I grew up in Beaumont, about 2 hours outside Houston, and use to spend lots of time at the Galleria growing up. But 20 years later I'm not as impressed with it as I used to be. Maybe that's because I got spoiled in Dallas with all the shopping options and the quality of the Dallas Galleria which is in a league of its own.
Since I knew where to find it, I got to the Galleria in no time and went right to my old favorite parking location in the blue parking garage only to find it's not stroller friendly. Every entrance into the mall from this garage has stairs and no elevators so if you're going, so far the only recommendation I can make is the yellow garage. We found it after getting into the mall later on and saw a direct access area with no stairs and no need for elevators, at least not that I saw from that level. I'll have to update this section later on when I get more familiar with it, so for now, just avoid the blue garage if you have a stroller.
Once we found the play area located on level 2 right outside Borders Books, I needed to change my youngest and didn't find a bathroom. I had to change her on the floor at the entrance to the play area only to discover a changing station inside the play area opposite the entrance. It's great that they have it there but you can't see if from the entrance and the nearest bathroom is one level down and around the corner - not close at all. They are building one but as of Sept 2010 there isn't one nearby so if you have a potty trained toddler, go to the bathroom before you get there.
The play area itself is kinda cute. It's an exact replica of the mall showing all the stores. There are some younger child's toys along the walls here and there but the play structure takes up most of the space in the center.
I should warn you now that I'm an over protective mother and like having an eye on my girls at all times. If you have one older child playing and get distracted by the younger one for a diaper change, you could turn around and not see your child at all because of how the play structure is built. There are lots of nooks and crannies for them to hide and crawl in so if you worry about strangers kidnapping your kids, this might just give you a heart attack. I came to the conclusion that I'll never go to this play area alone, instead waiting for a once a month trip with my husband so each of us has a child to watch at all times so I don't worry. If you're more nonchalant about how you watch your kids in public, you should have no problem here. I just didn't like it from a safety standpoint.
Having stated my own reservations about it, my daughter liked the play area. She had lots of fun climbing and jumping and that's the only reason we'll go back.
I forgot to take a photo when we were there so I'll update this post with a photo next month when we return.
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