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Two in Tow & On The Go | Plush animal scooters at the Kitsap Mall

Mall rides selfie with mama and the kids! January 2025.

When Washington winters give us a swift kick in the butt by knocking daytime temps to the 30s, our usual outdoor adventures—whether it’s tracking down nearly-forgotten playgrounds at Point Defiance or daydreaming about buying a funky little beach in Purdy—get put on pause.

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Heading to an indoor adventure, in what very well may be one of our most random excursions (which is saying a lot for us), we grabbed Gig Harbor Now history columnist and our adopted co-adventurer Greg Spadoni and headed to … the mall. The Kitsap Mall, to be exact, located about 35 miles from Artondale and doesn’t require crossing a toll bridge. As a regional center, Kitsap Mall is a traditional indoor shopping throwback with retail shops, arcades and food places in a building originally built in 1985 that remains moderately sized by even today’s standards.

Chart your course anywhere inside the mall minus in the stores (or outside).

Located at 10315 Silverdale Way in Silverdale, the mall has anchor tenants like JCPenney, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Barnes & Noble, and WinCo Foods; and it sports a mostly single-story footprint (stores like Dick’s has two levels of shopping). This particular mall is also one of our go-to rainy day places for required pre-tween Squishmallows runs (at Claire’s and BoxLunch) and the token Baskin Robbins ice cream fix. This time, though, we were on a mission for something different. We were there to drive motorized stuffed animals  … inside the mall. Yes, you heard that right— giant plush dogs and bears that you rent to zip and zoom on like a mini stampede of cuddly chaos. Could anything be more perfect?! If your answer is yes – they also rent cool mini cars.

The magic of mall-zipping

LA Minis at the Kitsap Mall, Silverdale. January 2025.

The Seattle-based LA Minis rents mostly kid-sized vehicles via a vendor stand displayed inside the mall next to Kay Jewelers and Arcade II. (Note: LA Minis is marked with the letter L on this printable Kitsap Mall map on the concourse after the entrance/exit marked West Main).  The ride-time choices are $12 for 15 minutes or $20 for 30 minutes, and you can cruise the mall walkways in style with your choice of an electric pint-sized jeep, sports car, or our friends the dogs and bears. An LA Minis rep lets riders choose their vehicle or animal and then processes the rental fee at the register and shows riders how the units work. All ride-ons are for kids and adults up to 225 pounds. Two small kids can even pair up on one ride for most of the units.

Clara and Wyatt run into Greg and laugh. January 2025.

The rules? No going outside and no entering the stores (plus the usual waiver of legal-speak at checkout). Beyond that, it’s full throttle … at, well, walking speed. But don’t let that fool you — these things feel fast when you’re zipping across wide expanse of shiny mall flooring — navigating around planters, steps and people while also strategizing the best routes like a mini Mario Kart race (without the throwing of shells, ink splats or bananas).

Riding down the mall ramps is the best.

The best part? The ramps. Gliding down the gently sloped walkways of Kitsap Mall felt like the ultimate joyride. Going up? Painfully slow. But some other kids, a young girl and her little brother doubling up on a blue dog, figured out a life hack. They grabbed the ramp’s handrail and hauled themselves and their wheeled-plush uphill – hand-over-hand – like pros.  Honestly, genius.

The animals

Cutie Clara and her Panda. January 2025.

We rented three ride-on animals: a brown-and-white dog with floppy ears and a black hair bow; a black-and-white panda bear; and what I think is another dog sporting a gray-and-white coat that resembles a cartoon husky. We also saw the aforementioned blue dog and a pink “My Little Pony”-esc unicorn. When renting, we opted for the full 30-minute time slot — which meant forking over a steep $60 in total for

LA Minis Sign. January 2025.

All three of ours played music whether we wanted them to or not. We sat on the back of the animal much like what I’d imagine a motorcycle might feel like. Although, you know, way slower. But there were little footsteps on the sides to rest your feet on and handlebars up top. There are buttons to move forward and I think also to move backward, and you can steer the device to go left, right or — bonus! — in circles.

