Jennifer L.
Yelp
We've gone to MCM a handful of times in the past several years, and recently visited for a birthday party. Since our last time there, they've integrated and updated quite a few of the exhibits. We found the overall experience to be pretty good, with many things to do for our little one.
Some highlights:
1. The fishing area is always popular with our kids. They are able to get fishing poles and essentially fish between two levels (floor and upper level of the boat). This area is often packed and at times difficult for kids to get a chance at the poles, but otherwise still fun. They've added an Everglades and "quiet area" on the sides as well, although it really wasn't very quiet. :)
2. On the upper level, they've changed one of the exhibits to now feature Fitness and Health. We thought this was a pretty neat area as there were several activities the kids could try. This included a fitness maze, biking games, treadmill, balancing games and a few other activities.
3. The most popular area this time around was the Pirate Ship and Adopt a Pet zones. Both allowed a lot of room for imagination for the kids, including seeking out buried treasure and diagnosing and grooming your "pet".
4. In addition to the exhibits, MCM also had a "slime" making event going on at specific times of the day. This was pretty neat and allowed the kids to make their own slime.
Some improvements to be made:
1. Many of the exhibits and activities feature props, and removable accessories. As a result, they are often missing from their section as kids will take them and run off to other areas. We found this annoying at times as we couldn't complete some activities due to missing pieces. It would be helpful if the staff at MCM could find a way to attach or ensure the pieces stay in their areas. Or periodically have staff check in on them.
2. Due to heavy foot traffic, some of the areas were just too packed to play in. It would help if they could better organize birthday party schedules, lines/ or minimize capacity for groups.
3. Outdoor playgrounds need to be fully covered, to ensure kids aren't burned during hot days. The slides were extremely hot and with no warning, some of the kids were burned when they slid down.
4. Some of the exhibits were still the same as what they were almost 8 years ago- i.e. puppet show area, cruise line area. These need to be changed and updated at least.
5. Some of the exhibits weren't functioning properly (broken switches, missing lights, etc..)
All in all, MCM is not a bad way to spend time for families with small children. You can pretty much cover everything in about 4 hours, possibly less, depending on how much imagination you put into it, and activities you actually participate in.
Be aware that parking is not free. It is a self park with meter validation, so you need to pay, regardless of the day. We saw meter maids actively issuing tickets during our Sunday visit.