After School Treat at TCBY and Boundless Playground Fun in Bloomfield

Cut to the chase. Take me to the Momsense.

I was flipping through one of those coupon magazines the other day and noticed an advertisement for TCBY.  Normally I’m not a TCBY regular, but the special they were offering caught my eye.  TCBY is a charge by the ounce spot (a little too much uncertainty for me) but they were running an after school special where their 10 ounce cup was $3.99 (unlimited toppings).  Now I could handle that!

The special began on August 28, 2013 and looks like it runs through the end of the year.  The fixed-price deal is offered daily from 12 – 6 pm.  [Now I’m assuming that because it is called an “after school special” that it only runs on weekdays, but I totally forgot to check!]

Currently TCBY has three Connecticut locations and they are all running the after school special.  The locations are Bloomfield, Glastonbury, and Simsbury.

We decided to try out their Bloomfield location because I had also heard about a boundless playground located nearby.  More on the playground in a bit, but the combination outing ended up making for a fun afternoon.

The Bloomfield TCBY was located in the Wintonbury Mall off Park Avenue.  I was actually very familiar with the destination because I used to take a zumba class at the Arthur Murray Dance studio nearby.

Parking was plentiful and it was an easy walk inside.  I was assuming they weren’t going to have high chairs (which ended up being a correct assumption), so I brought Sweetheart in her stroller so she could enjoy her froyo from a cozy seat (and not escape to the topping bar for a handful of sprinkles!)

There was seating available both inside and out, but my kids definitely wanted to eat inside.  Mostly because it was a chilly day but also because the inside looked like lots of fun.

The information online said that I needed to print out a coupon for the special, so I did.  You can find a link to the coupon on the main page of any of the Connecticut TCBY locations.  In reality, though, no one ever asked me for it and the TCBY employee said it wasn’t necessary.  If you decide to go, though, and have time to print it out, I would bring the coupon just in case.  I’d rather have it and not need it than not have it and need it.  Wow.  Say that 10 times fast.

If you have been to TCBY before then you know that it is self-serve and the first step is to select your preferred cup size.  Since we were having the special, that decision was made for us and I grabbed two of the 10 ounce cups.

There were a variety of frozen yogurt flavors to choose from and an even larger variety of toppings.  Since it was a fixed price, there was no stress for me as the kids made their topping choices.

We enjoyed our frozen yogurt and the kids, of course, made a big mess.

Bruiser finished his off pretty quickly and was ready for more.  Poor thing thought he could just head to the back and fill up his bowl again.  If that were the case, he would have easily eaten his weight in frozen yogurt!  He just loves his sweets all food.

Once everyone was done, we loaded back in the car and I double-checked the location of the playground that my friend had recommended.

It was pretty close, just a mile down Park Avenue.  A friend of mine and her family had met us at TCBY and were following us to the park, so I was hoping it would be easy to spot when we arrived.

I could not see the playground from the road, but I took a chance and pulled in at the light near 390 Park Avenue.  There was a sign for the middle school and a few soccer fields on the side.

I still wasn’t sure where I was going, but I continued on.  I headed straight down the road, past the sports fields, until I saw a parking lot on the right.  I pulled in and (fortunately) could see the playground up the hill.  It looked awesome.

Although I could see that there were parking spaces right next to the playground, the signage stated that those were only handicap spots.  So we parked in the lot and got the kids ready for the walk to the playground area.

Here is a view from the playground down to the parking area for another angle of the walk.

And here is the handicap parking located right next to it.

Oh, and here is the playground!

The playground was very, very nice and my favorite style, boundless.  This type of playground is designed for children of all abilities and provides a great opportunity for the kids to explore and play.

Some of my favorite features included:

• A large and small playscape
• Rubber matting for the ground coverage
• A covered picnic pavilion
• Variety of swings including standard, baby swings, and handicap accessible swings

I wasn’t able to get a picture of the entire playground so that you could see the full layout, but I did find a nice aerial shot at the top of the page here.

As I mentioned above, there were a few different areas of the playground.  The first was the large playscape full of climbing apparatus, slides and ramps.

There was a boat.

Lots of swings.

A covered pavilion with a picnic table inside.

A small playscape for the little ones.

And plenty of room for the kiddos to run!

There was also a restroom located right next to the playground area, but it was locked when we were there.  If that restroom isn’t available, the only other option I noticed was a port-a-potty located back in the parking lot area.

It was a fun Friday afternoon for this toddler crowd and their parents.  A little froyo after school special at TCBY and a lot of burned off energy at the Bloomfield Boundless Playground.  I would definitely recommend this outing for any one of these pretty fall days ahead.

Oh and if the TCBY closest to you is the Glastonbury or Simsbury locations, you can have the same combination outing.  We’ve been to plenty of playgrounds near both of those destinations as well.

• The Glastonbury TCBY is located in Eric Town Square and the Ross Field Playground is a great fully fenced in spot right around the corner.
• The Simsbury TCBY is located in the Avon Marketplace right off 44.  There is a small, but great fully fenced in playground called Walter’s Place located nearby in the Canton Green Shopping Center.

THE MOMSENSE:

TCBY Frozen Yogurt

Wintonbury Mall, 836 Park Avenue, Bloomfield, Connecticut

Phone:  (860) 263-7360

Follow them on Facebook!

After School Special Details:

• $3.99 for a 10 ounce cup of frozen yogurt
• Available from 12 pm – 6 pm daily (Though I’m assuming it is only on weekdays.  Need to double-check!)
• Available at all three Connecticut locations:  Bloomfield, Glastonbury and Simsbury
• Coupon can be found on their website.
• Coupon expires 12/31/13.

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Bloomfield Boundless Playground

390 Park Avenue, Bloomfield, Connecticut

Playground Features:

• A large and small playscape
• Rubber matting for the ground coverage
• A covered picnic pavilion
• Variety of swings including standard, baby swings, and handicap accessible swings
• Benches
• Water fountain
• Restroom (though it wasn’t open when we were there)

Tips and Things to Bring:

• Location:  The playground can not be seen from Park Avenue, so it is was a little extra effort to find.  Turn off Park at the middle school and head all the way down until the road ends.  You will find a parking lot on your right and a playground a little ways up the road.
• Parking:  Only handicap parking is available right next to the playground.  All other parking is a short walk down to the main lot.
• Restrooms:  There is a restroom located in the playground area, but it was locked the day we were there.  A port-a-potty was also available near the parking area.
• Strollers:  Might be helpful if you have non-walking little ones.

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