opening a play area in south manchester and any input would be very useful [smile]

[smilezoeysmile]

hi everyone,

im working on opening a fully inflatable play area in south manchester, i am after some market research, anything you like about play areas, or do not like

i have a 4 year old so have an idea of what a parent likes but would be a lot of help to hear from the many other mums out there thanks for any opions or advice

i was thinking inflatable so older children can use and adults also, offering parties for children and adults, a healthy reasonalby priced cafe, comfy sofas and bean bags i was thinking as well as chirs and tables, lots of parking and i was looking into having an outdoor play and seating area also- any feed back good or bad will be most helpful

sorry not sure what happened with some of the spellings
opinion chair

There are already quite a few good soft play type places in South Manchester, so I guess in order to compete with those existing ones you need to try and offer something that perhaps they don't. If you are hoping to set something up that is suitable for both children and adults then you would definitely need to think how this would work from a safetly point of view (i.e I prefer places where there are designated areas for younger kids - under 3s for example - and separate areas for older children) In terms of what I (and my three year old) like I would say:

-Good parking/accessibility
-Competitive pricing. Some of our local places have got quite pricey in the past couple of years and started charging for parents, babes in arms etc. This makes it more often quite an expensive day out. Things like loyalty schemes, meal deals etc can be a good incentive
-Healthy food - i.e freshly made sandwiches, jacket spuds, wraps etc. Reasonably priced. Not processed rubbish! Good coffee for the grown ups!

• Safety is imperative. Lots of soft mats, clean equipment, and as I mentioned above, designated areas for younger children. Good visibility of equipment (i.e so that it's not too easy to lose little ones). In terms of outside play areas, again, soft ground or grass (which I imagine it has to be these days).

Hope that helps - if I think of anything else I'll post again!

Noise deadening is a must, too many of these places are in metal warehouses and noise just echoes round, becoming unbearable.
Different styles of parties available, so in the inevitable year of clone parties, parents don't get too bored with tales of "that party again".

thank-you for your input, yes there would be 3 completely seprate areas to keep ages seperate. the adult side would be more for parties and functions after hours but also being able to go on the equipment with the children and enjoy it as well.

yes i agree with saftey, as it is up to the parnets to mainly watch the children i feel having a view of the whole play area is important, i have been to loads where you can not see the children because they are so big.

with the party side i was going to have blank rooms that then can be decorated in different styles offering more choice, i have also been talking to other compenies about having animals at parties, circus skills, pottery making.

what would you feel is an average price you would like to pay?
would you bring older children 12+ if they were catered for?

thanks again :)

peacypops - what are the soft play areas in south manchester? I only know of Head over Heels in Chorlton. Wasn't aware there was any other! There are a few in stockport though, but too far for us.

Broadheath has Ants inYour Pants.

the ones I know are
Head over heels in Chorlton and Stanley Green
Funizuz in Cheadle
Fuzzy Ed's (was wacky warehouse) in Didsbury (Parrs Wood)
Run of the Mill in Stockport
Zoom in Stockport
Anchor's Away by the M56 jn 4

I can't remember prices so can't really say what price I would like to pay, but would suggest you see what these places are charging and see if you can undercut or at least match. Head over heels in handforth/stanley green is amazing but I find it way too expensive- they charge for adults so if I go with DH plus 2 kids and we have lunch it becomes ridiculous.
Not sure about older children,mine are under 6.

ah thanks. All too far for us as I don't drive and we live just south of the city. Those are mostly Chesire not south manchester. I would love a soft play area close to the city centre!

We tend to go to Head over heels (both Chorlton and Stanley green), Ants in you pants (nr Timperley) or Funizuz (Cheadle) I would think of them all as South Manchester. I agree that Head over Heels has got quite pricey - especially if you decide to eat there as well. Although they do now give you a half price voucher (with free drink) if you return within 10 days.

What attracts me to one over another (other than distance) is the following (in no particular order) :-

1. cleanliness
2. variety of apparatus/areas
3. friendliness of staff
4. keeping the older kids out of the baby/toddler sections
5. food quality/price

What lets down the majority for me is the junk food on offer. I appreciate once in we're a captive audience but why more don't offer good organic home cooked food is beyond me!?

Hope that helps,
Mark

www.sonnyandluca.co.uk

Make and keep it clean. Some of these places get minging.