Last week, Me, DaddyGeek and Batman were invited to go to play and eat at the Play Factore, to see what we thought of it. It is located underneath the Chill Factore, right near the Trafford Centre. In typical Batman style, he slept for the first hour we were there, so we didn’t do much playing as such!
When you walk in, you are faced with the tallest indoor play frame in the world! It stands at over 15 metres high, and has a huge, 40 metre long slide running from the top to the bottom of it! This play area is aimed at children aged over 5. Parents are, of course welcome to play with them in there, but you must be wearing socks to do so! (Something I wasn’t aware of)!
While Sam slept, me and DaddyGeek were treated to a coffee each and a Veggie Pizza. I have to say, the food was amazing! I’d have been very happy to be served a pizza that nice in a restaurant, so to get it in a Soft Play centre was pretty amazing! The pizza was 12 inches, so big enough to share for a light lunch. It cost around £6-£7, so was priced well too. The coffee was Illy, so much nicer than the usual instant you find in most soft play centres. The cups were on the small side, though! The cafe area itself was large, and gave you a good view of the main soft play area on one side, and the toddler area on the other. The Go Karts and Laser Tag weren’t visible from the cafe area, but there was more seating up at that end of the soft play centre.
When Sam woke up, we went into the toddler’s play area. I am a total newbie to soft play, so wasn’t aware of the “must wear socks” rule. As a result, we were only in there for a few minutes, as I felt a bit silly in my bare feet. I have now packed some “emergency soft play socks” in Sam’s changing bag for next time! The toddler area is aimed at kids under 5, and in my opinion, this wasn’t a great age to mix together. There were hyper 3 and 4 year olds rushing around having fun, knocking into teeny toddlers. It was really busy when we went, and I am told most experienced soft play users know to avoid Bank Holidays and school holidays as they are always really busy.
Most of the equipment was aimed at children over 3, so Sam didn’t really have much to play on as he is only 1 and not yet walking or climbing. Had it been quieter, he’d have had fun crawling around on the mats, playing with the foam toys, but it was just too busy for that yesterday. We went into the sensory room, and Sam did enjoy that a lot. It was also much quieter than the main area. There were bubble lamps which changed colour when you stood on coloured spots on the floor. There was a large, colourful infinity mirror, and a wall with lots of buttons and toys on it. The lights were dim in the sensory room, but it was bright enough to see Sam and for him to be happy in there.
The Go-Karts looked like great fun. There were around 6 of them whizzing around the track, and quite a few Dads were getting a bit competitive cheering on their kids. I can see DaddyGeek loving these in a few years’ time! I didn’t get a chance to look at the Laser Tag zone, as it was just too busy.
The party rooms each contain an iPod and a flat screen TV so you get your own choice of music. They also have a huge table to seat all the party guests, as well as a feature wall. In my opinion, Play Factore would be a great location for a birthday party for kids aged 6 and over. There is talk of a Zip Wire being installed by August – this will be another great activity for the older, dare devils.
There are plenty of Baby Change facilities, and the toilets were clean and tidy, too. There is a 2.5 hour time limit during peak times, which is plenty of time for most people. If you stay longer, you may be charged a late exit fee upon exit. I was happy to see there were lockers available too – for a returnable deposit of £5. Perfect for keeping your bag, keys and money safe while you play (I mean supervise the kids)…!! The music was a bit loud in my opinion, but there was a Jubilee Party
going on when we were there, and I think the speakers they were using
were a temporary feature, so hopefully it’ll be a bit quieter next time.
Kids were having to shout to be heard over the music.
Now, I suppose you’re wondering how much it all costs? Here’s a breakdown…
Off Peak is Monday to Friday, during Term Time. Peak is Bank Holidays, weekends and school holidays. Laser Tag is only available during peak times. For full information, check out the Play Factore Website
Based on our Peak time visit, I’d recommend the Play Factore to those with kids aged 3 and over. Children younger than this might find it too busy and overwhelming during busy times, so I’d stick to off peak times as much as possible if your children are under 3. My mummy friends have all said it is best to go during off peak times, so I will give Play Factore another visit during off peak times and let you know how we get on.