Toybrary Austin in Austin
Categories
Location on the map
Austin, Travis County, Texas, US
Accessibility
Site: http://www.toybraryaustin.com/
- Monday:Closed
- Tuesday:10AM–6PM
- Wednesday:10AM–6PM
- Thursday:10AM–6PM
- Friday:10AM–6PM
- Saturday:10AM–6PM
- Sunday:Closed
What a fascinating and unique concept! I was explaining it to both my sisters in other states (theyre also grandparents) and they wish they could have a happy place for their youngsters like we do in Austin. Its obvious that those who run this operation love kids and those who care for them. The day I was there, there were youngsters enjoying snacks and giggling at a nature video, a happy baby babbling while his sister rode a pig scooter, and all the while, parents smiling and relaxed. And to think that all the toys for every age youngster can be borrowed, just like a book! Fantastic. You need to check it out for yourself.
This place is a treasure find! I brought my two and a half year old daughter here to play and she LOVED it. There were other kiddos to play with, and the owner is so kind and great with the children. The amount of toys to borrow and the organization of the place is incredible. My daughter had a blast, and there were plenty of snacks and beverages to enjoy while you hang out. This is a great spot and Im very grateful to have found it. Give it a try, your kiddo will thank you!
We had the best time at Toybrary today. I took my 3yo and 3mo for Miss Ariels music class and then we stayed and played for another 1.5 hours. My toddler loved the toys. Everything was clean and organized. The space is ideal for moms, you can sit and relax while your child plays and you can see him from anywhere in the facility - no blind spots means no chasing a toddler! Liza, the owner, was incredibly sweet and made us feel right at home. The Toybrary is such a great idea, Im so thankful we discovered it. We will be back soon!
This is an amazing place if you have young children. Great toys for your kids to play there or you can join as a member and take toys home. Theres never a lack of selection. The other really nice thing is you can drop your child off and theyll watch them. Its very reasonably priced and the owner is the best.
A nanny paradise! I love taking my nanny kids here. They always ask to go and love picking out toys to bring home. We often have nanny meet ups here and even had our National Nanny Play Date here a couple weeks ago! (yes thats a thing!) Liza is always friendly when we come by, says hi, is available if we have any questions about the toys to borrow. They have SO MANY TOYS to choose from for all ages and levels of development. Everything is organized and clean. Liza often goes around with a soft noise vacuum (which I also use on occasion when my nanny kids are being messy with snacks) they have a diaper changing station with sample diapers and wipes in case you forgot yours. The outdoor area is lots of fun with sensory boards, a little fun house, sand box and learning garden. They are always having fun events. We have done the African music class, pizza party and various other scheduled activities. This is just a perfect place for getting out of the hot weather and letting your kiddos explore!
We had a very successful meetup here today for our local moms groups! Liza the owner is great and the space is so cute! I have 3 girls (4y, 2.5y and 8m) and there was something for all of them to play with! We were there from 10a-12p and they didnt get bored -- they were playing with dress-up, kitchen items, sliding on the slide, pushing shopping carts...and thats before they discovered there was a playground out back! There were comfy seats for moms to sit in and relax too. We truly enjoyed our time and will definitely be back. Thanks Liza for welcoming our group!
I have two kids, now age 6 & 7 yrs old, and weve used Toybrary for years with great results! The kids feel empowered getting to pick 3 toys to take home, and they loved it even more that we could come back the very next day to get more if we wanted to. The assortment of toys always impresses me. Toybrary offers Montessori and STEAM toys, not the usual plastic kind.Ive also been to many different events at Toybrary. Ranging from parties to parenting classes, demonstrations from local businesses, etc. and we have always had a fun time!Ive known the owner of Toybrary for a few years now and she is one of the nicest women Ive ever met! Liza is quick to offer help, the kind of business owner that always wants her customers to be 100% happy.If you havent seen the new space, you should drop by and check it out! Its bigger and has a wonderful outside play area, too!
This is such a clever idea, one I wish I had come up with. This is a relatively new business run by a one woman show, Liza. I love being able to drop in and chat with other moms. The colors and decor are bright and welcoming, it is big enough that the kids have room to play, but not so big that you have to get up and keep checking on them. We are living in an RV right now as renovations are completed on our house. I am grateful I don’t have to go to the $1 store to buy dinky plastic toys. Instead I can check-out quality, age appropriate toys that we use and return when we are ready for something else. This is on of the most environmental moves you will make for your child. Another discovery are the toys I would never have purchased for my 3 year old son: lacing beads, kitchen play-sets and the stage with costumes. The combination of classes and activities change weekly. This is one of the brightest spots of our week. You know something good is going on when your child keeps wanting to go back time and time again. Ask for this as a Christmas gift for your child and stop getting crazy huge annoying toys from grandparents!
