Travisma 1,317 Posted July 19, 2016 Report Share Posted July 19, 2016 Balls is coming to Tampa. We did this last summer when we went to DC. It may sound like one of the dumbest ideas in the world, but it was a blast. And to top it off, in Tampa it's going to be free, with free parking (GASP!) and a free ice cream treat. If you are going to be at the Fort 8/5 to 8/25, you might want to take a side trip to Tampa if you have kids/grandkids, or are young at heart. TAKE A DIP INTO A REALLY, REALLY GIANT BALL PIT The free exhibit will be awash with 1.2M germ-blocker orbs. By Sharon Kennedy Wynne [email protected] Imagine a simulated ocean of translucent bubbles crashing onto a white turf carpet beach inside Amalie Arena. Sound fun? The bubbles, or more accurately more than a million plastic balls, arrive next month. The idea was hatched last year when a stunning collection of balls that was the hit of the summer at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., caught the fancy of Penny Vinik. The wife of Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik made it her mission to bring Beach D.C. to Tampa Bay. Unlike Washington visitors, who paid $16 to visit the museum, the Beach Tampa will be free to the public thanks to the Vinik Family Foundation when the experiential art installation washes ashore Aug. 5-25. Part art exhibit and part physics lesson, the 15,000-square-foot environment is like no other beach, with 1.2 million antimicrobial plastic balls in an all-white enclosure made of construction materials, such as scaffolding, wall panels and perforated mesh. The balls, about 3 inches in diameter, create a swash zone that surrounds every step with rolling balls. They move and carry the traveler, making it impossible to sink to the bottom but also difficult to stand. You swim. Or maybe belly flop. Landings are soft as you float atop hundreds of the opaque balls. 'The Beach Tampa transforms the familiar beach experience into a truly unique, visually stimulating and tactile experience,' Penny Vinik said. 'It's also just pure fun.' There will be free parking and one free ice cream treat per person waiting on the 'shore' outside the ball area featuring a beach hut, beach chairs and umbrellas. About 500 visitors will be allowed inside the arena at any time. The white recyclable balls are coated with a germ blocker. There was one report of a woman who said she got pink eye in Washington, but between the anti-microbial component built into the balls and hand sanitizer readily available, there were no other reports of contagion. Created by Snarkitecture, a witty New York design firm that has completed projects for Calvin Klein, the Kith sneaker emporium in Brooklyn and hotels across the country, the entertaining chaos of Beach D.C. was a blockbuster exhibit for the museum, drawing a record-breaking 160,000 visitors. 'The concept came from the idea of the balls as an architectural material,' Snarkitecture co-founder Alex Mustonen said in an interview with Esquire . 'By abstracting and multiplying, we were interested in transforming them from something associated with children's play and turning them into something much larger.' But be careful to hang onto your stuff when you wade in. The National Building Museum had hundreds of lost cellphones, eyeglasses, Fitbits, flip-flops and even an engagement ring - which was joyfully recovered a week later - after visitors soon discovered that lost items 'float' away in a sea of plastic balls and were very tough to find. The balls roll and fill any hole you dig trying to find a lost cellphone. There were more than 1,000 lost items over the summer, and the museum found $433.24 in loose change at the bottom of the Beach when it was taken down after Labor Day, the Washington Post reported. Amalie Arena will supply lockers and warn visitors about loose items getting swept away. It took months of planning to clear the time at the arena, said Kevin Preast, senior vice president of event management for Amalie Arena. It's not an event you can put in over a weekend since it takes nine semitrailer trucks to haul the balls, he said. No matter how popular the Beach Tampa becomes, it has to be gone after Aug. 25. Two days afterward, Drake is bringing his sold-out show with Future to the arena. THE BEACH TAMPA Children under 14 must be accompanied by an adult. When: Aug. 5-25. Cost: Free. Get the required time tickets at the arena box office, thebeachtampa.com or Ticketmaster.com. Hours: Noon to 8 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays; noon-10 p.m. Fridays; 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturdays; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sundays Here's the link if you want to see some pictures http://tbteedition.fl.newsmemory.com/ Avatab.... Steve 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cortezcapt (Derek) 156 Posted July 19, 2016 Report Share Posted July 19, 2016 I'd say I need to borrow someone's kids to go to this, but let's face it I'll go without kids! Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Travisma 1,317 Posted July 19, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2016 1 hour ago, Cortezcapt (Derek) said: I'd say I need to borrow someone's kids to go to this, but let's face it I'll go without kids! Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk There were plenty of all ages in the one at DC. Some of the kids were too small to be in the deeper end, but their parents let them. It was just like being in water, you can get pulled under, but you don't drown. