Gymboree Play and Music

My daughter enjoys coming to Gymboree and I like bringing her so she can interact with other kids. The Instructors are great, class timings are reasonable but my main issue is the cleanliness. The lobby floor is DISGUSTINGLY DIRTY and its concerning because if they can’t even mop and keep a 5×5 foot area clean that makes you think the entire place is filthy.
They encourage kids to be barefoot but I ALWAYS have socks on my toddler because of this.
Another thing that’s lacking is décor. It’s actually quite depressing. The color of the walls and new furniture doesn’t depict FUN, PLAYFUL or KIDS whatsoever. I hear they are remodeling so I hope they read this review and update accordingly otherwise I will probably enroll my daughter in other activities now that she’s older.

my daughter love this Gymboree and learnt a lot here. We used to be a my gym member since she was six month old. After she transfer from toddler to waddler class at 14 months in my gym, she is hard to follow, bc the age ranges is so big in my gym. There is big kids in her class. Gymboree is much better, is from 10 to 16 months. Easier to kids. They have bigger space in Gymboree than my gym. I am so happy I transfer from my gym to Gymboree. And price is much reasonable. 80+ for unlimited, my gym is 78 per month, but only one class per week. Doesn’t make sense. Btw, teachers are so nice in Gymboree! Recommended!

My daughter attended Gymboree for about 9 months. It was great while she was learning to walk, it definitely improved her skills and taught her to climb and follow directions, play well with others, etc. Ms. Diama and Ms. Diane were the absolute best and really the only reason I stayed as long as I did. My daughter got bored after a while and the facility is getting redone by the new owners, but new equipment is yet to come. Other Gymborees have all brand new equipment and this facility, while clean, is old and does have some broken equipment (nothing that is dangerous to kids). My main reason for leaving was the class sizes got way too large and too many people brought grandparents and friends and it was just too many people. Everytime I brought a grandparent to watch, they stayed in the lobby. Also, I feel a lot of parents go against the rule of not coming sick and were open mouthed coughing along with their kids. This had me frustrated. I probably went during «busy» times but it seems as if it was a new thing, I think the owners recruited new families, which is awesome for them, but not so much for the customer. It is pricy… I would say worth it from levels 2 to 4 but after that I think the babies are becoming toddlers and it is too repetitive. I signed my daughter up for dance and soccer through the city rec department as a replacement for Gymboree and so far she is loving it and it is something that grows with her. If I have another child, I definitely would do the classes again, but for bigger kids I just think it isn’t enough of a challenge for the price.

This is such a great place. I’m so glad that it’s close by to my house driving wise. And just to go for free play is awesome. I love seeing how all the children interact with the instructors as well with one another. On my days off I’ve been going with my niece and she absolutely loves it. She’s so comfortable with in her own little bubble. Playing with all the activities, making friends, and giving high fives to her instructors. She’s normally a shy little bird but to see how much fun she has is great. She’s 2.5 we are working on teaching her to share but overall it’s a great place. She’s been since she was a few months old and she just recently started going actively.
We have to talk her to leaving at times because we either have another occasion to attend or it gets late where she’ll fall asleep before dinner and bath time so we don’t want her to feel too worn out.

I like this location for Gymboree. The space is nice and large, clean and includes a lot of different areas for play. I think the teach seemed a bit disorganized that day BUT there were many kids to wrangle so I understand

So I’ve been going for a few weeks now for my 13 month old. It’s pretty repetitive. They do the same thing over and over again. My biggest complaint has to do with their scheduling. Do they not understand that 10 – 16 month olds are still taking two naps a day? My poor kid is either tired because I had to wake her up to attend class or she’s tired because it’s nap time. At least the Irvine location has times that makes sense for each age group. I don’t know if they’re lazy here or they just don’t care. I came here because my neighbor recommended it but I might just try my gym instead. I hear they do different activities and have more items for the kids to play with.
Update: they’re remodeling and eventually going to add new equipment so I’m changing my rating for now. They’ve also added more music and art classes which is a plus. I notice that someone said something about it smelling — I don’t know when they went but it doesn’t smell to me at all like cat piss. I know that smell too I have no clue what they’re talking about. Another added star are for two instructors that are pretty great – Miss Diama and Miss Madi. My daughter really likes them both.

