Your Guide to Planning a Successful Kid’s Birthday Party at a Theme Park

When it comes time to organize your child’s birthday party, it can be a challenge knowing where to host it and how to keep all the guests occupied and entertained. No matter how old your child may be, opting to host their birthday party in an indoor theme park is an excellent idea as the venue offers a variety of options that you can feel good (and safe) about.

While other potential venues may be limited in activities, an indoor theme park has it all, which is what makes it the ideal party place. For example, at the best indoor theme park in Dubai, the children can go on rides, play arcade games, sing karaoke, play pool, and take part in Virtual Reality or VR experiences. In other words, it is guaranteed that all the children (and also all the adults) in attendance are going to have a fantastic time.

To make sure you are hosting a party that everyone will remember fondly, read on for your guide to planning a successful kid’s birthday party at a theme park.

1. Prepare your budget.

As with all events, the costs for your child’s party can quickly start to add up. Therefore, before you start planning anything, it is crucial that you set yourself a budget. Then, you have to be steadfast in sticking to it (the hardest part!).

One of the best ways to think about the cost is to break it down into per-person cost. You can then start to divide out how much you are willing to spend per person for food, drinks, and entertainment.

2. Pick a date.

Once you have your budget in place, it is then time to select a date that works for you and your family. You also want to keep in mind whether or not your chosen date works for important guests, like your child’s best friend and their aunts and uncles.

At this point, you can also reach out to your chosen indoor theme park to make sure that they have availability for your precise date. The earlier you plan the event, the more likely you are to ensure that the chosen date works because indoor theme parks can get booked up months in advance for events.

3. Discuss party options with the venue.

One of the benefits of hosting a child’s birthday party at an indoor theme park is that the venue is usually open to discussing the party options.

For example, at the best indoor theme park in Dubai, Hub Zero, you can choose from three different packages that each includes kids’ meals, a party host, decorated party rooms, invitations, and entrance to the facilities. The options range from which day of the week you want to host the party as well as how personalized you want the experience to be.

4. Consider the appropriate timing.

Keep in mind the children’s ages when planning the party time. For example, if your child is seven, a good party is about 2 to 2 1/2 hours long. After that, children tend to get too tired and overwhelmed – particularly when they are at such an action-packed place. As children get older, they can handle more extended events, although you don’t want it to run for more than three hours. Generally, it is best to host the party in the afternoon.

5. Brainstorm the guest list.

When creating the guest list, keep in mind that you only want to invite as many children as you think you can handle, and that is within your budget. Consider asking for some help from family and friends if you are concerned about needing some back-up adult supervision. If they need some extra convincing, let them know they will get some Dubai theme park tickets (or tickets to the venue in the location where you reside).

6. Invite the guests.

Once the venue has been confirmed, it is time to start inviting your guests. Speak with your child about what they think is the best way to invite their friends. One option is to have your child hand out invitations at school; however, this could also cause issues as some classmates may be upset if they aren’t invited.

If you think this may be an issue, brainstorm ways to invite people more discreetly, whether that is through email or you handing invitations to the parents.

On the invitations, make sure you include the date, start and end times, the venue address, and an RSVP contact number. If necessary, include parking information and special requests such as “No gifts, please.” Additionally, make sure to indicate on the invitation whether parents should stay throughout the party. This is strongly recommended to avoid any misunderstandings.

7. Choose the food and beverages to serve.

One of the best options when hosting this type of child’s party is to organize the food and beverage options with the venue. Not only does this make planning easier for you, but it will also make the event go more smoothly as you don’t need to be concerned about warming things up or forgetting the cake.

When planning the food and drink, make sure to think about kid-friendly options as well as adult meal options that will be provided to entertain adult guests while their children are enjoying the party. Whatever you decide to do for food and drink, you must consider the dietary requirements of all your guests.

8. Get creative with favors.

If you are going to be handing out favors to the young guests, then make sure you give them something that both they and their parents will appreciate. Don’t think that you have to spend a lot of money on the favors; you simply need to get your creative juices flowing. No matter what you choose to pass out as favors, make sure you have some extras available just in case a guest’s sibling stays unexpectedly or someone takes one more than necessary. The last thing you want is a child screaming because you’ve run out of party favors!

Have you ever hosted a children’s birthday party at an indoor theme park? Is it something you would like to do in the future? Why or why not? Let us know your thoughts and any relevant insights in the comments below!