CULLMAN, Ala. – For five years, Jamie Owens and her family have worked to get an indoor playground in Cullman; now, their efforts are finally coming to fruition. RAM’T Up Indoor Play Center will open Jan. 10, 2020. The building is located at 2030 Main Ave. SW and will be open every day of the week from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Customers can do walk-in play sessions or make reservations for parties, and Owens plans to expand the list of services RAM’T Up will provide to include elementary school field trips and summer camps (though the camp is still in the planning stages).
When asked what inspired her to open an indoor play center, Owens said the idea came from her daughter.
“She was born about five years ago in January, and there really wasn’t anything we could do birthday party-wise in Cullman besides have it at our house,” she said. “You know that takes a lot of work – you’ve got to clean up before and after, do all this planning, and it really isn’t easy to do all that, so that’s where the idea kind of spawned. We’ve been looking into possibilities and doing research for about the last five years, and it’s just starting to come to fruition.”
She also talked about how her kids inspired the name of the business, not just the concept.
“I have four kids, and the R, A, M and the T are all initials from their names; Dylan Richard is the R, Tatum Alice is the A, Michael is the M and Tyler is the T,” she said.
Owens also said the community feedback after the opening was announced has been incredible.
“I’ve already got several people that have requested birthday parties for the upcoming months. Since you guys (The Tribune) posted that we were opening on the 10th, I’ve had probably 400 new people like it; I think that post reached like 17,000 people. My phone was blowing up,” she said.
During the tour of the facilities Tuesday, Owens pointed out the ceiling tiles, which are painted with various designs and messages.
“These were done by our life group at Temple Baptist Church, our kids and their schoolmates, so the community really came together to help us decorate the ceiling.”
When visitors walk into the building, there will be cubby holes for guests to put their shoes and a reception window for payment and waivers. Everyone must sign a waiver before entering the play area, and socks must be worn at all times. Once inside the play area, there is a toddler area to the left and the main play structure to the right. Down the hall are four birthday party rooms that hold around 20 kids each, though one room has a large door that can be opened to access more space for larger parties. The center will have vending machines for snacks and drinks, and birthday parties are allowed to bring cakes, dry snacks, and juice boxes or other individual drinks. Parties can bring in outside food other than cake or dry snacks for an extra fee to cover any additional clean-up.
Prices differ between weekdays (Monday-Thursday) and weekends (Friday-Sunday), type of play session (walk-in v. party reservation) and child age (3 and younger v. 4 and older). Two adults may accompany each child for free, but additional adults are $2 each. Three different party packages are offered: up to 10 children, up to 15 children and up to 20 children. The prices for the party packages also vary based on when they take place and whether or not they are private parties (i.e. no public allowed inside). The prices listed below do not include additional tax.
Walk-in
- Weekdays, 3 and younger – $4
- Weekends, 3 and younger – $5
- Weekdays, 4 and up – $6
- Weekends, 4 and up – $7
Party reservations
Up to 10
- Weekday – $150
- Weekend – $170
- Private – $500
Up to 15
- Weekday – $175
- Weekend – $200
- Private – $750
Up to 20
- Weekday – $200
- Weekend – $240
- Private – $1,000
Each party package includes free admission for party guests, unlimited play time for all guests on the day of the party, use of a private party room for an hour, complementary e-vites with RSVPs and a party coordinator to assist throughout the party (including set-up and clean-up). More details can be found on the RAM’T Up Facebook page (www.facebook.com/RAMTup/).
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