Dreamland Imaginarium Manchester Review

Dreamland Imaginarium is relatively easy to get to. It’s located in Regent Retail Park meaning there are lots of car parking spaces and disabled parking spaces too. We drove to the Regent Retail Park for Manchester’s City Centre which took about 10 minutes.

There is bold signage for Dreamland as you drive into the car park. It’s one of the first buildings as you pull into the car park.

The first world we entered was Fantastical Flora. As soon as we walked through, we felt instant feelings of tranquillity like we were transported to the inner belly of a jungle. With the tooting sounds of birds and the delicate tingling of wind chimes surrounding us, our experience was instantly immersive.

Dotted around the yellow pathway were log stools – all at different heights as if they were freshly cut from nearby trees. Every exit way was a leafy arch dressed in glittering fairy lights with creatures intertwined in the leaves. There were vines hanging from the ceiling and enormous yellow, pink and orange inflatable flowers beaming down on us.

There were many quirky features in this room especially when it came to sensory activities. As the lighting was quite dim, the glowing ‘press me’ buttons immediately caught our eyes. Fixed at the perfect height for toddlers, we pressed these luminous buttons, waiting in trepidation for what would happen.

We pressed the button and stood back and to our amazement, a line of bees danced across the wall. As we looked beside the bees we saw a plaque reading: ‘Copy Our Movezzzzzz’. We also noticed to the right of the dancing bees was a giant connect four… and an even bigger connect four game!

There were also four cylinders attached to the wall full of different flowers. This added another layer of sensory fun to the room as you could smell each flower!

Feeling a little like Alice after falling down the Rabbit hole, we moved to the next room…

After leaving the fairytale land of Fantastical Flora we ascended into the clouds in Dreamland’s even dreamier room. What immediately caught our eyes in this room were the giant inflatable birds that hung from the ceiling and the giant luminous gecko in the corner.

This room seemed to be focused on light as there were many ‘push me’ buttons dotted around the room. I instantly felt the inner child pour out of me as I clambered to the wall to press each of the four buttons clustered together. Each button was a different colour which I guessed controlled the colour of the lighting… I guessed right!

The giant gecko in the corner lit up in breathtaking colours from a deep purple to a bright a light green, a fierce red and an electrifying pink. I probably spent a little too much time having fun with this but it really was addicting! It made me, even as an adult, realise the instant human curiosity and joy of playing with colour and light.

There was another button further along which rounded up some bluebirds that bobbed up and down the wall. these interactive birds encouraged kids to jump up and reach them, alternating between higher and lower along the wall. As soon as I pressed the button a toddler ran straight over to get in on the button-pressing action.

As we moved through the room we noticed small trampolines in pink clouds and peculiar squishy eggs which kids could squeeze and roll around with in the soft play zones.

When I looked around the room toddlers were running around or cradling squishy eggs and their parents were chatting with one another. I think it’s important to highlight just how relaxed parents and kids were in this room. Kids were preoccupied with beautiful colours and tactile activities rather than crying or throwing paddies. There was nothing in this to overstimulate children or stress them out. Each activity was subtle and wonderful with lots of space on the ground to run around.

Now the Underwater Enchantment room was probably my favourite room. I love all things to do with the beach and ocean and this room felt like a serene paradise. I loved the water patterns that were projected onto the whole of this area. You felt as if you were at the bottom of a shallow seabed with sunlight reflecting onto the sand.

This tropical sea bed has my favourite interactive features too and seemed somehow larger than the other rooms. There was a giant ball pit with colourful balls. A giant octopus had been built above it, looking as if it was cradling the ball pit in its tentacles.

There were small blue bouncy hoppers perfect for toddlers dotted around the floor with sea-themed tactile mats. There were also magnetic fish on the walls! One feature we really wanted to try out was the bubble machine but sadly it wasn’t working on the day we arrived.

One of my favourite parts of this room was the giant jellyfish hanging from the ceiling. You could change the colour of them. They alternated between turquoise, indigo blue and white. There were also inflatable corals, giant fish and a funky pink and purple tentacle archway. The walls were splashed in a sparkly blue material which looked beautiful on all the pictures and videos we took as the light seemed to bounce off it, just like water!

If you have any mermaid lovers in your family they will feel right at home in the Underwater Enchantment room.

The final room we entered was a chaotic blend of monster-themed carnival games, funky lighting and a monster-themed bouncy castle. This room felt like a party room in comparison to the others.

It was decorated with neon paint splatters and had a giant game of twister on offer too. There were prompts dotted around the walls to encourage imaginative play through monster role-playing. This room was definitely designed for kids who live on the wilder side.

I had a go at the interactive basketball stall and took a peak at the bouncy castle which was full of excitable children. I found so ribbons and tried a ribbon-dancing routine for about 30 seconds until I realised I was holding up the queue and should probably let the kids have a go…