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted July 19, 2016 Report Share Posted July 19, 2016 No way. It took us a while to catch on what big germ factories these ball pits are. I don't care how much anti-microbial coating they put on these balls, or that they're passing out hand-sanitizer, the first time some kid sneezes and snots all over the balls, its on. Have fun if you go. You won't see me there. TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Travisma 1,317 Posted July 19, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2016 2 minutes ago, Tri-Circle-D said: No way. It took us a while to catch on what big germ factories these ball pits are. I don't care how much anti-microbial coating they put on these balls, or that they're passing out hand-sanitizer, the first time some kid sneezes and snots all over the balls, its on. Have fun if you go. You won't see me there. TCD Awww, a little (lot) of germs and snot builds up your immune system. My wife already told me to have fun with the kids, she's not going back in. When we were in DC, she got in and slipped down into a sitting position and couldn't get back up. The balls just roll out from under you and are replaced by more. It's like the tide going out and sucking the sand from under you while you attempt to get up. The grandkids attempted to help her up, then I went over. It made for a good Americas Funniest Video. And if they do it the same way down here, there is a deep end that will swallow an adult if they fall. It was a blast. The way DC did it, was they allowed so many in, then after that, as people came out, they let more in. We were lined up outside about 45 minutes before it opened then headed straight to the ticket window inside. You could saty in all day if you wanted, but once you left the exhibit you were done. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted July 19, 2016 Report Share Posted July 19, 2016 9 minutes ago, Travisma said: The way DC did it, was they allowed so many in, then after that, as people came out, they let more in. We were lined up outside about 45 minutes before it opened then headed straight to the ticket window inside. You could saty in all day if you wanted, but once you left the exhibit you were done. Cool. You did rope drop for a ball pit! I read a different version of this article in the Tampa Bay Times, and they put more emphasis on the fact that you had to have tickets, and that you could get them ahead of time for free with no service charges on Ticketmaster. I'd look into that if I wanted to go, which I don't. While I am a Debbie Downer on this idea, I think it's incredibly generous on the part of the Vinik family- good for them. If you go, I want to see some pictures and a mini trip report! TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Travisma 1,317 Posted July 19, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2016 3 minutes ago, Tri-Circle-D said: Cool. You did rope drop for a ball pit! I read a different version of this article in the Tampa Bay Times, and they put more emphasis on the fact that you had to have tickets, and that you could get them ahead of time for free with no service charges on Ticketmaster. I'd look into that if I wanted to go, which I don't. While I am a Debbie Downer on this idea, I think it's incredibly generous on the part of the Vinik family- good for them. If you go, I want to see some pictures and a mini trip report! TCD Will do. Just the free parking alone is a Godsend. Guess I didn't post the 2015 NY trip complete with the Chincoteague Wild Ponies, Wallops Island, NY scenery, DC sights and the infamous ball pit, and the Marine Museum. Nothing Fort or Disney related Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Travisma 1,317 Posted August 15, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2016 OK, just checked this post, and the entire TR i had posted last week when I updated the title isn't there. WTF? I'll have to look on my laptop when I get home and see if it's stuck in there. It had numerous pictures so I'm a little bummed if I have to rewrite the entire post. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119 Posted August 16, 2016 Report Share Posted August 16, 2016 A giant sized play and puke. That is what we call any germ monkey play area. Germs aside, it does sound like a load of fun. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Travisma 1,317 Posted October 28, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2016 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LONE-STAR 370 Posted October 28, 2016 Report Share Posted October 28, 2016 Well I guess you had to have the balls to do that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beckers 1,136 Posted October 28, 2016 Report Share Posted October 28, 2016 That looks pretty awesome (minus the germs). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Travisma 1,317 Posted October 28, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2016 They had a germicidal coating on them Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted October 28, 2016 Report Share Posted October 28, 2016 Thanks for posting the photos! It looks like fun. Was it? TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Travisma 1,317 Posted October 28, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2016 30 minutes ago, Tri-Circle-D said: Thanks for posting the photos! It looks like fun. Was it? TCD It was fun. Kids had a blast, was fun watching them. It was also entertaining people watching. It's hard to move around in the pit, especially holding onto a camera while wading. We ended up going 2 times, we were able to get more passes when my other granddaughter came in from Orlando. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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