I review the UK’s adults-only soft play centre – with vodka slush puppies, giant slides and retro games
AFTER taking a bus from Wood Green tube station on a dark Friday night towards Palmers Green, I was feeling anything but youthful.
As we headed towards a car park through a back alley and faced a brick building with graffiti art, it was hard to believe that such a place could hold a wonderland.
With some doubts, we stepped through the grey doors and into the TikTok famous Wonderland: Adult Soft Play.
The venue operates like many clubs. Food and drinks are not allowed inside, and coats and bags must be stored within the coat room. You are also given a wristband so you can go outside to smoke if you need to.
You must buy a ticket online or email in advance and pay with cash at the door. The Adult Soft Play entrance fee is £22, and drinks are not included.
The experience is only open a few days a week, always on Friday or Saturday night, and sometimes on a Tuesday from 9 pm. Tickets do sell quickly, as I noticed the Saturday event had already been sold out at the beginning of the week.
Walking through the dark and neon-lit corridors, you can’t quite help but notice the wacky but marvellous Alice In Wonderland (specifically the 2010 iteration with Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter) inspired graffiti that glows in the UV light alongside quotes ‘Never Grow Up’ and ‘Drink Me‘.
We headed towards a large and colourful room with games such as Giant Jenga, Knots and Crosses, 4 in a Row and Splat, Guess Who and Ping Pong.
Feeling a little out of place in between the childhood games and vibrant murals, we headed to the bar and were in for a surprise treat.
The bar offers all your usual drinks at prices which are typical in London. Beers, Ciders and Wines are all £4.50, and you can get two Jager Bombs for £7 as well as five sourz shots for £15.
The star of the drinks menu was, without a doubt, the Alcoholic Slushies for £7.50.
You can also opt to have a non-alcoholic slushie for £2.50.
Once we had finished our drinks and our tongues were bright blue, we headed straight to the colourful soft play area from which screams and laughs could be heard.
At first, it’s a bit of an odd thing to see adults crawling on all fours, whizzing down a slide and running about with the energy of a kid on a sugar high, but once you try it yourself, it does make sense.
The moment you step into the large mismatched netted box of the soft play area, you are immediately transported back to the days of youthful birthday parties.
With long, tunnelled and steep slides, spider nets to fall through, narrow passageways and a backwards and forwards swing, there is everything a thrill seeker desires.
Your safety is in your own hands, and you need to sign a waiver before you enter the building.
The structure is, of course, child-proofed, but we did see two guests willingly go down a deep slide backwards and experience a painful-looking tumble, so you have to use common sense, especially if alcohol is involved.
Perhaps, for this reason, the adult soft play area is closed at 11 pm sharp to avoid anyone getting too drunk.
If you’re looking for a more relaxing experience, you should head down to the ball bit, where you can sink into brightly coloured balls and take photos with your friends.
Another attraction of the adult soft play centre would be the photo booth. Here, you can get unlimited free amounts of printed photos with a good choice of backdrops.
The Soft Play venue also has a beautifully decorated arcade room with the likes of Foosball, a punching machine, Space Invaders, Dance Revolution, Flappy Birds and a Fast and Furious racing game.
We noticed that Dance Revolution was a broken as it wouldn’t register our correct steps and that the racing game had too high of sensitivity.
Shortly after the soft play area closes, everyone congregates in the main room, and the real party begins. Think of dance-offs and the game Limbo mixed in with childhood birthday party classics such as Macarena and The Cha Cha Slide and the wonderful DJ leading the get-together with words of encouragement.
If you want to spend a fun Friday or Saturday night out with a group of friends, then Wonderland: Adult Soft Play is ideal.
As a 20-something-year-old, this attraction was clearly catered towards people within my age group. I rarely saw anyone beyond the age of 30.
It makes sense that such a venue would appeal to a generation that has only just entered the world of adulthood. However, I wondered if there would be space to market and cater towards older age groups.
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