Imagination Playground

Not bad for a playground in the midst of the urban jungle. Close enough to the harbor to hear occasional fog horns and smell the Hudson. Best part is when entering the playground, in your mind you can see Spongebob autistic meme "imagination!"

One day last summer, we scouted out a new park and found Imagination Playground. We had such a great time with the kids here, that we had our cousins meet us at the same park the following summer. We came in from Long Island while they, from NJ. We took the NYC ferry to Wall St and walked a mere 2 blocks to the park. With sprinklers and sand for the kids, what more do you need to keep all happy. Every age can find some way to enjoy this cute park in the middle of the hustle & bustle of NYC. Yes, there are even bathrooms on the premises. Can’t wait to be back.

My son LOVED the water park! Every parent was helping each other and friendly... It's the perfect place to take your child on a hot day!!

This park has seen much better days. It was very seems to be very much neglected! The paint on the red house was chipping, all of the blue blocks have been removed, all of the umbrellas for shade are missing but one. The sand has a few left behind items, the bathroom was filthy! And the small shower room was locked. I'm not sure if the neighborhood even noticed. It needs a huge make over.

BEWARE! A couple of screws are loose in the ground of the water part of the playground, if kids run to fast they may get their leg cut from the screw (bottom of the foot specifically) sticking out, ALWAYS WEAR SHOES, learnt it the hard way and now I'm recovering 3 days after bottom of foot got cut and bread profusely.

Wonderful playground for kids. No jungle gym but there is a large sand area with a slide. There are also some rope ladders in the sand pit. A very nice and large water play area with jets and water basins. Sometimes the staff put our water toys and buckets for the kids. Overall a very Wonderful playground.

The sprinklers is okay for younger kids since they don't really want to get splash too much. The kids loved the sand. I liked the walkway/ board walk. It can be used with the kids scooters. It is a nice small park in an enclosed area that makes it easy to watch kids.

Great themed playground mainly consisting of sprinklers and sand in two divided areas with open concept. Today was our second time visiting. My initial visit was several years ago with my ten year old son while he was still a toddler and it was disappointing to see how the park has deteriorated over time as this was not the park I remember. The board walk or wooden floor areas were clean for the most part, sand was dirty and unkept. The blocks were not out not one and my child was looking forward to building which he was not able to do. There were only three umbrellas out to offer shade which left some seeking cover from the sun. There was also one umbrella closed and tapped up not available for use. Unfortunately I wouldn’t really recommend this playground for children beyond toddler to preschool age as amenities are very limited and even more without the blocks being available for use. Playground did not open until 10 AM today and someone with a child stated this is the usual opening time which differs from Google. Please restore this playground to its former glory as well as to operate as it is truly intended.

This playground sucks. Not a single tree. You just bake in the sun. Very few things for kids to do. There is a water fountain area a sand pit and a slide. Very bare bones. At least it is fenced in. We came from uptown to see it, was a bust.

We are FiDi residents. This playground was a great activity for our kids when deciding to move here. During Covid the playground was neglected and fell into disrepair. Mr. Glen, the park coordinator was fired due to city cutbacks. The wooden walkway is such a hazard giving many kids splinters and cuts. Then the slide broke and has since been sitting that way. It's quite a depressing place now. All it needs is a little TLC from the city or the Rockwell group. Perhaps a $$$collection. Either way, the city Parks and Rec has let this playground and the kids of FiDi down. What a shame.

Back in the old days everyone wanted to grow up when they were little; life was boring. The playgrounds were one flat slab of asphalt with maybe a handball wall, basketball hoop or if you are luck monkey bars and a hot metal slide that violated every OSHA rule you can think of for playground safety. The other day I walked by the new Imagination Playground and I wanted to be young again! The NYC Parks department took over this once boring parking lot bordered by John St. and Burling Slip between Front St and South St. The have successfully created a fantastic state-of-art playground for kids. There are water works, sand pits, large form blocks, ramps, bridges and even a tower to climb. They even added a modern restroom. The playground design is revolutionary. I wish my kids are small again so I can visit with them. Hint: do not walk in like me with a camera and start walking around taking pictures; you get a lot of strange stares from the mother bears protecting their cubs. So if you don't have children, go borrow, rent, find a child so you can enjoy this wonderful playground with them. More here: http://imaginationplayground.org/

It's ok. The water wasn't working at the time so maybe that would've bumped up the stars. I'm glad there was a bathroom inside the park, fairly clean. I liked the space of the park, plenty of room to run around. But no shade. Not really much to do. You really do have to use your imagination. And the fact that you can't be around your kid while they build with those blue foam blocks is annoying as fuck. Also that means that parents are just chilling on the benches and not regulating their kids which means those kids can act sh*tty with no repercussion.

