The other day I was WhatsApping with my girlie gang (Shoutout to Nu, Rauni, Heer, Beenii and Neha) and we were talking about how children of today lose their innocence early on and how tech savvy they are. While parents are responsible for that in a large way, another fact is that our cities have become so crowded and a casualty of this has been play areas. When we were young, each building in Mumbai had enough space in the compound for us to run about and play in. Same thing has happened to our locality in Delhi too, said the husband. Those conversations made me realise that my gratitude list should have another inclusion. I should be thankful that my daughter has access to open spaces where she can play safely. However, for those who do not have acess to those, there are plenty of play areas that are coming up in the city. One such play area where I took my daughter to was Fun O Factory at R City Mall, Ghatkopar.

Fun O Factory Concept

Fun O Factory is a covered play area within R City Mall. It has three sections – one softplay area for toddlers, one ropecourse for older children and one trampoline park for every body. When I say everybody… I do mean everybody – even you! Yes, the adults can play on the trampolines too. In fact, Fun O Factory plans to start fitness classes for adults very soon… on these trampolines!

Fun O Factory Softplay Area

The Toddler Area is a wonderful utilisation of space. Not one inch has been wasted and hence what you get is a compact space packed with activities. This is really good because your child has tonnes of options while making it easy for you to watch them. There are a lot of attendents in this area. The flooring was well padded and there were really no sharp corners making it toddler friendly. The biggest attraction was the tube slide that ended in a ball pit. My daughter and her friend loved doing this. There was a baby trampoline, swings, slides, obstacles and even toys for them to play in.

Fun O Factory Ropecourse

Right opposite the toddler area is the ropecourse. It is a two level course, the lower one for smaller kids and the upper one is more suited for children older than 8 years. My daughter was comfortable on the lower level that had tires, cross beams, a wodden bridge and hangers. The upper deck had rope walking, net crawling, sand bag navigation etc. The area in the centre of the housed a giant net hanging. The children have to climb the netting and go up two levels. They can then jump back to the lower level. What I liked most about the about this area is the attention given to safety. Each child wore a helmet and a harness that was suspended to the frame. If the child slips, they would not fall down. Also, an attendant was with her throughout.

Fun O Factory Trampoline Park

The best and the most fun area of them all! Also the biggest. There are about 24 trampolines and a foam pit. Two sides also have vertically inclined trampolines allowing kids to jump, hop, run, crash against the sides or dive into the foam pit. A few baskets on the walls promise a fun game of basketball or dodgeball if you are up to it.

Have a look at this video to know how much fun we had at Fun O Factory:

Fun O Factory Information

It is open from 11 am to 9 pm on all days and the entry tickets for weekends and weekdays are differently priced. They have a small kitchenette where dry snacks and juices can be served. A wash room for children is available. There are a few tables inside where the parents can wait. Right outside, the waiting area is much larger. Socks are compulsary and children are not allowed into any of the play areas without socks. Fun O Factory has provisions for birthday and kittie parties as well.

Fun O Factory Review

What I Liked

1. The parents have to register once they enter. They add their contact number and sign a permission form for kids to play in.
2. You can leave the kids to have fun while you go shopping in the mall. This is godsend if you have 5-8 year olds who get bored when you grocery shop but can probably not be left back at home
3. I liked the utilisation of space. Every square inch is utilised very well.
4. The ticket is time bound so the child gets to play as many times as they would like to.
5. The best thing about the place is that the entry ticket can be purchased for individual areas as well. If you have older children who would be interested in the trampoline park or ropecourse only, you do not have to pay for the other facilities.

What I Did Not Like

1. The parents would have to stay outside the softplay area and could not get close to the children while they played. This could be a challenge with the young kids plus parental anxiety!
2. The child to staff ratio seemed low. I visited on a weekday evening and there was not much crowd about. But the capacity is for about 60 kids and a staff of 10-12 seemed low to manage all that
3. There are no washrooms for parents! I am not nit picking here. With younger clingy kids, this could be a problem.

 

Disclaimer: I was invited to review the area via JAMMs. The views are my own.