(This is not a sponsored article or paid review on Kiztopia.)
Let the kid be bored, they say. It’s really easier said than done. On most weekends, my 4-year-old would be done painting, scribbling, skate-scooting, playing at the outdoor playground, playing with his toys, and watching TV (usually) by 1pm. By then, my energy levels would already be depleted.
And he would tell me that he’s bored. So, what’s a tired mum to do? My go-to solution: take him out for lunch at one of his favourite eateries, and then bring to a place that offers kids’ activities.
On days where I’m really exhausted, I would bring him to indoor playgrounds. Why? Because my kiddo is four-and-a-half years old, and now has the emotional capacity to play independently. I don’t have to look over his shoulder, and I can finally chill at the café inside the playground. (Two great places to chill and wait: Amazonia at Great World City and Pororo Park at Marina Square.)
I decided to check out Kiztopia on the first weekend it opened. That was a bad idea because obviously, I was not the only mum thinking about it. We ended up queueing for almost an hour before getting in. Two weeks later, we were there again, and we queued for about 20 minutes. On both sessions, we went on Sundays and opted for the 3-hour slot.
In this review, I’ll go through play area by play area, touching on the features, what we love and/or did not enjoy, the incidents I observed, and suggestions Kiztopia could possibly consider.
Kiztopia Play Area: The Pio Drift (“Driving Area”)
Located near the entrance, the Pio Drift was my son’s absolute favourite part of the playground. This play area has been my kid’s first and last stop for both visits.
The vintage-styled cars were beautiful. There was a lot of space for the kids to move, or hang around to wait their turn. There are two pretend petrol kiosks where most kids would somehow automatically queue up to get their “tanks” filled.
Most kids would hang on to their vehicles for a long period of time (who could blame them?), and they would create their own games and even play together. Those without cars would even take on the role of kiosk assistants and assist the “drivers” to fill their tanks.
It can be a mad rush when one kid leaves her/his car so don’t leave your toddlers there to fend for themselves. On the first visit, there was a Kiztopia staff who would stay in the pit to arrange cars and assist kids. On my second visit, no one was there, and I had to play police to kids who were older and a bit rougher in the pit. Aside from that, I love this zone. It was next to the food area so you can sit and watch your kids, too.
Play Area: The Hero Square and AR Wall
The Hero Square is the open area just outside the entrance of the Pio Drift and behind the gift shop. There’s a slightly elevated stage area that leaned against an AR wall. There was a magic show on our first visit – my son wasn’t interested. On our second visit, kids’ Zumba was on the schedule. And my son started dancing in the driving pit when the music came on.
I haven’t encountered such additional activities at other indoor playgrounds before. And I thought these were wonderful ideas that gave children a nice break from playing.
When there was no activity going on, kids can play the AR Wall. They can create drawings with their fingers or animate objects by touching and dragging them across the AR screen. My kid enjoyed this very much. During his sessions, the AR Wall featured water pipes where he could choose different pipe designs to direct water to water a plant, put out a small fire, fill a fishbowl or even to hydrate a mermaid.
It did get a bit frustrating for my kid as there would always be a random kid who would hit the reset button unknowingly. Other than that, it was good fun and very engaging.
Play Area: Bouncy Tiger (“Bouncy Castle”)
This is a regular bouncy castle, nothing fancy, nothing crazy, nothing too boring. Within the castle, you would find cactuses, huge coils, and a climbing upslope that leads to a slide. Nonetheless, my kiddo would make this a quick pitstop, jumping around for five to 10 minutes before hopping off another section.
