Looking for fun things to do with your kids in Tulsa?

You’re going to get a kick out of this place.

Owners Angie and Frank Pena invited us to come out to Go Ballistic (at 6202 S Sheridan Rd) recently, so we packed up a big group of nieces and nephews on a Saturday and went to see what this place was all about.

Angie and Frank Pena started Go Ballistic in February of last year after having trouble finding a great indoor play place for their own kids. The actual facility is somewhere around 10,000 square feet, so there is a tremendous amount of room for kids to run around. Within that 10,000 square feet, you’ll find a pretty impressive array of options, from a toddler-friendly play room to inflatable slides and ziplines to an arcade.

We showed up a little before 1pm for our scheduled slot. They have a pretty impressive arcade and snack bar in the entry area, so the kids can play games and parents can get organized before heading into the party area. I noticed that they sell lots of different snacks — including Dippin’ Dots! — but they also have pizza for sale, if you’re looking to feed the kiddos.

It was hilarious watching the kids as they were turned loose on the play area! They all ran into the first big room with the multi-level structures that have big red and blue guns that shoot foam balls out, and as if by instinct, they began to man the guns and shoot them at each other. It was great! These guns run off of a safe level of air pressure, so they’re a blast to shoot, but they’re plenty safe, too. Naturally, I had to give the foam ball guns a try, too. They were pretty fun!

While the kids were kids were busy having a blast in this room, I got a chance to meet Angie and Frank in person. They were really nice people and you can tell they have a blast at their job. While we were chatting, Frank actually mentioned that they’ll be installing some virtual reality headsets sometime next month for older kids and adults to play with, so that’s going to be pretty awesome! I think I might have to come back out to test those puppies out, too.

Around the time I made my way back to the play area to snap some more pictures, some of the kids had found their way into a room with inflatable toys. Word quickly travelled back to the original room and before we knew it, all 12 of the kids had made it to this second giant room. Go Ballistic has a giant inflatable slide, which the kids had a blast running up to the top and racing to the bottom. They also have a big bounce house that has an inflatable basketball goal in it. On the far side of the same room, they have a huge inflatable zip line with an attendant working inside to help the kids on and off of the zipline. He seemed to be having about as much fun as the kids!

You can actually watch a video of all the inflatable toys, the playrooms, and all that right here.

The kids play in these rooms for the first hour, then it’s on to the party rooms for the next 45 minutes, where the birthday kiddo can open presents, blow out their candles, and all that fun stuff. Go Ballistic lets you come into the party room and decorate, too.

One of Go Ballistics workers stayed with us in the party room, where she served the cake, gave out drinks and refills, and even took note of what birthday gifts came from whom (for the purposes of thank you cards) — I was totally blown away by this! That is great customer service!

While I’m thinking about it, I was wanting to mention that another feature of this place that I really liked was that they have what could best be described as a “parents’ resource room” — that is a place parents can change and feed their younger children in private. “Considerate” seems to be the consistent theme with this outfit. I can always respect that.

On Saturdays, Go Ballistic is reserved from private parties from 8am to 5pm, but it turns into “open play” after that. I wanted to mention that, too, because Go Ballistic doesn’t only do private parties, which is great if you’re just looking to let your kid play for a little while to burn off some energy.

I think that — with regard to having a birthday party at an actual kids playplace/event center —  Go Ballistic is going to end up becoming our go-to option. Part of the reason that I run JustTulsa.com is to help promote and support local businesses and restaurants — Go Ballistic is a great example of a better local option. The other part is that the kids in my family had such an amazing time (and the Go Ballistic crew made it so simple to come in, play, have the party, and be done) that from an experience point of view, I can’t see why we would go anywhere else.

If you have any questions about Go Ballistic, you can write Angie and Frank here or you can call them at (918) 605-9698. You can also check out the booking schedule on their website, which is another super-convenient feature that I thought was cool.

See you all next time!