New adventure zone for kids on the south coast: discover fun, imaginative play for 0-6-year-olds

Finding the perfect activity for little kids that delivers on imagination, fun and creativity but also makes the adults feel relaxed, rewarded and nourished by great coffee and cake is the epitome of life goals.

Now a husband-and-wife team – and busy parents of two little boys – have created their own business, delivering just that, with quality customer service and everything they wanted as parents from a day out with kids.

Marnie and Gavin Waller have created Wonder – A World of Imagination, an inclusive and accessible adventure zone with 11 amazing themes to explore. Whether your little ones love pirates or dinosaurs, astronauts, superheroes or hospitals, firefighting or building sites, each of the themes offers high quality role play and imaginative fun, with the twist that mums and dads, grannies and grandpas and childminders can join in the fun.

Marnie said: “We wanted to create something unique that would be amazingly good fun to play in, and to grow little imaginations, but that didn’t let the adults down. Soft play centres, for example, aren’t much fun for the parents, and if you do need to get stuck in are hard to move around in when you are not a child any more!

“We set out to fire imaginations, inspired by the adventurous nature of our own kids, and the quality of visitor destination we wanted as adults.”

Wonder – A World of Imagination definitely delivers. Despite only being open for six months there are already bold plans to create more imaginative play zones and create one-off themed events. As recent feedback says, “they’ve thought of everything.”

And it’s the little details that count … for a start, they serve decent coffee and snacks. There’s a pre-loved clothing corner, so if your little one has an accident it doesn’t need to spoil your day out; just change them and carry on playing. There’s complimentary nappies, wipes and sanitary products too in the changing areas.

The entire centre is wheelchair accessible, and there are dedicated SEN sessions where numbers are limited and less overwhelming.

The couple, who have a background in the service and leisure industry, chose the location with care. Based in Havant, Wonder – World of Imagination is hugely popular right along the south coast, with families travelling from Sussex and Surrey to enjoy an affordable kids’ activity that is a pleasure, not a chore.

Marnie added: “When we were researching and creating our adventure area we wanted to make sure it was fun for all the members of the family. We love it when we see parents and carers joining in the fun and doing role play with the kids. That way everyone gets to enjoy the visit.”

How it works

There are four parent-supervised sessions every day, lasting 90 minutes. It costs £11 per session, split as £7.50 each child and £3.50 for the adult. A second adult goes free. There’s also a loyalty card and special saver session on a Wednesday morning. Sessions work for families, childminders and other carers.

Book or find out more

Find out more and book a space at wonder-imagination.co.uk