Our Christmas break has been loaded with fun activities so far, as we enjoy a week off exploring local hot spots during a staycation of sorts.  To kick off the holiday week, we took a trip to King of Prussia, Pennsylvania to check out iFly*.

Recently,  one of my sons told me that he wanted to go skydiving.  Well, that’s not happening anytime soon in the real world, but what if we could give him that experience in a safe and controlled setting?  I honestly didn’t think that was a possibility, but a little research told us otherwise. That’s why we took a visit to iFly.  iFly is an indoor skydiving simulator.  It’s a place where real skydiving instructors go and teach real people how to skydive. It’s also a place where a family can go and just have a grand time flying in a wind tunnel!

Upon our arrival at the facility, we were greeted by a very friendly and informative person at the front desk who helped us select our packages.  There are many choices to choose from, including duration of time flying, photos, videos, and group rates.  You can even throw a birthday party here, which would be the birthday party to end all birthday parties. I can’t even begin to imagine how cool that would be!  We signed our waivers and were sent into the main portion of the building, where our eyes were immediately drawn to a person literally flying in the center of the chamber.  It was mesmerizing! We were able to observe others who had earlier appointments than we did fly for a few minutes and then we were brought back to an instructional room to learn the ropes for our upcoming flights.  Here we met Dana, who has been teaching both civilians and military how to jump out of a plane for over 11 years.  We learned quickly that she knew what she was doing and would help us get the most out of this experience.  We learned some pointers and hand signals to use, since in the tunnel, you can’t hear much of anything due to the sound of rushing wind. By learning the techniques and hand signals, we would know exactly what to do when our time came to be in the chamber.  Now, when you are inside the chamber, you are only in there for about a minute.  You can purchase packages which allow you to have a practice run and then an additional minute or a little bit more depending on if you purchase extra time.  You can also choose to “fly high” during the last 30 seconds of a run to fly up to the top of the chamber.  If I could recommend one thing, I would recommend to you to “fly high”!  It totally makes the experience one that is on a bucket list! It’s also a great activity to choose for families because kids young and old can participate, as long as they meet the minimum weight restriction.

When your time comes, you line up with a small group of others in your time slot and take turns going in the chamber with an instructor.  Our package had a practice run, so they went in once to get a feel for what it was like, went back out and waited their turn to go back in for the final run.  My kids were naturals, I have to say.  Flying in the air like superheroes! The last 30 seconds the instructor grabbed onto them and they went flying in circles to the top of the chamber, back down, and back up again several times.  It was incredible!  You would think that a minute in the chamber would not feel like much, but it felt so much longer inside.  The entire experience ended up being about an hour and a half for novice flyers.  However, since we learned so much, the next time we go, we would be able to build on our skills and start to work on new ones and tricks.  Each time you go, you can build upon the last visit.  Trust me, you will want to visit again!

The entire experience was an incredible one for our family and one that I can’t recommend enough to yours.  Definitely a must-visit place, a great special gift, or bonding experience as a family.  It was so much fun!  The entire experience was exceptional from walking in the door to how great the instructors were.  We were instantly put at ease and had a fantastic time.  iFly is located in several locations, so find one near you to go have the experience of a lifetime!

*we were invited to visit iFly to facilitate a review, all opinions are my own.