Pickie Park is worth a trip to Bangor for sure. There's so much to do that you can easily spend a…read morewhole afternoon here, but be warned - you will need to have quite deep pockets. The play park itself is free. It's huge and very well equipped with some great slides, climbing frames etc, but lots of them are quite high so you will need to keep a close eye on young kids. The paddling pool is also free and on a hot day, kids have a ball jumping in and out, some of them in their underwear in true Belfast tradition. So all of that you can do without parting with any cash. Then there are the attractions which you have to pay for - the Pickie Puffer mini train, the swan boats on the other bigger pool, and the bouncy castles and go karts. They are all great fun but if you have 2 or3 kids all wanting to go on everything, you'll soon go through £30, especially if you go into the café for ice cream or drinks. You could go for a walk around the marina looking at the fab cabin cruisers or out along the coastal path instead to keep costs down but probably best to set expectations before you go.

Love Pickie, it's a real staple of the seafront of what is still technically a seaside town despite…read morethe fact that it pretty much in no other way tries to capitalise on this. With the former seafront now capitalized by the marina for private pleasure craft there is little else to attract the public to what should be a main feature of the town. Pickie has been around in 1 form or another for generations with the latest incarnation being the most full featured. With the pedal boat swans, remote control boats in the pond, powered bumper boats for younger kids, a café, miniature railway, splash water park (very much Summer only) and the playground, crazy golf and a few other attraction besides there is plenty to do here in most weather conditions for most families. Prices aren't bad and what can be compared such the food, are generally on a par with cafes in the town, although the quality has more of a processed feel than what you might get elsewhere, but it isn't too bad. The prices for the other activities aren't too bad. For example to take the pedal swans out was about £4/£5, which was OK given that you can stay on them as long as you want, although I'm not sure of that's the same at busier times as it was very quiet when we were there. The one and only thing I would say about it which is negative is that it can feel a little bit grubby or run down from time to time, nothing closing for a day and giving it a good scrub wouldn't sort, but it's just enough that I notice it. All in all you'd have to be in a pretty bad mood not to enjoy it.

This was a regular haunt for me when I was around 15 or 16 and is probably the reason I have a…read moreslight penchant for the old gambling machines from time to time. There used to be pool tables that my friends and I would monopolise after school, these have since been removed which has turned this place into more of a gambling den, which is probably why I'm not in here that much anymore. There is a wide selection of machines from high stakes to lower stakes but all of them are pretty standard. The staff are friendly and are always on hand to make you a cuppa or a toastie if you are staying for any sustained period of time. Pretty standard, I just wish they still had the pool tables.

I attentended my daughters class mates 5th birthday party at World of Wonder (WOW) this morning…read more WOW opened before Christmas and was the idea of the owners of the Loughshore Hotel. It's a big indoor soft play area which has four private party rooms and different packages for parties as well as single use entry fees. It can accommodate upto 200 kids and adults with ample seating and eating facilities. It's also in a prime location. After the kids played the cake was cut and the kids were ready for cocktail sausages, fresh chicken nuggets, chips, sandwiches, pizza and crisps, with water and juice to wash it down. I would have liked to have seen some fruit and carrot sticks also. That being said both kids and adults were well satisfied-it would be great if there was something like this for adults only!!!!

If you enjoy a wee gamble and a wee go on the gambling machines then you have probably called in…read morehere but to be honest it isn't the best. The machines are all quite old and there aren't the higher stakes machines that a lot of people are looking for. The arcade itself is always a bit dingy and never all that clean. The staff are never really that helpful and there isn't the same friendly atmposphere as there is in the likes of the Twilight Zone. Its location just beside the bus stop is handy enough but if you are going to gamble in a place like this you can probably do with giving it a miss.

I dont gamble much (apart from the weekly horse bet lol) but when ever iam in town comming home…read morefrom a night out i just see the twilight zone sigh and i just feel the urge to spend whatever change i have in my pocket it really is a top notch establishment with all the latest machines!

Super, fantastic, joy, flashing lights, epileptic no go zone, noise, screaming kids, sirens, bandit…read moreland! This place really is an absolute joy if you are six years old but if you are any older and respect your sanity and ears then I would probably avoid it. Full of tuppeny nudgers, 10p a spin bandits and teddy bear scams I can not imagine that this is a land of fun for many parents. Sure if you have a jar of coppers and want to get rid of hem then head down to Funland. Despite my criticism of Funland, I do not think a visit to the seaside is complete without a popping in to Funland and squandering some money. You might even win a soft toy that will fall apart before you make it home. These seem to be a must for British seaside towns and Newcastle County Down is full of these types of arcades. Funland is a bout the best of a bad bunch as it has a wider variety of games and arcades. This place serves its purpose on a summers day of keeping the kids and local scallywags away from the mountains and Beach and gifting parents and the older generation some peace and quite. If you read this you would think I was 53 not 23 but I am old at heart!