Very nice playground in Lower Manhattan. Great for kids. Sand, water and things to climb. Whats not to like. Its also enclosed, and has restrooms etc. Easy park for those with toddlers and associated strollers etc. Its surprising to see this amid all the office buildings here, but in true NYC fashion, there are some residential buildings here too.

This park is cool, however the kids here were reminiscent of those assholes who buy tables at clubs and then guard them with their lives. Screw you, little kids! These kids here were such jerks in training. My boo and I were coming out of the South Street Seaport and I noticed this playground. I figured it'd be cool to check out. Every time I tried to grab with a random blue block, a kid ran up to me and said, hey, why are you touching my block? So I asked if they were using the other block. "Yup, that's mine". I repeated this process over and over again until I found some blocks that wasn't guarded. I really felt as if I was being bullied by these punks. Their parents were watching them and didn't even urge them to share. I'm not sure if every kid had to check out the blocks, but wow, these kids had some serious attitude. Those blocks seem like a total waste of taxpayer dollars. Back when I was a kid, we had to use sticks and rocks and make due with our imaginations. Heck our old playgrounds were covered with sharp edges and concrete, not rubberized flooring. Places like these are the cause of the wussification of America!

Great space for children to manipulate and manifest all their creative machinations. This is an innovative approach to a playground where there are no stationary play stations. The children create and dismantle their play areas using ginormous foam cubes ,and other shapes. This leads to a great sense of cooperative autonomy unlike any other park I have visited. There are also full time staffers monitoring this playground to facilitate appropriate usage of the equipment. It is good to have people maintaining the space for other future visitors. This place can get a little crowded and there are not too many places in to sit in the shade that's my only problem with this venue.

I have been to this playground numerous times and my five year old always has a great time! The building blocks are awesome and the water features are wonderful on a hot, sunny day. It's across from the Seaport and there are TONS of dining options nearby. You can even go to the TKTS office around the block and look for Broadway tickets 40% - 50% off. Bring your sunscreen! There are times that there is absolutely no shade and the sun just beats down on you. I'd give five stars but sometimes the supervisor speaks to the parents like they are children. Today he was rude and condescending when I asked him to wait 30 seconds for my son to return from the bathroom before taking apart a fort he spent fifteen minutes building.

Luv this playground. Only thing I dislike. The restroom is locked on Sundays. Where r u supposed to take your kids to use the bathroom? Especially younger toddlers, who are just being party trained.

More like kill-your-imagination playground. I say this purely because of the man who works there. He has now made my 2 year old son cry twice and he is literally scared of him, meaning he won't walk by the man without holding my hand. The most recent time was because he tried to tell my son that he could not fill up his bucket with water because there was already sand on the bucket from playing in the sandbox. He said we had to use a clean bucket and that I should teach my son the "right" way to get water. The first time he made him cry was because he was using his scooter in the playground, which I guess is not allowed. I understand if that is because of insurance issues or whatever, but we were literally the only people inside the playground at the time so then we just left. Other than the attendant the sandbox is nice and there is a tunnel slide right into it. The blocks are also fun, but again, the attendant hovers over and tries to control what everyone is doing.

This park is great for kids who think playing with sand and knocking down blocks more fun than swings, slides, and jungle gyms. The park is gated and attended by park personnel; there are bathrooms and ample stroller parking for parents. There are three zones kids can play in: the water area, a section with these giantic foam blocks that kids of all ages absolutely LOVE, and the massive sandpit. This is definitely a park where mom and dad will want to play with the kids. Downsides: The play areas are exposed and the only shade is under a little walkway and the slides; good for kids, not so good for the parents. Sunblock is definitely recommended. Also, this park is quite the trek for those with strollers. The nearest stop on Fulton isn't accessible and, if you're determined to use that massive tank stroller and require an elevator to get to street level you must hoof it from either the CIty Hall, Bowling Green, or South Ferry stations.

