Frequently Asked Questions
Q. How do I make a reservation?
You can create a quote online and then we’ll contact you for confirmation and other details or call our office and speak with one of our friendly event specialists during business hours.
Q. How far in advance should I make a reservation?
As soon as possible. Our availability changes daily and we cannot hold items without a reservation. We want to deliver the fun to everyone. However, the reality is we can only do so many deliveries each day–depending on locations, trucks and staffing. Planning ahead will guarantee your event.
Q. May I tip the crew or performer?
Thanks for asking! Tipping is always welcome and always optional. If you would like to show your appreciation of their efforts, they would most certainly be grateful.
Q. What are your Payment and Cancellation policies?
All reservations must be secured with a non-refundable deposit. For online orders we only accept payments using these credit cards: Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express. Personal checks may be accepted for payment if received at least 14 days prior to event. All balances must be paid prior to delivery–unless agreed to in writing. For deposits paid by charge card, the balances due will be charged to the same card the week of the event.
General Cancellations. Customer may cancel the Services by providing written or email notice to Merry Makers. Cancellations made 21 days or more prior to Event Date will receive a Merry Makers credit for the full amounts paid by Customer. Cancellations made less than 21 days prior to Event Date shall result in a forfeiture of the amounts paid PLUS 50% of Invoice price, less Deposit, is owed. Merry Makers credits are valid for 1 year from Event Date.
Cancellations of Bounce Houses or Bounce and Slide Combo rentals only. Cancellations made 7 days or more prior to Event Date will receive a Merry Makers credit for the full amounts paid by Customer. Cancellations made less than 7 days prior to Event Date shall result in a forfeiture of the amounts paid by Customer. Merry Makers credits are valid for 1 year from Event Date.
Inclement Weather. In the event of strong winds, heavy rain and other weather conditions that may be unsafe to equipment or participants, Merry Makers reserves the right to cancel or suspend services. If Merry Makers cancels the Services prior to arriving at the event, Customer will receive a full credit for amounts paid which will be valid for 1 year from Event Date. Merry Makers highly recommends that Customers have an alternate, undercover or indoor plan in case of inclement weather.
Rain Checks (a.k.a. Merry Makers Credit)
Rain checks are available to be used for another event within 1 year of the canceled event date. They are dependent upon item availability. Some reasons for which rain checks would NOT be given include:
- Lack of adequate electricity onsite. The requirements for each unit are listed online.
- Cancellations once our crew have arrived at the event site.
- Site being unsuitable (not enough space, type of ground surface, unsafe, unlevel, etc).
- Lack of an adult being present to sign for the order during pre-arranged delivery time.
Q. How long can I rent the equipment?
Our residential rental periods for bounce houses and combos are generally 4 hours (1-4 hrs) and a small charge for each additional hour for delivered equipment. Other equipment is generally for a 3 hour (1-3 hrs) base price with a small charge each additional hour. Some games and concessions are priced at a flat rate and may be rented for the same duration of larger items. For example, renting a slide for 5 hours, the cotton candy machine would be only its flat rate, but rented for the same duration as the slide.
Our standard delivery hours range from 8 am to 8 pm for reservations. Delivery and take down times are outside of your rental (play time) period and not calculated into it. Overnight and multi-day options may be available for many items. Customer Pickups are by the day. Call to book outside of the standard rental periods. Performers are usually hourly with a minimum start period. **Please remember that inflatables are not recommended to be used after sunset unless extra lighting is used. Porch lighting is generally not sufficient.**
Q. Do you deliver the equipment?
Yes. Enjoy your party! Our uniformed crew will deliver and prepare you for safe and proper operation. However, customers do have the option of picking up and returning other (non-inflatable ride) items like dunk tanks, games and concession rentals.
Q. When will you deliver our rental?
You may expect a call from us giving you a more specific time a day or two before the event. We generally start deliveries at 8 am and have all rentals setup before their start time. The pickup window begins at your end time and may extend until 9 pm or even later on occasion. If we choose to deliver your items early, consider it free play time as you will only be charged for your scheduled rental time. If you wish Priority Delivery, for an additional fee, we will work with you in delivering your equipment within a 2 hour window before your start time. This is common for events at parks. Please have an adult onsite at the arranged time as our crew is usually on a route and have other customers looking forward to their arrival as well.
Q. Are you insured?
Yes and a great question to ask any inflatable rental business. Merry Makers, Inc. is fully insured. We can provide a copy of the insurance policy upon request. The lessee or customer shall be in charge of monitoring each unit, unless specified otherwise. Merry Makers, Inc. is not responsible for any injuries occurring to those using the rental equipment. As always, use at your own risk.
Q. Do you have a minimum order amount for rental deliveries?
Yes. For delivery in our local area the minimum order amount is $150.00. On Saturdays or weekends we may increase the minimum order amount to $300 or more due to demand. You may add other rentals like games or concessions and even add more time to meet the minimum amount. There is no minimum purchase required for Customer Pick-Ups.
Q. What are the Additional Order options?
Priority Delivery / Pick-up: Add the Priority option if you require the equipment to be delivered and/or picked-up within 2 hours of your rental start and/or rental end times. Priority is an additional cost depending on quantity of items, location and ease of access to site. Please keep in mind that safe and proper setup of inflatable rides takes time and anything less than a 1 hour delivery/pick-up window may not be possible. Our Standard Delivery Window is any time between 8 am and your rental start time. The Standard Pick-up Window extends from the end of your rental time until 9 pm. Priority is not needed for performers.
