Kids parties... the eternal choice, to do it at home and have chaos at home... or to just stump up the cash, and do it elsewhere? Well, we have had a bit of a mix... and the older one now prefers to have sleepovers. But the little one still likes to go out somewhere and invite her friends. And if I have to be honest, it is nice to have the mess and chaos elsewhere... and to have a definite end time to it all! Plus, the parents don't need to actively be trying to entertain all the kids as well...
I'm sort of more surprised that there aren't more "inflatable" play areas in Canberra... I would have thought that this would be a huge thing, but the one that everyone seems to go to is in Canberra's southern suburbs. No problem, except we don't live that close by... and I always feel a bit awkward asking the friends of parents to drive across the city to get here... but we all do it!
You need to book your party ahead of time, and you will choose from one of three open sessions of two hour time slots. In between, they are cleaning and sanitising everything... Lots of junk food and lots of bouncing and running around can result in some pretty gross events! Hopefully to other kids...
Anyway, you are allocated a table, and in the warmer months... make sure that you book one of the morning times. The warehouse isn't insulated, and it gets really really hot and stuffy in the afternoon. Don't visit during that time unless you want kids that are really sick and dying of heat exhaustion! We had the late morning session, and already you could feel the air start to get pretty heavy and oppressive... there isn't a decent cool air circulation!
This is strictly a bring your own food and drinks place... no catering for parties, but you can buy all sorts of overpriced drinks and snacks if you want. But they won't do a party pack... which was fine with us!
As far as the actual inflatable kit goes... it isn't that bad. Not amazing, and I think I would prefer the trampoline jump park myself! But for the primary school kids, this is probably much safer and more enjoyable. Lots of bouncing castles, and slides, and obstacle courses.
There is also a smaller segregated areas for the under 5s, so that the slightly larger kids don't crush them accidentally (or on purpose...). There is a decent space in the layout, and they do seem to keep the numbers restricted in the party times, so that they don't have huge crushes in the play area.
So, a nice kiddie paradise... but not much for adults to do!