New children’s activity centre near Portsmouth: 11 exciting themes ready to fire imaginations

Marnie and Gavin Waller are the husband-and-wife team behind the new children’s adventure zone that’s taking Havant and the south coast by storm.

With many children’s soft play type venues being a little underwhelming for adults, the entire ethos of Wonder – A World of Imagination goes a step beyond. For a start, there’s decent coffee and cake! Plus there’s ample room for the adults to join in with the children’s exploring, and the feedback simply says ‘they’ve thought of everything!’.

Whether that’s in the out-of-this-world Whiz Space Station, Superhero HQ, the dinosaur Ranger Depot or the make-believe fire station, hospital, building site, pirate ship or more, there’s plenty to entertain everyone from zero to six, as well as engage the grown-ups in a way no other child-friendly experience does.

Marnie, a busy mum-of-two, wanted their new venue to go ‘above and beyond’ anything else in the region.

“We spent a lot of time researching what was available, what we wanted to do differently and how we wanted it to work not just to enrich children’s minds and give them an unforgettable play experience, but also work for the adults too.

“We are always delighted when see the carers getting stuck in – this is not like a traditional soft play where it is awkward for adults to get around, it’s been designed to work for everyone, with a level of theatre behind every concept that makes it a really immersive experience. I love seeing a granny or grandad down playing with the kids and joining in with all their imaginative play, it is such a nice thing to see.”

Marnie and Gavin both have a background in the service and leisure industry, and say that quality customer service is at the heart of all they do.

How it works

Wonder runs four parent-supervised sessions a day, seven days a week, each lasting 90 minutes. It costs £11 per session, which is £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, be they childminders with a number of little ones to entertain or families looking to join in.

The entire area is wheelchair accessible, and there are special SEN sessions, where numbers are limited to make it inclusive and friendly for all.

There’s a spacious changing room for little ones, with free nappies, wipes and sanitary products, plus a pre-loved clothing range, so life’s little accidents won’t spoil your day out or interrupt play for long.

Marnie, whose sons Dawson (6) and Alben (2) test drive every new theme making the business a real family affair, said the over-all effect is top quality, but welcoming. “We want our customers to experience first class visitor experience, but in somewhere that feels like home, very friendly and welcoming. Parents tell us that we’ve thought of everything, and that’s exactly what we wanted, to be unique, innovate and a whole lot of fun.”

Throughout the year there are additional themed events, and new attractions will be added over the coming months.

Book or find out more

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