after a trip out to Gullivers world last august (for the second time) the traffic lights got me at the roundabout where this play center is based.
from the outside it looked pretty big. i'm not one for noticing my surroundings whilst driving, but had it not been for those traffic lights i would never have noticed this building.
by the time i'd got home, i'd forgotten the name of it, so googled childrens play centres warrington, and 'the jungle' was the first found in the search. after having a look through their website, me and my partner decided that the next time we planned an hour or so out, we would give this place a try as it looked pretty big and clean inside, and something the kids would most likely enjoy.
what the website doesn't drill home is how friendly the staff are, and how they actually engage in having fun with the kids.
come october time, we decided it was time for another trip out and first at the top of our list was this jungle place. the 4 year old was excited as we hadn't told him where we were going. you get a better feel for how they are enjoying it when they step inside and they either look exited still, or disappointed. well, as soon as we pulled into the carpark and parked up, he thought he was going bowling until we walked past it. we got a lot of awwwwwwwwwww's out of him, until we opened the door for the jungle. well, his face was a picture. if you could put an expression in a bottle and sell it as 'excitement' then we'd be rich now. my daughter had just turned two and even she was excited. too excited really. she fallen asleep in the car and although she was cranky and tired, she wanted to be cranky and tired in the toddler section. the 4 year old disappeared in the maze of tunnels and came back a couple of minutes later with a red shiny face from all the running about, asking if we could come again. (we'd been there less than twenty minutes and already he was asking to come back before we'd even left!)
eventually my 2 year old came round and she was happily up and down that baby slide.
whilst we were there, they did a butterfly hunt. a staff member had hidden them all around the play area for children to find, and there was a treat for every child that found one. Next thing, there were kids everywhere, searching through balls and scurrying through the sections to get these butterflies. very energetic. they then moved on to announce dancing upstairs for anyone who wanted to join in, two staff members were present. you could access the upstairs via a magnetically locked gate at the bottom for parents with young children and there was a replica gate at the top so it was very safe. or, the older kids could rampage through the jungle sections and gain access that way. they did a bit of hokey cokey and a few other songs to which the staff helped the children dance to. there was an excellent amount of interaction with the children from the staff members, who had big smiles and could see they were clearly enjoying their job.
The way they were with the kids, just reminded me of butlins holiday entertainment, which i know i loved as a child.

we were there for nearly two hours before we had to break the news it was time to leave. there was sad faces all round, and the two year old threw out a tantrum. but with us having to drive home in rush hour traffic and it already being pitch black outside, we couldn't really stay much longer, but i would have loved to have done. just to see them enjoy themselves for a little bit longer.

needless to say, but they were asleep before we'd reached winwick lane.

we used to go to a local wacky warehouse, but after many disappointing visits we decided to branch out more. and in comparison the jungle was the one the kids enjoyed most. if i ask my nephew which one he wants to go to, he'll say 'can we go to the one with spiders and trampolines?!' (we went near halloween, so it was decorated with them, which is why he says its got spiders.)
it was extremely clean. cleaner than any wacky we've been to, i'm pretty sure it was £5 for each child. at the time, i thought *GULP, a fiver?* people say you get what you pay for, well, for a fiver a child, i have no complaints what so ever. it's £3.50 if you go to the wacky warehouse, and then the kids are just left to go play. there's no interaction from any staff member. the most they'll say to a child is a screech of 'DONT CLIMB UP THE SLIDE' which is hollered through a microphone.
so for that extra 1.50 each child, it sure is worth the money. They have a website page, a facebook page, you can follow them on twitter, and you can even become a member. i don't really do twitter, but on their facebook page they update it very often to let you know whats going on down there, and what they're planning. they put idea's out there, and ask what you think. i think that is brilliant. they seem keen to find out what parents want and try to put those ideas into practice.
Unfortunately, i have only visited this one just the once. due to the christmas period, awful weather/snow, moving home etc, we just haven't had the time. but i promise you this, i will be going back here. it's just a shame we don't live closer.

i know that if i were a child now, i'd want to go here.
infact, i wonder if they'll let me have my 30th birthday party there? i'd love it!

i have already recommended it to my friends with kids and will continue to do so.
keep up the hard work.