Triangle Town Center

Malls in the area have been a great place for us to retreat with our little ones when it's too hot or too cold or too rainy outside and they just need somewhere to get a little energy out.  The malls don't have to cost anything, there's lots to looks at, and usually there are several activities specifically for children in the mall.  These factors have led us to track down all of the nearby malls we can find.  We had one more to track down, so here's our report on Triangle Towne Center.

What it is: Triangle Town Center is a mall just north of Raleigh off of I-540.  We'll admit, it's a bit of a hike from Durham, probably the furthest afield of the malls we've reported on.  But at only about 1/2 hr. drive away, it's another new and different diversion if you're looking for some indoor fun for your kids.  Triangle Town Center is the newest of the area malls, and as far as a mall, it's nice.  It's open and airy and has lots of fun shops.  However, what we're focused on is the kids. 

So, when we arrived we made a beeline to the Sears wing of the mall where the kids' area was.  The area itself was similar in size to the one at Southpoint.  However, they didn't have the fun activities on the wall of the area for the kids to play with.  There were several big sculptures to climb up, slide down, and crawl through.  Next to the play area was an area with more of the coin operated vehicles for kids to play in.  However, the part that immediately caught my oldest son's eye was the train!  That's right, there's a train in the mall, and when it choo-choo's around the kids' area as it does every 15 minutes or so, all the kids turn, stare, and then burst into tears begging their parents to let them ride it.  At least, that's what happened to our son.  So, we ended up letting him see the mall on a very short ride from the vantage point of the train.

After the train ride and the play area became less interesting we wandered the rest of the mall.  They had a food court with a small carousel to entertain the little ones, and one of the mega jump activities found in so many malls right now.  Right next to the jump area was a nice little toy store called "Play N Learn Toys".  While they were a very small store, they had the largest selection of Melissa and Doug brand toys that I've seen in a toy store.  The best part was that they had a little playroom in the back where the kids could take a breather and play while we could browse the shop.  Great idea!  We had to check out the glow in the dark putt putt golf center across the mall from the toy store.  It looked like a great activity to come back and check out another day.

What we liked:  We like the new and open feel of the mall.  In addition, they had a train!  This makes it completely awesome in the mind of a great majority of three year olds.  Having a toy store is always an added bonus for a mall, and of course, since it's two story, they had escalators we could ride.

What we would change:  The play area seemed VERY crowded and full of big kids.  This seemed to be a much bigger problem than it was at the other mall play areas we've checked out.  My sons didn't last long in there because they were too worried about being stepped on.  They had the same height restrictions as other area malls, but people certainly weren't following the rules.


Website and other important information:

Website: www.triangletowncenter.com

Address: 5959 Triangle Town Blvd., Raleigh, NC 27616

Phone Number:  919.792.2222 x250

Hours: Monday-Saturday 10am-9pm, Sunday 12pm-6pm

Photos: 

 1. An aisle of Play N Learn Toys

 2. The food court with mini carousel

 3. The coin operated vehicles

 4. The TRAIN!

5. The play area