We live really close to a soft play centre – we can literally walk there in 20 mins or drive in 5. But it’s fairly small and with an 11 month old, we’re focussed really on the offering for the not-quite-walking little ones.
So we tend to venture out and explore a few different options for soft play centres in our area.
Yesterday, we headed over to the Fun Depot in Ashton Under Lyne.
Fun Depot, Ashton – Reviews
I read reviews before I go anywhere. Yes – I’m of the Trip Advisor generation. I like to consider myself pretty educated online though. I ignore the very best and very worst reviews and tend to take the middle of the ground ones most seriously.
On the whole, though, the online reviews for Fun Depot suggested that it’s quite a hit with Mums and Dads. On Trip Advisor, there are 21 reviews at the time of writing (not a huge number in the grand scheme of things but not bad for a little local attraction). The average rating is over 4.5 out of 5. The general feeling is that it’s a clean place with great facilities.
The cleanliness thing is a huge concern for me with play centres. I hate the idea of the little one picking up a nasty cold or similar and while we can’t protect them from everything, poor hygiene in play centres puts me right off. So I was interested in a visit.
The First Impressions and Price
My first impression of the place is that it’s big and airy. Although it’s on a trade estate, they have managed to make it feel modern, clean and spacious.
Oliver is 11 months old. So he was free. Like completely free and there was no charge for an extra parent!
What’s there for babies?
If you have children 18 months to 4 years, there’s a great toddler area with ride ons and a track, slides and climbing equipment.
For the over 4s, there’s a huge three tier frame with loads of obstacles and equipment and the older children were definitely having a great time!!
However, my interest is in what’s there for babies. There is a dedicated baby section. It’s very small, but what it does have is plenty to climb on and a long area with a padded bar for little ones to practice their standing up and moving. Our little boy is standing now and shuffling around on furniture, so this was ideal for him.
There’s a sensory room for babies under 12 months as well, but it wasn’t really suitable for our somewhat hyperactive wannabe-toddler!
We did sit with him in the Wow Toys area where he played with diggers and definitely enjoyed himself, but we ended up back in the baby soft pay section as he clearly just wanted to climb around and get up on his feet.
Will we go back?
We will definitely go back to Fun Depot. Ashton Under Lyne isn’t far from our house and the place was incredibly clean, well maintained and friendly. So we’ll be back.
