A Late Report From Toy Fair – Visiting NY Dart Zone!
March 10, 2020The day before Toy Fair, I took the train from Manhattan out to Long Island for a fun visit I hadn’t been able to make in previous years. NY Dart Zone is a business out in Suffolk County, established in 2015 and having a 5400 square food facility with two arenas (and more). So I got to spend much of the afternoon trading shots with Sophie (@Nerfers101) as well as many kids and families.
Family-Sized Battles
The NY Dart Zone facility consists of a lobby/shop area, a waiting area for non-participants (with a view of one of the arenas), and two arenas of play. It is, of course, filled with inflatable cover, foam-padded floors, and various types of blasters and ammo. There is the nice effect of one side having glow tape for a more laser tag-like effect. You also might see the monkey mascots hanging from the ceiling while you play.
Play in these arenas can accommodate group parties as well as walk-ons. You don’t have to bring any ammo, although if you have a favorite (stock) blaster in your collection, you can bring it with you (just label it, etc). Otherwise, there are lots of pistols (and a few primaries) available to use, firing Elite darts, Mega darts, or Rival. They also come from all brands, not just Nerf. If you’re lucky, someone might let you borrow a blaster that uses Demolisher rockets, or possibly melee…
There are various possible games posted on the walls, if you want an objective. You can also just spend the entire time shooting each other and tapping in at the respawn wall after you’ve been hit. That’s what we ended up doing much of the time, especially with so many little kids and parents there. They just wanted to battle!
NY Dart Zone can also go mobile, with a van that can bring blasters, cover, and ammo for neighborhood parties.
As for the play…it’s pretty lighthearted when you’re playing with kids!
Before We Go…
It was a pleasure meeting the people that run NY Dart Zone (as well as seeing them at other things like Buzz Bee’s presentation on Sunday). It was also fun playing with Nerfers101, although we had a strangely high number of headshots on each other. Oops. It’s a great facility, and it was a fun time for all.
Relevant links and social media!