This Gymboree is just phoning it in. They do the exact same program every week. My 18 month old is now so bored he just runs around the whole time. When I called to cancel they didn’t even care. They didn’t even say «sorry to see you go». Seriously? I’m going to try mygym, as the reviews are much better there.

Love this place. I’ve been coming for 3 months, and I honestly believe this place has helped my daughters development. It’s a safe place for her to run around, climb and play. The unlimited package is the best deal– my daughter goes almost every day. It’s also great to have a little parent interaction to break up the day.

We tried a preview of the learn and play and it was fun. I was disappointed that none of the staff (there were two at the desk) came over to say «hi» and introduce themselves, talk or play with my daughter. That would have been nice. One member wasn’t even doing anything but yawning and standing there looking at us from time to time. I was trying to compare it to another baby class we attend (My Gym) because I like to be open-​minded and try new things with my daughter. The facility was dirty. The lobby floors were so gross. They may have been stained but I think it was dirt. Then I smelt something funky in the corner where the Emergency exit is almost like cat pee (I have cats so I’m familiar). My daughter did enjoy the class but it’s not for me. I kind of enjoy the separation time that our other facility gives us and much more friendly staff.

We received a flyer in the mail for a Summer special so I decided to sign up my 16 month old son for the Music class. He really love it there! Every time I mention we are going to Music Class he says «Yeah!». We try to get a little play time in before or after, and have enjoyed the other parents and Miss Meagan. She is very professional and really understands toddlers and says very encouraging things to them throughout the class. I am most impressed with the fact that she just seems to have a really good disposition and my impression of her is that she is a very good hearted, patient and loving person. She seems like a very good role model, even for me! My son seems to really like her, and I enjoy watching his participation increase in class and how well he follows instructions.

We LOVE this Gymboree! I tried a bunch of different Gymboree locations. Cerritos, long beach, tustin. But we like this one the best. The teachers (except maybe for one) are WONDERFUL. They have fun and say very sweet things about the kids. They told me how much they loved my little guys energy and that he was ‘so fun’ to have in the class and that made me a proud mama bear :-). But it’s not just the teachers, it’s the facility itself. They keep it pretty spotless, they encourage the use of hand sanitizer. It giant and well equipped. ALSO, I must mention all of the awesome kids, mommies and daddies that come here. I’ve been to some gymborees where the moms just leave their kids and stand outside the gates texting-​sheesh! The parents here participate! And the classes seem to have a lot of boys so it’s awesome rowdy fun!

We started coming here because we bought a groupon. We have just finished our first month and I cannot tell you how much my son loves going. He is 13 months and this has defiantly helped his development and social skills.
The place is clean and is cleaned on a daily basis along with the toys. There is hand sanitizer located all over the place. They also have 2 bathrooms in back with changers.
The teachers are wonderful too! We are going to try and get him in a music class next!

I have been coming to thud Gymboree for about a year now. It is just what I expect it to be –fun time for my kid. I never have a problem doing make up class if we miss a class so it works with my always changing work schedule. It’s also kept clean. My daughter (Chloe) goes to the music and play And learn class. I especially recommend the Friday morning teacher (sorry I don’t know her name) for level 4.

My review is just for the open play experience.
At first I thought it was odd that NO ONE else was here on a weekend but after reading some of the reviews I understand!
We got a groupon so we aren’t decided yet if we are going to stay or not.
ANYways, my son and I had a blast! Lauren, the gal working couldn’t have been any friendlier, so no problems there. She came over to play with us for a little bit, but didn’t interfere, so I really appreciated her knowing when to give us some space.
Will we stay? Not sure but we had a good time doing the daddy/​son thing!

This place use to be good for the past few years. However, this place now has a new owner (or the owner just became active running the place), her name is Katie. One of my child was enrolled in two classes here and when he hurt himself (not at Gymboree) and couldn’t attend for few weeks, I asked Katie for extension or refund. She declined both. The manager who use to run this place before was super friendly and nice and would have easily accommodated us. Katie appears to be nice but that does not seem to be the case. The old staff that was awesome does not seem to be happy with Katie either.

