Gymboree Play & Music

As a first time mom I expected a little more then expected. I thought there was going to be a lot more activities aside from what they offered. The worst part is every activity lasted about 5 mins or less.
I did not like that it was only 45 mins. It should be longer.
On a good note, my 9 month old LOVED it ! She enjoyed every moment. She laughed and giggled and interacted with the others very well. She was not shy nor scared.
For her I would definitely come again but only for the gym time not for the classes.

We love this place! My almost 2 year old daughter going here for Learn and Play class and open gym. The stuff is very friendly. Everybody remember my daughter’s name, which is very nice, and always welcoming us when we coming. The manager was willing to work with us when we need it to postpone the subscription. Will be coming here with my son too we he grow up a little more.

Overdue review. Price is what you pay for.
We attended a birthday party, before we had a party for our 2 yrs old. The party is very organized and the party focuses on the birthday person, while including her guests! I love that they make every child feel welcomed.
Party is 2 hours max unless you want more time, you pay for it. You would be lucky enough to book a party when another appointment is not after yours. You get more «grace» time.
The instructor my daughter had was Awesome! Forgot her name, but she was an older lady with several years of experiences! I love those kinds of instructors!
Highly recommend party here with little ones! Get them active, social, and a clean no mess fuss party! :D

We love Gymboree! The facility is pristine, and everyone who works there is very friendly. My son loves the music class; however, the attendance is sparse. One week, there might be five kids in class, but only two or three will show up the next week. The teacher is great and customizes the class to the number of kids in attendance. I just wish there more kids!

We had our toddler’s first birthday party here at the beginning of the month. We are members of another location, but only Chantilly and Burke host birthday parties in this area. I cannot say enough great things about the party! We had such an incredible time and it completely exceeded my expectations! Our teacher, Stella, was AMAZING! She was completely engaged and the children had a blast!
We have been members of Gymboree since our child was 5 months old. While we enjoy our weekly classes, the quality of the classes is heavily dependent upon the instructor. While we love certain teachers at our current location, if Stella is any indication of the weekly instruction at the Burke location, we will be checking out the Burke location and consider going there for our weekly classes instead. She was that good!
The best part for me of the party was how it was organized. We had several different aged children at the party from six months to 4 years old. To accommodate that, for each activity, Stella presented options to accommodate each child’s ability and activity level. It was great! The six-​month-​old babies had just as much fun as the 2, 3, and 4-​year-​olds. Also, since the activities were divided, the older children were able to run around and have a blast while the younger children could still safely explore.
Stella contacted us the week before to determine how we wanted the party structured and our favorite activities. She then honored our request to lead our toddler’s favorite songs at the party. Our toddler had so much fun because all of our favorite songs and activities were presented. It was incredibly cute! To make our lives easier, we went with the Gymboree theme and are so glad that we did. Everything provided is Gymboree themed and the colors in the location go well with whatever colors you choose for balloons (we chose a multicolored set).
My ONLY complaint is with respect to the favors. I asked Stella what was included in the favors during our initial consultation and was told that in addition to Gymboree’s Bubble Oodles (the solution), each child would receive the Gymboree signature Bubble Oodles wand. I was pleasantly surprised about this and had already purchased a dozen + packages of Gymboree Bubble kits in advance thinking the wand was not included. It was VERY important to me that each guest receive the bubbles, INCLUDING the wand because Gymboree’s bubbles are our favorite. I then did not bring the dozen packages of Gymboree bubble kits that I already bought to the party because I relied on what I had been told about each child receiving a wand. When we arrived, however, Stella informed me that she had received incorrect information about the favors and the center director instructed her to ONLY include a Gymboree cup, bubbles (the solution), a Gymbo sticker, and a free class pass in each favor. I have had to scramble since the party to give each child the wands I purchased in advance and would have brought and included in the favors at the party if I had received the correct information. Even though the favors were adorable as described, I feel that the wands should have been honored with the favors for our party since I received and relied on that information in advance.
Overall, the wand issue was a minor point (after-​all I had already purchased wands) and Stella’s amazing energy, attitude, and instruction completely made up for this inconvenience. She is amazing with children and completely made our child’s first birthday beyond memorable! I highly recommend her and this location for your child’s birthday!

