By Sarah Snyder
Staff Writer

When Fabiola Del Toro and Elsa Sala came to the United States from Mexico, they found a shortage of places to take their kids to play … at least places that didn’t involve plugging the children into video games.

So they opened a place of their own, Minitown, set to open this month. The party venue for children resembles a miniature town where children can use their imaginations, the owners say.

“We were planning a party,” Del Toro recalls when asked how she came up with the idea five years ago. “In Mexico, they have a place that is more creative. The kids play and at the same time they learn.”

The first step was to secure funding, no easy feat for an idea that hadn’t made its way into the U.S. mainstream.

“They didn’t know a place like this in the states,” Del Toro said. “It was hard.”

Eventually, however, a bank in Laredo gave them the thumbs up. The hardest struggle from there, they said, was moving through three construction companies. This delayed the opening for more than a year.

What Del Toro and Sala have now is a child’s wonderland that’s nearing completion. From the yellow stucco exterior with a rainbow logo to the deep reds, greens and blues inside that are accented by classic street lamps, you almost expect to see Mary Poppins poking her head out from one of the corners.

When a child enters Minitown, he or she receives a check that must be cashed at the bank. From there, the town is theirs. There’s shopping at the local H-E-B and dancing and karaoke at the disco, complete with strobe lights, bubbles and a mirror ball.

For the glam types, there’s a beauty salon, complete with styling props and princess gowns to play dress-up. For the astute film-goer, there’s a theater where movies will be played during parties. Older children do have an arcade, and there is a tiny gym for babies only. This is next door to a faux home.

“They love playing house, you know,” Sala said with a gleam in her eye.

But the fun doesn’t end there. Moonwalks, a trackless train and remote control racecar driving are outside, along with an old-fashioned playground.

“The kids don’t have to stay in one place and play with machines,” Del Toro said.