When I read that Play Factore is an indoor play area suitable for up to 16 year olds and that even parents can join in on some of the fun I thought it had to be a good one to try out. Right next door to the Trafford Centre in Manchester, it boasts the biggest play frame in the UK with a massive red wavey slide, which is over 40 meters long.
We booked on to their Sunday morning 10-12 slot. For 5-16 year olds, it’s £15.95 each plus adults are £4.95. (September 2023)
This made our family of 2+2 over £40 to visit. However, you can also buy your tickets using Tesco Clubcard Vouchers, and there are sometimes deals on Groupon. These deals can be half the price of your visit.
Once inside, there is a truly massive play area to go into. I, of course, went in too to see what it was like. It’s definitely better for older children as I could climb about the areas with ease (although I don’t think my knees enjoyed it). But it does also cater for Toddlers with a whole separate area for little ones with their own mini red wavey slide and play frame.
There are all the usual things inside, padded things to climb over, and holes to squeeze through, but what I’ve not seen before is a helter skelter slide which you actually climb up instead of sliding down. I also had to go down the 40 meter red slide, “this isn’t the fastest” I thought to myself until I got over half way down and I suddenly sped up and literally squealed as I followed my 11 year old down.
The best thing in my girls opinion was the interactive ValoJump trampoline. You can bounce on one of four high-performance trampolines in front of a computer screen. You jump to select the game you want to play. Then you’re transported in the screen as a character jumping on platforms or trying to hit targets. Each game is only a few minutes long, but you simply get off & join the back of the queue to have another go. This was never too busy.
You can also have a go on a Virtual Reality Game called Star Defence at £5.50 pp. Or you can take flight on their Zip Wire, which glides you from one tower to another, going across the building, travelling over the heads of all the parents.
As our session finished at 12 we just got couple of drinks and some cakes from the cake. There was a good selection of cakes to choose from. We got a caramel shortbread and a fudge cinnamon roll. Prices were quite reasonable. There was a large menu for lunches including pizzas and hotdogs and a good looking kids menu.
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