Imagination Station - Vail, Colorado

Heather K

This was ok. A decent way to spend 2 hours. The set up was ok. It's definitely an after thought.
The good: it was entertaining for the 3-5 year range. The light room was the most interesting.
The not so good: The staff member that was there was short and curt with the kids. The stamp pads were mostly dried out. The ball run area was cramped, a mess, and the magnets didn't really hold well

jon canty

The Imagination Station is absolutely wonderful. My wife and I have ere in vail for vacation with our three year old daughter. She had so much fun exploring all they had to offer. This was exactly the type of place we were looking for to let her play and have fun when it was snowing so much outside. Two ladies were working (The Sarahs) who were both very friendly and helpful. You should definitely bring your children here if you are looking for kids activities.

Susan Gleeson

The staff member sat on her computer all morning and very unfriendly. The set up was a messFlashlights all dead, stamper pads all dry. Left pictures to dry and they were in trash when we got back. No guidance with anything . Kids enjoyed but it could have been a lot better with a motivated staff member.

Mary G

I was disappointed with our visit here with 2 small children (age 1 and 3.5 years). The space is small- just two small rooms and an art studio in back. The front room has activities geared towards older children- a water table, a coin whirlpool, large connect 4 set, magnetic table with nuts/bolts for stacking, magnetiles, etc. The other room is an old converted office geared towards younger kids with a play house, dolls, veterinarian set, and cushions blocks that make a little castle.
This feels like a space designed by someone that has never worked with kids. It's hard to tell what age it is intended for. The front room wouldn't be that interesting for older kids and the facility was not equipped to for smaller kids.
Main complaints:
- The space wasn't safe. There were uncovered outlets on the walls (including by the little climbing castle in the little kids room). The play house was rickety (I bumped into the play house and a plank fell off of the roof). The floor was strewn with choking hazards from activities in the front room (coins and metal nuts).
- Not designed with a child in mind. There is a water table but no place to dry your hands. The bathrooms only have extremely loud hand dryers that scare small children. Only large aprons available in the art area, so my arms of my children's clothes were covered in paint.
- Poor covid precautions. Masks required, but the employee working had a bandana barely covering her face. No hand sanitizer available. Old looking dolls and stuffed animals that would be hard to clean.

Overall, the space was underwhelming. The art studio looked interesting. The employee told us about some art projects available, but when we looked in the studio it was unclear how to go about any of those art projects. The staff member that manned the desk only offered to get us setup with some puffy paint. (And she seemed a bit puzzled when I asked for a towel to clean up messes or tape to make sure the paper wouldn't move around.)

Unless you're already in the area and desperate for something to do, skip the Imagination Station. Reservations are required and the $25 fee seems steep for what they offer.

Ps- If you are driving into Vail, this is on the 2nd floor of the Lionshead parking structure. It's convenient, unless the parking garage is already full with skiers.

Kimberly Hinton Farrier

Great for littles, especially when it's too cold or snowy for out door activity.

Greg Knaddison

This might be one of the best places in vail for kids (and adults). They provide an amazing set of activities for kids to explore: water table, marble run, bean bag chairs, 2 player throw-balls-against-the-computer-light-up-wall game, a giant coin whirlpool thing, magnetiles, and that's just a few of the items in one of the 3 areas of the space. They have VR headsets and words, clay painting, and a craft area with rotating activities. As an adult I could spend hours on just 1 of the activities and my kids LOVE it. Some days they are open until 8pm, so you can come early in the day and then take a break and come back. They also offer some "parent's night out" type events periodically, so check the website.

aimee kim

It would have been nice if there was more info online about the community/art studio closing at 1:30pm. The front room is small and has a few activity centers - a water table, a marble run, some blocks, an giant operation game, (light up game wall didn’t work).

Ian

Pretty cool. Free for kids under 2.