Hideout Indoor Playground in Thousand Oaks (CLOSED)

UPDATE: Hideout is no longer here and there is no other information posted about when they closed. 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu Thousand Oaks is the new occupant of this space.

Hideout Indoor Playground celebrated its grand opening on March 1, 2014 in Thousand Oaks at the North Ranch Pavilion Center, 1125 Lindero Canyon Road, Unit A7.

This facility was custom designed by Sherry Ehya. The play area includes a modern tree house, play stage, art studio, indoor climbing area and more. There's also a spacious parent lounge with comfortable seating, TV and free WiFi. Geared towards ages 10 and under.

Open Monday through Friday for open play. As of June 2023, all day admission is $19.99 for unlimited daily entry on weekdays. Free for under 9 months old. No fee for accompanying parents/caregivers. On weekends the facility is available for private parties. Multi-entry passes also available.

Learn more at www.hideoutplayground.com or call 818.707.6900.

Lazertag Axtreme in Simi Valley

Lazertag Axtreme at 591-A Country Club Drive, Simi Valley in the Wood Ranch Shopping Center opened in July 2013. This facility has a customized 5,000+ sq ft three-level interactive arena, axe throwing, arcade with ticket redemption games and a cafe.  No reservations required to play but for groups of 8 or more are recommended.

Axe throwing was added to the mix in June 2019, when the name of the place was changed from Lazertag Extreme to Lazertag Axtreme. I see what they did there.

More information at www.lazertagaxtreme.com or call 805.577.8400.

They also have axe throwing now. Minimum age is 12.

For local history buffs, the Camarillo LazerTag Extreme location (formerly known as LazerStar), closed 3/18/12).

KidzCity in Woodland Hills

KidzCity, Inc is a licensed play, educational and party center where you can safely drop your kids off or stay, chat or work in our work rooms for no extra charge. KidzCity offers a variety of kids' activities, including video games, ping pong, air hockey, foosball, board games, toys, dress up activities and more.

Open on no school days and holidays for fun play and activities, as well Parents' Night Outs on Fridays, camps, after school programs, birthday parties and more. All ages, including adults. Located at 22325 Dolorosa Street, Woodland Hills (Ventura Blvd and Shoup).

More info at kidzcity.co or 818.887.7516.

Sky Zone Thousand Oaks at Janss Marketplace

Sky Zone Thousand Oaks (formerly Defy Extreme Air Sports and formerly DojoBoom) opened at Janss Marketplace in Thousand Oaks on November 3, 2017. (and became Defy in late 2019 and Sky Zone in late July 2022).

Offering over 50,000 sq. feet of fun, including walll to wall trampolines, free style jump, skyslam, ultimate dodgeball, foam zone, skyhoops, rock wall, and much more.

Open 9am to 9pm.

Birthday party packages available. 

Learn more at www.skyzone.com/thousandoaks call 805.410.4690.

Children's Storytimes at Local Ventura County Area Barnes & Noble Locations

Barnes & Noble bookstores offer up some great storytimes for kids at designated times. Below is information about local B&N stores in Ventura County and nearby areas.

Children's Storytime in the Childrens' Department of Barnes & Noble at The Promenade at 160 S Westlake Boulevard, Thousand Oaks on Saturday mornings at 11am and certain other days and time frames. For more information and upcoming events, call 805.446.2820 or visit store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/store/2751.

Children's Storytime at The Commons at Calabasas location, 4735 Commons Way, is on certain Saturday mornings at 11:00 a.m. and periodically Toddler Storytimes are on Thursday mornings at 10am. For more information and upcoming events, call 818.222.0542 or visit store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/store/2054.

Children's Storytimes at the Ventura Gateway, 4820 Telephone Road, Barnes & Noble location vary from some Friday night storytimes at 7pm (geared towards ages 2 to 8), Saturday morning storytimes at 11am and Tuesday morning Toddler Storytimes at 9:30am, but do check first as dates/times can vary! For more information and upcoming events, call 805.339.0990 or visit store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/store/2054.

For other locations and information, visit www.barnesandnoble.com.

Blast City Laser Tag in Oak Park (CLOSED)

CLOSED AS OF FEBRUARY 2023.

Located at 618 Lindero Canyon Road, Oak Park (at Kanan; and next to Kids World Indoor Playground), Blast City is a two-story high, state of the art, fully immersive, mission-based, role-playing laser tag experience for ages 5 years and up.  It is located adjacent to Kids World with its own separate entrance. 

Blast City Laser Tag game play consists of three different game "Chapters" that will move players from beginner-level recruit to high-tech warrior. Players begin by having fun while learning the arena layout and laser tag equipment, then advance along the way to become a laser tag Overlord- in complete and total command of the arena.

