What a backyard party actually costs in Indianapolis

Pricing a party usually means filling in a form and waiting for a callback before you find out whether it is in budget at all.

Our FAQ page puts it as "every price published in our catalog", so this page does the obvious thing and collects those published numbers in one place, including the parts that are easy to miss when you are working out a total.

What we publish

These are the starting prices as published on our FAQ page. Where a range is shown, the range is theirs, not our estimate.

• Bounce houses: from $199 to $300 (most are $215)
• Bounce and slide combos (dry): from $250 to $375
• Wet Splash combos: from $369
• Water slides: from $325 (16 ft) to $650 (24 ft Raging River)
• Dry inflatable slides: from $300 to $650
• Dunk tank: from $315
• Tents: from $100 (10x10) to $700 (20x40 marquee)
• Dance floor 15x15: from $795
• Trackless train: from $795, additional hours $100/hr
• Concession machines: from $150 (cotton candy, popcorn, snow cone)
• Event attendants: $75/hr to manage large events

Obstacle courses are not in that published list. Reading the prices off the product pages in that category today, they run from $350 for the 30 ft Radical Run to $825 for the 105 ft course.

Two things worth knowing about how to read a "from" price. The entry figure is a real unit you can really book, not a teaser: the $199 bounce houses are the All Sports Bouncer, Monster Truck, Nuclear Inferno and Fairy Garden. And every rental's starting price is published on its own product page, with daily and multi day rates shown there too.

What that price includes

Unpacking that into the three things people ask about most:

• Six hours. Standard rental is 6 hours. Overnight rentals are available for an additional charge.
• Setup and takedown. Both are included in the rental price. Our team arrives ahead of your window, sets up, and comes back at the end to break down and collect. It is not an add-on line and it is not something you do yourself.
• Cleaning between rentals. Units are cleaned, disinfected and serviced after every rental, which is part of the price rather than a fee.

The delivery fee, and why we do not publish one number

This is the only part of the total that we cannot print in advance, so here is exactly how it works.

We deliver from our base at 17406 Tiller Ct in Westfield, and the fee is worked out from the miles between there and your event location, so it is not a figure we can print in advance for every address.

Getting your number is step one of how we book, as published on our delivery area page: "Call (317) 316-8465, email info@bountifulentertainment.com, or fill out our online quote form. We confirm availability and your delivery fee."

Three worked examples

These add up published starting prices only. They are arithmetic, not packages, and none of them include the delivery fee, because that depends on your address. Treat them as a floor rather than a quote.

The classic backyard birthday

One bounce house, six hours, fifteen or so kids in the garden.

• Bounce house, from $199

From $199, plus delivery. If you want a specific themed unit rather than the entry price, budget $215, which our FAQ notes is what most of them cost.

The summer party with food

A water slide as the centrepiece, somewhere shaded to sit, and something sweet.

• Water slide, from $325
• Concession machine, from $150
• Tent, from $100

From $575, plus delivery.

The big one

A block party, a graduation, or a church or school field day where you want two attractions running and a member of our team on site.

• Bounce and slide combo, from $250
• Water slide, from $325
• Tent, from $100
• Concession machine, from $150
• One event attendant at $75 per hour, which is $450 across the standard 6 hour window

From $1,275, plus delivery.

One caveat on that last line, because it is the biggest single number in the example. Our FAQ lists event attendants at $75/hr "to manage large events", so treat $450 as what a full 6 hour window of staffing costs at the published rate rather than as a line every booking carries. Ask for a quote if you are not sure whether your event needs one.

When you actually pay

Booking does not mean paying in full, and this trips people up more than the prices do.

• At booking: deposits are 50% of the total order, and a credit card is required for the deposit.
• At delivery: all payments are due and expected at time of delivery, and we deduct your initial deposit from the total.
• If you reschedule: the deposit is non-refundable but is applicable to a future event.

That last point matters most in an Indiana summer. If the forecast turns and we need to move your date, the money you have already put down follows you to the new one.

The two costs nobody mentions

Neither of these is large, but you should hear about them from us rather than discover them.

The cleaning fee. All units are cleaned, disinfected and serviced after every rental, and that is part of the rental rather than a charge to you. The exception is stated in our FAQ: a unit returned excessively dirty carries a cleaning fee of $25 and up.

Tips. Optional, not a charge, and never added to your bill. We mention it because people ask, and our FAQ answers it directly. Asked whether it is alright to tip the delivery person, the answer is "Absolutely. These guys work hard spending their weekends setting up and taking down the equipment." Tips range from $5.00 on, depending on equipment and difficulty of setup.

What the price includes beyond the equipment

Two things we publish that are worth weighing alongside the number itself.

Every KidZone team member is trained in SIOTO Advanced Inflatable Safety Operations standards, and we carry full general liability coverage for every event we deliver, licensed and insured in the State of Indiana. If you are comparing quotes, those are fair questions to put to any company you are considering, including us.

The second is the transparency itself. Every rental's starting price is published on its product page in our online catalog, so the number you see is the number you are working from before you ever call.

Getting your exact figure

Every unit shows its own price on its product page, so you can build the equipment side of your total in a few minutes: browse the range on our bounce house rentals page and add up the units you want. The delivery fee is the one figure that has to come from us, and our delivery area page covers where we deliver and how booking works. The payment terms, the cleaning fee, the deposit policy and the full published price list are all on our FAQ page. If anything here ever disagrees with those pages, they are the authority.

Common questions