In the news: OC Today-Dispatch by Tara Fischer, Staff Writer

A family-owned indoor playground has finally arrived in West Ocean City, offering kids and parents a rainy-day entertainment alternative. 

Situated inside the shopping complex Outlets Ocean City on Route 50, Ocean’s Playhouse, an indoor play space, welcomes children up to age 12 with its underwater-themed playground elements and lively decorations. 

Kids can climb up or across a modified rock wall, time themselves racing through an inflatable obstacle course, chase their siblings or friends through a soft play maze structure, go down a few slides, create patterns on a light-up wall, and enjoy a classic ball pit. A compact area is also tucked away for the younger children. 

Ocean’s Playhouse is owned and operated by Ocean City local and Bulgarian native Lina Atanasova, with help from her husband, Veli. The Atanasovas’ inspiration to create a kid-focused indoor entertainment space came from their experience as parents to two young boys.

“I said to my husband, there’s no place in our resort town where you can go indoors and entertain your kids,” Lina Atanasova said. “We have a mini indoor golf course, but little kids are kind of hard to manage there, because they need to be a little older so they know what they’re doing. After that, we would need to travel to Salisbury or Lewes. We shouldn’t have to leave our town.” 

The idea for the playground was thus born. Parents can bring in their children two years old and under for $14.95, while older kids incur a cost of $22.95. This pricing model includes both the adult and one child, for an unlimited amount of playtime. 

Extra adults are typically welcome free of charge if a mother and father are both present, or if a grandparent, aunt, or uncle accompanies them. However, if the facility reaches maximum capacity, each additional adult will be charged $6.95. 

A key component of the playground is that any equipment the kids can play in, the adults are welcome to as well. The elements were created specifically to accommodate all age groups.  

“I worked with a designer and I said, ‘I want to make sure the structures are wide and stable and it’s big enough so adults can go and experience these things with their little kids,’” Atanasova said.

The owner added that, in addition to offering daily open-ended play, Ocean’s Playhouse will double as a birthday party hotspot. Parents can book celebrations for either a weekday or the weekend with different pricing models available. 

The weekday birthday party package is $450 and includes admission for 10 kids. Additional children will yield a cost of $15.95 each, with a maximum party allowance of 15 youngsters. A weekend festivity is $500, and $18.95 for each additional child. 

Parties include the use of a reserved room for two hours, two large cheese pizzas from the nearby Mione’s, one side dish, and drinks. Ocean’s Playhouse staff sets up the designated space and is responsible for the post-celebration cleanup. 

“A mom from a party [this week] was like, ‘So I don’t have to do anything now?’” the owner said. “Every parent is expected to run around, so that’s what I do. Everything that I wanted as a parent, I do it.” 

Atanasova emphasized that as a local business, it was important to her to partner with other Eastern Shore organizations to get the indoor playground up and running. Some collaborators include Antonio Contracting LLC, OC Electric, Phillips Signs, Plak That Printing Co., D3 Corporation, DBS Point of Sale, Action Island Imprinters, George, Miles & Buhr, LLC, Deeley Insurance Group, Home Impact Audio, artist Brian Waggoner, and Mione’s Pizza. 

The owner added that Mione’s food is not exclusively for birthday parties. The offering is available every day, and parents and kids can order restaurant staples, such as cheese pizza, pepperoni pizza, or chicken tenders and fries, during regular play hours. Ocean’s Playhouse staff will bring the fresh dishes to customers, who can enjoy them at one of the several tables located at the back of the facility. 

Atanasova is excited to offer the indoor play space to town locals and visitors all year long, especially as Ocean City heads into its offseason, when the beaches become cold and empty, and parents are on the hunt for kid-friendly activities. 

“We did it for the community, for our people,” she said. “In summer, those people will be happy to have this place on rainy days, on very hot days. And in the offseason, Ocean City can be a ghost town, and people need things to do.” 

Atanasova said she is looking forward to connecting with new people through her new business, a passion of hers that she cultivated over the past decade as a server at Big Peckers. 

“I really want people to know who I am,” she said. “I walk around and talk to people. I’m just myself. I’m a people person. I laugh with people, I joke with them. I worked at Big Peckers for 15 years, and that was a fun job. I never felt like I had a workday; I enjoyed it so much. And now having my own place, I want to talk to people.” 

Ocean’s Playhouse staff and owners will officially celebrate the indoor playground’s opening on Wednesday, October 1. From 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., the facility will offer special admission prices and kick off a raffle, which will run through the end of October, for the chance to win prizes, including gift cards. Also on October 1, a ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at 10:30 a.m.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Ocean’s Playhouse to Outlets Ocean City,” said Alane Damore, the general manager at Outlets Ocean City, in a press release. “It’s an amazing addition for families, offering a fun, safe, and creative space for kids to enjoy year-round.”