Rainy Day Activities (At Home and Out & About!)

If you’ve been following this page at all, you KNOW that we love playgrounds and being outside whenever possible, BUT obviously the weather doesn’t always cooperate for that. So I put together this list of places to go with your kids even when it’s rainy (or too cold, too hot, you get the point.) These are all either in Bucks County or nearby. And at the bottom, I included some ideas and links to some toys/activities that I kind of keep in my back pocket for days where we’re not leaving the house, but I don’t want the kids to just dump out every toy they own/stare at YouTube all day.

Rainy days can be fun, too!

Indoor Destinations

Movies

With how many ways we can watch movies from home these days, we sometimes forget how exciting it can be to see them on the big screen. TIP: During the summer, Regal shows $1 kids’ movies on Tuesdays and Wednesdays during Summer Movie Express. The movies aren’t new, but it’s still a fun, cheap activity.

And if you want to see something new (or it’s not summer yet), Regal also offers discounted $6.50 tickets and half price popcorn on Tuesdays if you sign up for their Regal Crown Club. (It’s free.)

Bowling

We’re still in the bumper/ramp stage of bowling, but my kids think it’s great for a change of pace. During the summer, you can sign up for Kids Bowl Free and your children can bowl two free games every day! Sign up HERE! In 2022, the Kids Bowl Free is running from mid April until September at Penndel! (Just pay for shoe rental.) It’s at other lanes too, but Penndel seems to have the longest “season.”

Local Libraries

We love visiting our local libraries! Obviously, you’ll want to pick out some books, but there’s even more to do than that! And as of the end of April, Penn’s Little Village (Langhorne) and Career Corner (Yardley) are OPEN again! Read THIS post for more details on the children’s areas in several Bucks County libraries, including photos of the activities that are typically available. There are also usually grab n’ go crafts to take home, and some libraries even have games that you can borrow. We usually also pick out a DVD or video game. So between our time spent there, a craft, new movie to watch, and books to read, it can really fill up the day!

Be sure to check the Bucks County Free Library calendar for events like storytimes!

Note: All of the Bucks County libraries are closed on Sundays.

Indoor Play Spaces at Local Fast Food Restaurants

This spring, we finally have some options for indoor playgrounds at local fast food spots!

So far, the ones I know of that are open include:

McDonald’s in Penndel (shown above)
Burger King by Oxford Valley Mall
Burger King in Feasterville
Burger King in Souderton
Chick-fil-A in Bensalem (Street Road)
Chick-fil-A in Warrington
Chick-fil-A in Warminster

I’ve heard that some restaurants are only opening the play areas for limited hours (typically lunch), so you might want to call to confirm.

Bucks County Children’s Museum

500 Union Square Drive, New Hope

We have a family membership to the children’s museum, so it’s a regular destination for us. This cute interactive museum is perfect for children ages 1-8. For the little ones, there’s lots of hands-on imaginative play. For the older kids, there are plenty of lessons built into the play that they’ll understand better than the little ones. Click the link above to read my full blog post detailing the different rooms of the museum.

Note: Bucks County Children’s Museum is closed on Mondays. Reservations are required on weekends.

Playpad Bucks

860 Town Center Drive, Langhorne

Playpad Bucks is a new play space that’s located in the office spaces behind Oxford Valley Mall. It’s probably best for kids 8 and under, and there’s even a gated off toddler area for those 3 and under. There’s a “little village” area, small climbing/slide zone, puppets, blocks, trains, and more. Click the link above to read my full blog post that I wrote after attending the Open House in May 2021.

Note: Playpad has Open Play Hours Mon. – Fri. 9:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. and Sat. and Sun. 9 a.m. – 11 a.m.

Altitude Feasterville

1045 Bustleton Pike, Feasterville

Let the kids burn off some energy with lots of jumping!

Altitude offers special Junior Jump discounts for children 6 and under. You get 3 hours of jump time Monday – Friday and 2 hours of jump time on Saturday for just $10. Parents can join for $2. Junior Jump starts at 10 a.m. These times are open to all ages, but it’s a little bonus for the little ones.

Funzilla

500 Lincoln Highway, Fairless Hills

Go-karts, trampolines, climbing walls, an arcade, indoor playground, ninja obstacles and more! There’s so much to do for all ages at Funzilla.

