City of Dreams Manila recently opened the door to it's latest attraction "DreamPlay".
DreamPlay is an interactive play concept, where kids and adults alike can play, create and learn with their favorite DreamWork's characters.
(image taken from Wikia.com)
Let me help you in planning your family day out, by sharing with you tips from our own experience, visiting DreamPlay.
1. Get your tickets at an SM cinema ticket outlet. We got ours at SM Aura before heading to the theme park. It proved to be a wise decision as the line queue outside the park is quite long. I must have saved 30+ minutes waiting time.
You can buy tickets via SM cinema online, but these would need to be exchanged for the actual tickets in an SM cinema outlet.
2. Weekend/Holiday ticket rate is more expensive.
If possible go on a weekday and save money on your tickets. I am assuming it is also less crowded on a weekday, so you can get the most out of your money.
(please read through above the themepark's general policies)
3. You ask, how many hours does one need to visit DreamPlay?
Well, the answer depends on the following:
a. the age of your children
b. what activities you want to do
c. volume of guests/visitors inside the park
It is a relatively small park and very easy to navigate, especially if for older kids. I got my family, two (2) hours adult and children's tickets. I figured, I can easily get a top-up/upgrade (should we decide to extend). The extension hours though is a tad more expensive, but only by a few pesos.
4. There is separate queuing for guests with pre-bought tickets. We were asked to enter the back door via the DreamPlay souvenir shop entrance. Look for the guest services.
Entrance was a breeze and only took us 5 minutes tops.
At the guest services, I was asked to sign a parental consent form for my kids. I only used one form for my 2 boys.
The attendant got our names and assigned us each an RFID wrist band.
5. What's inside DreamPlay? The park has six (6) mini-zones.
a. Kung Fu Panda's Wall of Destiny and Furious Academy
My youngest is too small to try the Wall of Destiny and opted for the Furious Academy. The concept is much like a Wii game were participants are asked to follow the actions of the characters.
b. Shrek's Swamp Stomp. Younger children would love to play around Shrek's swamp home. They also may register for free for a cooking class at Gingy's Kitchen.
Cooking looked fun and kids looked adorable in their chef's costume, unfortunately Gingy's filled up early and the next available time slot is at 8:30pm.
c. How To Train your Dragon. My boys made their own dragons and had the chance to make them fly.
d. Madagascar's Whatever Floats Your Boat, guests make their own boats and test-floats them.
The Afro Circus is a play area for smaller children.
e. Dinotrux. You can build and pilot your own reptools in this zone.
f. DreamWorks - Dream Studio, Dream Tales Library and Dream Theatre
Learn to create your own animation.
Watch a 5 minutes 4D movie.
Spend hours inside the Dream Tales Library, where occasional story telling and puppet shows are held.
7. Hungry? There are food outlets inside DreamPlay, but quite expensive. Good, we had heavy lunch before heading to DreamPlay, so we were still too full for merienda. We did get the kids fries and drinks before leaving, which left a 300+ dent in papa's wallet.
(P140 bottomless cup and P90 for the fries)
Note, eating also consumes your DreamPlay time. I suggest having a hearty meal elsewhere, before heading to DreamPlay.
6. Remember to check your time, excess time is rounded to an
extra hour, even for a fraction of time exceeded.VERDICT
- There are ample free indoor parking. You only need to take an elevator and exit to the upper ground floor to get to the park, really convenient.
- Unlike most theme parks, DreamPlay does not issue park maps. We were actually lost for a good 10-15 minutes wondering what to do and where to go. I recommend you research first on the activities they offer, to plan your visit well.
- DreamPlay is relatively small and is designed for kids 6-13 years old. Activities for toddler guests is quite limited.
- Souvenir items were as expected expensive. They were pretty cute though... but, yeah still pricey!
I am not sure my kids will be begging to come back anytime soon. It was a good experience, but my kids have been to better parks before, so it was a hard comparison, with the size and limited activities a bit of a let down.
DreamPlay is located at the City of Dreams
Asean Avenue corner Roxas Boulevard, Entertainment City, Parañaque Manila