Toybrary is a magical place for children and their parents! They offer great deals for buying or renting toys as well as host all kinds of amazing fun events for the community. I especially love their yoga classes and music classes. Liza, the owner is kind and generous to work with and she loves children!
I have known the owner since 2013 when she was a volunteer for the Make-A-Wish foundation. She truly loves children and created the Toybrary for the sole purpose of creating a space for children to play and learn. We were members for years and my daughter absolutely loved it. We have always been welcomed with open arms by the owner and have always reciprocated with mutual kindness. Support a local business, borrow some educational toys and enjoy a creative, safe space with your kids!
We loved the toys & outdoor play area. The problem was that the place smelled bad & wasnt clean. The drop in childcare kids (well one of them) kept trying to steal toys from my infant & snacks from my toddlers. If I pay for my child to play then I would like them to be able to do so without every toy they touch pulled from their grasp by an unsupervised child. I wouldnt care except the owner didnt really do anything. She was distant, cold & not at all welcoming. I understand maybe having some stress or a bad morning; but from reading the reviews it seems like this is a common complaint. I would think this lady would want her patrons to feel welcome & happy that people want to pay for this type of service. If she keeps acting this way then folks wont want to come again. I might come again, but for the price and the customer service? I am hard pressed to battle traffic. If the owner needs help with customer service (welcoming, friendly, talkative and cheerful for a child play area) she should hire someone. Then she can hide behind her computer and scowl all day while someone else takes care of her guests.
Toybrary was very cluttered, and the owner was extremely rude and dismissive when I was paying for entry. She acted as if she wanted nothing to do with me and as if she does not know anything about customer service. She refused to answer basic questions and did not make me feel welcome. If my child had not been excited to attend the petting zoo, I would have walked out at check-in.I am shocked that she even has any return customers. Im wondering if she is bipolar or something because I can not see how anyone could recommend this woman or her service with the way she treated me and the people who came in behind me.As another parent put it, the petting zoo was underwhelming. The petting zoo had about 5 animals with only 2 furry animals and both of those were dirty and looked unhealthy. The animals were in a cage thing that was not physically accessible for the kids. They couldnt reach in to touch the animals at all. Parents would have to get the animal out. Most people just looked at them... I and one other mom picked up the rabbit (one after another) and let our child pet it.I was expecting baby animals that we could actually hold and pet. I was also expecting the staff to hand the animals to the children so they could pet them or at least allow the children near the animals so they could pet them. My child and I stayed in the petting zoo area for maybe 5 minutes, then we washed our hands immediately after and went to explore the toy areas. I do not think any of the children who went in with us were particularly interested in the animals, which is what we all paid for...Toys were everywhere from the time we arrived which was about 10:20 am. They opened the building at 10 am, and the petting zoo was to start at 10:30 am. I had to constantly move toys out of the way for my child to be able to play with toys and for us to be able to walk around.It was too crowded and grimy. Im sure the toys and dress up clothes are not cleaned. They looked dirty. Children were tripping all over the toys and could barely make their way through the space.We were really excited about visiting, but I would not return after our experience there. I would not buy a single thing from this lady and I do not recommend this place. If you dont believe me, just check out the other negative reviews. The owner seems to have a history of being rude to customers, having a bad attitude, delivering horrible customer service, and making excuses rather than correcting the problem. Im pretty sure she does not like kids or people. Stay away! There are other places to take your children where theyll treat you with respect and actually deliver quality events. Im not sure how she has any customers.Pros:The petting zoo started on time and there was no wait when we went in. The other families there were very nice and openly talked with us and each other. The guy who was running the petting zoo was very friendly and knowledgeable about the animals. I liked the stack of re-usable wash cloths in the restroom for drying your hands vs paper towels. Ive seen this at a couple of places before and it can be a nice touch as long as the wash cloths are clean (these were pretty dingy looking). There were a few toys for sale there that I am interested in purchasing, but I will NOT purchase them from this rude, unprofessional woman. I would rather purchase them from the manufacturer or Amazon even if they cost more because this woman does not deserve my business.Again, I do not recommend this place and the owner should be ashamed of how she treats people in person and in her online responses to legitimate complaints. There is no excuse for her behavior.
Im a kids book author and I love working with Toybrary Austin. The space is adorable and its clear that the parents who are members there love bringing their children to play. The owner does a wonderful job managing everything and communicates very well with everyone involved. Ive been recommending it to all my friends and colleagues with young children.