Note: There’s a variety of different passes available based on age, amount of time and attractions.

Adventure Aquarium

1 Riverside Drive, Camden

Pet the stingray, walk over sharks, and learn all about your favorite sea creatures!

Giggleberry Fair

167 Carousel Lane, New Hope (Peddler’s Village)

Okay, so I ordinarily wouldn’t think of Peddler’s Village as being a rainy day spot, but Giggleberry Fair is actually completely inside! There’s a carousel, toddler area, arcade, climbing area, and more.

Mercer Museum

84 S. Pine Street, Doylestown

Visit a 6-story concrete castle where there’s truly something to discover in every book and cranny.

Note: Mercer Museum is closed on Mondays.

The Little Pod

1218 Welsh Road, North Wales

In addition to being a popular birthday party location, The Little Pod also offers open play 6 days/week for children 7 years old and under. There’s an indoor playground and other interactive play stations, including a toddler area.

Note: The Little Pod is closed on Mondays.

We Rock the Spectrum

12357 Academy Road, Philadelphia (Parkwood Shopping Center)

We Rock the Spectrum is an indoor gym that offers open play daily for $14 per child. (Siblings are discounted to $12.) There’s a zipline, trampoline, tunnels, swings, climbing structures, and more. Plus an area for imaginary play.

Chuck E. Cheese

1661 Easton Road, Warrington

The Chuck E. Cheese in Langhorne closed down during the pandemic (sob!), but we recently went to the one in Warrington to redeem a gift card my daughter received in early 2020! We had so much fun. I highly recommend going with the option where you pay for minutes instead of credits. We played everything so many times and didn’t worry about how many credits we were using.

Franklin Institute

222 N. 20th Street, Philadelphia

There’s always something cool going on at the Franklin Institute! Currently, there’s the Harry Potter exhibit.

LEGOLAND Discovery Center

Plymouth Meeting Mall, 500 Germantown Pike, Plymouth Meeting

My son has a Season Pass to Legoland Discovery Center, so we’ve been there often over the past 6 months. Read more about our experiences there HERE.

Please Touch Museum

4231 Avenue of the Republic, Philadelphia

A Philly favorite for interactive play for children 7 and younger.

History of Natural Sciences

1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia

Perfect for your dinosaur lover!

Fun at Home

Sometimes, you just don’t feel like leaving the house. Here are some links to toys/activities that I know will occupy the kids for a while, and I don’t mind if they take a while to set/clean up because we have all day!

Build a Fort

My kids are constantly making forts/tents using every blanket and pillow they can find. But when we want to go all out, we get out the fort building kit. To make it even cooler, string up some fairy lights for the perfect movie watching ambiance.

Popcorn & Movie

When we make a fort, we almost always watch a movie inside it. And that means … popcorn! Sure, you can just microwave it or make it stovetop. But we love our popcorn maker because the kids get to watch the kernels POP POP POP POP!

Bake

I love to bake, and my kids have been helping me since I would babywear while mixing up cupcakes in the kitchen. If you’re looking for something super simple, grab a cake mix and then follow my favorite way to “doctor” it, which I talked about in THIS post.

Fun Bath

On busy days, baths are just to get clean. But when we have a day at home, baths can be a great way to pass some time in a contained space. Crayola Bathtub Finger Paint is always a big hit here. I’m linking to Amazon, but the best place to get it is in the front of Target. When they have it, I’ll buy 10 tubes at $1 each! The kids also think I’m the coolest if I let them have popsicles in the bathtub. Or make bubble foam a la Busy Toddler.

Craft

Rainy days are great for crafts! I pretty much always have a big stock of all sorts of papers and stretched canvas packs. But I just got a few of these to have on hand, and I was so happy to pull them out and surprise the kids. You could also take the kids to Dollar Tree, and they usually have a pretty nice selection of things to paint/decorate in the craft aisle.

Decorate Your Own Wooden Plane, Train and Race Car

Dinosaur Painting Kit

Wooden Paintable Magnets

Sticker Stained Glass Kit

Paint with Water Activity Books

Klutz Sew Mini Treats Craft Kit

Pom Pom Animals

Toys

Of course, any toy can be a rainy day toy, but here are a few that we tend to get out more often when we’re stuck inside all day.

Marble Run

Play-Doh

Snap Beads