We invited Bolton mum and blogger Ellen to visit Inflatanation Inflatable Park in Manchester with her family.
Find out what Ellen and her children thought of their visit….
Ellen’s Inflatanation Experience
We were invited down to Inflatanation in Trafford Park to take the boys for a day out over Easter school holidays. We live locally near Trafford Park but I never knew this place was here!
It has free parking behind the building if you drive but it’s also close to the Trafford centre for public transport like the bus or metro link.
Before you book you have to fill out a waiver. This can be done online and although it’s a bit tedious it only takes a few minutes. If you don’t fill it out online before visiting you cannot enter without doing it, so you will have to manually write it all out. And if you don’t arrive in plenty of time for the safety briefing etc this can eat into your 1 hour time slot so be warned!
Facilities
They also have lockers for your bag but these are charged at £2 each which is non refundable. If you don’t want to use a locker they have these orange cubby holes you can use but obviously it’s not locked away. So, you leave your items at your own risk.
There is an on-site café where you can sit back, relax and enjoy a range of hot and cold drinks like coffee and slush drinks, snacks and freshly cooked meals. There’s a good menu for kids too. We didn’t eat anything here but the food we did see looked really good. You can also use their free WiFi once you’re inside.
Pricing
A really good feature to point out is Inflatanation Manchester has a viewing platform area above the cafe. So, if you don’t want to join your kids on the inflatables you can still keep an eye on them.
The prices are quite reasonable too. It cost the same for me as an adult as it did for my children Josh and Declan at £10.99 each. However Oliver, who is younger, is cheaper.
Suitable for all ages
When trying to find a family day out I always struggle to find somewhere for all the lads because of the 10 year age gap between Oliver and the older boys but Inflatanation is amazing for all ages!
Baby/Younger Children Area
They have a designated,separate area for under 4s. So I could take Oliver in there and he literally had the run of the place. There was a ball pool, his own slide, plus loads of sensory toys. We went on a Saturday morning and although the “main” section was busy the baby area was super quiet. I’m going to be honest I was worried about taking Oliver as he’s very sensitive to loud noises and environments. But he was surprisingly fine with the whole place. There was no loud music blasting out etc.
Oliver did get a bit upset waiting to get into the inflatable area after the safety briefing. You’re told to arrive 15 minutes before your time slot, so you can get in and get your safety briefing done before your time slot starts. It’s a 1 group out 1 group in system on the hour to make sure that everyone from the previous hour has left before they let the next group in. And with him being so small he obviously didn’t understand he had to wait. But that’s obviously just an age thing. But be warned if you have small children that are eager to just run in!
Things To Do
The older lads were absolutely in their element here! This is literally their cup of tea! There was SOOO much to do!
Giant Slides
There were 4 giant slides in a row in one section. These were HIGH! They were all slightly different. One was a straight down slide. Then the others have various different bumps on them to slow you down slightly. They’re definitely not for the faint hearted. I couldn’t have gone down them myself to be honest. But the boys loved them!
Ball Pool
There’s a massive ball pool that has basketball hoops and these giant bubbles that you can bounce across. Josh did try but couldn’t balance well enough to get across! There was also a smaller slide in this area for anyone who wasn’t brave enough for the larger slides in the separate area.
Assault Course
There’s also an assault course part behind the ball pool. This has about 5 different sections built into it including a slide, rings you jump through and a small climbing wall you go up and over.
Right in the middle of the arena you will find these extra bouncy pillows to bounce around on and see who can bounce the highest! Be warned, it’s super busy! I think a lot of the kids like it because it’s where you can just run around but it’s very manic.
Inflata Duel Gladiator Duel
Then, they also had an Inflata Duel. Think of it like a gladiator duel, but not like anything you’ve seen before! This takes balance and skill to stay upright on a moving platform at the same time as trying to knock your opponent off with a large foam stick. The older boys tried but we couldn’t even get both of them on the platform at the same time, let alone duel it out. There were 2 younger boys that managed it before Josh and Declan. So I think it could be due to how tall or heavy they both are? As I literally was trying to give them both foot ups to get on and we just couldn’t do it!
Helpful Staff
There were tons of staff dotted around the place too In case you needed help. They wear neon orange tops so they’re easy to spot.
I do recommend you wear long sleeve tops and pants as you can get friction burns from the slides, balls etc. However it’s not air conditioned so I would avoid jumpers-especially with summer around the corner! I can imagine it getting really hot! I’d definitely recommend a visit!
FAQs
When is Inflatanation Manchester open?
Are there any age restrictions at Inflatanation Manchester?
There is a designated under 4s arena for their safety. In addition there are special tots sessions held at Inflatanation.
So, we hope you have found the review of Inflatanation Manchester by Ellen and her family helpful. Find them on Instagram The Jones Family Journals to discover more ideas for family fun and motherhood!
Check out our website to discover inspiration for things to do and days out with your family. How about taking on a family laser quest challenge? Or maybe head outside for some high ropes and outdoor family fun?
Or if you’d like to see what other families thought about attractions across the UK. Then, you won’t want to miss reading our reviews and recommendations blogs!