Playful Elves @ West Coast Plaza

Media Invite

(Daddy plays)

After the monkies' chocolate-making workshop at Playful Elves, you would have probably guessed there was no way they would leave without testing out the Indoor Playground first.

If you are a parent living in the western part of Singapore, rejoice for now you have another play venue to let your kids run amok. Located on the second floor of West Coast Plaza, Playful Elves is not unlike other Indoor Playgrounds with the usual mazes and obstacles designed to let the kids unleash their pent-up energy.

Well, at least my 2 boys couldn't wait to explore the Magical Play Forest, which is the main play zone of the Plyaground. All thanks to these.

Shooters that spout foam balls never fail to overly excite my boys, especially since there is the additional 'ball dump' - a machine which transports the foam balls up in an air vacuum, and then just like the tipping water bucket at those water play parks the balls cascade down onto the delirious kids below. It must be terribly therapeutic to stand under the waterfall of foam balls because somehow, the area below the ball dump is perpetually crowding with kids... and the occasional adult - NOT me - too.

But woe betide to the unsuspecting adult who enters the ball-shooter battleground. No thanks to the shooter guns which are placed strategically just at the height of an adult. I should know, I was at the receiving end of some merciless ambushes by my own monkies!

And when I did make an attempt to give them a taste of their own medicine, they made their great escape effortlessly by climbing over the obstacles in the playgym area and gliding down the 3-wave slide. Drats.

The good thing about the slide was that there was a rather wide receiving end at the bottom of the slide, which made my job of 'greeting' the boys a tad easier. Oh, and also to take photos of them too of course... you know how we parents love to take photos of our kids at the slightest opportunity, no?

The boys didn't remain immobilised long enough for me to render them captive though, because something else caught their fancy and they scooted off before I could lug my hefty frame near them.

A bouncy castle!

For my monkies, a bouncy castle is the factor that makes or breaks an Indoor Playground. They just simply love the - well, I can't make up my mind if it is the jumping or falling bit that they actually adore but a happy face is the most important consequence at the end of the day.

And not only did I lose count of the number of times they went on the bouncy castle, I grew extremely tired just by looking at them jumping up and down!

Luckily for me, there was the mini-cafe within the premises where I could take some time off but yet still keep a watchful eye over the proceedings.

Luckily for them too, my monkies had the awesome company of the SengkangBabies too. So all of them pretty much wrecked livened up the entire Indoor Playground with their boundless energy.

If you have younger kids, I reckon they would love the mini-race track, where they could do laps around the track with the many (leg-powered) racing cars available.

My kids though, preferred the more energy-sapping bouncy action.

The one thing that I liked about Playful Elves is that there were two staff members stationed inside the play area at all times. These adult elves were essential in maintaining order within the area, while offering their assistance to the younger kids at the same time. More importantly though, they doubled up as play mates for the Cheekiemonkies and SengkangBabies by conjuring up a catching game with them! More time for my coffee break then. :)

And our final verdict?

Yay: Reasonably fun factor, with ample play equipment like the ball-shooting zone, bouncy castle and mini-race track to keep kids occupied. Also, the cafe is situated in front of the main Play area, which makes it easy to watch over the kids. The staff members were also a great help too.

Nay: The entire playground is a tad smaller than the usual Indoor Playgrounds. While that makes it difficult to lose younger toddlers, older kids may get bored after a while.

Did you know? If your child is 3 years old and above, you are able to drop off him/her off and go off to run your errands in the shopping mall.

Price:
Member Rates: Off-Peak (Mon - Thurs) $18 (Unlimited Play per entry) | Peak (Fri - Sun): $18 for 2 hours; $10/hour for subsequent hours *Membership at $20 per year.
Non-Member Rates: Off-Peak (Mon - Thurs): $20 for 2 hours, $10/hour for subsequent hours | Peak (Fri - Sun): $20 for 1 hour, $12/hour for subsequent hours

Verdict: 3.5 thumbs up (out of 5)

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Useful Information

Address: 154 West Coast Road, #02-02/03/04, West Coast Plaza, Singapore 127371
Tel: 6100-0353
Opening Hours: 10am - 9pm daily (Last entry at 8pm)
Website: http://www.playful-elves.com.sg/index.html