Fly High With iFly Jax

(this is a sponsored post but all thoughts and opinion are my own)

One day after sitting in the school pick up line for what seemed like FOREVER my son hopped inside the car with a huge smile and said for my birthday I want to go to iFly. Well, it was nowhere near his birthday month but I was interested in hearing more. Kingston isn’t the type of kid who asks to go places so if he was asking it must be something he really wanted to do. I had no idea at the time what iFly was but being the dope mom I am I hit up my sidekick google. Now I’m not going to lie I was a lot of bit terrified but I knew this was something my adventures squad would love in the end.

WHAT IS IFLY? 

In a nutshell, iFly is an indoor sky diving facility. My initial thoughts were oh no I have no desire to skydive and I don’t want my kids to either but at iFLY you aren’t jumping or diving you’re flying. They describe it as “you fly gently on a cushion of controlled air” and that's exactly what it is.

DaBrattPack take iFly

After Kingston mentioned his desire to try it we received an amazing invitation to come to check out the facilities. Boy, were they excited. It's funny because while I knew they would love the experience I also know my children. I knew Kingston would dive right in fearless without much thought to what exactly would be happening. I knew Aya would be scared and want to sit it out but regret not trying in the end and Lennox was either going to be down or refuse, there would be no talking her into anything.

When we arrived everyone was so helpful and attentive. The first thing you will need to do when you arrive is check-in. You will need to sign a waiver, this can be done ahead of time online. For me a mother with young children, one with autism, I had a few extra questions and concerns. I needed a little more detail on what would be happening and so did my children. The staff not only explained to them what flying at iFly was but they took steps to ease all of our minds. They turned on the wind so we could hear how loud it would be, this was something my child with autism was concerned about. They allowed them to step out on the springs to see where the fans were located underneath and get a feel of what it felt like to stand in the tunnel. This was something my daughters were concerned about. The tunnel looked extremely intimidating to them. After realizing standing in the tunnel was like jumping on a trampoline and you didn’t have to fly to the top if you didn’t want my oldest daughter was ready to go. My youngest, however, was still not convinced. We suited up, sat through a quick yet informative orientation and it was time to FLY!… Well, at least it was for two out of the three of my children. Like the strong-minded child, she is flying was a no for my youngest and she was sticking to it. No worries they had something up their sleeve for that as well. I was absolutely shocked when the staff pulled out a stuffed Jack Jack (from the Incredibles movie) doll for her to hold. When it was her turn to fly they turned down the wind allowed her to step out on the springs and blew just enough wind for Jack Jack to fly around the tunnel while she tried to catch him. I thought this option was absolutely adorable!

3 Quick Tips

1. Arrive a little early if you have questions and concerns the staff will go above and beyond to answer anything.
2. Dress comfortably, they will provide you with a suit to wear over your clothes so you won’t be changing while you’re there.
3. Bring the whole family no matter age or ability everyone can fly at iFly

ALL ABILITY NIGHT

As a black autism mom, I was excited to hear all about their All Abilities Night! I’m an advocate for inclusivity across the board and iFly knocked it out the park with this one. Every time I tell someone that doesn’t know us about iFly and how Kingston brought it to our attention they are always shocked. Shocked at the fact that he would want to do something like this and I don’t get it. Yes, my son has autism but he is hands down the most adventurous person in our family. Putting together events like All Ability Night not only gives people like my adventurous son an outlet but it allows families like mine to try something new, meet new people, and make memories just like everyone else. All abilities Night is the first Monday of Every Month. Check out the flyer below for more details.