Pump It Up Arlington, Arlington

Pump It Up knows it's all fun and games until somebody gets hurt, so they skip the last part. Each piece of the indoor inflatable playground is held to the wall by a complex series of anchors installed according to strict safety standards. The staffers' watchful eyes take care of the rest. Sock-clad striplings are then free to safely launch themselves into the air with a plethora of kid-friendly bounce pads. Adult counterparts can leap alongside their offspring through gargantuan bounce houses, skip down air-filled slides, or slither like snakes covered in bacon grease through an inflated obstacle course. Occasionally, the lights get switched off, and the roomful of players navigate the air-cushioned obstaclescape with glow sticks and bracelets.

The colorful venue also hosts custom birthday parties and private team parties, each themed to please the partygoers in question. These soirees immerse children in a schedule of interactive activities befitting a pirate or a superhero that melt off youthful energy faster than ice cubes tossed into a running DVD player. At the climax, the birthday boy or girl gets to blow out the candles on their cake while seated on a blow-up throne.