I am suprised at all the negativity… this place is awesome. Both my kids have gone there (so since 2007) and have never had a bad experience… BTW Janelle is one of the best teachers there, I have no idea why someone would go off on her like that. Sometimes parents like to blame others for there childrens behaviors. As to the billing «trap» your billing cycle starts on a specific date if you don’t cancel before that yes you are required to pay for the next month thats how most companies work. They are changing owners so things will be different.

If I wrote this review when we first started at Gymboree, it would have been 5 stars, but now I don’t even want to drive near this place. Before I get into our disappointment, I have to say that teachers Tawnya and Anna are AMAZING and deserve a raise for what they do-​they are phenomenal.
During our 2 months here, our daughters gross motor and social skills skyrocketed! The open play gym was perfect too — my mom, who watches our baby during the day, would bring her in for some play time. We were so happy with this place that we decided to sign her up for the spring party. I was excited because you were allowed to bring who you wanted, so aside from my husband and I, my parents and sister came along.
Ugh, I still regret ever signing up. And this is all due to the horrible treatment we received by Janelle (Jenelle?), one of the teachers. She was overwhelmed from the very beginning, you could see it in her face. This place was FILLED to the brim with kids of all ages, and their families. Had I known that it was going to be all ages, I would have never signed us up. There were infants all the way up to 5 year olds, and our daughter seemed to be the only toddler aged child, so she was either trying to maneuver her way around seated babies or trying not to get knocked down by active older kids. It was a nightmare.
Anyway, long story short: Janelle constantly singled out our child at every activity that was set up, and she tried to make it sound like she was joking. «Sophia, you’re throwing everything out when you should keep it in so everyone can play!» «Sophia, are you taking all the stickers? Save some for the others!» etc. I was feeling so bad and I kept apologizing to Janelle and to the parents around who kept hearing Janelle pointing Sophia out. I told her «Please let me know if she is in the way, there are 5 of us here with her and we will get her out of your way.» She always laughed and told me not to worry, Sophia was doing what she was supposed to be doing. Okay, cool, that’s what I felt as well, but we are guests and we want to act accordingly so everyone has a great time.
Towards the end of this 2 HOUR AND 45 MINUTE PARTY (too long!), everyone was wayyyy over it, especially the parents. They were all lounging around and talking up a storm. Janelle was super frustrated, you could see it. Anyway, the classes always end with parachute time, so Janelle decided to set up the parachute and all the kids gathered in the middle. Mind you, Sophia had been having a great time this whole time and she became attached to Janelle because Janelle was paying so much attention to her — even though it was negative. Everyone gathered around the parachute and I was on the opposite side of Janelle. Sophia ran over to her and tried to sit in her lap and Janelle said «Oops, watch out Sophia!» and I called out to Sophia to come to me, but being a toddler, her listening skills are non-​existent when she wants something. Anyway, Sophia wouldn’t move and I was about to get up to get her, but Janelle moved over. Well, Sophia moved over too and tried to sit on her lap again, and Janelle lost her cool and said «UGH! Sophia, stop it!» and she picked her up (grr!!) and shoved her towards the middle of the parachute. I was stunned. My legs went numb and I couldn’t move, and I hate to say it but it was because I was embarrassed about what happened. Later on though, after talking to my mom and my husband on separate occasions, they were both super upset about what happened. My mom even said that a grandfather of one of the kids jokingly said to her «Good thing they don’t have detention here, otherwise your granddaughter might have to go in to it — I don’t think the teacher is very fond of her!» I was so upset to hear that. Being a Pre-​K teacher myself, I know how hard it is to «perform» in front of parents. The children are wild and crazy, and when the parents are there watching your every move, it can get very frustrating. So, I understood how she was feeling, but that didn’t make her actions okay with me.
Well, I wasn’t going to let this go, so my husband and I went to talk to the manager Angie, who is super nice and was so great about listening to our concerns. She shared with me that Janelle has an infant at home and another child about the same age as our Sophia, and so she may have let her «motherly» instincts come out. Well if her motherly instinct when her child is in her face looking for attention is to get frustrated and move them out of the way by picking them up after scolding them, then I feel sorry for her kids. I didn’t find this reasoning acceptable at all — I AM SOPHIA’S MOTHER, I can handle her, and I even told her to let me know if she was in the way, but clearly she isn’t professional enough to know how to handle children. Angie gave us a free month of music classes but we were so disenchanted with this place that we cancelled our contract with them the following week.

