The Fun Jungle Washington Review

This is a guest post by our writer Cat and based on a visit in May 2022. Please always check with venues direct for the most up to date information when making plans.

The Fun Jungle is a soft play centre located in Sulgrave in Washington. If travelling by car, NE37 3AZ will get you to the Industrial Unit which is just off the main road. The unit stands alone through some metal gates and has plenty of free parking. 

If you are travelling by public transport, I think the nearest bus stop is at Sulgrave Bus Link on Marlborough Road and then there's about a half a mile walk to the Fun Jungle.

I think the prices are average, but I wouldn't say it was particularly cheap unless you're visiting for the term time toddler offer. I think £7.50 for any child over 2 is quite pricy. 

Babies under 12 months - £3.00

Under 2 - £5.00

Up to 12 years - £7.50

The sessions are restricted to 90 minutes, even on quieter week days. I do like the fact that there is no extra charge for accompanying adults though. I hate having to pay for adult entry into children's activities. They are open 9:30am - 7pm seven days a week so handy for an after school visit.

On weekdays during term time, The Fun Jungle have an offer for toddlers where entry between 9.30 -11.30 is only £3 and comes with a slice of toast and a beaker of diluted juice and includes 90 minutes of play time.

The Fun Jungle is situated in a biggish industrial unit which is bright, warm and very clean. It has two play frames, one aimed at under 4s and one aimed at children ages 4 and above. There are notices up throughout to says adults aren't allowed on the slides or football pitch so your child needs to be confident enough to use things themselves.

There is lots of seating and tables around the room and everything looked clean and tidy during our visit. I noticed there were plenty of high chairs stacked up around the room which is great if you're eating with younger children.

The under 4's play area is quite small, it has some climbing bits, a machine with an air blower that kids can use to blow balls up into the air, a slide and lots of plastic balls.

My just turned 3 year old really enjoyed the slide and the air machine but he did lose interest quite quickly and wanted to be on the over 4's frame.

Unfortunately, most of the fun bits of the over 4s frame are quite high up and he doesn't really like being too high by himself. He wasn't able to go on either the slides as he didn't want to climb up by himself and some of the steps were quite high so he couldn't climb up some of the other bits towards the rope bridge and tubes, I think he would have enjoyed it more if his 8 year old, older brother was with him as he tends to forget he's 3 when he's around.

His favourite bit was definitely the ball pit with ball sucker. There's a couple of tubes that suck up the plastic ball pit balls and insert them into a plastic box above your head. Once it's full, it falls onto whoever is below which my toddler thought was amazing! He spent ages refilling the container with the balls and watching them fall on his head. 

There's a football area which is set above the ground, you need to climb up to get to it. My 3 year old usually loves playing football but wasn't keen on having to go up alone so climbed up the steps, he realised I wasn't able to follow and came straight back down. Again, I think it would be better if adults were able to go up too, or if we were visiting with both children. 

There is lots of seating and tables around the room and everything looked clean and tidy during our visit. The floors were clean and looked like they're vacuumed regularly.  I noticed there were plenty of high chairs stacked up around the room which is great if you're eating with younger children.

If you're visiting during the £3 toddler offer, you're given a ticket to claim your toast and juice so you can use it any any point during your visit. There were plenty of staff even first thing when we visited and I found the two members of staff I spoke too, very friendly and polite. If you're ordering at the counter, you're giving a beeper which lets you know when your food and drinks are ready, it means you can carry on playing and return to your table when your things are brought out. 

The Fun Jungle also serves Costa coffee which was a pleasant surprise. A large cappuccino cost £2.80 which I think is quite reasonable.

Although we didn't order food during this visit, the menu looked quite varied. A burger with salad and chips is £5.45, a 10" Margherita pizza is £5.99 and a full English breakfast will set you back £6.50.

There is also a kids section on the menu, with things like hot dogs, chicken nuggets and sandwiches which come with chips, mash or a potato waffle and a cup of juice for £3.75 which I think is very reasonable.

The counter had a couple of different flavours of slush, a soft drinks machine and a sign saying that they sell ice lollies.

The Fun Jungle can also host parties and prices start at £15 per child. They have a function room upstairs that states it can be used for all kinds of gatherings and functions. During our visit there was some kind of toddler dance group taking place upstairs. 

We visited recently for the £3 toddler offer and found it good value for money but I do think the Fun Jungle is probably better suited to children 4 and up, or those who are very confident and happy to explore on their own.

My 3 year old enjoyed himself but I think if we return we'd bring his big brother so he'd be more likely to use more of the equipment. 

They seem quite active on their Facebook page so it's worth checking out to see if they have any offers on or any chances to their opening hours. Looking for other soft play reviews? Check out this post:

• North East Soft Play Reviews & Deals

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