Founders Plaza - Grapevine, Texas

This park does not have play equipment, it is an the airplane observation park next to DFW.

 Free binoculars.

 Statues of kids playing "airplane"

 Look over to the right, an airplane taking off. We didn't stay long because it was so cloudy you could hardly see the planes, not to mention it was windy and drizzly too!

 Airplane on the runway.

Name: Founders Plaza
Location: 1700 N Airfield Dr DFW Airport, TX 75261 (Grapevine, Texas)
Link to Map
Link to Official Webpage

Posted by: Amanda Dittlinger of Ditt & Dott

1. How big is the park? What are the amenities? 

This is a small park with a very specific purpose. It is a safe observation area to watch planes coming and going into DFW Airport. There are several shaded picnic tables and some plaques and statues. There is a nice field for kids to run in. One cool feature is that you can hear the air traffic controllers over loud speakers. There are also a few free binoculars. There is good parking. There are no restrooms. There is no play equipment.

2. Is it enclose or covered?  

There is covered patio tables.

3. What ages? 

All ages

 

4. How safe is it?  

The picnic tables are close to the parking lot, so as you are watching planes you need to watch your toddlers too!

5. Pros:  

Fun experience, especially if your kids (whatever their ages!) are into planes.

6: Cons:  

No restrooms.

 

Collin Creek Mall Playarea - Plano, Texas

Aerial view of the playarea

 The kids love pretending to drive.

 All the structures are made of foam.

 This is a favorite, little steps to a slide.

 Kids can crawl/walk through this.

 The puzzle on the wall held one of my girls' attention for a long while.

 This bridge is so fun for the kids. One side is stairs, the other side is a slide. They can also crawl under it. I love how there is foam around it too, so if they do fall (it's about 4' up) they bounce.

 Plenty of seating for the parents. Plus shoe cubbies.

 Fun graphics on the floor, but they are showing their age considerably.

 There is quiet a bit of duct tape around the play area.

 Good to know it gets cleaned once a day. Plus there is hand sanitizer on the way out.

 The rules and height restrictions. Although I will say during the summer when older kids are out of school they come in this area making it hard for the toddlers.

The exit is a wrap around, but I wish there was a gate. This little slide is perfect for the almost walkers.

Name: Tiny Town Childrens Play Area in Collin Creek Mall

Location: 811 North Central Expressway Plano, Texas - In the mall near Dillards, lower level

Link to Map

Link to Mall

Posted by: Amanda Dittlinger

1. How big is the park? And what are the amenities?
This is an indoor mall play area. It is smaller than some of the mall play areas that I've been too, but I still really like the equipment they have. My kids have always liked playing here. I love that everything in the play area is made of foam, so it is very soft for the youngest kids.

2. Is it enclosed or covered?

The play area is enclosed, but it does not have a gate. Even so, there is a good viewing area of the exit so it is easy to see if your kid tries to escape. It obviously is covered, as it is inside the mall.

3. What ages?
The sign says 10 and younger, 42" and under. I can not see a ten year old having fun in this area, maybe up to five or six. The great thing is it is perfect for crawlers, unless there are bigger kids running around.

4. How safe is it?
Very safe, mostly enclosed, foam, nothing too tall.

5. Pros: It's nice to have a fun play area that is indoor for days that are rainy, too hot, too cold or for today that was too windy!

6. Cons: The play area is definitely showing it's age. There is a lot of duct tape, rips and tears. And while it is good for crawlers, either bring your own hand sanitizer or make sure to use theirs. Even though it is cleaned daily the floor is not pristine.

Note: There is also a very small train that is in this mall. It's good for the toddler ages, and any kid that loves trains. The cost is $2 per ride and in my opinion needs a lot of imagination for it to be "cool."

Liberty Ridge Park - Murphy, Texas

Name: Liberty Ridge
Location: 201 Rolling Ridge Dr. Murphy, Texas
Link to Map
Link to City Website

Posted by: Amanda Dittlinger

1. How big is the park? And what are the amenities?
This is a very small park. It consists of one play structure, a picnic table and a few benches. There is a pond with a fountain which is completely enclosed. There is no restrooms or parking lot, curb parking only.

2. Is it enclosed or covered?

The play equipment was not enlcosed or covered, but the pond had a fence around it all the way.

3. What ages?
Except for the monkey bars this park was great for a two year old. Perhaps up to 6-8 yrs may have fun on this playground.

4. How safe is it?
This park is safe, it was in a nice neighborhood without much daytime traffic. The pond is enclosed, the playground isn't too close to the street.

5. Pros: We were the only ones there.

6. Cons: It was very small and very drab. Maybe in summer it might be nicer but everything was tan including the ground cover. I wouldn't drive out to this park again, but if you live close it would be a nice quick stop.

Kirby Park - Wylie, Texas

 

view of park

large "spider" climber

swing set

slide

The park is surrounded by houses. One of the houses looks pretty junky. There are large dogs in the backyard of another house, although they did not bark at us.

Name: Kirby Park

Location: 300 Masters Dr Wylie, Texas

Link to Map

Link to City Website

Posted by: Amanda Dittlinger

1. How big is the park? And what are the amenities?
This is a very small city park. There are three play items: a spider crawler, a swingset and a slide. There are also a couple of picnic tables and a grill. I did love the big trees in this park. There is some off street parking.

2. Is it enclosed or covered?
It is not enclosed or covered.

3. What ages?
5-12 is listed on the sign. My three year olds were fine, but the spider climber was challenging for them. I wouldn't recommend this for any younger than three.

4. How safe is it?
It is close to the street, but there wasn't much traffic when we were there. It is in an older section of Wylie that looks a bit rundown.

5. Pros: Because it was so small, I doubt that it ever gets super crowded. 

6. Cons: I did not really like the area that the park was in, but the park itself was nice.

Woodbridge Park - Wylie, Texas

 Small Neighborhood Park

 

Name: Woodbridge Park

Location: Fairland Drive & Lost Highland Ln Wylie, Texas

Link to Map

Post by: Amanda Dittlinger

1. How big is the park? And what are the amenities?
This is just a little neighborhood park, but it's still a fun one. The playground is good for 3 and up, although smaller kids can still have fun with close parent supervision. There is a grove of trees that my girls like to play "forest" in. In the fall there were huge green crabapples on the ground and they had fun collecting them and throwing them in the pond. There are three benches around the park.

2. Is it enclosed or covered?
It is not enclosed or covered.

3. What ages?
Toddler-Elementary

4. How safe is it?
It is close to the street, but it is just a small little neighborhood street. It is also fairly close to a pond.

5. Pros: It's not usually busy, probably because it is so small.

6. Cons: Nothing comes to mind.

Waters Edge Park - Murphy Texas

(Link to map is HERE)

Name: Waters Edge Park

Location: 601 Creekside Dr Murphy, Texas 75094

This is a great park. It is on the edge of a neighborhood. It is set back from the street pretty well. There is a playground for ages 2-5 (according to the sign) and I brought my girls here last summer when they were two so I agree with the age two part. There is one picnic table under some trees. There is a huge grassy area to run around in also. If you follow the trail back from the road it leads to a cute little amphitheater tucked into the woods.

Post by: Amanda Dittlinger