Birthday parties at Gymboree are great!
We’ve been enrolled at this location for play classes since our son was 5 months old — he started in Level 1 and now is in Level 5. So it was a no-​brainer to hold his 2^nd birthday party here.
We reserved well in advance to make sure we got a date that worked for us. Closer to the time, the teacher who would be leading the class, Miss Sam, let me know she’d be our party host and asked if there was anything special I wanted to occur or if I had questions, and that she would be in touch the week of the party to go over any details.
Miss Sam checked in a few weeks before and the week of the party, and made sure she knew which activities our son enjoyed, what songs she should definitely plan to sing, and other activities to include.
On the day of the party, she was there early to set up the party and play rooms and helped us bring in our snacks/​cupcakes.
During the first hour, which is structured like a play class, she led all of the guests in activities and songs, occasionally leads a «Happy Birthday!» cheer for my son. The kids got a workout, and several parents who had never been to Gymboree told me their kids were loving the action, and that they definitely planned to return (one of the party favor items is a certificate for a free class).
After an hour in the play room, we herded the kids into the smaller music room, where Miss Sam had set up tables and chairs for the littles. Kids and parents also could sit on the floor mats to eat picnic-​style. She led the singing of happy birthday, checked that everyone has enough cheese and fruit and crackers, passed out cupcakes and helped keep the buffet tidy.
As people were getting ready to leave, we did the Gymboree goodbye song with Gymbo the clown puppet kisses for each guest.
As the guests were leaving, Miss Sam helped us pack up all of the leftovers and presents and get them outside (the class is on the second floor, and the building has an elevator).
We had a wonderful experience, and we highly recommend Gymboree of Burke, Gymboree birthday parties and having Miss Sam as a party host!
A few details:
* There’s a $ 50 deposit to reserve a party, with the balance due on the day of the party. You don’t need to have a head count in advance; there’s a minimum price for a set number of guests, with a charge for each additional guest, but that is assessed the day of the party.
* You get a discount on the party booking if you are a Gymboree family. It’s definitely worth going to classes in advance of the party to familiarize the birthday boy or girl with what the class is like, so there’s no confusion/​freakout over the noise, etc. This is NOT a quiet party.
* This a great party for active toddlers, both party honoree and guests. The kids run around and dance, climb, sing songs and pretty much get their wiggles out. By snack time, they are ready to calm down and chow down.
* All kids who come need a parent to stay with them the whole time. Parents need socks, and kids can go barefoot or sock-​footed.
* You bring your own snacks, cake, drinks, etc. I recommend something easily portioned or pre-​portioned, to save time.
* Gymboree provides paper goods, party hats & favors, setup and cleanup, and the party host helps serve the kids during the food portion of the party. (In most cases, moms and dads are serving/​monitoring their own kids.)
* A previous post about parties complained that the party venue didn’t honor the parents’ «princess theme» request, This is a Gymbo-​themed party, with Gymbo paper goods and favors. Elsa or Anna from Frozen are not red-​haired clowns, so if you have your heart set on princess plates and napkins, just bring your own. We brought a few plates and napkins leftover from our son’s first birthday party to supplement Gymboree’s provided items, so it’s perfectly fine to bring a few pink plates and cups.

Apparently my first review «disappeared» but I dont mind rewriting it. I decided to havr my daughter’s first birthday party here since the sight says they «specialize in first birthday parties.» Biggest lie ever. I asked for a princess theme. What I got was a dollar store Happy Birthday sign that they threw up on the wall wit thumb tacks after we walked in. They had red clown cups and a red dollar store plastic table cloth and then had to go across the street to the grocery store to get plastic forks and spoons.
The lady at the desk had the nerve to tell me that we needed to wait because they arent used to people showing up early. We were 5 min early. 5 min. My kid was not at all interested in anything she was doing in the playroom and then she sat at the desk on the computer the rest of the time. Then she tried to overcharge us and argued with us about it until we did the math for her and proved she was overcharging us. And we still had to tip her. The biggest waste of our money ever! Please consider The Little Gym instead.