I know the kids had a blast because they were laughing almost the entire time, following each other up and down the walkway ramps, avoiding the stairs and dodging the trash cans. The latter of which I’m sure is great practice for their future teenage driving license tests 🙂

Costs

Three wheeled plushies all standing in a row.

three wheeled plushies. But the cost was totally worth it in the end for a first experience. Greg and I shared the hairbow dog, splitting our time down the middle where one of us “big kids” rolls away while the other takes the pics. I tried to get Greg to share what he thought of his time jetting around atop a smiley-face cartoon dog, all while blasting a high-pitched rendition of “Wheels on the Bus” from its stereo underbelly in full view of other adults who were definitely staring. But he wouldn’t cop to even be slightly embarrassed at all.

Since Greg is going to play it all calm and collected … I guess I will, too. In fact, I say my best advice is to stick by your decisions for adventure, friends! To heck with what others think. But, you know, only if they’re judging you. Because, in reality, they’re probably envying you as evidenced by the two other groups of strangers who immediately rented their own electric animals after we did. Then you just can’t help but feel awesome in the leadership department.

Final verdict? #worthit!

Panda, Dog and Husky

If you’re looking for a winter-friendly adventure, Kitsap Mall’s LA Minis ride-ons are a must to try at least once in your life. I believe other malls in the South Sound region have the same or similar enterprises. The kids had an absolute blast, and snagging a ride for myself (strictly for journalistic research, of course) was a win-win.

And hey, next time you’re there, see if you can outsmart the slow uphill ride — because nothing says peak parenthood like getting lapped by your 9- and 11-year-olds (and a local history columnist of an undisclosed age, though rumor has it he’s 28) pulling themselves up a ramp on a motorized plush panda.

The LA Minis rental location is by Kay Jewelers.

Other kid-friendly fun at Kitsap Mall

The Periscope Place children’s play area at Kitsap Mall.

If your crew still has energy to burn after their animal scooter joyride, Kitsap Mall has a few more family-friendly attractions to check out:

Arcade I & Arcade II
Not one, but two arcades! Arcade II is by WinCo *and Arcade I (simply labeled “Arcade” without the numeral I added for clarity) is by Famous Footwear. The latter definitely takes quarters (been there, done that), and there’s even a dollar bill machine that converts cash into coins which is rare to find these days. Expect classics like Pac-Man, Mario Kart, pinball, and even a four-player Halo game.

Arcade Hours** 

Monday – Thursday: 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Friday – Saturday: 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Sunday: 12 p.m. – 6 p.m.

**It’s unclear if these hours are for both locations

Bremerton Northern Model Railroad “Clubhouse”
Got a train-loving kid (or parent)? Kitsap Mall is home to the Kitsap County chapter of the National Model Railroad Association in a space they call the “clubhouse” located across from the H&M clothing store. The regional club dates back to the early 1970s and centers around the hobby of building and operating miniature train systems. Today, the group showcases some of their work at the mall for an open-house style feel as they work to preserve vintage memorabilia and models, answer hobby-related questions, and present information and tours to the community. The club is currently building new scenes and adding operating elements, and you can check their progress at the mall space on Thursdays and Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m. only. You can find more info on the club and hobby at www.bnmrr.org. The Kitsap Mall location space some cool model railroads, like the:

1. The Kitsap Western: An HO-scale sectional railroad.
2. The N-Division Railroad: The group’s ever-expanding modular setup.

Periscope Place Children’s Play Area

A small indoor playground area is available at the mall in the concourse area by Winco for children 42-inches-tall and less. The height maximum is enforced, so my big kids haven’t played there. But it looks cool.

Fake grass slabs

Wyatt loves these fake grass slabs placed sporadically in the mall’s general seating areas. He talks about them for days!

Wyatt loves the fake grass slabs at the mall.

Overall

With all these kid-friendly features of the ride-on rentals, plus adding in the arcades and model trains, and you’ve got a solid indoor adventure at the Kitsap Mall that beats cabin fever and the chilly air. Tell me, what’s your favorite mall around here? You can email me at [email protected] and [email protected].

See ya out there!

* Look at all you cool kids who followed my little asterisk way down here! OK, so, anyone who knows Greg Spadoni knows he’s a stickler for a thorough story, and those who do may chuckle to know that he contacted me just to point out that I forgot to place an ‘and’ in that part of the story. 🙂