We’re a little behind in posting this review, but there’s a new indoor spot to play in North Raleigh! Big Air Raleigh opened a few months ago in the old Launching Pad location off Hillburn Dr. It’s an entire amusement park all under one roof! Your kids will love jumping on the trampolines, harnessing up for the many climbing wall challenges, testing their limits on the high ropes course, running through the indoor soft play tower, jousting their friends, and using their muscles to conquer the warped wall. The best part? All activities are included in the admission price so you don’t have to worry about different attraction levels!
Big Air Raleigh is very similar to Urban Air Adventure Park over by Triangle Town Center. Many of the attractions are the same, with only a few differences. However, unlike Urban Air, Big Air includes all of their attractions in one admission price. You don’t have to worry about pricing levels, or telling your kids they aren’t able to do certain activities. If you see it, you can play it!
Attractions
Let’s start with the unique attractions you can only find at Big Air:
XD Theater
The XD Theater is a 3D movie with seats that move. The movies they play are only about 7 minutes long, and there is a list you can choose from. All movies will give you a thrilling experience riding a roller coaster, driving through a safari, or riding a mine cart. Some can be a little scary and are definitely very jerky. Luckily, parents can ride beside their kids. The first time I took my 4 year old I sat right next to him to make sure he was ok. Since he was thrown around a little bit, he didn’t like the ride at first. Since then he has warmed up to it and has ridden all 6 different movie options!
The Bullpen
Where else can kids ride a mechanical bull in Raleigh? I don’t know of any other options except Big Air! Kids line up to take their turn and see how long they can hold on. The operators are very kind and keep the ride slow and calm for little ones. My 4 year old has ridden it many times. However, some ride attendants have turned him away due to height. I haven’t been able to find a clear height restriction on the website, so I guess it just depends on who is working at the time
Interactive Jump Arcade
Another attraction I haven’t seen anywhere else in Raleigh is the interactive jump arcade. There is a large TV screen located in the trampoline jumping area that is almost like using a Playstation Move. There’s a camera that can detect where you are so your body actually controls the game character! A lot of the games are like the old 2D Mario games, but instead of pushing jump on a controller, you actually have to jump! While this game is a ton of fun and will get you moving, it is a little hard for younger kids to figure out and the sensors aren’t perfect and can glitch. My little one tends to get out of the camera’s view so his character will no longer pick up his movements. This has caused some frustration for him, so I usually encourage him to play something else. My older kids are starting to get the hang of it though!
Zip Line
There is a short ground-level zip line that is perfect for the little ones. They can choose to sit on a disc swing to zip or hold onto a punching bag for their ride. Kids will do this zip line over and over, so there may be a wait for this attraction!
High Ropes Course
Similar to Galaxy Fun Park in Wake Forest, Big Air also has a harnessed high ropes course. The harness is attached to a rope on a track so kids do not have to unhook and re-hook like at some of the bigger, outdoor ropes courses. There are also attendants up on the course to help if kids get stuck, so this is a no parents required activity! My 4 year old has not tried this yet, but my 6 and 7 year old’s are pros! If your kid is scared of heights I do not recommend this one.
Harnessed Climbing Wall
While the kids are harnessed up for the ropes course, they can also test their skills at the climbing wall in the same area! The patterns are fun and make you want to see if you can make it to the top, but some of these walls are more difficult than they look!
The only downfall here is that once you hook in to a specific climbing wall, you are stuck there until an attendant releases you. You are unable to bounce between climbing walls without assistance, so you are left waiting for an attendant more often than not.
Indoor Soft Play
The giant indoor soft playground is the best attraction for the little ones! It’s an expansive 3 story high playground that kids and their caregivers can explore together to their hearts content. It includes lots of fun obstacles, tunnels, and slides, but beware – you can lose your kids in here!
Trampolines and other attractions
As for the rest of the park, you’ll find a lot of your standard trampoline attractions here! There’s a battle beam where you can try to knock your friends down, a dodgeball court, warped climbing wall with slide, trapeze and foam pit, and the gauntlet obstacle course, which has 3 separate runs with lots of obstacles. It’s like the high ropes course, but non-harnessed and closer to the ground!
Concession Stand & Parent’s Lounge
My kids are always able to spend hours here. Luckily, they make it easy by providing a Big Eats concession stand that has pizza, chicken tenders, fries, cheese sticks, corn dogs, and pretzels, plus lots of other treats and snacks. We have gotten the pizza and had dinner here before, so I’d say it counts as one of our restaurants with play spaces!
Over the holidays we took our out of town family to Big Air to burn some energy. Us parents brought some card games and hung out in the parent’s lounge while the kids ran around with their cousins. The lounge is located up above the attractions so you can keep your eyes on the kids wherever they are. The view isn’t as good of the dodgeball and warped wall area, but if your kids are older I say take advantage of the lounge! It’s also eye level with the high ropes course, so we were able to cheer on the kids right there next to them.
Admission
Pricing is in line with other indoor adventure parks in Raleigh, but I’d say it’s a bit expensive. You can see updated pricing on the website, but the top daily rate is $35 for unlimited play. Luckily, they recently added a special toddler time pricing for kids 6 and under. This is NOT listed on their website, but they will honor it in person. Price is $12 per kid ages 6 and under for 3 hours of play on Monday through Friday 10am to 3pm. Heads up that this is not a private toddler time where only younger kids can play. Older kids are still allowed in the building at this time, but will have to pay full price.
Monthly memberships are also available, but you must commit to at least 3 months. We don’t live close enough to make it worth it, but if we did I would definitely consider one! I just wish they did family memberships like Marbles Kids Museum and the Museum of Life and Sciences. With 3 kids, those monthly fees can add up fast!
Overall I think I might like Big Air a little better than Urban Air, just because all of the attractions are included and the toddler pricing is a great deal. We live closer to Urban Air but we’ve visited Big Air more in the past few months because of the fun attractions and decent pricing.
What about you? Will you be making a visit soon? Let us know in the comments what you thought of this new indoor play area! It’s also right next to Little Doodles Play Café, Lowe’s Kids Workshops, Target, and Cinemark Raleigh Grande movie theater, so you can make a day out of it!