What a treat it was for Evan (and me) to spend a day (or a few hours) at the Giggle the Fun Factory in fX mall in Senayan. For starters, the fX mall has an amazing giant slide that goes from the 8th floor to the 2nd floor and is free to whoever spends 100,000 rupiah or more at any store in the mall. I had heard of the Giggle Fun Factory before but had never been so as our schedule for the day was clear of any commitments mommy and Evan prepared a backpack with a bathing suit and an extra change of clothes and ventured into the concrete jungle of Jakarta and arrived in fX mall.
When we arrived in the fifth floor all we could see was trees and animal pictures. As a special event from June 16 to July 15 2012 fX mall is hosting a small animal exhibition on the 5th floor. For 80,000 rupiah per child and 20,000 for the accompanying adult you can access an animal display and take part in some activities. We bought the ticket and decided to try out out after we were done playing at the playground. They have a small animal park, a butterfly house, a rabbit garden and a little pool where kids can catch a fish with a net and take it home. Evan got startled as he heard the roosters crowing and the parrots “talking” and saying hello constantly. He enjoyed looking at a turtle eating its lunch and was really amazed by the butterfly exhibition. I helped him catch a fish but we decided to not take it home. After visiting such amazing zoos in Indonesia that charge the same price, I’m not sure this was worth the price, but then again for 9 dollars it was nice for Evan to pet the rabbits and look at some cool animals.
Giggle the Fun Factory
Being a run by Miniapolis, Giggle the Fun Factory offers a special Miniapilis member price of 85,000 rupiahs for a day-pass to their indoor playgrounds. Accompanying adults have to pay 20,000 each and infants can come in for free. Beautiful décor and clean facilities make this place appealing to kids and children alike. Within the same area they have a water area, an area for smaller kids with a ball pit, and kiddy swings and slides and an area for older kids to climb on and walk thru mazes and go down bigger slides.
As always, Evan spent most of his visit at the water-play area where despite the cold temperatures of the water the activities keep kids active and running around splashing. Evan had a lot of fun filling buckets with water and pouring them in the different areas of the playground. At times he would stop and look out the windows that had a view of the whole 5th level of the mall and a plush toy store.
The changing and locker room area are very decent. They have two small changing rooms, a shower with warm water and a clean toilet with toilet paper. However, they don’t have a sink where we could wash our hands! In comes my antibacterial to the rescue, once again. Other than that the area is big enough to change the kids and they have a locker area where you can leave your clothes and shoes while you visit the water works area. The area is always under supervision so the older kids are not allowed to climb into the water tables and that keeps the little ones safe. After Evan got tired of playing I rinsed him wishing I had brought shampoo with me and changed him into dry clothes. One of the staff members was kind enough to help me dry Evan’s hair while I was putting everything back in his backpack.
Evan had so much fun climbing up and down the different stairs and slides in the play area and didn’t mind the older children running around him. Of course he rode on the different carts and bikes at every opportunity while I was just in awe of the beautiful views and was glad I was inside a nice building with AC as I saw people stuck in traffic on the streets beneath us. I would definitely consider taking Josh there once he’s a bit more dexterous in his crawling. Even though there is only a small area for little babies I think it’s good enough for a barely mobile baby to crawl around and explore its surroundings.
Overall it was a great experience and I can’t wait to go there again. Evan had a blast and I will just let the rest of the pictures do the talking,
Some tips if you are going to Giggle The Fun Factory
- Avoid the weekends and Indonesian holidays. Even though we went on a Thursday it was somewhat crowded. Not enough to make me want to leave the place running and screaming but enough for Evan to have to wait a while until he could use one of the little scooters.
- Bring a change of clothes and shampoo. Make sure you have a change of clothes for your kids and if possible wear capris or shorts so you don’t get too wet in the water area.
- Eat before you come. Although they have a food court on the 5th floor it is not very appealing to the westernized palate. I was hoping to find a KFC or Burger King but only found Indonesian food. I wasn’t in the mood to eat satay so we ended up going to a great Thai restaurant on the second floor. More on that later…
Jakarta 10270
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Hi Ana. After reading your blog about giggle factory and miniapolis (kelapa gading), we are intrique and decided to visit this past weekend. For the giggle factory, the place is clean and fun, but not as big as I originally thought (from pictures). I think kids will ideally spend 1-hour at the waterworks and another 1-hour at the playground. The giant slide is interesting and I have to talk my 3-years old daughter out of it (she is very keen on trying).
As for the miniapolis at kelapa gading, it is actually outdoor setting, so surprisingly not so many people. They also have couple rides (dry) and playground (dry). Its quite interesting place, but I think most people will go to waterboom or snowbay for the complete water adventures.