The Ultimate Softplay Survival Guide

On a rainy day, with an empty schedule, you may find yourself wondering- should we take the little ones to the soft play? Even the name is suggestive of a warm, padded area in which a parent can set their little mite free to burn off energy in a lovely safe environment perfectly suited to them, while they enjoy a coffee and some peace.

It’s all a bloody lie. 

The truth about softplay is that it is a sticky, noisy battlefield that the inexperienced parent will leave in a hurry with the changing bag and child being dragged unceremoniously to the car, undoubtedly covered in someone else’s snot and tears. 

Want to survive? Keep reading. 

1. SOCKS

Socks are required for hygiene. Never assume this is an unnecessary rule, I guarantee the day you forget socks is the day someone steps in something disgusting underneath the ballpit balls. 

Of course, if you’re heading into softplay without prior planning, I can guarantee the only pair (or “close enough” pair) you can find will have a hole in, perfectly placed for a toe to pop out. Embrace it. Don’t let the tutty mums judge you and attempt to hide your feet under an infant- act like you MEANT to give that toe some air. Own it, and you’ll feel like you can do anything. 

2. THE BABY SECTION

If you’re interested in sitting around and watching your baby “try” to play by rolling near something vaguely resembling a padded slide, head to the baby section. Usually reserved for under 4’s, you can rest assured that they’re out of harms way for a while and finally have that hot cup of tea you’ve wanted for months. 

Until the “I don’t care” mums who are far too distracted by their phones and having a chat arrive along with a rambunctious and rather large child. Of course, no matter how close to adulthood that child is, they’re going to be clambering all over the baby section. If you glare and mumble loud enough, the child is usually embarrassed enough to leave and go to the (apparently) less appealing section for children their age. 

3. LIE

Of course, the best thing to do is lie. Don’t want to go? The soft play is closed. 

Don’t want to buy a snack or drink and you’ve been caught sneaking in 10p cartons of juice too many times to risk it again? The cafe section is closed. 

Don’t want to pay full child price for your newly turned one year old who hasn’t magically gained the ability to play like a big kid? Lie about their age for as long as possible!

As much as softplay does suck, and as hard as it is to survive at times, my children love it. They’ve just got to the magical stage where they bugger off and play alone for at least 15 minutes at a time and I trust they’re okay on quiet days. 

Even after the worst experience, something about being a parent makes you forget and you’ll be back- and now you’ll be ready.

Top Tips & Tricks for Meeting Characters at Disneyland Paris

When you’ve spent all your money booking, and spent hours planning for a trip to Disneyland Paris, there’s nothing more disappointing than missing your favourite characters!

When we went, we managed to meet just about everyone that was available as well as some surprise meet and greets, so I’m sharing my top tips for meeting characters at Disneyland Paris. 

1. Check the programme

You will either receive this at your Disney hotel if staying in one, or you can pick it up at the park entrance. It has a list and location for daily regular meet ups- arrive early if you don’t want to queue and plan a route from each meet to the next. We managed to be first in line a lot of time by keeping an eye on the times!

2. Green/Cream Umbrellas

Dotted around the park, you’ll notice large green or cream parasols/umbrellas. They seem insignificant but these are where either surprise or organised meet and greets take place! Take note of them and if you see a character on a “walk” towards or near one, head over just in case! You’ll likely catch an unscheduled surprise photo opportunity! We managed to catch some princesses by heading towards them, as you can see below.

3. Extra Magic Hours

If you’re staying in one of the Disney hotels that offer extra magic, when you enter the park you can queue to meet Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and others on Main Street before their advertised slot, saving hours. They often come out early for the extra magic guests! It’s also worth checking who is at the princess pavilion every morning to either wait and save on queue time, or skip and come back later if you have already met that princess. 

4. Lineberty App

We didn’t realise the first time we wanted to meet Buzz in his advertised slot, but you need to book a place via this free app! There are other characters on it too. The places go fast so we missed out but we stood and waited anyway and because not all the booked people showed up and buzz had some time left, they fit us in at the end anyway. If you’re nearby it’s always worth a shot.

5. Closed the meet line?

Sometimes you’re late to a popular meet, or the line fills up too fast. If it isn’t too crowded, and you hover at the end, the character will still say a quick hello to your little ones waiting as they pass. It isn’t as good or long as a proper meet but if they get a high five and you’re quick with the camera it’s still worth it. Just remember to let the character leave for their break and not hassle them too much! 

6. Pick a clever lunch spot 

We realised from eating our lunch at Colonel Hathi’s Pizza Outpost in adventure land, that the tables on the left of the outside area are next to the bridge the characters walk along when taking a quick break. In just one hour of sitting eating our lunch (and it was very tasty and reasonably priced!) we managed to say hi to and meet every character working that park section! Some multiple times per meal, so they began to remember us and say hi if they saw us out and about.

Aladdin & Jasmine were regular passer-by's at this restaurant spot!

The bridge where characters passed us by as we ate!

7. Get a good parade spot

We were exceptionally lucky that our children didn’t mind waiting up to an hour to guarantee a front row place for the parade every day. We were also very lucky that because we took the time to attend meet ups, the characters that took place in the parade remembered our children and ran to say hi to them when they had a chance. We did lots of very happy, loud shouting to our favourite characters on our children’s behalf which often drew them in when they picked who to come and see in the parade!

8. Don’t want to queue for Mickey?

Mickey is the most popular and most famous character and he does have a building specifically for his meet and greets, but understandably it gets very busy. If you head towards the phantom manor instead, you can often see him with a 10-15 minute line maximum in a slightly different outfit under the gazebo! It isn’t in the programme so it’s definitely worth remembering. 

Do you have any more tips for meeting characters? Let me know and I can add them with credit! I hope you have the best holiday!

Looking for a GRUFFALO at Wendover Woods [Vlog]

We’ve been trying to get the kids outside as much as possible this summer. While I’m still mostly mobile in pregnancy and the weather is good, we’ve looked for as many free/cheap days out as possible. Why blow the bank before school uniform has to be bought right?

When looking up things in our area, I stumbled across Wendover Woods. Living in Bedfordshire they’re around 90 minutes in the car from us- it’s a bit of a drive but we spent all day there so definitely worth it! 

Wendover Woods are absolutely enormous, Id have called them a forest. Among the wood there are loads of trails to take- running, orienteering of different levels and for children they have a “play trail”, Gruffalo orienteering trail and even a Zog trail!

We took on the play trail first, which has wooden structures dotted along it for children to explore and play on- a very easy course with two length options it was perfect for our two and four year old.

After a picnic we took on the Gruffalo trail. We paid £1.50 for a pack which had a map and stickers and questions for the kids to answer at each stop. This course was very bumpy and steep at times so difficult with a pram but we managed and they loved the big statue at the end!

Check out our video of the day, and definitely check out Wendover Woods if you want a good excuse to get outdoors!