The game Chapters are segments of an evolving story based in the not-too-distant-future that combine 18 missions and game levels of exciting, mission-based role playing laser tag featuring multiple obstacles and types of targets.

Blast City also features a cool, modern arcade and party rooms. Blast City is a great place for birthday parties as well as team building, company events and groups of all ages.

Visit www.blastcityla.com for hours of operation and other information or call 818.338.8888.

Harley's Bowling Centers - Simi and Camarillo

I loved bowling as a kid but today bowling alleys are few and far between. The Ventura County Medical Center in Thousand Oaks, previously a Border's bookstore, prior to that was the 40-lane Conejo Valley Village Bowl in 1995 (can anyone tell me more about that alley?) but there are no bowling alleys in the Conejo Valley today.

The good news is that there are two alleys within 20 minutes of us. Harley's Bowling Centers (www.harleysbowl.com) operates alleys in Simi Valley and Camarillo. Simi has 24 lanes and Camarillo has 20 lanes.

There is another Harley's now called Harley's Valley Bowl on the east end of Simi Valley that was formerly Brunswick Zone.

There are leagues for kids ages 6 and up and for adults. There is the popular "Atomic Bowling" with loud music and black lights. These alleys also make great birthday venues too...try the bumper lane bowling for the little ones. You can rent a lane for open bowling by the hour or by the game

Harley's Simi Valley is at 480 E. Los Angeles Avenue, Simi Valley (exit Madera off the 118 freeway) (805.526.4212).

Harley's Camarillo is at 305 Arneill Road, Camarillo (Ponderosa Shopping Center, behind 99 Cents Store) (805.482.0747)

Kidspace Children's Museum in Pasadena

Kidspace Children's Museum is an interactive, must see children's museum next to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, located on four acres inside Brookside Park (480 N. Arroyo Boulevard).

Kidspace has over 40 hands-on exhibits, in addition to gardens, arroyo streams, and frequent daily/weekly activities. Designed for kids between 12 months and 12 years old, Kidspace provides children the opportunity to explore the physical, natural and environmental sciences while having a lot of fun. While at Kidspace they can dig for fossils, climb 40 foot towers, see a real bee hive or even start an earthquake.

Visit www.kidspacemuseum.org or call 626.449.9144 for more information. During the months of September through May, the museum is open Tuesday through Friday, 9:30 am to 5 pm and weekends 10 am to 5 pm. Open Mondays from mid-March to early September.

General admission (as of January 2022) is $14.95 for ages one an up. Seniors (62+) are $12.95.

While making the trek to Pasadena with two young kids can be a haul, it is definitely worth it. There are so many things to see and do both inside the museum and in the large outdoor area, your kids will have fun for several hours...climbing, crawling, playing, feeling, discovering, tinkering, etc. The cafeteria has a decent selection of food too and the museum store has a large assortment of neat learning items. And on your way back home in Ventura County, stop by Griffith Park for some kiddie train rides!

Build-a-Bear Workshop - The Oaks Mall

Build-a-Bear Workshop, located on the 2nd floor of The Oaks mall in Thousand Oaks, offers your little ones the ability to customize their own stuffed critters in a very experiential setting.

We've been to several birthday parties at Build-a-Bear (including our own son's 5th birthday party) and the process they take the kids through is enjoyed by all.

Birthday party way back when.

Kids get to choose the bear or other furry creature, add a "sound" or "voice," stuff it, choose a heart, stitch, fluff, name it, receive a birth certificate, dress it and transport the newborn home in a cute cardboard condo. And of course accessorizing the new family member requires follow-up visits. 

This Build-a-Bear Workshop was completely remodeled in 2013.

For more information, visit www.buildabear.com or call 805.449.8704. 

Visit www.buildabear.com/locations?StoreID=72 for store hours.

Agoura Hills Library

The Agoura Hills Library first opened on October 27, 2001 in its 17,772 square foot facility at 29901 Ladyface Court. The library is part of the Agoura City Hall Civic Center and well as the County of Los Angeles Public Library System (and thus your library card is can be used at dozens of L.A. County libraries).

The library is located off the Kanan Road exit or Reyes Adobe Road exit from U.S. 101 Freeway on Agoura Road and Ladyface Court. The facility has a copy center, computer center, 2 conference rooms, and a Friends of the Library bookstore & browsing area.

There’s also a household battery recycling site at the library.

Visit lacountylibrary.org/agoura-hills-library or call 818.889.2278 for more information.

As of January 2022, the library is open noon to 8pm Tuesday, 10am to 6pm Tuesday through Saturday and closed Sunday/Monday.