We love the toybrary and Liza. I found her to be helpful and sweet and the store fun, clean and enticing for little ones. I love all the events she hosts and always try and go when we can. Her outside area is adorable. And my kids love it.Take your kids there and I think you will find a fun place that will have you coming back again and again.
Weve used the Toybrary for years now and have always enjoyed our experience thoroughly. As homeschoolers, this has been an invaluable resource, and even just when taking a road trip, having access to the appropriate toys to help with any occasion or season is a dream come true. Not having to worry about toys the kids are outgrowing cluttering our tiny home has saved us many headaches, and the owner of Toybrary, Liza, is not only charming and helpful, but has personally gone out of her way to help us and other families time and time again. We love the Toybrary and hope that anyone else checking it out will be open to having similarly wonderful experiences there.
This place is great. If you are visiting Austin and have kids, you must check this place out.We visited Austin with another couple and our 2-year old and 15-month old sons. The Toybrary was amazing. The kids could take out 3 toys each and the selection was fantastic. They could also play at the Toybrary for as long as they wanted and while they did so, coffee and a masseuse were available for that parents -- seriously!I wish there were Toybrarys wherever we travel next. Such a great idea and really well executed.
Love this place! Even though my tot is older, there are tons of great classes that she can attend. The space is so well thought out, and the owner really caters to both the child and mom, which is hard to beat. I love that I can also get my child a snack or drink if I want to. The owner is friendly, always asks my child questions when we come in, and has a lot of experience working with children. It’s a great concept and Austin needs a place like this!
This place is dreadful. The new location is worse than the old one.... it just feels dark, dirty, sticky, & sad. Today was the last straw, my 3 year old was excited to meet Chase from Paw Patrol, but apparently Chase was not on the case-....something about an accident, or trip to the hospital... he was supposedly on his way but after waiting an hour we had to leave...we tried to discuss what we were going to do about a refund...but when another mom offered up a very fair & helpful suggestion she was asked to leave or the lady running the place was going to call the police?!.... I think she is the owner...very unprofessional way to handle the situation in my opinion... but in the end we were refunded 1/2 of what we paid- then the owner said I have a room full of people I dont know how Im going to refund everyone...I understand things happen, life happens... but the overall tone & vibe of this place just gives me the creeps- we wont be backHorrendous customer service..Awful icky sticky toys...save your money & go somewhere AWESOMELike Little Land Play Gym up 183! Incredibly clean, fun, open, bright, & excellent customer service! They have classes, workshops & parents days/nights out.
Purchased items from Liza, the business owner, and had an awful experience (unfortunately, this wasnt the first time). After expressing my disappointment and notifying that I will no longer be a customer as a result of her poor customer service, Lizas response was:Good. I am glad to see you go. With any business, there are always a certain % of customers who nag and pick and drive the owner up the wall. You are one of them. Please bring back the lincoln logs that I took out of my personal collection, just to please you. You have $7 in your Venmo account.The concept of Toybrary is wonderful and so is the space, but the owners approach to running a business is subpar.
Love the Toybrary concept and the way it engages the entire family in play and fun! There are always so many offerings and activities to enjoy - way beyond just the lending library of toys. I cant imagine how they keep up with all the fun, but they do! Definitely worth a visit!
When I heard about this place I thought WOW what an awesome idea. Then I looked online and saw how ridiculously high the prices are to rent toys and decided its not at all worth it. I dont spend $40 on my kids toys every month but maybe someone out there does. Anyway... fast forward a month and I win a pass card for 5 free stay and play days where your kid gets to go in the store and play with the toys. I thought cool something fun to do with my toddler. When we went in it seemed fun until I realized about 75% of the toys in there are ONLY for renting so the stay and play kids cant touch them. You try telling a toddler not to touch toys. So already it was a headache. Then he started playing with the toys he was allowed to but he kept having run ins with all the other kids there because there were more kids than there were interesting and fun toys. Fiasco.Fast forward half a year and I was enticed into going to an event hosted by the Toybrary. They were hosting a petting zoo and the Facebook event said you needed to buy a ticket because they were only going to let in a few people so that each kid got plenty of time with the animals. I bought my ticket nearly a month in advance, then showed up the day of and found they were selling tickets at the door to anybody and everybody. We went to the back and saw a line of 50+ people with their kids waiting to pet animals!!!!! My son did not get a chance to pet the animals AND the owner refused to refund our money. She not only refused but was snobby and rude. I am so upset. I tried to plan a fun day for my little boy and it was taken away from him because the owner of this establishment saw a way to make extra money without a care at all for the children or their families. I will never buy anything from this business and I do not endorse this place whatsoever for ANY of their services.
