Nickelodeon Adventure Lakeside Launch & Review

My kids grew up watching Paw Patrol, Shimmer and Shine and Dora the Explorer (my eldest spent most of her younger years shouting 'Backpack! Backpack!') so it is safe to say Nickelodeon is a firm favourite in this household. How wonderful it would be if those shows could be brought to life... Enter Nickelodeon Adventure which has just opened at Lakeside, Thurrock. We were very lucky to be invited to celebrate at the launch event of this brand new play space along with our Paw Patrol obsessed nephew Little A.

Nickelodeon Adventure Lakeside is located at the popular Intu Lakeside shopping centre in Essex, just off junction 31 of the M25. It is a very easy 45minute drive around the M25 for us and with over 11,000 free parking space at Intu Lakeside you won't have a problem parking! Nickelodeon Adventure is located near the cinema and bowling alley so it's best to try and park down that end of the shopping centre.

Upon arrival we were greeted by SpongebBob Squarepants himself then took the escalator up and waited for the official launch which was hosted by Paw Patrol's very own Chase (Cue starstruck looks from Little A). 

Inside the magical Nikelodeon land is quite impressive. It is zoned by characters with Paw Patrol Adevture Bay, Spongebob Squarepants Bikini Bottom, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Nickelodeon Central. There is also a little Rugrats soft play area for the toddlers.

The large Adventure Bay zone was an instant draw with life size versions of the pup's vehicles for the kids to play on and a Lookout slide. The characters regularly appear for meet and greets so we were lucky to meet Chase, Marshall and Sky which was the highlight of the day for Little A.

In Bikini Bottom there was a number of small activities but no real queuing system for them so I wonder how that would work on on a busy day but it did have one of the most fun activities in the centre - a boat ride (which had a queue system!) and was super fun - even if the boats were a little small for the accompanying adults!

The TMNT Action Zone (if you don't know what I mean by that stop reading now) was set up like a soft play with loads of climbing frame style activities. There was also Donatello's Ninja Flyers flying bike ride where you pedaled to make the bikes rise up. Great fun but you do need an adult to accompany kids under 120cm and those under 90cm cannot ride.

In this zone was the Turtles 4D cinema. There was a height restriction on the cinema so Little A was too small but Husband took the girls in and they had a great time watching the action along with movement, scent and water to bring the movie to life!

Nick Central was a bit on an odd area with a Blaze Monster Machine Race, Dora's in the night sky drawing game and some climbing tubes. It kinda felt like it didn't quite know what it was but the kids did love the race game.

The bathrooms were child friendly and the Slime Cafe serves reasonably priced food and drink to keep everyone hydrated and tummies full.

Entry to Nickelodeon Adventure costs £14.95 per child and £7.50 per adult. This isn't too bad considering local soft play centres near me are only a bit cheaper than that for the kids but if you live locally the annual pass makes it much better value at £37.50 per child and £18.95 per adult. Family tickets are available too.

On reflection we had a really fun morning at Nickelodeon Adventure Lakeside but I think it is best suited to the slightly younger kids around Little A's age range. There also could be a bit more seating for the adults and I'd be interested to see how the attractions fair on a busy day

For more information visit www.nickelodeonadventure.co.uk

We visited Nickelodeon Adventure Lakeside free of charge but all opinions are our own,