Just felt that 3 stars were not fair. My child loves the gym classes and his teacher. The front desk person is also extremely nice and caring. I still feel uneasy about the gaps in the mats, though.

I have been going to this location for over a year. I really enjoy this place! I have a great time with the kids and they always have a blast.
I can be QUITE the germophobe, but they are very good at sanitizing the toys they give the kids and I like the fact that I can see them do it!
I have seen a tremendous improvement in my youngest’s ability to socialize and she seems to be developing quicker than my oldest. I wish I found these classes sooner.
I recommend these classes. It is an investment but my children are worth it!

We’ve had my son enrolled in gym classes here since he was six months old, and also on and off in the music class. We also had his first birthday party here. As a result, I have a lot to cover, and it was very hard for me to pick a rating for here since I have different ratings for all three components (so I just took the average):
Gym/​Play Class — 5 stars — The gym classes here (originally level 2, now in level 3) have been amazing. The curriculum is top-​notch and clearly does a great deal to advance the developmental goals that would cause you to be putting your child in such a class to begin with. I KNOW our son sat up and started crawling faster because he was in this class, and his progress towards walking has been amazing — and he makes incredible progress at each class. I’m not going to lie, out of all the classes my son is enrolled in, this is by far the most expensive ($ 82 per month), but it’s been well worth it, and since my wife is stay at home and so my son is not in daycare, I certainly can’t complain about the comparative cost when my son’s still able to get a great deal of social interaction from these classes.
When we first enrolled, we loved the instructor for the class, and it was very hard on us when she moved to Colorado. When the new instructor came for a class before the old one had left we were not impressed, and were concerned going forward. However, for whatever reason, after the old instructor did leave the new one really stepped up and has, in my opinion, been just as fantastic. We requested her to do our son’s birthday party as a result — she (Emily) really loves the kids and interacts with them so well.
Birthday Party — 4 stars — A birthday party at Gymboree is basically a longer-​lasting play class with kids your child is familiar with (considering the typical clientele at Gymboree, in my experience most «guests» are Gymboree first birthday parties are other Gymboree babies). So, to that end, it’s hard not to think it’s pretty fantastic, and it is. To make matters better, the parents of the birthday baby get to choose most of the activities (I believe we could have chosen all of the activities if we wanted to, but we still wanted to leave some room for the staff to decide what to do) — so if you know from experience in the Play classes what your child loves to do the most, you can make sure it’s done.
After your prolonged play class comes the cake/​food eating, and this is where my rating drops to the 4 stars. This is no staff member’s fault, and I think is more a result of the smaller size of the location than anything else, but when it comes to meal time, basically everyone has to sit on the floor on a parachute to eat. For elderly guests, you can request chairs, and they do have some chairs, but there’s still no table for them to sit at. I would STRONGLY recommend that this place consider figuring out how to add a long table with chairs as an option to the birthdays. I know for our son’s first, we were fine with the set-​up, since there were enough chairs for my parents (the only people older than 40 that were there), but if we do it in the future, I’d want at least the option to have a full-​length table and chairs, and since I know that would be extra work to set up, I’d be willing to pay extra for it.
Music Class — 3 stars — So, the music class here was (note the past tense) a big disappointment for me. Originally, when we first started going, the instructor was the same as our old Play instructor, and the class was amazing. The exposure to music from around the world was very neat, and I think our son got a lot out of the class. When our old instructor left, however, unlike the Play class, the new instructor just was not up to snuff as I saw it. She never really seemed to «get» the program, and we were very turned off the class. Enrollment plummeted, and we ended up coming less and less often. That instructor is gone now, and the new one seems much better, but our son’s nap schedule has changed so we’ve only been able to make the new music class once, so I’m still stuck with our negative experience and not ready to bump up the review yet until we can actually make it to a few more classes.