This is another one of Northern Irelands hidden treasures, I know it is a bit of a cliché but this…read moreminiature railway will have small children and grown up Thomas the Tank Engine fans mesmerized. The railway operates steam, petrol, hydraulic and diesel locomotives on the longest miniture railway track in Ireland. The ride itself is around 12 minutes long but you could easily spend a day at Drumawhey miniature railway marvelling at the engineering. The railway line includes a station, signal cabin, engine shed, steep gradients, rail crossing and two bridges, it is just like the island of Sodor where Thomas hales from. This is a great day out for youngsters and older railway enthusiasts. The location of the miniature railway is not very well advertised and it as if they want to keep the place hidden for fear of it getting overcrowded. Because I assure you this place could attract visitors all year round. It is cheap as well at only £2.50 for adults and 50p less for kids you will not break the bank on this day trip. There are no real facilities to talk of at the railway apart from a burger van. A sit down café would go down a storm and with a little bit of investment this place could become as big as Kings Cross. The only real trouble with the Miniature railway is that its opening hours are very erratic and it is difficult to know if you will turn up at the gates and the site will be closed. I would advise potential visitors to call ahead.

Suitable for kids of all ages... Even 50 year olds. I have photos to prove it…read more We visited we are vertigo for a friends 30th Birthday. We didn't really know what to expect, but gave it a bash anyways. The place is designed for kids but if you are a big kid you can have fun. The trampolines are good fun, it does get a bit boring after a while, so make sure you try the dodge ball & other activities. There is also in door skiing although this is pretty much a giant treadmill but it looks pretty cool. There is also an indoor adventure for actual kids but it looks like you could let your children run about here for hours. Overall it was a great day out, and perfect for the family. So you should check this place out just for a bit of fun. Price wise it is a bit expensive, but this is a unique place to hang out over the holidays.

If you're thinking of going to We are Vertigo I would buy a Sat Nav first because it's a nightmare…read moreto find, it's terribly sign posted and if I was in charge that's the first thing I would address, literally! Myself and 3 others visited We Are Vertigo 4 days after it opened, we weren't really sure what to expect and before we arrived we questioned how trampolines could keep us entertained for an hour? They ask you to book online and arrive 30 minutes before but this isn't really necessary - the safety briefing last about 5 minutes and getting ready for action (they give you special socks with rubber grips on them) only adds another 5 - there's a coffee shop and soft, not bouncy, seating and a few air hockey tables etc to keep you entertained for the other 20 minutes but to be honest if you got there 15 minutes before your booked time that would be plenty. Set up in what is essentially a warehouse it can be pretty cold if you are waiting around so I would suggest bringing an extra layer. Once you get bouncing you can shed your clothes as it gets sweaty pretty quickly. The trampolines are split into sections all manned by staff who make sure you're not getting over confident like I was. There's a dodgeball zone, a balance beam that you duel on, think Gladiators circa 1995, basketball hoops you can practice your slam dunks on and some extra springy professional trampolines. At first we weren't really sure what to do other than bounce up and down but then we found the dodgeball court and a group of guys willing to battle us and that quickly passed time. We then spent the rest of our time at the basketball courts doing impressions of Michael Jordan and on the balance beam battling each other. At £12 it was pretty good value and we definitely made the most of our hour. I think if you are in a smaller group like we were an hour is just about enough time to enjoy all the facilities and work up a sweat but I think if you were in a big group you would need 2 hours. This place would be ideal for a stag, hen or birthday party and it definitely offers something different. The staff are all really out going and will get involved in banter, we even got one of the girls to referee our Dodgeball game, there were a few dodgy calls but I will let her off! All in all this is a really welcome addiction to Belfast's activity scene - make sure you wear comfortable clothing, the less zips and buttons the better.

I struggled a bit on what review to give this one. I have my childhood memories of Barry's and a…read moretrip here was the ultimate treat! I absolutely loved it and had so much fun, and we used to spend hours here! I went again as an adult and was distinctly underwhelmed. It was exactly as I'd remembered it from all those years before. Nothing had changed, except the place was massively smaller than I'd remembered. Barry's, however, is aimed at children, and the fun I had all those years ago was the main thing, along with the fun I could see all the young ones having on my visit. They do have some rides that adults can enjoy, such as the big dipper! All the rides are payable using tokens (which can be bought from kiosks inside the building) but make sure you bring some money for the cafe!

Barry's was literally my favourite place in the world as a child. To somebody from England, it…read morelooks like a dodgy fair. But to us, it was Disney World. This place literally hasn't changed in 30 years. It's still great fun. I highly recommend for any families in the area. Afterwards you can pop down to the beach.