they had opened and not many people were there at all and it was very very dirty. We stayed In The toddler area and all the mirrors were dirty. The toys on the wall had built up dust on them as well as old juice stains that I can tell were never washed off and that were there for days/​weeks. The bathrooms were dirty as well and smelt like urine. For a place that caters to children and toddlers I would have expected to see staff members constantly cleaning… Between finger prints, juice stains, drool from teething, it really was filthy and I expected more for a kids play gym.

For the price this place is kid approved. I think it would be a great place for a birthday party if it is a diverce age range from about 2 – 10. It was only 8 $ for the kids to play and there was a plethora of different jumpers to choose from.
There was the toddler zone which had one big inflatable monkey that spun in circles for the kids. Another little choo-​choo train thing that I guess was supose to spin but it was broken. There were a ton of huge stackable gymnastic type soft blocks and tunes for the kids to stack and create things with. The walls were lined with mirrors and puzzle play stations.
The rest of the establishment had a series of different size jumpers with various themes. They each had an age limit posted on the front to let kids know if they were a certain age they weren’t allowed on it (very nice for the little ones). With a small snack bar this place was not half bad.

My daughter was very excited to see here cousin who she visits regularly– after a few visits to Chuck-​e-​Cheese, we thought we would try something new.
Enter– monkey joes
1^st of all– the website stated the price was 13.99/child– I paid 16
There was 1 employee in the whole place until the arrival of perhaps the most miserable cleaning lady ive ever laud eyes on.
She came in after us– flicked her cigarette before she entered with 2 kids in toe.
(Working while using the place as daycare)
This woman looked so scary and miserable, she really made me nervous. She shooted out dirty looks, barely cleaned a thing, walked around in street clothes but worst of all– she was scary as f@$k
Moving on– the place smelled of one large dirty diaper. I thought we might catch mersa.
Onto the concession stand. We were met once again by the same employee who seemed to be running the entire facility.
There was absolutely NO food prepared, was told he would make hot dogs to order which would take 25 min.
I ordered 3– just in case my niece wanted one, I didn’t want her to have to wait to get a hot dog, when we got them– the rolls were stale and inedible.
My friend wanted fried mozz, she was told they get there pizza and mooz sticks from a place down the st… A F&$)King has station, and didn’t offer the option.
3 hotdogs and 2 orders of nachos/​$ 20
No refills on the drinks? Lame and cheap
Back to that cleaning lady– I’m pretty sure her kids were running crazy and could have sworn the older boy was bullying other children as I over heard comments like «get out of my way» and «stupid kids” — later realized these were the kids she brought in with her.
The arcade was stupid expensive and had to deter our kids from the area to try no to go broke.
The kids socks got wet– not sure if it was water or a random kids piss but we decided to call it a night.
This place will absolutely close. It’s an awful waste of $ 50.
Gross.

I guess it’s how everyone looks at it when you look at these reviews. Some of the things that past posters mentioned are not that aggravating to me as I guess is for them. I live nearby so this place is convenient. The price is a little ridiculous, I must concur but for every now and then, I’m not going to cry about it. My kids enjoyed this place because there are a lot of houses that are meant for my kids age groups 3 – 7. We can easily spend 2 hours or more here. There is also a section for smaller kids 2 and under and a little area designated for snacking and or watching cartoons. I loved the arcade games just for myself. I won a bunch of tickets for my kids which then they turned in to get parent-​approved toys/​games. I’ll definitely be back.

This is the best inflatable jump place I’ve been to in CT. My daughter loves it. It’s a little bit pricey but you get what you pay for. It’s not a dump. Very clean, nice staff and places for the adults to sit. Would definitely recommend. Follow them on facebook and on fridays before 3 if you say the word of the day you get half price.

Absolute worst place I have ever taken my children. This place is way overpriced! Birthday parties beware!!! Luckily I don’t live in the area for us to come to this entertainment complex. Every game is two tokens $.50 and are old games that were used outside and all messed up, scratched or broken. The employees are very rude. You could not pay me to come back.

