Cara had so much fun in 2017, we decided to re-book and invite other families in 2018. Yes, it was Playmobil Fun Park time again! To be honest, I had never heard of Playmobil pre-2017. It was always Lego, Lego Duplo, Play-doh and other toys. However, when researching for family friendly holidays in Germany in 2017, Playmobil was the top recommendation. Now after completing our second visit, I’m sure it won’t be our last.
Date Visited: Sunday 26th and Monday 27th August 2018
Location: Playmobil FunPark, Brandstätterstraße 2-10, 90513 Zirndorf, Germany
Getting There: Closest airport is Nuremberg, approximately 30-minutes drive away. Munich is also an option, but further at roughly 90-minutes. There’s ample parking available on-site for €5 a day. Public transport is available but does require some effort, so driving or an Uber is an easier option, especially with kids. The city centre is roughly a 20-minute drive.
Cost: Entry tickets are €11.90 per person during peak season, which runs from May to September. Parking is €5 a day. Once in, most activities and attractions are included. Only extras are food and drinks that are reasonably price and tasty, and obviously any toys or gifts you decide to purchase. You can build your own Playmobil characters for €1, and get airsprayed tattoos for €2.
We also stayed at the Playmobil Hotel, which is a few minutes walk from the Fun Park. During peak season, it was €179 per night excluding breakfast, which is quite pricey. There are more affordable hotels within a 5-minute drive from the park. However, it was a great place to stay for Cara as she had her own ‘farm-themed’ room and it was all child-friendly.
Review:
Where do I begin? There’s so much to do at Playmobil Fun Park, it’s difficult to describe. When we visited the first time, we didn’t realise how good it was and ended up there on back-to-back days. This year, we knew what to expect and scheduled two whole days there, including an overnight stay at the Playmobil Hotel. To do it justice, I’ll split the review into 3 sections.
Playmobil Fun Park – Attractions/Activities
Even before entering the Fun Park, you know you’re in the land of Playmobil as you see the characters on your approach. They’re everywhere. It’s a large park, so it will keep your kids occupied for the day. I personally think the ideal age to visit is 3-8 years, any older and they may be bored, any younger and they may not enjoy it as much. There are different outdoor themes ranging from pirates, knights/castle, dinosaurs, police, farm, and fairies. Each area has its own attraction – for example, the pirate section has a large pirate ship they can explore and punting rafts. The new fairy section has a scavenging activity where kids can search for tiny knick-knacks that hurt when you step on them (this was Cara’s highlight this year).
Other activity areas include mini-putt putt golf, bouncy trampoline, water play area, and indoor climbing section. If the weather is poor, then you may want to stay indoors. The main centre contains all the toys, where they’re sectioned into similar areas as the outdoors. Toys are split into princesses, emergency services (police, fire and ambulance), vikings, and many more. There’s plenty of seating for parents, so best to grab a coffee, sit back and enjoy watching your child’s imagination run free. It is a family friendly park, so plenty of amenities throughout, including a first-aid centre.
At 5:00pm, the indoor centre holds a ‘mini-disco’ where they play some German songs for the kids to dance to. At the end of the session, a life-sized version of the pirate figurine appears for the kids to high-5 and hug, so be sure your phones/cameras are charged for the photo op.
Playmobil Fun Park – Food/Drinks
The main restaurant is available near the entrance, and includes a beer garden. This sells majority of the hot food, like pork knuckle, roast chicken, and pasta. They also have options for kids. My personal fave was the roast chicken and chips, very tasty. A separate pizza/pasta outlet is located opposite the main restaurant, and as it suggests, serves pizza and pasta. Drinks, including beer, is available on tap. Kids can also add a figurine to their kids meal at the checkout. You will receive tokens which act as €2 deposits for each plate and cup you have. It also ensures people clean up after themselves, so remember to return your trays as it does add up. The kids meal includes a free kids cup, so you can save those as souvenirs (or use them to hold the knick-knacks from the seashells in fairyland). There are a few other smaller outlets dotted throughout the Fun Park that sells ice cream, drinks and smaller snacks.
Playmobil Hotel
Although slightly pricier than other hotels, we decided to stay one-night as we didn’t get the chance in 2017. We weren’t disappointed. Seeing Cara’s smile when she entered through the doors with her own bedroom and pictures of Playmobil toys up on the wall. Instead of chocolates on pillows, Cara had a figurine toy to keep. The entire room is catered for kids, with stools in the bathroom to reach the sink, and slide-able doors in between the main room and her room. Breakfast can be added for an extra €14, and is available in the HOB-centre across the road. All in all, it was a comfortable night’s stay. There’s not a lot of additional amenities at the hotel like a pool, gym etc. There’s only a common area with a vending-machine on the 5th floor, but to be honest, your child will probably be too tired to notice and end up crashing in their bed like Cara.
Tips:
- Last year we visited in July, which was a lot hotter and therefore Cara was able to make use of the water park. August also seems to be wasp season in Bavaria, so although we didn’t get stung, it was annoying while eating outdoors.
- If you want to reserve a room at Playmobil Hotel, email your reservation as early as possible as it does book out. Also, email them prior to arriving to double-check.
- If staying at Playmobil Hotel, you have the added option of going in and out of the Fun Park in case your little ones need a rest. Just keep your entry ticket for re-entry.
More details:
Playmobil – https://www.playmobil-funpark.de/en/
Playmobil Hotel – https://www.playmobil-funpark.de/en/playmobil-hotel
Ratings:
Burn Time: 5 out of 5 – Two whole days spent at Playmobil Fun Park, from 11am to 6pm, including an overnight stay at the Playmobil Hotel.
Value: 3 out of 5 – The actual cost of entry is affordable, but given it requires an international flight, hotel accommodation, transfers or car rental, it all adds up.
Overall: 5 out of 5 – We’ll be starting to plan the 2019 visit soon.
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