Q. Can you setup at parks?
Yes. However, there is an additional charge due to the difficulties we’ve encountered over the years. Please use this checklist to assist you in determining if the park you are considering is suitable for inflatables.
[ ] Check with the park department for any requirements regarding reservations, possible permits and insurance needs. We have listed most park departments as “additionally insured” on our general liability policy so that we are already on their approved vendor list.
[ ] Add the Priority option to your order if you will not be at the park more
than 2 hours before or after your rental time.
[ ] Go to the site and confirm requirements are met for electricity, setup area
size and site conditions are appropriate for the items rented. See Onsite
Requirements below for details.
[ ] Electricity. Each inflatable ride requires at least one standard 110v outlet
within 70 feet of each inflation blower. Though it may be possible to run two
blowers off a 20 amp circuit, it is recommended to have only 1 blower per
circuit. Even though there may be multiple outlets, they may be on the same
circuit thereby sharing that circuit’s limited power availability. Play it safe,
because if you pop a circuit breaker at a park, there may be no park staff
available to reset it during your event. See Power Needed below for more details like requirements for generators if needed.
[ ] Is there a load/unload space available for our truck?
[ ] What is the distance to the site from the load/unload space?
[ ] Can we use anchor stakes? Standard are 18” long while the size used for
slides 36” long–both put in at an angle. A sandbag fee may be added if stakes
are not allowed.
Q. How do I order an item for Customer Pickup?
We offer the discount and convenience of customer pickup for many of our items that are NOT inflatable rides (Bounce Houses, combos…). The items available for pick up are most of the games and concessions. They are booked by the day and only available for pickup/return during office hours. Some of them are large and will require a van or truck to transport them. Please call the office to order customer pickups.
Q. What are the onsite requirements for inflatables and games?
Site Access: There must be a clear access route from our vehicle to your site (3′ min width for bounce houses, 4′ for larger units). Stairs, steep banks or obstructed pathway can cause delays or possibly prevent equipment setup.
Site Conditions: The space requirements, including height, are listed online for each item. The site needs to be flat. Pet droppings, debris and any objects that may interfere with the use of, or cause damage to, the rental equipment must be removed. Please rake recently mown grass. Our crew will not clean or prepare the site.
Ground Surface: Grass is best, but hard surfaces like concrete may work too. Dirt or rocky soils are not acceptable and will be assessed a minimum $100 cleaning fee if used. Customer may be required to cover the site with a tarp prior to our setup. The ground surface choice may not be changed once our crew is dispatched as specific materials are required for each ground surface type and may prevent setup of the equipment. Stakes will be used in grass unless otherwise specified. For your safety, once the unit is setup it may not be moved.
Onsite Adult: There must be an adult available onsite to sign for the rental equipment and to direct where the unit will be set up. The signer will receive instruction on the proper operational requirements of each rental piece. Our crew usually have a tight schedule and may not be available to wait for an adult to show up.
Q. How much power is needed?
Inflatable rides require a standard 110v outlet within 70 feet of each inflation blower. For inflatables that people play on or in, NO EXTENSION CORDS are allowed per Washington State regulations. Check your event contract or each unit’s page for how many inflation blowers it requires. The blowers must run continuously and work best when being the only item plugged into an electric circuit (there may be multiple outlets running on each circuit). If adequate power is not available one of our generators may be available to rent. For customers supplying their own generators, they must be at least 4000 running watts per outlet needed. Call for details. (Concessions and most games may use an extension cord up to 100′ long.)
Q. Is the equipment supervised?
We offer Rentals and Fully-Staffed options. The rental option does NOT include an operator. Customers are to provide adult supervision. For Fully-Staffed events, our crew takes care of everything including the setup, operation and take down. We also offer a supervisor option for monitoring multiple-unit Rental events. They make sure your volunteers are trained and our equipment is operating correctly.
Q. Are your inflatables safe and clean?
Yes. We use the safest designs made by reputable manufacturers. All of our inflatable rides pass the mandatory Washington State ride inspection. Each inflatable is cleaned and disinfected between rentals. They are inspected onsite to ensure they are safe and ready.
Q. How many kids (or adults) can jump at a time?
In general, most of the standard sized Bounce Houses and Combos can have (6-8) five-year olds. Add a couple more for the larger bounce houses. For older kids, decrease the number of riders. Much of it depends on how excitedly the kids are jumping and being observant of how they are playing together. For safety, have similarly-sized riders jumping at the same time. The standard bounce houses and units with “Kid” in their title are not recommended for adults. However, the interactives, giant slides and larger obstacle courses are great fun for teens and adults. Check the rules printed on the front of each inflatable for details.
Q. What are the onsite requirements for performers?
Most will bring everything they need. Particular details per performer can be handled through the booking call. For inclement weather or really hot days, please provide a suitable site or canopy to keep them out of the elements.
Q. What are the staffing choices?
Fully Staffed events will include the necessary number of our staff to operate each piece of equipment that requires it.
Supervisors are an overall monitor for all our rented equipment at the event. They provide training for your volunteers on operating the equipment and make sure everything is operating smoothly and safely. They do not monitor individual items.
Each is dressed in our logo shirt.