Though Kai and Amelia are far too old for soft play, Robin is still just in the age where she is interested and wants to play. So, on one of the days when just she was off school, Robin and I went to Wowland Soft Play to see what it was all about! This location just opened that month, so we didn’t know much about it or what to expect. Robin very much loves going to new places, so was excited to take a look. We booked online, which was pretty simple, giving us an hour slot. There is a pop-up, which is worth noting, that you cannot escape from and need to read, each time you go to the website. This was slightly annoying, but I do understand why they do it as it contains information needed about your booking.
We arrived slightly early to our booking, as advised by the website, and were told our time started when we arrived. You then get a ticket that allows you into the walled played area at Wowland, for an hour. There are some open cabinates for you to place your shoes and belongings, as well as some tables. At the time we went, only the downstairs area of tables was available, with tables going out into the hallway, so the space was limited. This cafe area does do coffee, sweet treats, and has tons of little things like candy and toys to entice children. I am sure when the above area is open, there is more seating, but we didn’t end up getting a table and the actual door entrance to the soft play was often blocked with params, making it extremely hard to get in and out.
The inside of the soft play area at Wowland was also a little strange in shape. It’s sort of a square you can see from the tables, which is open, then an entire side area that you cannot see. If your children are on the younger side, you’ll need to either go in with them, or keep going in and out, as there isn’t a full view inside from any of the seating areas. With that said, inside Wowland, there was quite a bit to do!
One of the main things that you can see right from the start is a giant volcano slide. Robin and I both loved climbing up the sides of this and sliding down together. It was such a fun and unique slide! It felt very tall and very fun to slide down. On the other side of this area, there was a peg board, which you can decorate with soft pegs. Robin and I wrote our initials and made hearts. There was also a tube where you can put balls in and watch them fly up, then fly down a little panko display, which Robin wasn’t very interested in but lots of toddlers enjoyed. Behind the large slide, there was a ball pit and slide area for under 5s, which was heavily used, and then around the corner was the sort of bigger kid version of it.
In between, there were a bunch of building block-like things, which are fun in concept, though many of them were ripped or broken already. A lot of the pieces were actually being used in side the older kids play area, as mats for slides or being thrown at things. It’s worth noting there was no real staff beyond the one at the door, checking times and making sure that people only came in if their ticket was still valid. Inside this bigger area, there was a lot for Robin to do! There was a rock wall that let you fall into a foam pit, trampolines and a basketball trampoline part. There was a few big slides, an area to hide in, and these roller slides that led into a ball put. When we went, there were a lot of babies (and I do mean actual babies) being put down this roller slide by their parents, making it a little difficult to really have the bigger kids play there.
I did appreciate how clean the place was, and the variety of different things to do at Wowland provide for plenty within that hour. Robin’s friend actually arrived halfway through our playtime, so she really enjoyed herself. The door staff is very strict on times though – when Robin had 10 minutes left but came out for a drink of water, they tried to say our time was completely up, so it took a bit of back and forth before she was let back in for a few more go’s on the slide. Overall, we did enjoy ourselves and it’s nice to have a soft play right in the center of the town.
You can check out our other Days Out to see what else we’ve been up too!