Are you traveling to or living in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany? If you have kids between the ages of about 2-12 who like to climb, slide, and jump, we have six recommendations for indoor playgrounds in the region for you here. We’ve tried them all out and will tell you our honest opinion (from young and old).
Attractions in the indoor playgrounds GeckoFun, Hoplop, Oki Doki, Trampolino, Tiki Kinderland, and Hugodrom:
- High ropes course (Oki Doki (three different courses, one suitable for small children 1m+) and Trampolino (only for big kids 1.30m+)). Tikiland has a very low ropes course for smaller children (approx. 30 cm above ground).
- Bungy jumping (only Trampolino)
- Trampolines (Geckofun, Hoplop, Oki Doki, Trampolino, Kinderland, Hugodrom)
- Trampoline ninja park (only Trampolino)
- Big air castle (“Luftburg”): Trampolino
- Inflatable dragon that swallows kids, with slide back out (GeckoFun, Hoplop, and Oki Doki; Tiki Kinderland has an inflatable clownfish)
- Go-karts (GeckoFun, Hoplop, Oki Doki, and Trampolino)
- Skates, skateboards, rollerblades, and scooters for rent (only Hugodrom)
- Spiderman bouncy castle (Hugodrom)
- Big Climbing wall (Hugodrom)
- Bowling alley (Tiki Kinderland)
- Batman Dark Knight arcade game (GeckoFun)
- Lake with hand-propelled boats (only Tiki Kinderland)
- Nice restaurant where parents can sit without hearing the kids scream (only Trampolino)
- Nicest seating area for families, with kids in view (GeckoFun, Trampolino, and Hugodrom)
- Climbing volcano (GeckoFun, Hoplop, Oki Doki)
- Soccer field (Trampolino, Tiki Kinderland)
- Food: I didn’t like the chicken nuggets (my son ate them just fine) at Hoplop. Fast food was good at the other places, but the best restaurant was at Trampolino.
- Supervision: The go-karts place is only supervised by knowledgeable personnel at the Trampolino! At all the other places, it was utter chaos, and the kids were running around on the race track or fighting for cars if their parents didn’t attend to them.
- Cleanliness of restrooms: Trampolino and Hugodrom had the cleanest and most modern restrooms of all the places. At Oki Doki, they were not so great.
- Condition of play things: There was one yellow rubber sheet covering the inflatable slide at Trampolino. I didn’t notice any big defects at the other places. Oki Doki was renovated during the pandemic, but the massage chairs for the parents are in a very distraught state.
- Parking: Oki Doki has the best parking lot; plus, it is next to Kaufland with hundreds of parking places. GeckoFun is on a hill, and parking is not so nice there (on gravel). Hugodrom has limited places right in front of the hall. Tiki Kinderland has a nice, big parking lot (but it was a hassle to drive to and from it; well, unless you like hills in the “Bergisches Land”!!).
- Opening times: Can’t beat Oki Doki. If you start at 11 a.m., the kids get nicely tired in the late afternoon. Tiki Kinderland opened at 2 p.m., which was way too late, given that people from outside of Solingen had to drive back home through the hills in winter in the dark.
- Fun for parents: At Oki Doki (high ropes course for grown-ups), Hugodrom (driving with scooters, skates, skateboards, roller blades), Tiki Kinderland (using the bowling alley and minigolf course) and Trampolino (sitting in the nice, quiet restaurant).
Prices at these indoor playgrounds:
Prices at Trampolino (cheap for kids and adults)
Prices at Hoplop (very expensive for kids over 3 years)
Prices at GeckoFun (cheap for kids and adults)
At all places except for the Hugodrom (which doesn’t have any extra activities requiring coins), parents have to pay extra for their kids to ride scooters, use the slot machines, use arcade games, go bungy jumping, get little toys out of grabber machines, etc. Thus, if you allow your child a few extras plus feed him/her (it’s not permitted to bring your own food or drinks in most of these places), count on spending about EUR 20.00 per child.
And here’s to the sizes of these indoor playgrounds:
- Hoplop in Cologne Pullheim: Approximately 5,000 square meters
- Trampolino in Hilden: 3,500 m²
- GeckoFun in Burscheid: 2,500 m²
- Oki Doki in Langenfeld: 2,000 m²
- Tiki Kinderland in Solingen: 3.500 m²
- Hugodrom in Remscheid: 2.400 m²
Summary:
My son loves GeckoFun most, and this mommy loves Trampolino most. His reasons are the many machines and the batman arcade game, and I enjoy the nice restaurant and the variety of things to do for the kids. I think those two are the best venues of the six ones we know already.
If you have older kids and are not scared of losing them, Hoplop in Cologne has the biggest venue and the most attractions of all, but parents of little kids might get anxious not to see them anymore…
Now for the details, check the corresponding pins that lead to the respective articles about the indoor playgrounds: