A couple of nights ago we were lucky enough to be invited along to the VIP Evening at the brand new Fun Station that opened in Nottingham’s Cornerhouse complex yesterday.

Fun Station is an innovative new family entertainment centre, which houses an array of fabulous arcade games and an amazing bowling alley as well! Each of the machines issues tickets when you play, and you can exchange the tickets at the Prize Counter for a whole host of different goodies.

The Nottingham one has opened just in time for the school holidays, and can be found on the second floor of the complex. I took Stacey, Oscar, my mum and Stacey’s friend along to find out more and today I thought I’d let you guys know what we thought of it …

When we arrived at the Fun Station we were issued with a re-loadable ‘Fun Card’. The idea behind these is that you pay at the counter and then swipe your card at each machine instead of having to have loads of loose change on you to keep feeding them with.

As a mum I think this is a great idea, as when we go on holiday Stacey will often ask for some change to go in the arcades for half an hour or so and I always seem to run out really quickly. I also think they’re a good idea if you’re only wanting to spend a small amount as you can pre-load it with any amount you like, then tell the little ones that once the money has gone it’s time to go home.

The cards are super easy to use at the machines as well – you just swipe it in through the card reader and it works just like it would had you popped some change in! It also tells you how much credit you have left on your card after each swipe as well.

The Nottingham Fun Station covers over 6,500 square feet, which means there are loads of different machines to play on! Stacey and her friend tackled a simulator called ‘Typhoon’ to start with – and I think you can tell from their faces in the above picture that it was a big hit! It was the first time Stacey had ever tried something like this, and she’s been talking about it a lot since.

There were absolutely loads of teddy grabbers in the arcade, all featuring current characters such as Minions, Frozen, Inside Out and Jurrasic World. I tried several times to win a Minion toy for Oscar, but I wasn’t very good at guiding the crane and kept missing – oops!

Ever since Stacey was little she’s enjoyed playing air hockey, and she was super excited when she saw that they have tables at the Nottingham Fun Station. She enjoyed a couple of games against her friend, and mentioned that they were better than the tables she usually plays on as they’re brightly coloured and more modern than the ones we find when we go on holiday.

As well as there being lots of fab games for the kids to play on, there are ones for the adults as well. Scattered around the Fun Station we found Candy Crush Saga, Pac-Man, Deal or No Deal and loads more.

Although the Fun Station at Nottingham is quite big, I felt comfortable enough letting Stacey and her friend explore by themselves as you can pretty much see every corner of the arcade from wherever you stand. I think this is good for both parents and children as you can give them a little bit of freedom but are able to keep an eye on them at the same time.

You can also get the little ones involved at the Fun Station as well! My 2 year old son Oscar found a ‘whack a mole’ style game where he got to hit moving creatures on the head with a hammer. It was the first time he’d ever played any arcade games before and he absolutely loved it.

And if arcade games aren’t your thing, there’s also an amazing Bowling Alley to play on! Highway 66 has 6 lanes and is one of the most impressive mini bowling alleys I’ve ever come across! The lanes are made to look like roads (hence the name) and as you play the whole thing changes colour. The kids loved playing, and it spat out tickets as they went along as well, which I think really enhanced their experience.

I have to say I was really impressed with the Prize Station as well. There are literally hundreds of fab prizes that you can exchange your tickets for, including tablets! Stacey fed all her tickets into one of the on-site ticket machines, swiped her fun card so that the tickets were transferred on to there, and is saving them for our next visit. That’s the great thing about Fun Station – I was told that the tickets (and any money you load on to your card) don’t expire, so you can save up for some really good prizes! There is also the option of registering your fun card, which we did, as Fun Station will refund any money you have on it if it gets lost or stolen.

We all had a fantastic night at Fun Station. We stayed for just over an hour and a half and the kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves and have asked if we can go back another day. I wouldn’t hesitate to take them either. I liked that they could have fun in a clean, safe environment, and I can’t praise the staff highly enough. Each and every one of them were friendly and helpful and even the kids felt they could go and ask them for help if they needed something. Natalie on the door even posed for a photograph with the girls on our way out!

We are all now looking forward to our next trip to Nottingham’s Fun Station, and think we’re going to combine it with a trip to the cinema and a meal at one of the Cornerhouse’s restaurants. I definitely recommend going and checking it out if you’re in the area.

Have you guys ever visited a Fun Station before?
For more information and to find your nearest venue please visit
www.funstationuk.com
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