Playground of Dreams

The Playground of Dreams at Columbia Park in Kennewick just reopened last weekend after a complete renovation. The old playground was almost all made of wood, with bark chips on the ground and surrounded by a wooden fence. There was considerable controversy over the redesign, since the new playground is very, very different. I can see why people liked the natural materials of the old playground, but from the perspective of a parent of a disabled child, the new design is much better. The play equipment is spaced out enough that you can actually see where your child is (unlike the old playground where it would have been very easy to lose sight of your kid), and there are a number of features that make it much more friendly to kids with walkers, wheelchairs, or balance issues.

 Also, finally a Kennewick park with swings! This is the first Kennewick park I’ve reviewed because all of the newer parks (with flat surfaces) there seem to have no swings. M loves swings—they’re always the first thing she asks about when we go to a park—so it’s no fun for us to go to a park that doesn’t have them, and if a park has mulch she can’t walk around by herself at all. I will try, in future, to go by myself to some parks that don’t have swings, but right now it’s easier to review parks where I can take M and where she’ll have fun.

Playground: toddler play equipment is not separate from the things oriented to bigger kids. There is a LOT to play on at this park, including slides of all sizes, two large play structures and several smaller ones. The biggest play structure has a long series of ramps—great for walker practice! The others do not have ramps. There is a tiny play house that is flat on the ground.
Swings: lots of swings! One small swing set has a regular swing and a standard baby swing. The other has four regular swings, two ages 5-12 harness swings, and two baby/adult tandem swings, one with a standard baby swing and the other with a plastic molded fuller-support baby swing. There is also a suspended merry-go-round swing (exactly like the one in West Chiawana Park), and a spinning plastic arm chair which has slots that you could pass straps through it you brought your own harness system.
Surface: rubberized under most of the equipment but mulch under the swings. I’m really disappointed  by this. My husband theorized that it’s a concession to the people who wanted more “natural material” at the park. Maybe. Regardless of the reason, it’s annoying to deal with.
Musical toys: lots, and the push button ones all work since they’re new. The buttons are very, very easy to push, you barely touch them and they activate. I was pleased. But the ones that have musical notes need to be re-wired or re-programmed or something, because the musical scale is playing backwards relative to the labels (i.e. the labels say C,D,E,F,G,A,B,C and what you hear when you press the buttons is C,B,A,G,F,E,D,C). Like other parks, some of the musical toys are mounted too high for a short child or child in a small wheelchair to reach.
Climbing toys: lots and lots of things to climb!
Sidewalk: yes
Adult seating: yes
Shade: none on the playground but plenty of mature trees nearby
Bathrooms: yes
Parking: two lots both with reserved ADA spots
Fence: no. The playground is, however, much further away from the river than the playgrounds in the other area river side parks, and even the parking lots are a short distance away, not right next to the park.

• Special features: tiny play house, play structure shaped like a ship (ship’s wheel is accessible from the ground!), play structure shaped like a construction digger (for those who can climb ladders), play structure shaped like a train with train station and push-button panel that makes four train-related sounds. There is also a splash pad next to the playground.

Photo description: lots of swings over mulch.

Photo description: crawling/climbing structure on the right and play train station in the distance.

Photo description: looking under the train play structure toward a construction vehicle play structure.

Photo description: train-shaped play structure and ship-themed structure in the distance.

Photo description: ship-themed play structure and merry-go-round swing in the distance.

Photo description: small swing structure over mulch, and large treehouse themed play structure with ramps in the distance.

Photo description: a cute little play house.