Weve had a membership for over a year, its a great escape for parents and all adventure for the kiddos. A safe, learning, but fun environment for our 3 yr old (who seems to never tire of it) and an excellent way to sit back and relax a little as a parent.The toy borrowing is brilliant. It keeps the clutter at home down, since you check out toys, then bring them back when the little ones get bored with them. We rotate in and out about 3 toy sets, instead of the mountains of unused plastic crap we used to have all over the house.Toybrary also has some very cool events for kids and for parent-kid participation - reptile experts with their pets, story time, crafts, sing alongs, and of course you can have birthday parties there.Its a no-brainer for kid activities that reduce mom and dads stress!
This place is a magical dream for young kids. A large house bursting with fun, interesting, brain-nurturing toys of all shapes and sizes. Lisa, the owner, is friendly and respectful, always willing to engage if needed but only if needed. And you can check out most toys to take home. Lots of fun special events too. I wish I had access to this place when I was a child.
I was excited to finally be in north Austin to participate in Wednesday music class. The teacher was ok she wasn’t my issue. My daughter wasn’t as engaging as usual because she had just got done crying.Moments before the actual class my 11 month old was struck down by an older little boy. I did my best to be understanding, children are learning and my daughter although shook was fine. The mother did apologize to her kid then us. The staff/ woman at front desk was sitting in front watching did not acknowledge me nor my daughter. When the music class was to begin moments later, I looked up and the mom of the little boy and the women at the front desk were looking at me and when I made eye contact they looked away. This made me even more uncomfortable. I tried to get my child to participate in the class and eventually she relaxed a little but I couldn’t.I’m disappointed in how the staff handle my child and I. This was our first and only class we will attend. The staff is not trained well enough to make sure that we as a family feel safe.
The owner/manager of this fabulous establishment is a real treat! Not only is she dedicated, responsive and very kind, but she is always willing to help me out and work out arrangements with me. Over the past few years I have maintained a standard membership ($43/mo) and with that have been able to attend some of the most memorable events. My daughter loves this place and her father and i do too!
I took my almost 2 year old to play. Seemed fine at first. The owner didnt have change for the $7 admission so she said she would get change later. Atleast 1/2 of the toys in the play area are for sale and not available to play with. My daughter reached a box of cards within reach of a toddler and ripped the box (not damaging its contents). The owner told me I had to buy it, and then tried to tell me it was more expensive than the price tag, and didnt acknowledge that she owed me change.
Horrendous customer service. I cannot stress that enough. The owner has no intentions of ensuring her customers satisfaction or hearing their complaints. Be absolutely sure you want a membership to this place because there is no cancellation policy and you will be trapped paying for sub par services. I did not notice until we brought it home but my daughters toy she checked out was broken and fixed with blue painters tape and my sons toy was missing several pieces. Overall this place was terribly disappointing. Save your money and go to thrift stores or garage sales. Same quality of toys.
This place is a joke. 5 feet from the door the owner repeatedly said you need to take your shoes off. Can we not say hello to our friends and family first? You have to take your shoes off and keep them off? Great idea with kids riding around on toys smashing your feet. The owner was on her computer the entire time we were there. The tables and floors were nasty when we got there bit she wanted it clean before we left. We will never go or recommend this place ever again.
We’ve been to a handful of events here and most of them have been massively overcrowded, and the membership is just silly expensive; however, my biggest issue with this business is their social media presence. The first straw was an article they posted titled “Having a Second Child Worsens Parents’ Mental Health”. The article was horrid and one sided and seemed an odd choice for a business geared toward children. The final straw was a video posted on MOTHER’S DAY, showing a pregnant woman stripping for her partner. The video portrayed the pregnant woman as an absolute buffoon, and the partner visibly disgusted by her. Instead of taking this day to celebrate the beauty of motherhood, they chose to post a video portraying an expectant mother as a bumbling, burping, unattractive clown. I commented on the post and, and rather than accepting feedback and opening a dialogue, or deleting the inappropriate content, they deleted my comment... so here I am. I am certainly done with this clueless business.
We were excited to go to the peppa pig event for the day. And the place does have lots of toys and dress up clothes for the kids to play with.It is unfortunate that the management was less than welcoming the woman at the front desk seemed a bit cold and had a hard time even breaking a smile.It is a shame since the place looks like it has potential but with some work on customer service We will be hard pressed to go back.In addition one would think that peppa was there to perhaps perform for the kids. Read a story or sing butit turned out peppa was just there to be present and take photos. We do not feel it was a peppa party but rather play time which happened to have peppa present.
