Mum Review 00001: Indoor Playground Show Down - Hokey Pokey at Selatar Mall versus Kids-stop at Science Centre (Jurong).

Since I went on a 2 weeks hiatus, I decided to have 2 in 1 review about the 2 recent indoor kids playground that my boys went. The areas for assessments are

1. Background
2. Accessibility and Location
3. Price
4. Ease & Quality of Play
5. Suitability of age group
6. Final Evaluation

Background

At face value, both places cannot have an entirely apple to apple comparison as Hokey Pokey is an indoor playground set up by like-minded mothers who came together as their babies were all born in July 2010. So the intention is a mix of commercial business and also a place for their kids to come together and play. So, it is more for kids 7 and below (tied to their children’s age). The place is run with a personal touch as in my few visits there, at least 1 of the owner mum will be there.

For KidsStop, it is an extension or rather, a specialised or as they have termed it, edutainment playground under Science Centre set up since Year 2013. As such, one of their target groups is late pre-school to students in the Primary School age going range and there is an educational purpose in their play. The place is professionally run like Science Centre too.

As my boys are 3 yo and 5 yo, I can only evaluate based on their joy of play and time spent (which is a good indication is if the place is value for money and whether there will be return visits).

Accessibility & Location

For Hokey Pokey, it is located at Basement 1 of Seletar Mall, which means people who stays in the West will find it time consuming to travel there as you will have to take North-East Line (NEL) to Seng Kang and change to LRT. It is the 4^th and final stop of the LRT. In you drive, it is still an easily 30-40 minutes journey to get to TPE, exit Jalan Kayu and to Seletar Mall. However, the Mall is a great place for meal time as there are lots of F&B offerings from fastfood (texas chicken, the ever reliable macdonald’s) to bites (Eat, Han’s) to restaurants (Swensens, Pizza Hut, Din Tai Fung etc). The place operates till about 9.30pm so it is not as rushed on weekdays where play is not timed.

For Kids Stop at Jurong East, it is harder to navigate as there is a walk from Jurong East MRT of min. 15 minutes and once you enter, you have to pass through the Science Centre and walk a narrow tunnel to KidsStop. The only consolation is that the passageway is air-conditioned. The only choice for food will be Mcdonald’s only if you only wish to stay within the area. The place closes at 6pm so if you are looking for a late afternoon outing, this place is not for you.

Score: Hokey Pokey (7.5) Wins over KidsStop (6) for better proximity to LRT, opening hours and food offerings

Price

For both places, I signed up for the membership as I expected to have return visits for more than 2 times a year.

However, if you are looking at standalone visit, at Hokey Pokey it is at $26 for both weekdays (unlimited play) and weekend (2 hours play). There was an offer for the membership as I signed up both boys at $58 for 1 kid and 2^nd kid at 50% off ($29) for 1 free entry and 1 free birthday month entry, 1 free soft drink per visit. For members, there will be $10 off for subsequent visits. So my math was, if you visit more than 2 times a year, it is better money sense to get the membership. No cards, just birth cert number. What I like about this place is that they do not charge accompanying parents, unlike other playgrounds such as Kids Amaze and KidsStop.

At KidsStop, the pricing is much lower at $10 for children (18 months to 8 years) and $5 for adults (applicable for Singapore residents, other visitors will pay about 130% higher). As our base cost was already $30 for 2 adults and 2 children, we decided to go for membership at $70 for 2 kids as it allows 2 accompany adults with unlimited visits per year. There are 2 sessions a day (9.30am to 1.30pm and 2pm to 6pm) so it is limited to 4 hours per session every day.

Score: KidStop (8.5) Wins Over Hokey Pokey (7) for lower overall pricing and longer play time on weekends/public holidays

Ease and Quality of play

As the targeted age group for Hokey Pokey is from 6 months to 6 yo, it has higher ease of play for the toys as the play area is demarcated in boys, girls and toddlers.

- Boy Play Zone (Dress Up corner with suits for ironman, transformers, masks, Big Slide with ball play, Thomas the Train slide, Ride on Car Zone, Cars and Train Zone, Toys zone with star wars, power ranger, ninja turtle toys)

- Girl Play Zone (1m high doll house, reading corner, Kitchen Corner, Dress Up corner for Elsa/Anna-wannabes, princesses)

- Toddler Zone (mini slide with ball play, fisher price toys, climbing zone)

My kids favourite is the giant slide. The place is generally very safe and child proof. I also like it that there are no partitions or hidden corners, so parents can observe from the sidelines without any worries. During my 1^st session there, the boys played for about 5 hours without signs of fatigue or boredom. They also immediately asked me to bring them there again. It tells a lot about the fun level for them and best part, I do not have to do the clean-up. The staff will come in about once every hour to tidy up the toys back to the original positions.

For KidsStop, at 3,000 square feet and demarcation of four play themes (Imagine, Experience, Discover & Dream), it is necessary for parents to follow where young kids go as they can easily run off to different play areas and there are different play rooms away from the main area.

The main areas are Construction Zone, Archaeologist Zone to dust dinosaur bones, Supermarket Zone, Discover Your Body Zone, Camera Effects Zone, Rope Climbing Zone (which was about 2 storeys high and not big enough for parents to climb in). Despite the size of the place, the kids got bored at 2 hours and asked for mcdonald’s. It was a tad disappointing.

The place was dimly lighted and does not have the vibrant feel of a playground. The floor is not well cushioned like Hokey Pokey so look out for kids falling down.

Score: Hokey Pokey (8.5) Wins over KidsStop (7.5) as it is better child proof, have suitable play for kids below 3 and sheer longer enjoyment of play.

Suitable age group

Although KidStop is described as a place for pre-schoolers to primary school children and accepts children below 18 months, it is definitely only suitable for kids above 3 yo as those below 3 yo either look lost, fall down and cry or are too busy avoiding the older kids running around.

For Hokey Pokey, their description on suitability for kids aged between 6 months to 6 yo is very true to its description. The wide variety of toys was also very impressive.

Score: It is a Draw as KidStop will be more fun for primary school children while Hokey Pokey is more for pre-schooers

Final Evaluation

If you are looking for a place for your kids to pass time on a weekend with a budget, KidStop is good as if played correctly, there is educational learning at a lower place. But if you want a place which your kids below 7 yo enjoy playing and for pure fun, Hokey Pokey will win hands down.