Parties for Kids! Birthday Characters Clown Pony Petting Zoo Magicians Bouncers - Santa Cruz, California

George Hill

"Nightmare on Costume Street: A Disastrous Experience with Party with Kids"

I recently had the unfortunate experience of dealing with this so-called costume and pony renting company, and it was nothing short of a disaster. From start to finish, my encounter with this company was a masterclass in how not to run a business.

To begin with, the customer service was abysmal. I felt like I was dealing with apathetic robots rather than human beings. Emails went unanswered for days, and when I finally managed to get someone on the phone, they seemed utterly disinterested in addressing my concerns. It was clear that once they had my money, my satisfaction was no longer their concern.

The quality of the costumes was equally appalling. I ordered a costume for a special event, and what arrived looked like it had been fished out of a discount bin at a thrift store. The fabric was cheap, the stitching was haphazard, and it bore no resemblance to the promised product on their website. It was an embarrassment to wear, and I ended up having to scramble for a last-minute replacement.

As if that weren't enough, the pony rental service was an absolute joke. The poor creature they sent over looked like it had seen better days. It was malnourished, had a dull coat, and looked utterly miserable. I couldn't believe they were actually charging people for such a sad excuse for entertainment. It's clear that this company prioritizes profits over the well-being of their animals.

But the cherry on top of this disastrous experience was the billing. Not only did they overcharge me, but when I called to dispute the charges, I was met with hostility and accusations. It's as if they were intentionally trying to squeeze every last penny out of their already dissatisfied customers.

In conclusion, my experience with this company was a complete and utter nightmare. If you value your time, money, and sanity, I would strongly advise against ever considering their services. There are countless other costume and pony rental companies out there, and I can confidently say that nearly all of them would provide a better experience than the horror show I endured with them. Save yourself the trouble and steer clear of this unprofessional and unethical excuse for a business.

Lexi Nicole

I recently was looking for someplace to rent the Marshall character costume for an adult size. It was for our local Firehouse 1028, we had a fundraiser / pancake breakfast event to raise money for local schools. We do it every year and we always try to have some fun stuff for the kids to do since it's a family event. Sometimes we hire balloon twisters, we've had bouncers and this year we did those things and also got a Marshall Paw Patrol costume character to meet the kids, take pictures and pass out little promotional stickers. It went great, we ordered it about a month ahead of time and it came to us in plenty of time for the event. They gave us a little bit of a price break because we are a non profit which is always appreciated. The costume looked very cute, it was easy to wear and several of the adult volunteers took turns wearing it around. It's a mascot costume so of course after a couple hours you need a break from wearing it, but we had plenty of people to volunteer. Really appreciate that they came through for us and offered a discount, that makes a big difference for a non profit trying to have a good fundraiser.

Michelle Seckinger

This is a really fun place if you're ever interested in renting kid's birthday party entertainment, especially mascot type children's party costume characters. They have a great selection of pretty much all the popular children's birthday party characters. I've used them a couple of times for when we did a Paw Patrol theme party we hired two of the Paw Patrol costume characters, and again when we had a Minions birthday party we got a Minions mascot costume character performer to come out and entertain the kids for about an hour. The people they send to wear the mascots always did a great job and both times they showed up right on time. Their costumes look really cute and super kid - friendly. I would definitely recommend them to any parents looking for kid's party stuff or anyone having a children's event and looking for entertainment. They also have clowns, magicians and bouncers although we have never used them for that stuff but possibly next year cuz the kids are getting a bit old for party characters.

Renée Windsor

If you look at the first email I sent it in early March requesting a petting zoo and pony rides for my going-to-be 4 year old. I paid a deposit and felt like the company (Jeff) was dragging his feet getting back to me every time. It was like he was waiting on something better. So I asked for confirmation again before I sent out my invitations. I received it, sent out my invites, and then lo and behold - at 2:30 in the morning I get a message that they (he) "forgot," he had booked a weekend job in Napa and couldn't do it. This AFTER I paid, and sent out invites. I am CERTAIN that Jeff was waiting on this bigger client, meanwhile stringing me along, as there are more particulars to this story than I have time to explain. However, I'd be happy to share with anyone who responds/writes me in even further detail how crooked this company is!
If you don't want to have to tell your little girl that her party might not happen that you've been planning for months because the company decided they could make more money in Napa, DON'T USE Fun Factory!!!
Oh... and they advertise as many different companies in different areas, but it's all them. Thanks!

Peyton Scarborough

I hired Spiderman and Batman costume character party performers from this company. I wasn't sure what to expect but they did an awesome job. The two guys that came dressed up as Spiderman and Batman looked good in the costumes, and they had a lot of energy to keep the kids going. It was a fun party and all the kids had a good time, especially the birthday boy who was turning 4. Hiring a superhero party character seems like a good idea for a kid's party, if you are able to supervise the children and give them a little distance to be on the safe side. This company did a great job during some tough times, and I'm glad we found them.