Overall, I have loved taking my kids to this Gymboree location. My daughter came from 6 months to 2.5 years and my son currently goes weekly. They both loved it so much. My son gets very excited when he knows we are going to his class.
It is a but pricey, but is comparable to other similar businesses.
I also had my daughter’s 2^nd birthday party here. It was really great and the teachers did a great job. The staff is very friendly.

Love this place… it’s just pricey! But Ayden loves it!

this is a great place and i love taking my 22 month old son here. The staff does a great job and they have tons of energy! A wonderful place to bond with your little one.

This place was great. For about a month.
Then it is was a we bit boring.
The people there do a great job, They put a lot of energy into the classes and are very spirited.
I wouldn’t say it is for everyone.
But, if you are lacking in creativity at home and need assistance, then this may very well be the place for you.

WOW! Although there are only two reviews that supersede mine, I am a bit surprised at how negatively perceived this location is. I recently took advantage of a Living Social Deal and enrolled my almost 3 year old Daughter. I have been to this location once before for a Birthday party, which was fun and the staff was appropriately vibrant! So I will review my experience in order of events and will update accordingly.
So I called Gymboree soon after I purchased my Living Social Deal for the «Play and Learn» program. I received a call back from Diane, who I believe is the Manager. She was VERY informative and welcomed me like any other customer. In following her direction, I emailed her my information so that she could register my child in advance. Great because this meant I did not have to come in to do it or waste valuable time the day of class. I had several questions and the email was always followed up with a great deal of information. So far, I am impressed with the customer service and attention to detail.
The day of our first class (BTW, parents, don’t forget your socks), we were warmly welcomed and my Daughter was already excited about the facility (first thing she said was WOW) and was quickly drawn to the merchandise. Like most Moms, I am very much aware of toy prices and one of my annoyances is how Gymboree over prices some of their toys. But, aside from this, it is the class experience that matters here, not the toys for sale. Continuing, the class happened to be instructed by Diane, who was very enthusiastic and led the class effectively considering the short attention span of our little ones. The children were not restricted to any instructor led activity and were allowed to roam about. Obviously, this is also a parent involved class, which means you actively participate and help direct and engage your child. So, this is where I hope none of the parents in the class I am attending will read this review! LOL! The first thing I noticed was how a few parents seemed NOT happy to be there and looked grumpy! They lacked motivation, barely involved themselves and weren’t personable at all! Buh humbug! OMG, now you can see how children grow up to be like their parents! It doesn’t take a scientist to realize that children learn and model behavior! So, having some parents lack enthusiasm does effect the class to a degree. Listen, we are all here for the same thing and that is to nuture the development of our kids. Diane did a great job of explaining why we were doing certain activities (ie, parallel playing, turn taking, conceptual tasks, etc.). Aside from this, the Staff cannot be blamed for complacent parents! If your looking for someone else to do your job as a parent, then enroll them in a preschool so you can go have your Latte!
Sorry for the tangent! Overall, our experience has been positive and I hope some of the parents come out of the shell. Maybe it was just a bad day and a full moon was expected. Bottom line, the instruction is great and the kids do enjoy themselves.
On a final note, I do agree with most parents I speak to that the class prices are somewhat expensive. A consideration to think about when part time Pre-​school is an option. A comparative analysis must be concluded to determine what would be the best value for your child. If your not ready to part from your wee one just yet, then Gymboree is a great option.

There are better places.
I started Gymboree when my little one was about a year old.
It serves its purpose. It is on the expensive side and they have some billing method that traps you in for another month if you don’t cancel in advance.
Just a Note: Parents can be weirdos. You will see that here. Since, I have found many places I prefer that are not as costly. I posted several ideas on my «The Kid’s List.»
The City of Anaheim has a great activities to offfer via ezconnect. There are also many private businesses. One of my favorite’s is The Little Gym, Tustin.
Orange County. The best place to raise a child!