An inflatable castle, also known as a bounce house, is a structure that is filled with air. The air gives the inflatable castle rigidity, while providing a soft surface that people can bounce on. A common site at carnivals, birthday parties, and even flea markets, bounce houses are generally a popular attraction or the most popular attraction wherever they are set up.
An inflatable castle generally consists of four sides, a floor and can be closed or open at the top. To keep the users of the castle from falling out of the structure when bouncing around, there is generally a net, or some sort of barrier at the entrance and at any openings in the walls. Even with multiple users bouncing around in them, inflatable castles are generally safe to use with very little incidents when operated properly.
Bounce houses are generally made of PVC (poly vinyl chloride) or thick, heavy duty nylon. A bounce house is usually inflated with an electric or gasoline powered fan. The fan also keeps the bounce house inflated during use.
Bounce houses are made in a variety of designs such as houses, forts, trains, boats, even animals. In addition to the typical inflatable castle design consisting of four walls; inflatable structures are also made in the form of dry and wet slides, obstacle courses, multi-level and combination play sets. These different styles of inflatable structures have extended the appeal of bounce houses from children to adults as well.
There are many businesses that offer bounce houses for rent. These companies will bring the inflatable structure of a consumer’s choice to the location of the event requiring the bounce house. There are also many companies that have indoor bounce houses centers. These centers are like indoor inflatable amusement parks. Most of these indoor centers offer different styles of bounce houses along with food service, dining facilities and private party rooms.
Lastly, there are also companies that manufacture inflatable bouncers that can be purchased for private residential use. While this may be a cost-effective alternative to renting a bounce house on every occasion or paying to go to an indoor center, these are usually not as heavy duty as inflatables manufactured for commercial use.