Teddy & Friends Playground at Queeny Park, Ballwin

Location: 550 Weidman Rd., St. Louis, MO 63131

Amenities: Fishing, trails, tennis courts, playground, seasonal indoor ice rink (October to February)

Website: http://www.stlouisco.com/ParksandRecreation/ParkPages/Queeny

Playground ground cover: Poured rubber

Queeny Park was amazing, but it failed to pass inspection in 2023, so it was replaced with an Unlimited Play Playground that opened in August 2025. 

I had to leave photos of the old 1974 playground up because it was so iconic. The new playground is called Teddy & Friends after Teddy Gooch. He was diagnosed with dwarfism. This playground is board game-themed, centered on games like Candyland, Chutes & Ladders, Connect Four, and Teddy's favorite- Chess. There is also a "Game of Life" car doubling as a glider, and a "Don't Break the Ice" parallel play rope piece. The entrance features a big hippo, and the sun shades have the Twister pattern on them, too. So fun! With a board game theme and specialized ADA‑accessible design, families, especially those with children of differing abilities, will have more reasons than ever to play together at this wonderful playground! 

Unlimited Play Playgrounds

Unlimited Play playgrounds are amazing. If you've been to one you know what I'm talking about. The company is a non-profit that builds fully accessible playgrounds that allow all children to play together, regardless of their physical abilities.

Three-year-old Zachary Blakemore provided the original inspiration behind Unlimited Play. Zachary suffers from a rare genetic central nervous system disease (Pelizaeus Merzbacher Disease) that confines him to a wheelchair or assistive walking device. But like all children, Zachary loves to play.
When his mother Natalie would take Zachary to the park to play, the playground would only emphasize his limitations. And even more frustrating was the fact that the playground’s barriers that stopped him from playing also prevented him from interacting with the other children.
But after visiting an accessible playground while traveling to the east coast, Zachary’s parents Natalie and Todd began to dream of creating an accessible playground in Zachary’s hometown – and of the day when playgrounds like this would exist for children everywhere. They teamed with Zachary’s pediatric speech therapist, and Unlimited Play was born in 2003.

And what's more, they are a local family from St. Charles. They have built quite a few playgrounds in and around St. Louis and have more in the works.

They include:
1.)Gus's playground at Willmore Park- south city
2.)Cornerstone STL playground at O'Fallon Park- north city
3.)Kade's playground at Herculaneum City Park
4.)Discovery playground at Jaycee Park- St. Charles
5.)Brendan's playground at Westhoff Park- O'Fallon
6.)Tree Top playground at Shaw Park- Clayton
7.)Zachary's playground at Hawk Ridge Park- O'Fallon
8.)McAuley playground at Hansen Park- Cottleville
9.)Jake's Field of Dreams playground in Heartland Park- Wentzville
10.)Braden & Friends Challenger playground- Ste. Genevieve
11.)Hannah's playground- Breese, IL

12.)Kennedy's playground- St. Peters

13.)Dennis H. Rinderer playground- Highland IL

14.)Angie's Playground at Manion Park- Florissant

15.)Logan's Playground at St. John's Evangelical, South County

16.)Teddy & Friends Playground (Queeny Park)- Ballwin



Here's a great video about Natalie and Todd and the great work they've accomplished. They have built amazing playgrounds in the Midwest and are branching out all over the country! How awesome is that! Go check out one of these playgrounds today, your kids will thank you.