The Imagination Playground attendant at the playground near the South Street Seaport was terrible. I think it's absolutely wrong to tell a parent not to play with and enjoy their children. But I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, so I complied with his request to take a hands off approach. That's when he began to interact with my children in my place! NYC parents don't get a whole lot of time with their children and to have a fun family experience basically hijacked by a stranger is just wrong and absurd. The attendant literally told me that I should not help my kids and then proceeded to direct them to build HIS structure. He was awful. I don't think parents should EVER be told not to interact with their kids. And if that's the rule, then some stranger who enforces it should also ABIDE BY IT. Our children actually NEED and WANT our attention and would be just as well without a bossy stranger telling them what to do. Hiding behind lies that parents inhibit other children just demeans every parent who enjoys spending time with their kids and knows how to encourage sharing. The attendant should be fired. Or his job description changed to encouraging EVERYONE to enjoy the blocks together. I honestly will never bring my children back and will advise against this playground to everyone I know. I'll also report it to the parks department, 311, imagination playground and the better business bureau.

Great place to let kids have fun, in the water, sandbox, or on the rope climber. Met up with some friends and this place was one of the best play ground in the city as far as "creativity" concnered. This is a city park so there are a few "Park Rangers" working really hard to keep this place fun for kids (really) As for parents and friends, this is a control environment. With that said, shaded area is limited under several umbrellas. ...oh and for the sake of kids, leave your iPad or crackbery at home. Yes we can hear you loud and clear, I'm glad you are such big shot wall street guy making a deal on weekend, but this is a play ground. If you aint gonna take care of own kids, leave them with your sitters!! (thank you!)

Water play (in summer), sand, huge foam blocks for building. Great for young kids (up to 7?). Not a lot of shaded seating though.

The playground itself is great but unfortunately the male staff there was really rude and lack of communication skills. I understand the philosophy behind it but the stuff needs to use different approach others than saying that he has been working here for 8 years and was an child expert.

Imagination playground isn't the same anymore. We came on a Sunday at 12pm and there was no imagination whatsoever. Just fountains and sand. Waste of time.

This is a great playground! It's encourages so much creativity and play, it kept my 2 year old and my friends 3 and 6 year old pretty busy without needing any of our assistance. The playground is gated and has a great view of the ships across the street. There's a layered deck area with umbrellas that was perfect for us adults to sit under as we watched our kids play in the water area. But keep in mind, there's not a lot of ample shade for the wee ones, so sun block is a necessity!! There's chalk available for the kids to write on the walls and there's a large sandbox on the other side that we didn't even get to yet because the kids kept themselves occupied in the water area the whole time. There's large foam blocks in varying shapes to create lots of different and interesting structures with wagons available to transport them in. There's brooms to sweep the water with in the water area - absolute genius! The place was overall clean and had park rangers on hand to assist with the kids. With the amount of people that were there though, I would be concerned on how long they could keep up the cleanliness of the place. There was one bathroom, also very clean (used as partly storage) and large but lighting isn't the best in there. With the large amount of people and kids in there, waiting for the bathroom was a big deal for me and my little toddler. The playground is a great respite for parents after a day of shopping nearby, eating and checking out the ships. It keeps the kids very well entertained. The only thing missing was a waiter to serve us our martinis while our kids played....

A slight challenge to get to especially if you have kids that don't like to walk (or are stroller babies). Once you are there it is worth the trek. Bring plenty of water and snacks because nothing close by within eyesight of the park. Not a problem if one adult can stay and watch the kids while the other goes for supplies. Get here early as it fills up later in the morning. TIP FOR PARENTS: ask for a yellow cushion for siting - they go fast!

This playground itself is awesome. Kids can really come up with lots of play ideas here.. Some love water, some love sand, some love blocks. Some like to combine all. And it has public toilet, which is awesome. However, I agree with all the complaints in previous comments about the play attendant. He was claiming this is the way he has been trained, but really - it doesn't make sense to forbid parents to play with their kids at public playground! His argument was that it scares off other kids. While, he himself, by the way did not really care if he broke or modified the structures that kids had built. While the playground is really nice, it is only recommended to go there with very outgoing children (better, group of children who already know each other). More modest kids who do not blend in with strangers within 5 minutes or are not aggressive clearly are not welcome there.. Sorry to say!

