The Gruffalo & Friends Clubhouse

Reviews

• JP

  Jennifer Payne

  1 day ago
  4.0
  We had a wonderful time at thw Gruffalo clubhouse. We got a wristband on arrival and was allocated a time slot. Upon entering, we were greeted by staff who explained the play area. There were 2 soft plays, a ball pool, one large play area, a toddler area and a sensory room. There were also a small show area and a section for photo opportunities. Plenty of seating throughout the clubhouse as well as toilets/cafe. At the end of our play session, we were notified twice over the tannoy that our colour wristband time slot was due to finish and then over. Our children had a wonderful experience here and thoroughly enjoyed seeing the JD books come to life. My only suggestion would be to incorporate more of the other books - if possible! My son kept asking where Tiddler was!
• VC

  Vikki Connell

  Aug 14, 2026
  5.0
  Excellent experience from beginning to end. Our son is now 6 and I thought he had outgrown the Julia Donaldson world, but we came to Blackpool for the day and walked past, and he wanted to go in! It was about £20 for 2 adults and 1 child (about £10 for a child and £5 per adult) - do check out kids pass or blue light card for discounts if you book in advance. The staff were so friendly and child focused. The soft play area itself was absolutely stunning. There is music in each area was curated to match the book. There is a main 'deep dark wood' area from the gruffalo, a 'snail and the whale' ball pit, a baby and toddlers 'room on the broom' soft play area, a 'Zog' dragon school area and a sensory area. They were absolutely beautifully put together with scenery from floor to ceiling. There was also characters from various books dotted around the area. There is a Costa cafe area with reasonable prices, including a meal deal of a sandwich, drink and crisps for just under £8. The food and drinks were good. There is plenty of seating in the form of comfortable bucket seats, which was lovely as an adult attending the soft play! Every 30 minutes, the staff are doing activities like 'find the animal' where they walk around looking for the characters, dance parties and more. They also have character meet and greets. We met the gruffalo, the mouse, stick man and the witch. Our son was so excited to meet them! You can take your own photos, but you also get a slip with a barcode on it, and you can print the photos on the way out (we didn't do this so I don't know how much they were). The bathrooms were clean and tidy, and there were even kids toilet seats built into all of the women's toilets so the children can sit comfortably. There was also an accessible toilet/ baby change room. You are given a wrist band on entry and they announce when the session for that band is over. We got about an hour and a half in total, which was just right. There is a lovely gift shop on the way out that is decorates to theme again, and you can buy every character from the Julia Donaldson books. Soft toys ranged from £10-£40 on average. Overall, we had a wonderful experience all around, and we will be visiting again.
• XX

  Xu

  Aug 8, 2026
  5.0
  SO AMAZING! It’s set out beautifully - cafe, meet and greet, dance party area, witch, woods and dragon soft play. Lighting is so beautiful, it’s clean, staff keep on top of everything. It’s so organised with all the events running seamlessly even a fun ‘find the gold balls’ in the play area. The staff are amazing and go above and beyond. My daughter adores witch and was dressed as her, the staff took the time to make sure witch came out for the meet and greet in our slot and let us know what time. The characters are brilliant and attentive and so on point to their personality!! We are so grateful to all the attentive caring staff. Even down to choosing the photos and the gift shop area, all the staff are so kind and accommodating. We had a fantastic time and will be back. For such a reasonable price too, highly highly recommend!! No complaints at all. Also we arrived late but they were able to accommodate us at the next time slot available. Thank you so so much everyone at the gruffalo and friends clubhouse!!!
• MF

  Michial Flint

  Aug 8, 2026
  4.0
  We visited the The Gruffalo & Friends Clubhouse and it was a good edition to our trip. Good value for money, especially compared to other attractions nearby. There’s loads going on for the kids — constant character meet and greets, little shows, and activities to keep them entertained rather than just running around. The soft play is alright, although not huge. The staff were all genuinely friendly and great with the children, which made a big difference. It does get very busy, and it was quite hard to find a table, so that’s something to be aware of. The soft play itself isn’t massive either, but because there’s always something happening (meet and greets, story time, etc.). The baby play and sensory room are more of a token gesture rather than being a key feature. Nothing to write home about, more just a place for babies to roam out the way of all the other kids chaos. Overall, a good experience for younger kids and definitely worth a visit 👍
• KB

  Kimberley Beddall

  Jul 28, 2026
  2.0
  As a whole it’s a lovely play area.. however, I attended with my three children 2, 5 and 12. Within 10 minutes of being here my 2 year old was pushed down a set of steps on one of the areas by a group of children (right in front of me), no parents in sight! Which then made him super cautious for the rest of the time we spent here. Whilst I understand that’s not necessarily the playhouses fault it was still an issue. My 5 year old is non verbal autistic, he loves soft play type environments and was really enjoying himself, our main reason for the visit was for him to meet the gruffalo, as this is his favourite character and a high interest of his. We were unable to Que in the line to see him without him becoming super distressed (the same as anywhere we go) and was told we could see him when the Que had gone after speaking to one of the team. I then noticed that they had put a rope up at the back of the Que and went and spoke to the team member who was stood there and explained, she very quickly told me ‘sorry we can’t do that the gruffalo has been out too long’ bare in mind each meet and greet takes around 30 seconds it really wouldn’t have done a great deal of harm to allow this. I told her it’s not an inclusive environment to which she just said there was nothing she would do. I feel really disappointed, we had to leave after this as my son got extremely distressed after I told him (because I was also told this) he could see the gruffalo when he now Infact couldn’t, all in all we was only here for 40 minutes and I had to try and explain to a child who has no understanding why he couldn’t meet the gruffalo and everyone else did. We are not local to the area and the visit into Blackpool was to come here, so all in all was a wasted journey. Not to mention a waste of money as we then couldn’t enjoy the rest of the session. I did fill in a form on the screen by the exit, and put in my details to be contacted about this. But still have heard nothing, which has now prompted this review. I’ve given the 2* based on the actual play area being clean and a range of things to do, however I can’t help but feel myself and my son was let down by the miscommunication which resulted in us having to leave and a very upset little boy who just did not understand.