Family Fun Centers

Here is a list of Family Fun Centers around town and their amenities:


1.)Swing-A-Round Fun Town (Fenton and St. Charles)

• Mini Golf
• Go-Karts
• Bumper Boats
• Batting Cages
• Arcade 
• Bumper Cars

2.)Kokomo Joe's (St. Peters)

• Bumper Cars
• Trampoline Park
• Laser Tag
• Arcade
• Inflatable Obstacle Course
• Mini Bowling
• Laser Maze
• Escape Rooms

3.)The Alley (Washington, MO)

• VR
• Arcade
• Laser Tag
• Restaurant

  
4.)Centerfield Park (Collinsville, IL)

• Mini Golf
• Go-Karts
• Batting Cages
• Bumper Boats
• Arcade

5.)Edison's Entertainment Complex (Edwardsville, IL)

• Boutique Bowling
• Arcade
• Laser Tag

6.)Bonne Terre Family Fun Center (Bonne Terre)

• Arcade
• VR Roller Coaster
• Bowling
• Bumper Boats
• Mini Golf (indoor and outdoor courses!)
• Go-Karts
• Bounce Zone

7.)Playtime Arcade & Bar (Wentzville)

• 6 jumping attractions
• Indoor Playground
• Arcade
• Pizza & Salad Bar
• Lazer Tag
• Axe Throwing
• Bowling
• Virtual Reality

8.)The Sports Academy (Glen Carbon, IL)

• 2 Indoor Soccer Fields
• Indoor Playground
• Restaurant serving beer (yeah!) and bfast, apps, sandwiches and more 

9.)The Edge (Belleville, IL)

• Laser Tag
• 3 arcades
• 5 movie theatres
• Bumper cars
• Sports pub for dining with 45 flat screens 
• Go-Karts
• Bowling

10.)Concord Bowl (South County)

• Pirates Crusade Mini Golf
• Bowling
• Sand Volleyball Courts
• Small Arcade
• Batting Cages

11.)Cactus Pete's (Imperial)

• Laser Tag
• Arcade
• Bounce House
• Maze

12.)Amp Up Action Park (Manchester)

• Go-Karts
• Axe Throwing
• Laser Tag
• Elevated Ropes Course
• Virtual Reality
• Arcade
• Bar 

13.)Main Event (Chesterfield)

• Bowling
• Games
• Virtual Reality
• Laser Tag
• Billiards
• Gravity Ropes

14.)Chicken N Pickle (St. Charles)

• Yard Games
• Pickleball
• Food & Bar

15.)The Alley (Washington)

• VR
• Arcade
• Laser Tag
• Food & Bar

16.)Piccadilly Palace (Union)

• Roller Skating
• Arcade 
• Go-Karts
• Golf Simulators
• Indoor Glow in the Dark Mini-Golf

Also Dave & Busters and Chuck E. Cheese are arcades that serve food.

William Zimmer Park, Waterloo IL

Location: 732 Rogers St., Waterloo, IL 62298

Website: http://www.waterlooparkdistrict.org/parks/

Playground Ground Cover:

The William Zimmer Memorial Park was opened in May of 2013. The park features a playground, restrooms, a splashpad, and a covered pavilion available for group picnics. The pavilion has running water and electricity, and a barbecue pit nearby.

 

Chicken N Pickle, St. Charles

Location: 1500 S. Main St., St. Charles, MO 63303

Website: https://chickennpickle.com/location/st-charles/

Chicken N Pickle is a unique entertainment complex that combines a casual restaurant and sports bar with pickleball courts, yard games, and event space. It's designed as a family-friendly destination with indoor and outdoor areas for dining, socializing, and playing.

Chicken N Pickle offers a casual dining experience with a menu featuring wood-fired rotisserie chicken, pulled pork, grass-fed beef sandwiches, creative salads, and hand-cut fries. You can order at the counter or from a server, and your order is tracked via a GPS-enabled tent that allows staff to deliver food and drinks to your table, no matter where you are in the complex.

The complex has multiple indoor and outdoor pickleball courts available for rent. You can book courts online or in person, and they offer lessons for all skill levels. Pickleball is played with a wiffle ball and paddles, following specific rules about serving, returning, and volleying.

Beyond pickleball, Chicken N Pickle offers a variety of yard games like cornhole, giant Jenga, Connect Four, Battleship and tabletop tennis. These games are available for guests to enjoy while waiting for a pickleball court or simply to have fun.

 

 

Love this huge Battleship game!

So many places to sit and chat

During the winter, they turned part of the complex into an ice rink!