Challenge

Built on the site of a former attraction, Kidzworld suffered in Cornwall’s Christmas floods of 2010. This served as the motivating factor for embarking on a huge redevelopment program, making it twice the size. The aim was to build a reputation as the “no matter what the weather” family attraction of choice for families with children up to the age of 10–12 years.

With several competing attractions within the immediate area, it was important that Kidzworld not only attracted the holiday market but also the local families who would want to visit time and time again. Kidzworld were keen to create an attraction that did not involve long queue times, so invested heavily in play, as well as retaining other existing fixed leisure attractions such as dodgems, mini golf and super-fast slides.

Solution

Timberplay were called in to look at the outdoor play provision within the Kidzworld site. They worked with the client to develop a long term plan for how the facilities could be enhanced, with different zones throughout the site. The intention was to manage the development program in stages, with further improvement added over time.

‘Smugglers Cove’ is one of the key features within the outdoor space under the huge canopy. This has been constructed undercover so it provides all the fun of the beach regardless of the weather. It is an enormous sand and water play area which includes The Rockpools where children can move water uphill using pumps and channels. The water is sourced using a hand pump, moving through a series of channels to an Archimedes screw, which transports the water uphill before it cascades down a series of stone basins.

A raised timber boardwalk winds through the play area, echoing the seaside theme and linking the play area with the existing crazy golf course. There are also plans to extend this esplanade into Phase 2, linking it to a more extensive water play area.

Alongside Smugglers Cove is the Treetop Scramble, a bespoke playground that challenges visitors to negotiate wobbly walkways, clamber up the rope tunnel to the tree house and take on the 4m tunnel slide.

The multi-level combination of equipment appeals to children up to 12 years old, with younger children being more attracted to the sand and water area and low level elements such as the Beach house on stilts, see saw and jumping discs, and older children embracing the challenge of the tree-top scramble. The entire play area is protected by a bespoke tensile canopy structure.

Phase 2 includes a 4.5m high tree house with steel tunnel slide, linked to the first via elevated walkways, treetop platforms and a floating raft where children can propel themselves across a pool. These products and the landscaping create a playful journey, linking to the indoor play and crazy golf.

Outcome

The statistics on the success of Kidzworld make for impressive reading. The revenue is up by 27%. This is good in itself, but even better when one considers the general decrease in the volume of tourists within the Cornwall area. One major theme park in the area is reported to have had a 20% drop in visitors.

Kidzworld seems to have found a strong fan-base in the all-important local community. Of the 173 local families who completed an online survey, the average number of visits between August to December 2011was 4.5, and 87% of all visitors said that they would be back in 2012. Word of mouth is a key factor in the ongoing success of the project and signs are good with 80% of visitors saying they would recommend Kidzworld to their friends and family.

Most recently, Kidzworld has been voted Best Family Attraction in Cornwall by the readers of Primary Times (Cornwall).