Michael & Sons Fun Zone Play Area Fair Oaks Mall

11/21/2013

by Micaela

A new indoor play area is open at the Fair Oaks Mall. This innovative soft, fun zone, designed by Michael O'Neill, features construction-themed climb ons, tunnels, and a big truck that is sure to be a hit with the little ones. Parents and caregivers will love that it is created with soft material that is anti-bacterial and cleaned twice a day. Check out the pictures below:

Aerial View

Fun climb-on and climb-in truck!

Touch the paint pile & it changes color!

For more indoor play areas in Northern Virginia, please check out the Indoor Play Chapter of your Kid Trips Northern Virginia book. Don't have a book? What's wrong with you? Buy it on Amazon today! Click here for more information!

I was invited to attend an exclusive media event at the #FairOaksMall where I received a sneak peak at the play area and complimentary food & drinks. No other compensation was given. All opinions are our own.

14 Comments

Micaela link

12/4/2013 03:49:06 am

The previous comment was deleted to protect the privacy of the parties involved. Kid Trips LLC does not publicize people's email addresses without their consent.

Michael

12/4/2013 04:24:48 am

Since this Metro-Mommie blog is designed to inform the public about child-friendly activities, then it should provide fair assessment of PRO's/CON's from a local father of small children. Parents that visit this Mall Child Play Area need to be aware of the safety risks:

The Fair Oaks mall management company (Taubman) and Michael & Sons have completely destroyed the former child-friendly Looney Toons play area and created a new Play Area that blatantly exploits our children for their unscrupulous Marketing campaigns.

I brought my 4-year old daughter to the Fair Oaks Mall child
play area. I was so disappointed to find that the Mall has
contracted with your Michael & Sons HVAC company to
destroy all the child-oriented Looney-Toons soft-climb toys
(already paid-for and free to the public), and replace them
with blatantly-exploitive advertising props by Michael &
Sons. All the plastic features of the child area are nothing
more than horrendous advertising for M&S. That in itself
would be bad enough, if there were not numerous SAFETY
ISSUES:

1. I observed numerous children falling off the toys
(e.g. Rolls of tape; Vehicle) and injuring themselves (the
objects were poorly designed and too high for the age of the
children recommended at entrance).
2. The above pictures (taken from 20-feet above the Play Area do not adequately reflect the true safety risks (since not all parents watch their children from the 3rd floor of the mall). The 8-foot, grotesquely-ugly plastic M&S Truck is so large that it causes Child-endangerment by blocking the field of view for all parents attempting to safeguard their children by keeping them in observation from
any side.
3. When the children enter the M&S truck, parents are
wholly-unable to see into the truck, or maintain view of the
children.
4. Additionally, the children can freely exit opposite
end or opposite side of Truck without any parent being able
to watch them.
5. When children run around to other side of truck,
parents lose sight of them completely. THIS IS TERRIBLE: I
observed a strange man pick up a child that was not his own
(apparently to separate the child from his own child...but
it could have been for other nefarious purpose). Fortunately, the true parent came around the truck and grabbed her child and scolded the man for handling her child.
6. Because the truck is so large, parents or Teachers/Guardians on one side of play area cannot observe someone stealing children over the seats on the other side are area.
7. Additionally, I observed several children hit their
heads on the hard-plastic advertising trucks that that they
have carelessly lined around all the outside of the
play-area (e.g. when they were jumping/standing on the
couches).
8. Regardless of whether or not they worked with Play Time
for this creation...their use of an 8-foot tall plastic car
modeled after Michael & Sons trucks, causes a clearly
unsafe condition for children.
9. Regardless of whether or not they post a (useless) sign
at the entrance to the playground that states it is
unsupervised and for use at discretion of parents, that does not protect the children.

Children do NOT need these unsafe, EXPLOITIVE advertising
equipment when they are playing. If you agree, you should lodge your complaints with Michael & Sons and Taubman Company.

Carla

12/4/2013 07:42:06 am

A mall trying to make money? Really? If you don't feel it's safe and have a problem with it - THEN DON'T GO THERE!

