Harrisburg (East) Mall

The Harrisburg Mall, which used to be the Harrisburg East Mall, which may change again since they were sold at auction is actually pretty cool for the kids.

Ok, this is just about the free play area and free WiFi. What an awesome combination, though when I whipped out the laptop, most people looked at me like I was nuts, but they do have free WiFi, though slow. I had an Excellent connection, but only 11MPs (not 54) speed. Not sure why they are doing that, but at least I can post this while here.

The playground is more an imagination playground, no real moving parts, but the kids can run and everything is padded. Most kids get bored after awhile and can get a bit rough, especially those kids that are dropped unsupervised, while the parents shop. I am not that callous yet toward the well being of my kids, even after 4, so not sure what that is about.

The Super McDonalds

It seems this is the week for McDonalds' posts. I just stopped at the McDonalds on Paxtang, near the Harrisburg (East) mall. It has the superhero theme. It looks like they remodeled it since I was there last. It seems less crowded. They have a station with 3 places to play video games and NO FREE WiFi. They have Waypoint, which seems to confuse the employees.

They also have no playplace, though they do have the cool graphics and the video consoles. While I am ranting, the McDonalds in the food court of the Harrisburg (East) Mall charges $0.52 for refills. Who has heard of a McDonalds charging for refills since the 70's? So I will now make a complete search of the area looking for free WiFi.

Halifax McDonalds

Halifax McDonalds currently has Happy Meals for $1.99 and they have a playplace. It is reasonably clean. The kids like it because of the slide and the legos and character seats. However, they do not have FREE WiFi (Waypoint), do not have the free kids cones and don't have a drink station. As a parent, I try to avoid this one, but I do work up in Halifax so it is nice to stop for lunch when I have the kids, but they seem to be behind all of the other McDonalds. They were the last to get the Mac card swipers and don't have a seperate McCafe area, though they do have the coffees.

Travelling & McDonalds

It really surprised me how accustomed I have become to free WiFi and McDonalds. Almost all of them in the Harrisburg Area (almost, only because I haven’t been to them all to check) have free WiFI. We went on a rolling vacation (mix of vacation with college visits across PA for a week) and none of the McDonalds had free WiFI and some didn’t have WiFi at all. I am typing this at a McDonalds in Clarion and they have Waypoint. Not sure how much it is, but it isn’t free. So I am connected to the Clarion Hospital Free WiFi 2 blocks away. It is slow, but at least I can check my email. So be warned fellow Harrisburg travelers, we have it good.