DO NOT HAVE A BIRTHDAY PARTY AT THIS GYMBOREE LOCATION. I recently had a birthday party at this Gymboree location and the experience was horrible. I had requested for a staff member from another location to facilitate my party, and was only informed at the last minute that they would not be able to do it.
The person who did my party did not know my son and the party goers were bored. Plus, we were overcharged by $ 90 when I received my final bill and had to call the manager to complain. We were double charged for items that I purchased for goodie bags four weeks before the event.
The person who was facilitating my party called me only TWO DAYS prior to the event. In comparison, when we had my son’s birthday party at Little Gym of Alexandria last year, we were contacted not only two weeks PRIOR to the event, but they checked in with us via email during the entire planning process.
I was informed that the people at my party would not be able to sit at a table with chairs, like they did when we had our birthday party at Little Gym of Alexandria last year. The attendees at my son’s birthday party had to sit ON THE FLOOR on a parachute, which is unacceptable. Imagine the horror of having to ask your son’s elderly grandmother sit on the floor in a party room if she wants to enjoy the festivities.
Also, at Little Gym of Alexandria, there were 2 – 3 additional staff members on hand to assist with stuffing goodie bags, etc. and do other essential tasks so I could enjoy the party as a parent. At this location, that was not the case. I had to take price tags off items I had purchased at the location 4 weeks before the event and also had to take items out of the original packing because the staff didn’t do that in advance and left it up to me on site.
DO NOT HAVE A BIRTHDAY PARTY at this location. I had my son’s birthday party at Little Gym of Alexandria last year and they were fantastic. I have also had great experience attending birthday parties at JW Tumbles (Alexandria) and My Gym (Alexandria and Chantilly locations).
I can go on and on about the issues we had by having a birthday party at this venue and we definitely regret it. I was embarrassed for my son and for the party guests.
Do not have a birthday party here unless you want your guests to be terribly disappointed.

The people that run this place do a great job. I’ve been taking my son off and on to classes at the Burke location since he was 3 months old. He loves it! My only issue is with the music class. Why don’t they sing songs the children are familiar with? Wheels on the bus? Itsy Bitsy spider? Row row ur boat? Instead I end up spending the whole class trying to force my kid to like a song he is only going to hear once. It takes repetition for children to like and know a song. The gym class though is excellent!

I enrolled my daughter in the music class and a play class here and it was pretty decent. The music class always had great attendance, while the play and learn maybe had three kids in it.
This location offers a preschool class that I considered putting my daughter in, but I preferred having her in an actual classroom setting instead. I’m due with my second child and plan to enroll her in classes here too. Gymboree is a great environment for babies and toddlers.

The gym is clean and it is obvious that safety is important to the people working there.
I disagree that the area is deserted as another reviewer stated, it just isn’t in a busy mall area which I prefer. Fewer people around and less traffic to get to the location!
It is true that there are not lockers to put purses in, but the cubby area is right in front of the front desk, which is manned throughout class times. I don’t feel worried about my belongings being taken.
The instructors are wonderful, patient, and well prepared for each class. My daughter loves her time there. They follow developmental milestones and their activities challenge children to try new experiences physically and socially. I would recommend this location to any of my friends.
The price is very reasonable. I was worried that it would be inflated slightly due to it being in the Northern VA area, which tends to be higher than other areas, but this price is very reasonable.

It’s definitely more than play… The instructors are great and we always have fun!

I am from out of town. Although the mall is a little creepy because it is so deserted, the gymboree play area was a lot of fun for my toddler. He ran around, on top, inside, and had a great time. The only thing was that I found it a little pricey for just 2 hours. There is also no locked area for purses and valuables.