The brand new Adventure Play at Windsor Great Park is open for summer 2023 and I’ve paid a visit with my two kids aged six and eight.
The price – coming in at over £50 for a family of four – may have you questioning whether this attraction is worth it.
So my honest Windsor Great Park Adventure Play review is here to give you the lowdown on what’s actually there and what your trip will be like.
This outdoor playground is packed with slides, tunnels, bridges, play cabins and more. Let’s take a closer look at what’s there,
Quick Adventure Play at Windsor Great Park review
The new Adventure Play at Windsor Great Park is an incredible adventure through nature for kids.
I would say the age range that will get the most out of it would be toddlers to age 11.
Teens probably won’t be that interested for the full two hours, but younger kids will quite happily fill that time as there is so much to see and do.
You may find the price tag hard to swallow, and it may not be a weekly trip for you, but it is a fabulous trip out that they will love.
How much is Adventure Play?
Adventure Play at Windsor Great Park costs £16 per child over 2 and £12 per accompanying adult over 18. Kids under 2 can enter free of charge.
I must admit when I first saw the ticket price I was a little shocked. It cost me £44 to go with the kids for our visit and I think that’s an expensive two hours of entertainment.
It’s about the same price as a trip to Coral Reef in Bracknell, so I can see that the people at Windsor Great Park probably feel they’ve priced it comparatively to other family attractions.
Before we visited I was thinking “it’s literally just a playground”, but to be fair now that I’ve seen the actual space it is an incredible trip out for kids, well beyond your normal kids play area.
While we won’t rush back to Adventure Play on a weekly basis, I can certainly see us popping over there every other month.
Combine it with a picnic at Windsor Great Park so you spend the full day there and the price is a little easier to swallow.
What’s Adventure Play like?
The new Adventure Play at Windsor Great Park is actual child heaven, filled with spiralling staircases, cosy nooks, play shops, slides of all sizes, bridges, tunnels to hidden places and more.
I had seen pictures online before our visit but that really didn’t prepare me for the scale of the actual playground.
When you enter you first see the astroturf covered area that is well suited for toddlers and pre-schoolers. Babies may also enjoy having a crawl around this area and there’s a tiny slide here.
Then you venture further in, through the leaf-shaped wobbling platforms and arched tunnel to see it goes on and on.
Every time I thought I had reached the end of Adventure Play it kept going further. There are dozens of little wooden cabins, some with just the one floor, others going up three floors.
Many of these cabins are linked by walkways, tunnels, rope bridges and slides.
A couple of the cabins are set up as shops – there’s a cafe and Post Office, both with tills that kids can pretend to man and serve people at the counter.
There’s also a zip wire for kids aged five and under, with an easy to use seat.
Exploring the whole play area is a real feast for the senses. One of my favourite areas that you could tell everyone loved was a darkened room where flowers, leaves and creatures like squirrels are projected onto the floor.
The image moves, and when you walk through it it’s as if you are kicking up the leaves yourself. It really is very cool.
There’s a quiet room with a thick, heavy curtain in one corner of Adventure Play, perfect for kids needing to get away from the hustle and bustle, or just to imagine themselves hiding out in their own castle.
There’s a giant red net suspended on the first floor towards the back of Adventure play that kids to bounce, roll and balance to cross.
Little animal and nature sculptures – acorns, seeds, squirrels, mice – peak out at kids all over the play area.
Some slides are small and quick, others are long, winding and super quick!
What did my kids think of Adventure Play
My children were blown away the second they entered the play area and were off exploring within seconds.
My daughters are aged six and eight, and I would say this playground was absolutely amazing for them. They could access every part of it without any assistance from me.
Toddlers will love it too. But they’ll need help climbing in some places.
I think the Adventure Play designers created it with the smaller play equipment closest to the entrance and cafe, for younger kids, then as you go further into the playground it gets more suited for older kids.
There are signs with a mouse, squirrel or owl dotted all over the play area which show you the level of difficulty of the play equipment – mouse is for little crawlers and toddlers, squirrel for bigger ones and owl for the most confident kids.
Windsor Great Park hasn’t set age limits with these signs – they want the whole play area to be for all ages which it is. But generally speaking a child of age six and over will be able to go all around the playground without much help.
My biggest criticism, apart from the price, is that you will likely lose a child in Adventure Play. It’s huge, the many cabins set over several floors mean you don’t have full visibility of every inch and your kids will get so excited they will just go.
So my advice is to designate a spot where you are waiting for them and go around the whole area with them first so they know their way back to you. If you are an adult accompanying more than one child on your own then you may struggle to keep all of them together.
I lost my littlest one for a good 20 minutes – I still have no clue where she was hiding amidst the tunnels and cabins. There’s only one exit out and it is manned by reception staff, so at least you know they cannot wander off to the car park without you.
Need to knows
- Play lasts for two hours
- Car parking is free with paid entry to Adventure Play.
- Kids and adults can navigate the difficulty of play equipment with the mouse, squirrel, and owl symbols dotted around the park. Mouse is for little ones, squirrel for older kids with more confidence and owl for those who are totally confident (probably age six and over).
- Booking is sensible – we booked the night before we visited and there were spaces available in other time slots when we were there but best to plan ahead
- First session of the day is at 9.15am
- Play continues in the rain – we visited when it had been raining and there were plenty of spots to duck out of the rain.
- Adventure Play entry tickets do not get you entry to Savill Garden as well.
- One adult is required to supervise every four children.
- No picnics allowed at Adventure Play – the cafe sells some food and snacks.
- There’s limited space to store buggies – visitors are asked to leave buggies with their car where possible.
How to access Adventure Play at Windsor Great Park
Adventure Play is located next to Savill Garden and is accessed via the same gift shop and cafe area off the main Savill Garden car park.
Use this address when travelling:
The Savill Garden Visitor Centre, Wick Lane, Englefield Green, TW20 0UJ
Once you exit the doors of the gift shop, turn left and you’ll see the pathway leading to the Adventure Play (it’s very well sign posted).
You then show your e-ticket or printed ticket to a member of staff at Adventure Play reception.
TOP TIP: Don’t forget to ask staff to validate your parking! Parking is included in your Adventure Play entry ticket.
What facilities are at Adventure Play?
Here’s some useful info about the facilities and accessibility of Adventure Play:
- Toilets and baby change
- Cafe with a decent amount of seating indoors and outdoors looking over the play area selling sandwiches, ice creams and drinks.
- Benches dotted around Adventure Play for seating
- Access to the playground is suitable for wheelchair users.
- There is some play equipment that is suitable for wheelchair users.
- Ramp access to most areas of the playground – some parts are accessed by spiral staircases, narrow rope bridges and climbing walls.
- Free entry for carers.
Final verdict on Windsor Great Park Adventure Play
The sheer volume of slides, little corners to explore, tunnels, bridges, cool sculptures and nature features to check out make it an amazing trip.
The look of the whole playground is pretty special – most definitely inspired by nature with so many cool animal sculptures, bug hotels and fun woodland-inspired features to check out.
Although your tickets are expensive, your parking is included in the ticket price (get your ticket validated at Adventure Play reception), and you can stay at Windsor Great Park for a full day once your Adventure Play session is over.
We will most definitely be going back.
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