We tried the world's biggest bounce house in South Philly
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Childlike Kumbaya. Photo: Isaac Avilucea/Axios
It was one small step for this man, and one giant leap for bounce house enthusiasts.
- My partner and I recently took on the "inflatable goliath" at Philly's Navy Yard, and with each gravity-defying step, we felt some of the euphoria that astronaut Neil Armstrong did during his famous lunar expedition.
- Throw in some Michael Jackson moonwalk vibes for good measure, and you have the appeal of Big Bounce America.
The intrigue: It had been several moons since I was inside a bounce house.
- Mainly because, it's unbecoming of grown adults to bowl over toddlers like they're impersonating the bruising late NFL running back Jim Brown.
Yes, but: You don't have to worry about blitzing little Tommy during the all-adult sessions.
Zoom in: We took advantage of the three-hour open jump session. It was a little bit date night, a little bit battle of the sexes as we raced on the sprawling "American Ninja Warrior"-style obstacle course.
- But the party was really happening inside the World's Biggest Bounce House, a three-story behemoth with enough space for about 300 people, a DJ and a hype man energizing the crowd with games.
- Think Mario Bros. meets Sonic the Hedgehog meets Candyland — colorful castle spires, bouncy mushrooms, candy-cane forests, tunnels, basketball hoops.
The highlight: We joined a group of strangers to successfully eclipse a record by keeping a giant ball up in the air for longer than 2 minutes, 39 seconds.
- That was after three ghastly failed attempts, people desperately flapping and falling over each other like felled bowling pins.
The bottom line: If only for a fleeting moment, Big Bounce America lets you shed the stodgy straits of adulthood and revisit a time in your life when the only thing you worried about was having fun.
If you go: Tickets are $42 each for timed adult sessions running each weekend through Sept. 9.