12/16/2013 04:27:19 am

Carla,
Obviously, you do not really care about valid child safety concerns, or exploitation of children for marketing purposes. Your comments clearly reflect that anyone who does not have same opinion as yourself must be shouted-at (all caps in your message) and disparaged. I would not be surprised if you work for the mall management company. I think all members of society have an obligation to call attention to wrongful, unsafe, and exploitive practices that may harm those children that are too small to adequately care for themselves. You have a right to your narrow-minded opinion; so do the other parents that may want to hold this mall to a higher safeguarding standard for their children.

12/16/2013 04:27:43 am

12/16/2013 04:27:58 am

12/16/2013 04:29:17 am

Sorry. Website glitch causing repeat.

Charity

2/9/2014 11:53:04 pm

We used to frequent the Fair Oaks Mall play area but not since it was redesigned. We have been twice since the renovation and we will probably never go back, at least not on a busy day. The previous play area was pretty large and the new area seems about half the size. The slide area is an enclosed truck so you can't see what is happening inside of it and I have heard many children start crying inside of it yet the parents can't see what has happened so they don't know how to address it. In the previous play area, there were larger kids running around (which there shouldn't be, but seems to go unmonitored by mall security) and there are still larger kids but in a much smaller area. I also dislike the whole thing designed for marketing purposes in mind instead of fun and fulfillment of children. I will probably stop going to Fair Oaks all together and just shop at Dulles.

Sam

3/26/2014 07:52:56 am

Just went here with my son for the first time and I believe I will NEVER come back. The area is completely unsupervised (up to parents to watch their kids), which would be fine if it weren't for the huge, opaque truck in the middle ensuing that you can never see more than about half the area. My son is still an infant (13 months) so I followed him like a hawk but for those whose kids are 2, 3 or 4, they should be able to let their kids play and not have to follow them around every second, which they can't here. The result is I saw at least twice a child flat out hitting, intentionally, another child for no reason with the hitting child's parent nowhere to be seen. Sure enough, the parent was on the other side of the truck and out of view!

This set up is NOT safe, and you cannot disclaim liability the way the signs claim to. Once a child gets seriously injured the area WILL get shut down by the lawsuit that follows. Until then, I will be staying away and not let if that seriously injured child be my child.

Danielle

12/30/2014 05:38:08 am

I was at the M&S play area today with my almost 2 year old and I agree with the other reviews- it's a terrible design! The truck makes for a very unsafe viewing ability of your child. The materials are nice and soft, and the carpet is gentle for falls, but not being able to see my child (and I was walking around a lot!) is the reason I will go to a different mall's play area. I appreciate Fair Oak's updates and it looks lovely, but am disappointed with the design of the new play area not being more visually safe for children to run around.

Rebecca

1/11/2015 02:04:51 pm

I completely agree with the previous comments that this play place is not a great design whatsoever. I have an 18-month-old and a 2 1/2 year old, so watching them both play is vital. However, the giant truck makes maintaining visibility of both children completely impossible. I also despise that the entrance/exit is completely free without any sort of gate so children can walk in and out unnoticed.

sara

4/14/2015 07:40:06 am

I believe that anything can be totally safe for that reason parents should be supervising their young children. Many parents go there and sit down. If you have a little one you should be with him all the times. Older kids do not have issues of injuries. Parents are 100% responsibles and if they consider the playground unsafe just dont bring your child there. I live the playground and my 2 year old too. The only injure she had was another child trying to hit her and that is also responsability of parents to watch children behavior and do not blame others.

4/14/2015 07:43:18 am

I meant " I believe that anything CANNOT be totally safe"

Jennelle

3/17/2017 03:04:19 pm

I think this my favorite of the three mall play areas we've visited, including Springfield Town Center and Potomac Mills. I think it is very creative and provides the opportunity for imaginative play. Some of the units are a little high, but no higher than the other locations. I actually like the closed truck. My small 3 year old is always getting knocked off the watermelon in Springfield. That doesn't happen here. All of these have sponsors. They are just not so obvious at the other locations. It doesn't bother me. My only complaint is that I wish they had the wall games like the other locations. Those are nice when the child wants to chill out away from the chaos. I like it here though. If you don't like this style play area or that big kids sometimes take over, it's not for you. My 5 and 3 year old love it.

Michael & Sons Fun Zone Play Area Fair Oaks Mall

by Micaela

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