I have not personally set foot in Superior Play Systems. Full disclosure up front. But my neighbor Casey took her kids last week while they were shopping for a new backyard playset, and by the time she finished telling me about it I was ready to go price out a play structure I absolutely do not need. So consider this Casey's review, relayed by me, and consider me extremely on board with going myself.
Getting There
Superior Play Systems sits on Granite Street off Nations Ford Road, right off I-77. It's a showroom, not a park, so don't expect landscaping or a parking lot full of minivans idling for pickup. Casey said it's easy to find and easy to get in and out of, which after a week of me fighting the Piper Glen parking lot for a coffee run sounds like a small miracle.
What's There
This is a store that sells playsets, trampolines, and basketball hoops, and lets your kids test everything out before you buy. Casey's rundown: basketball hoops, a full trampoline zone (they didn't actually get into that one), slides, and play systems ranging from a basic swing set up to structures that run about $20,000. The $20,000 ones are not a typo. Two units connected by tunnels. One with five slides. A footprint of 30 feet by 30 feet, which Casey pointed out would eat her entire backyard and she'd still do it in a heartbeat.
Inside is no frills. No air conditioning, just big fans, and Casey said it shows. They were the only family there on a weekday near closing, which honestly sounds like the dream version of an indoor play space, minus the heat.
Casey didn't mention this, but the second she described no AC and just big fans, my brain went straight to February. When it's 38 degrees and gray and you've run out of places to take a toddler that aren't the library for the third time that week, this could be the move. Basketball hoops, slides, and trampolines your kid can't destroy, for about the price of a movie ticket. Too cold or pouring outside, and nobody's telling you about this one.
Casey's Experience
Casey and her husband went in close to closing, told the staff they were there to shop for a playset, and never got charged the normal all-day play fee, which runs somewhere between $12 and $15 depending on the day. Her kids ran the place. Her daughter Ellie hit every slide, and her son claimed the basketball hoops for the whole visit.
They're aiming to have their new set installed in time for Ellie's birthday on October 26th, so the backyard's ready to open up the second the weather cooperates. The install process alone sold Casey. Once you put down a deposit, Superior Play Systems' customer care team contacts you within 10 to 14 business days to go over your yard, your driveway, and anything nearby, including handling the call-before-you-dig utility check themselves. A technician calls to confirm the time and address on the actual day, then handles the entire setup while you do nothing. Casey and her husband looked at a Costco set first, and the dad who wrote the online review for it said the install alone took him four days. Casey's exact words: nobody wants to build that. Her husband agreed, calling himself just handy enough with tools to be dangerous.
The Details
Location: 11415 Granite St, Ste C, Charlotte, NC 28273
Hours: Monday through Friday, 10am to 6pm. Saturday from 11am to 5pm. Sunday 12pm to 4pm.
Open play cost: $12 weekdays, $15 weekends, $15 during school holidays. Wednesday mornings from 10am to 1pm are Charitable Play, just $6, and 100 percent of that fee goes to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
What's inside: Basketball hoops, trampolines, playset displays with slides and tunnels, no AC, just fans.
Good to know: They also host birthday parties, weekday $349 or weekend $399, up to 16 kids, with a private party room and full run of the showroom. Professional installation covers the greater Charlotte area, including Concord, Gastonia, Rock Hill, Huntersville, and a long list of surrounding towns.
My Take
If you're shopping for a playset and dreading either the price tag or the idea of building it yourself, this sounds like the move. Go on a weekday, let your kids test drive the actual equipment instead of guessing from a website photo, and ask about current install specials before you commit to a number you saw online. Better yet, go on a Wednesday morning between 10 and 1, when open play drops to $6 and all of it goes to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Same slides, same trampolines, and your kid's chaos actually does something good for once.
We already have a $150 Facebook Marketplace playset in our own backyard, fully assembled by someone else, thank you very much. But after hearing Casey talk about the tunnel setup, I'm side-eyeing our current one a little.