This playground is geared to the local community. Unfortunately this is a Public Park with NYC dollars. The staff needs to brush up on their communication skills. No child should ever feel unwanted in a playground

A great park for all ages. There is a sand box with a sprinkler, a water area with cabanas, and a wooden deck filled with over-sized blocks and noodles to build with.

This playground is so weird. Apparently, adults aren't allowed to play with their kids here? I came here while I was babysitting and I was told by one of the employees that the play area was only for kids since this would encourage them to use their imaginations and adults scared them off. I've never heard of this at any playground and I thought the guy was joking at first (he definitely wasn't). I was directed to sit off to the side, which was really strange since my job is not only to watch the kids but engage with them as well. The boy I was with was so confused as to why I couldn't help him finish the fort we started and when I told him I wasn't allowed to play with him there, he tried to explore and entertain himself, but eventually came back and exclaimed that he was "so bored!" I understand that kids should be free to explore and do their own thing if they want to, but as an adult who needs to be responsible for them, we should have the option to stay close particularly when safety is a concern or when kids need attention.

It's a great park with sand, water, building blocks and some climbing with a slide too. It still in part recovering from hurricane sandy as the water area is not functioning though they have attempted to remedy this with a sprinkler. I have been here many many times since we moved to NYC 2 years ago and find the staff bothersome. But today was very odd. One of the male members of staff got very aggravated over my children putting sand on the slide. They weren't blocking other kids or throwing sand around. The "ranger" said don't put sand on the slide. So my kids started to try to take it off. He said " I've worked here every day for 4 years and I've never seen anything like this before". I challenged and advised him lots of kids were doing this yesterday when we were there...he abruptly said "no they weren't" and would not make eye contact. What a strange person to employ at a park! Also he continually swept up, moving kids out of the way, and some toddlers were told they weren't allowed to fill their bucket with water from the sprinklers. These "rules" aren't shown anywhere..and it would be odd if they were! I urge you to watch your kids closely to avoid any confrontation with staff who are intent on spoiling fun.

While this place does seem fun for children, the park attendant is extremely rude and demeaning. Will NOT be returning, ever.

My baby loves this park! We like the water play area on hot days! They have a nice big sand box, an enclosed slide, and some stairs to climb to the top of a tower that my son is obsessed with, and loves climbing up and down the stairs. It's good practice for him plus it tuckers him out fairly quick.They also have soft foam blocks to build with, but sadly they aren't out all of the time, and we were a little disappointed especially during Memorial Day Weekend. I feel very safe coming here and letting my son explorer and not have to worry about him jumping off a high play structure since it's mainly flat.

Creativity abounds in this destination playground. Well worth a trip from another part of the city to explore. My 2.5 year old loved the moveable pieces and sand box.

Great playground! My kids love the sand and water...they could stay here for hours. Just wish they has some benches and some shade. I know they have the umbrellas but it still get really hot.

I was really looking forward to going to this playground based on the reviews, but it was really disappointing. There isn't much to do- basically a water area, sand area, building block area, and some ropes to climb. Nothing special about the design- mostly it is just big empty space- I can't believe it supposedly took so many years to design, and I fail to see what is so innovative about it. The water area is flat out dangerous- they built a wall ledge that water flows down that all the kids try to climb, naturally, as it is the perfect height and looks like it is for climbing- the playground attendant told us kids are constantly getting serious head injuries from climbing and falling off it. Also, kids slip and fall on the slippery metal grate surrounding the water area- we saw a child fall and hit her head pretty badly. There is zero shade, unless you manage to score a spot under an umbrella by the water part- this means that on a warm day the only part of the park that gets any use is the water part and the rest of it is worthless. All the parks in Central Park are better. For a unique experience, try Slide Mountain in Brooklyn.

Great park, beautiful fun for kids that like sand, blogs and water . Park with great sensorial input!

I wouldn't necessarily travel all the way downtown for this playground. Washington place is brighter more going on and more for the kids to burn off energy. If you are in that end of town then give it a go, otherwise there are better ones to check out like Washington Place or Discovery Park.