First off, there was the price. At the door, I was charged $ 14.99 per child. I thought it had said less on the website, but I dismissed it as faulty memory. Expecting less, though, I didn’t have enough cash on hand. No problem… I’ll just charge it. Nope, they don’t accept credit cards. I was directed to the ATM in the convenience store down the block. I had to walk down the street, through a bit of a sketchy looking neighborhood„ with two little ones in tow, to get cash. Fantastic.
After getting back home, I checked the website… according to it (
) the price should have been $ 12.99 for a Thursday. So, I was overcharged.
I thought there was too little for the $ 12.99 per kid that it was supposed to be. There were only five obstacles open for 4+ year olds. Another was closed, while they were dry walling part of the room. Then fifteen minutes in to our visit, they closed off another one, to do more work. They said that the first closed one would be blown up, but as of two hours later, it still was not.
The whole back section of the room is full of various video games and tickets-​for-​skill games. Most require multiple tokens, making them rather expensive… $ 1 for a game of air hockey?
Further, one of the employees was using the place as free day care. Her daughter was running around wild, shoving and tripping smaller kids. Then, she started climbing to the top of one of the obstacles, and belly flopping down… Several times, into and on to of other kids. When I complained, I got just an eyeroll from the parent/​worker.
Further, my friend needed to run out to her car to get something. She inquired about whether she needed a hand stamp, or such. They gave her a hard time, and told her she wouldn’t be allowed back in. Totally unnecessary.
The staff members spent their time in the lounge, surfing Facebook on the kiosk computer, or watching Law and Order SVU on the lounge TV… with kids right there.
The one exception was the youngest member of their staff — a young girl, maybe about 16 — who bustled about, trying to keep unruly kids from hurting themselves. She was obviously harried, though, at even turned at one point and said ‘Man, I hate this… I am totally never having kids’. Okay, maybe that’s a little unprofessional on her part, but I’m going to look at it from the perspective of the place is so crappy, that it has broken her of her desire to ever be a parent. That sucks.
The concessions stand was expensive, and only served junk food.
Finally, when I went to leave, there was no one at the front desk. I was able to walk out without even being seen by an employee. Why bother to have the wristband matching system if no one is bothering to check them? I totally could have been walking out with someone else’s kid.
All in all, would not recommend… not even remotely,

Great place for my 1 ½ year old, they have plenty for her to do. The pizza was great, and everyone was really friendly. We’re definitely coming back. By the way they are open on Sun, don’t know why it says it’s closed.

Hmm, I guess my experience has been different. I have a nearly 3 year old and we’ve been 3 times this fall. At the last visit we decided to get the 10 pass (only $ 65!) so we can go a lot this winter. Note: kids older than 3 have a more expensive admission, presumably because they are the true target audience.
Our three year old son and his friend were both able to bounce and climb on all the «big kid» bounce areas and burned off *lots* of energy (not easy to do in the winter when it’s too cold for the playground). We go around 10 am when the first open on Saturdays, that way there aren’t as many big kids. The little kids play area is ok, and keeps them entertained another 20 – 30 min, but really the place is designed for somewhat older kids. We haven’t played with the arcade games much.
As parents, we like the comfortable sitting area, that way the dads can chase the kids, while my friend and I watch/​nurse our infants. I also like that the place is pretty clean.
So while I can’t speak to all age groups or purposes, for what we’re interested in, I’m SO happy that Monkey Joe’s is near my house!

This place is great for bouncing, but many of the machines did not work or had signs stating ‘Out of Order’. Would not return.

First, don’t make the same mistake I did and trust that their website provides the correct opening time. They open at 11:00 not 10:00. The bounce houses are fun and the toddler area a nice idea but it is not worth the price of admission. Maybe I am just used to Bounce U but I was disappointed in my experience here. The arcade area was in disrepair-​many games were not working and my son lost many tokens in machines that were jammed or just not in working order. I am not in a rush to go back to Monkey Joe’s.

Great open hours. My four-​year-​old is loving it. and a separate safer place for younger toddlers. for adults there’s Wi-​Fi desks and couches set up. there’s also a constant merry-​go-​round set up for toddlers. I can see us being here many a cold fall afternoon

Came today with a couple of friends and our 14−18mos olds– place is not conducive to curious toddlers– toddler area needs a gate to keep bigger kids out and the smaller kids in, I spent half my time trying to corral my toddler into an area where there really wasn’t much to do. Lots of toys on the walls but not a lot for him to do in the actual area of play. Brought healthy snacks for our kids only to be told rudely by the manager that we weren’t allowed to feed our kids these snacks and had to instead purchase food from their snack bar where the menu included nachos, candy, chips, soda etc. Not anything I want to feed my child. The cost is high, for two waters, two pretzels and a bag of gold fish it cost $ 20 and the cost of admission of $ 8 we thought was a little high for what was offered. We will not be returning.