The Gymnastics Bus

My son absolutely loves the Gymnastics Bus — sometimes he does not want to go to school, but when I remind him that it is Gymnastic Bus day he is happy to go. I also love getting the videos to share with family and friends. He loves Coach Isaac and I am happy to recommend him!

We’ve been using the gymnastics bus since 2010, and have loved it every time. Coach Isac is so kind and really gets the kids excited over the activities (which leads to very tired littles)!
We have a little who is getting excited to get in on the action!

I have been avoiding Unilocal for years, but after seeing The Gymnastics Bus only has 2 reviews at the time I’m writing, I HAD to give in and write a review.
I heard about The Gymnastics Bus through a coworker who’s son had attended a birthday party on TGB and it sounded great, if not a bit impossible to imagine… gymnastics? bouncing, hopping, foam pit, zip lining kids in a BUS? Really?
Cut to my son’s 5^th birthday… I decided to give it a try. Being as we’d just bought our little old house right before the recession hit the hardest, we were on a super tight budget. So just get a cake and have an oversized play date at home, you say? Not an option, as our house was under repair from the roof giving way during winter rains… what to do? Renting any community rooms, school gyms, gymnastics centers or other spaces were all well beyond our budget. The park was out of the question– that option is really only for summer and fall birthdays, unless being wet and freezing is your idea of a good time.
We booked the bus, Coach Isaac would come to us at our choice of location. I thought about all the preschoolers’ parents that we’d have hanging around and decided to have him meet us at a café in a shopping center with a big parking lot. The parents all hung out at the café– sipping their coffees, having lunch and adult conversations (!) while Coach Isaac kept the ever-​energetic group of 12(!) preschoolers in constant motion and safely contained in the bus for AN HOUR AND A HALF!!!
The parents could check up on their kiddos at any point, and be right on hand for potty breaks or in case any shy types changed their minds about participating… but none did. When time was up, all the kiddos exited the bus very reluctantly but with smiles on their faces, excitedly telling their parents all about all the cool things they got to do. It was amazing. I couldn’t believe how many different activities were packed into that bus! It was like a bus version of Mary Poppins’ bag.
Coach Isaac has experience as a preschool teacher and exuded such happiness and warmth for these little people, and his manner for ‘correcting’ or otherwise dealing with some –shall we say– strong little personalities was kind & positive but firm. After the initial ‘testing’ or ‘sussing’ him out, these littles decided it would be more fun to follow the safety guidelines and stick around and play.
My son would get so excited when we’d see the bus driving around town, or on the freeway, and would have me unroll the window so he could wave. He’d always get a smile and wave or ‘toot-​toot’ in return. Over the weeks and months, parents would tell me their kids did the same– which tells me their kids enjoyed their time on TGBas much as my son did.
We booked The Gymnastics Bus for every birthday until my son aged out. I’d say that is the ONLY downside– that the kiddos eventually outgrow the space. We decided we had to have another son so we could have TGB birthdays again and see Coach Isaac and his smiles.
Kidding.
Well, we do have son #2, and he’s super excited looking forward to celebrating his birthday on TGB again this year. (and big brother LOVES that he gets to ‘assist’ Coach Isaac!)

My son started the Gymnastics Bus at three years old — I thought it would be an incredible experience since he loves to tumble and is very active. I came to learn that Coach Isaac has the children sitting and listening to instruction or waiting their turn for long periods of time — totally counter-​intuitive to what a tumbling class should be for three year olds. Because my son at three had a hard time sitting still and waiting so much, he often ended up in trouble or Time Out which sends a pretty negative message when the experience is supposed to be fun. In fact, Coach Isaac announced loudly in front of all of the children and visiting parents that my son is hyperactive and needs to be diagnosed.
Ultimately I didn’t find Coach Isaac to be warm and loving but very structured with a cold personality. I also found the cost structure to be way too expensive for the services —