Indoor Play on Orchard Road: Sassy Mama visits the new Little Planet Playland

We check out the newest indoor play centre on the Singapore scene, Little Planet Playland on Orchard Road!

Hey Orchard mamas (and shopaholics island-wide)!  Little Planet Playland is a brand new and very sweet little play space that just opened up at the Centrepoint right on Orchard Road. It’s all about imagination at this dreamy little location. It has a very modern design and features little imagination stations where kids can create real-life vignettes with all the necessary props.

To get there, go around to the back of The Centrepoint mall, which is under renovation at the moment. There is a stroller ramp on the right side of the building that leads you to an elevator at the back. Go up to floor two and find the little hallway off the main rectangle of stores that will take you to unit 21. It’s a little bit hidden but you’ll be glad once you find it.

The colours are soft and the activities are varied. My 4-year-old big kiddo was already pushing a shopping cart filled with food by the time I got through the swinging doors!

The owner created this space because her own little one isn’t into the climbing and jumping indoor play areas that are in abundance around Singapore. This place instead opens up a world of whimsical activity for kids. There is a fishing pond complete with a boat, fishing rods and magnetic creatures to catch. There are two gardening areas in which to plant and harvest food with all the right tools. One garden is filled with cassia seeds that resemble sand (but are so much cleaner!), and the other has rows for planting items.

My 15-month-old little kiddo loved running the cassia seeds through his hands and digging with the tools, while my big kiddo planted all sorts of vegetables along the back wall.  I loved that all this happened without my prompting so I could enjoy watching them play from the soft benches scattered around.

After the kids harvest food, they can shop for other pretend foodstuffs in the market area with small shopping carts and baskets, then bring it all into the next area to cook. There are three kitchen sets and a grill plus pots and pans. After cooking, they can go to kid-sized picnic tables to enjoy their creations. They even have a toy clean-up cart if you want to encourage responsibility.

And that’s not all! They have trees surrounding a soft turf area with toy fruit in bags so children can “pick” fruit from trees.  They also have a castle play structure with a small slide and a box of princess and knight costumes, complete with throne chairs.

Although this play area can get a bit noisy when busy, it never once bothered my kids. I did find myself helicoptering over my younger toddler; not all items seemed super durable and I didn’t want him to ruin anything. This place was a huge hit with my 4-year-old, who barely spoke to me the entire time we were there except for some pretend play together. It’s a fantastic opportunity to discuss farm (or sea) to table cooking with your kids, and they have a huge range of fruits and vegetables with which to play. We had a thoroughly enjoyable visit.

Until the end of August, you get 20% off daily admission, packages, and party bookings. This brings the 12-session package down from $250 to $200, or $16.67 per entry.  Strollers must be parked outside, socks are required inside, and you’ll have to leave food and drinks behind or consume them outside (caffeinate at Starbucks on level 1!).  Be sure to visit the bathroom down the hallway past Little Planet Playland beforehand, as there is no bathroom inside. Have fun, mamas! 

How much: $25 per child for 2 hours on public holidays and weekends, or for unlimited play on weekdays.

Opening hours: Mon-Fri 10:30am-7:30pm; Sat-Sun and Public Holidays 10:30am-9:30pm.

Little Planet Playland, The Centrepoint, 176 Orchard Road, #02-21, Singapore 238843, Tel: (+65) 6268 6595, www.littleplanet.com.sg