Day out review: Playzone

So today I went on a day out to playzone which is in Portsmouth. They have another location in Swansea I think. 

It is located on an industrial estate out the outside of Portsmouth, only about 5 mins from the motorway and really easy to find with satnav. It has free car parking on site but the spaces don't leave a lot of room to back out comfortably. 

Entry is £6.95 for 5-14 year olds and it costs £1.25 for adults. They offer no free entry for carers which is annoying for me.  This allows for unlimited play on quiet days and 1.5 hours on busier days. I've been twice in the past month and have always got unlimited play. 

Walking in it looks impressive, with a huge soft play area and 5 slides which vary in scare factor. 

There is a a slide which looks like a typical sack slide, which is slow and bumpy, perfect for younger ones. 

There is a tube slide which is steep but not massively scary. 

Then there is a bigger slide with a fall into a ball pool. This is scary but not the worst!

The worst is the red slide. This is a vertical drop from the ceiling to the floor. This has 2 levels (one about a meter lower than the other) and propels you to the ground at a real speed, leaving your stomach to catch you up! You really have to psych yourself up for this and is scary for adults as well as kids. You can go on both levels from the age of 6 (but if I see anyone younger doing the lower level they are braver than I ever was!) 

For adults they have an area of seating right by the play area or a quieter area upstairs. The chairs are not bad, even after a few hours! 

They sell a good range of food (5 piece cold pick and mix lunch for £3.95) and also sell massive jugs of squash which are great for keeping the little ones hydrated after all that running around! They don't allow any food in that isn't bought on site, which is annoying. 

The only downside is that it feels a little rundown and could do with a lick of paint (it looks the same as when I came as an adolescent 15 years ago)  

Overall a good price for a day out and if you catch it on a day it isn't busy can be a fantastic full day treat, boredom isn't easy here and the normally eye catching arcade games are left untouched and unasked for!

Brains out of 5 (pictures to be added when I get onto a laptop)

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