Bowling Depot

The Bowling Depot is a great place to spend a rainy day and if you arrive at 6 P.M or later on Friday or Saturday, you will get to go bowling in the Thunder Alley! Thunder Alley is their glow bowling service, and it lasts from 6 P.M to closing time. The Bowling Depot is also a great place to host a party! They have separate party rooms and some great useful deals for cheap bowling fun.

For more information on those deals, click here. Regular prices for adults is $5.25, for kids it's $5.00 and for Seniors $5.00. The Bowling Depot is located at 64 avenue NE, Calgary, on the South side of Deer Foot Mall.

I have been to the Bowling Depot many times, and even hosted a party there once. Their pizza is pretty good but greasy, and they have a game room. The Bowling Depot also has a juke box , so bring a few toonies or loonies. I give Bowling Depot 9/10, because the bathrooms could be a little tidier!

Calgary Zoo

The Calgary Zoo is a great place for family fun and discovery, and now until October they have DINOSAUR'S ALIVE! These are robotic dinosaurs that move and roar, located in the prehistoric park! (Watch out, some toddlers get very scared by this!). The Calgary Zoo is open every day of the year from 9 A.M- 5 P.M , except December 25 .

For information on the Calgary Zoo admission costs, click here. A kids annual pass is a great deal at only $18 (includes free parking each visit which is usually $5), you can get to see your favourite animals by just scanning your pass each time. In 2012, the Zoo is making room for penguins! Also new right now are the Carousel and kiddy-train near the west entrance! (Bring some loonies and toonies cuz it's $3 a ride each)

I have been to the Calgary Zoo many times and it is an ideal place for a picnic! Their park is kid friendly and very spacious, and the Zoo's ice cream is delicious!
I give the Calgary Zoo 10/10, because it rocks!

Park 'n Play

Park 'n Play is a FREE program by the City of Calgary. Parents can drop off their kids aged 6-12 years old from anytime between 10 a.m - 3:30 p.m. Park 'n Play includes many fun activities and crafts for the kids and some locations serve hot lunch or snacks.

Park 'n Play locations vary throughout Calgary. Click Here for more info. They're always on a big field, such as a school field.

I 've been to Park 'n Play a few times and I had lots of fun playing games with other children my age. There is quite a few friendly staff and volunteers to supervise us, and there is a portable bathroom or they take you on a bathroom break to the school next door so you don't have to hold it until your parents come!

I give it 10/10 because it's FREE and FUN!

Chuck E Cheese!

There's only one Chuck E Cheese location in Calgary and it's at 2612 32ND Street NE, or right next to Sunridge Mall. I just took my kids there a few days ago when it was raining (booooo) and what a great way to entertain the kids indoors!

I'm pretty happy with the management at Chuck E Cheese; every time I go it's clean, most of the machines work, the pizza's pretty good (though over-priced), and they are diligent about stamping and checking the hands of everyone who enters and leaves to ensure no kids sneak off without their parents!

At Chuck E Cheese 1 token = 1 game. The best deal I've found is by signing up to their email list: you'll receive coupons to print out such as 100 tokens for $16.99; actually right now there is a bonus 20 tokens so you'll get 120 tokens for $16.99. If you want to spend less, just use this coupon, don't buy food there, and it'll be an afternoon of fun for less than $20 for at least a couple of kids! You can also get 15 free tokens by bringing in a good report card or 10 free for filling out calendars such as a homework calendar, but only with food purchase. See these promotions here.

For hours, map, and phone, click here.

To sign up for email coupons click here.

BTW, my youngest is terrified of the Chuck E Cheese mascot so beware!

I give it 8/10 because of the over-priced food, limited menu, and the staff could be perkier.

Cardel Place

Cardel Place is a huge recreational facility in N.W. Calgary. It's right by my house so we go there often usually to the Country Hills Library which is located inside or to the swimming pool which is clean and nicely designed. The library is a newer one so it's very nice looking too. I take my youngest to story-time there, and these free story-times book up SO fast because they're so popular.

The pool is not as huge as a leisure center pool, and no waves, but there's a unique "river" feature which is a semi-oval shaped section attached to the major pool that has rushing/bubbling water running through it that drags you along like a river. It's quite relaxing if you're hanging onto a floaty. There's also a big shallow end with tons of fountains perfect for toddlers and a warmer baby pool. There are only 2 lanes for laps but it's usually not busy so you'll definitely get a turn. The hot tub is cool because it's designed like an infinity pool where the water reaches the top of the hot tub and sort of spills over the edges and has a nice view of green fields through the large windows next to it.

Cardel Place also offers a rock climbing wall which the kids will love, badminton courts which need to be reserved in advance, a fitness centre, skating rink, day care, and I love the mom and tot play time which runs three times a week where they usually inflate a huge bouncy castle and let kids up to age 6 go crazy in the big gym (for less than $4).

Check out their website to see what else they offer for you and your family! I give this beautiful recreational facility 9/10, docking one point only because I think the swimming pool could use a larger deep end.