To be annoyed play centre held a party at the same time as open session?

As usual on mumsnet, people line up to be disingenuous.
this is not a large soft play where 20 kids go off for a party and leave 30 still playing or even where’s there are 2 or 3 parties and 20 -40 still playing.
it was basically a private hire and then a few add ons.
I have NEVER heard of this at any venue I have attended.
so 25 kids go off in front of you and leave 3 to play in the place.
I also don’t think the OP has ever suggested her kids should have been invited to the party more that the venue shouldn’t have had a few kids extra outside the party.
YANBU OP.

I was responding to pp who let her 22 month old gatecrash a party.

In your situation, I’d have made a big fuss about having the play place to themselves when the others were doing activities. Exclusive use! Sounds amazing.

Like others have said, if a place can have 30 children in, it’s rare they would close if it hasn’t filled. Children just have to learn that they aren’t invited to the party.

I too would have chosen a different time if I'd known that 25/30 spaces was a birthday party.

It sounds as though if the party hadnt been there, there would only have been a couple of kids. Surely you can see this wouldnt cover their costs

Has parenting changed in the last 15 years since mine went to soft play? You would just tell them no you can't go there and play with them yourselves and keep them occupied when its quiet. Its a non issue.

Our job, as parents, is to help our children negotiate less-than-perfect situations; not to make everything perfect for them. Your children will survive seeing someone else have their birthday party. Nobody has done anything wrong here. The cafe is a business and unless they maximise their income, they will close...simple as that.

That's AIBU for you, isn't it?

The venue could at least have explained to OP when she booked that 25 of the 30 places for that time slot were already booked for a party, which would take place in the same room, and that hers might be the only children not included. I think most parents would then decide to go at a different time. I know I would.

Play centres usually get plenty of repeat business, so you want to avoid upsetting children and pissing off parents in situations when it's easily avoided.

Perhaps in retrospect the centre staff would look at the scene and think they could have done things differently, but I don't think you can blame them.

That said, while you are not entitled to join the party, if your numbers are correct and I was hosting a party for 25 and there were literally 3 other kids there, I would invite them to join the games.

You job as a parent is to remove her.

That really doesn't need explaining... Imagine being so mannerless and then posting about it online.

Most of us have dealt with headstrong toddlers by the way, we pack up and leave when they are unruly.

There’s a lovely place near us that do crafting parties.
They are open on some days to the general public but at other times closed for Parties. The two don’t overlap.
Its been around for years, so clearly doing well.

To be honest I'd have encouraged mine to enjoy the space without 25 other children there once they were busy,what a treat. If I'd twigged it was a party I'd would have tried to steer mine towards letting the party children get on with playing and told them to remember the others are at a party. Also mightve talked about parties and future parties for them.

Of course we’ve experienced determined toddlers. It doesn’t mean you just let them gatecrash a party though.

Why didn’t you just leave?

I love the idea that a company should lose profit, have you done the sums?

You said it cost £30? So £15? X 5 spaces x 8 hours of being open=£ 600 potential loss of revenue per day.

Any business that can afford to say no thanks to potentially £600 x 6/7 days= 3600-4200 per week!

No need to attack …..etc….
We are all allowed our opinions.
I am however Shocked that you seem to think your assumptions on OPs status in the world has anything at all to do with this thread.

PFB I honestly do not know any parent who would feel the same as you.

I felt a bit sad for mine as they’d struck up friendships with some kids playing and then they were left almost alone!

That is LITERALLY how play places work... did you expect to take these kids home with you? lol. Its a child your child met and played with for a short while (only because they shared a space by coincidence) and will likely NEVER see each other again.

Even in a non party situation people leave at different times, kids get called to eat, kids get board, want to do opposite things or meet another kid they know and wander off.

Sounds a bit like pfb syndrome.

Sorry, but that's ridiculous - you can't just invite random other kids to the party just in case they miss out! You have to pay per head before the party anyway, you don't just add others on - unless you feel that the parents should cough up the cost for yours too?!

Op ...I don't think I've been to anywhere that doesn't hold parties at the same time as having it open to the public. They are a business. Yabu I'm afraid.

@UprootedSunflower but then you'd have a kid who is a total stranger to your kid at their own party. And that kid might be a pain in the arse! No way I'd make my own children put up with that and potentially be pushed or hit at their own party, kids I know only.

I agree with you. I think they should have let you know and you are being perfectly reasonable to be annoyed/upset.

If the party children went into another room then that would be fair enough but to have a party with almost every child there involved in the play space then that just makes things awkward for the children not involved as it was almost the entire group of children in the setting.

I understand that businesses need to make money but they should also be upfront with their customers so people return to their businesses.

So sad? Fuck me. OP's children are clearly from a relatively comfortably off family with a mother who thinks their needs and desires trump everything else so I don't think they've got it too hard in life. They'll survive not dancing at a stranger's party and eating cake, I'm sure. Although, my God, can you imagine the trauma if they had been allowed to join in and there was no...<gasp>...party bag for them at the end?! However would they cope? 😱

93% of posters disagreed with you the last time I looked, there was one other child there and you. You could have got involved or were you just hoping for a coffee while your kids amused themselves.
Honestly expecting the business to close because of your children is unbelievable.