Total reviews rating 4
64 Reviews for Toybrary Austin 2023:
Review №1
2022-06-19I never post reviews but after todays experience, I had to. We had such a great experience. I was falling behind on chores so I decided to do the drop-off child care. My daughter had an amazing time. Cece was amazing with my daughter. She showed her around and made her feel welcome. Her daughter is also my daughters age (2 years old). They played together the whole time. Cece captured beautiful pictures of them. My daughter didn’t want to leave. I love the open concept. It made me feel safe about dropping her off. This is such a gem! Thank you Toybrary!!!
Review №2
2022-05-07Amazing fun today with my toddler, third time visiting since he’s grown a bit! Ms. Liza was a a sweetheart and the place is filled with so much to keep them intrigued, definitely will be back. Grateful for her opening up the doors today as an appreciation to moms for free! Also met another amazing mom and her daughter! Please check it out when you are able 😃
Review №3
2022-06-23Had an absolutely terrible experience here. We came for a workshop and Liza wasn’t even friendly or welcoming to me or my son when we arrived. and I had planned to leave my 22 month old in drop off care ONLY if HE wanted and felt comfortable. However, she pressured me into leaving him, and then rushed me into the event. It didn’t feel right, but since they have drop in care I thought she might be able to warm up to him and it would be ok. Halfway through the event I heard him crying very loudly and went out to check. He was just sitting on the floor sobbing. I went and picked him up while she told me it was “just normal.” Back in the workshop she sat on my lap the rest of the time shaking. Then, with no notice, Liza came into the event and told us all we had to leave because she had to be out by the dot of 7 since she’d been there since 9AM. The event was scheduled until 7pm, so this just seemed odd. She then rushed us all out, but didn’t fail to mention that everything on the counter was for sale. I can’t help but feel that she pressured me into leaving my toddler with her just so she could get the drop in childcare money, and really feel like she bullied me into leaving him there. Definitely not the kind of environment I want to support.
Review №4
2021-09-30My kids LOVE Toybrary! Lovely place to rent toys and spend an afternoon playing with new, fun toys, indoors and outdoors!
Review №5
2021-12-02Fun place! Lots of toys and room for the kids to run around while we can keep an eye on them. So many toys. Fortunately we are allowed to take three home every time we visit with our membership. The owner, Liza, is amazing and so good with my kids.
Review №6
2022-03-23Before arrival, was very excited to come here to have both children come and play as it is a great concept.However we would not be returning.Toybrary have lots of toys however some need to be cleaned or get rid of - please see picture taken, this doll has clearly not been washed for a long period of time and is just sat on the floor, standard for all toys there. Cleanliness was ok, there were kids eating in the middle and food over the floor - no staff to help clean this up.There are rules which is slightly misleading. You cannot touch toys that are in boxes and on the shelf’s unless you’re a member. This means you’re actually limited to what you can play with. My son who is 4 wanted to play with those toys however was unable to. I would say the maximum age is 3, my son was bored very quickly.At the desk there are lots of toys for sale, which again for a 2 year is difficult to explain not to touch and play with. The owner greeted us whilst sitting on her laptop and gave small leaflets on what’s to offer. Didn’t engage with my children or welcome them. The entire time the owner sat at the desk on her laptop.I understand this is a play area for all however the baby changing is also where everyone plays, this meant when a baby was changing from a number 2 the room just smells of poo, which again isn’t nice to sit and smell this, maybe move this into the toilet as there is space or install an automatic air freshener.
Review №7
2018-07-11Amazing and fun place to bring your kid to play. So much fun and safe playtime. They even had a cute little singing hour at 1pm. Additionally spots for parents to come in and relax. I believe they also do massages for parents at certain times.Wicked good snacks for moms.
Review №8
2021-08-07As the daughter of a 40+ year early childhood educator, I’ve been dragged to a lot of toy stores and the like, but this one was an absolute delight to visit!! It’s such a clever idea, so welcoming and fun. They have an awesome selection of toys you can borrow. It’s a clean and welcoming atmosphere, I only have good things to say! 10/10 would recommend.
Review №9
2021-12-16My 2 year old absolutely loves this place! I bring him here all the time. He’s grown so comfortable at the toybrary and even loves Liza the owner!This is a great place to drop your kiddos for date night, a day of errands or just to distract them so you can get some work done!
Review №10
2021-08-06My son is 16 months old and loves coming to Toybrary! He has a blast with all the indoor and outdoor toys. Its easy to relax while he plays, easy to watch from all angles. We have a small home so the ability to come play with toys or rent them is the best. We drive from south austin to come here!