PLEASE NOTE THAT THE OPENING HOURS DETAILED HERE ARE FOR JULY AND AUGUST…read more My family has a love-hate relationship with Waterworld. The kids love it and the husband and I hate it. Honestly, I find it almost physically painful to go there but my children get so much unadulterated pleasure from it that I grit my teeth and go. They don't see the heaving crowds, the film of god knows what on the top of the water and the toddlers with dangerously loose swim nappies. They don't hear the ear splitting noise or feel the cold blasts of cold air. What they see is the large pool with a Jacuzzi along one side, the water slides and best of all the huge pirate ship in the middle of the second pool, complete with water blasters, slides and rope climbs. When I describe it like that I can see why they love it so much. If your kids can swim, they will just love this place. You could still take non swimmers but you'll have to be very vigilant and follow them the whole time as they can go under the pirate ship where the water is about 4 feet deep. If your kids can be left unattended, you can have a rest in one of the Jacuzzis which are for adults only. Tinies can also enjoy the paddling pool. I am a bit of a germ phobe and thought the changing rooms and toilets could have been cleaner on our last 2 visits. Here's my top tip - if you are going during the summer hols, ring ahead and ask if they have a summer scheme booked in that day. If they say yes, then don't go as it will be unbearably busy. Ask which days there are no summer schemes expected and go then instead. You'll spend a couple of hours there so at about £16 for a family of four, it's pretty good value for money and will totally exhaust the kids for the rest of the day.

Waterworld in situated on the Harbour in Portrush and run by Coleraine Borough Council. It provides…read morea greatand safe environment for a day out for all the family with the slides and water fun for the kids and the jacuzzi and sauna for the adults. Just a pity it doesn't offer a bigger swimming area. There is a small cafe with a limited selection but ok for a snack. Children will have a great day out no matter what age they are. You will probably have a bit to walk as parking is not close by.

I can't speak for the tennis courts (maybe one day...), the fitness suite (not a chance) or the…read moreclimbing wall (eeek), but the Ozone laser quest is incredibly fun, and just my sort of thing - no frantic exercise / running, competitive and a heck of a laugh. Recently updated and using the latest laser technology, the Ozone has come on leaps and bounds in recent years. I remember being about ten and being really excited about going to a party here, only to discover that the backpacks weighed an absolute ton and I wasn't going to have as much fun as I initially thought. These days, the packs are much lighter, much more compact and generally easier to use. The last time I was at the Ozone was about a year ago, and there was a quite a big group of us (fifteen or so). We spilt into two teams (you can play this way or individually), girls vs boys, and had a rundown of the game by one of the staff. After this, we selected our packs, which light up either green, blue or red (red and green it was for this game, in order to identify your team members and avoid shooting them), and has a cartoon / superhero / character name which will be used to record your score at the end. It's pretty funny when the most masculine guy in your group gets Barbie. The game lasts half and hour, and the labyrinth comprises of different levels and hiding places. The aim is to shoot your opponents on the back, front, shoulder or gun (the last option is really easier said than done), without getting shot yourself. The stats all appear at the end of the game, so you can see how your shooting was, and how many times you were shot. It's always amusing to see what place everyone came in, and there are definitely a lot of laughs at this stage. At £4.60 per person per game, it's not a bad price for birthday parties / youth events / general banter. Oooh, when can I go again?

This is a top notch establishment boasting a gym, squash and tennis courts, laser quest and a…read moreclimbing wall, not to mention outdoor pitches tennis and basketball courts. My favorite activities of these is the climbing wall. I never knew how much fun and addictive climbing walls could be. A great way to spend an afternoon and is decently priced. The ropes and harness's are provided free of charge. If you don't fancy going so high there are smaller walls with huge safety crash mats were you can learn the ropes!!! (excuse the pun). Another great activity to do here is the laser quest, for young and old I can't think of a funnier thing to do for a birthday or something. Absolutely fantastic.

The activity centre is like a small leisure centre with limited equipment but puts on good sports…read moreand events as well as the the halls being used for other events like collectors fairs . Decent amount of car parking and its Great for children to attend the sports and climbing activities. The two halls are good for sales and fairs with plenty of room for stalls. There's usually a toy collectors fair on once or twice a year .

Ive never been to the swimmers here but i have been at a few kids parties...they do a deal for…read more£68 u get two hours first hour isnin a soft play area were its just ur party no other kids which is great cus u no were everyone is...theres slides a ball pit and loads of other we areas for the kids to play Then the next hour u go upstairs to a room were u have ur party u can bring ur own food which is great means the kids get excatly what they want This is defo worth the money and its that good il b booking my daughters b.day party here

I must start by saying that this review of a leisure centre won't actually cover the fitness…read morefacilities! That's not as odd as it first sounds as there is a fantastic indoor play area in this leisure centre. The whole centre was refurbished last year and so the soft play area is still bright, fresh and new. None of those questionable smells or stains you sometimes see in older play centres. The soft play area was a big hit when we went to birthday party there recently. There are plenty of balls and big squashy things to throw about , loads of space and great equipment right up to the ceiling for climbing, swinging on and generally going mad. There is a member of staff on duty at all times who will step in and firmly but not harshly tell the kids to calm down, there is a seating area within the room for parents too. Party food is delivered to a big party room upstairs which has ride on toys and balls to kick about and again loads of room for the over excited kids. A great play area which is suitable up to the age of about 7. Older kids will dismiss is as too young so little ones only.

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.

Water Park review…read more Getting off the motorway at the right exit (9) is the easy bit, after that you're on your own. You've seen your last sign post, and Google maps thinks it's in the middle of a road. Finally, after getting instructions from a passer by, driving through a sprawling housing estate and then randomly continuing in what you believe to be the direction you came from before it all went belly up, your kid shouts, There it is mum, and right enough, there it is, miles away from the red dot on your iPhone which pretend-signals its location. Cue noise, bright lights, hard plastic and kiddie gambling, as you pass through the obligatory games arcade to get to the reception. The value isn't bad at 11 euros a whack, and you're in. The kids can not wait to launch themselves at it and in haste you stuff things into a locker, then a second one which, after you complete a complicated act of stuff-Houdini, finally accepts it all. It's at that point you realise it's broken - that's why it was free, silly - and you have go through it all again, having released your kids with instructions to stay in the shallow end. You soon realise your depth concerns are unfounded. For Funtasia Water Park boasts among its many features no pool area. Instead, there is any number of places in which to stand, generally under dripping cold water which launches itself at you from every direction, whether through buckets which fill above your head to tipping point every ten or so seconds, to kids with spray guns, who have an unerring nose for the newcomer, and excellent aim. You tell yourself you will acclimatise, but there being no place in which to submerge yourself in water makes this tricky. You stand in a line for 20 minutes for a kid to climb into a hamster ball. Cold air seems to be being blown at you from vents whose source you can't see, and which doesn't abate regardless of where you move. Why is everyone else not shivering, like you? It's finally your kid's turn and it's great. She wants to do it again. To your surprise, you do slowly acclimatise. The three kids you brought are now queuing for the hamster ball. The craic is ninety. You wish you had the nerve to try it yourself - aside from anything else, it looks like the only place that might actually offer a scintilla of warmth - but you're aware your dignity is already dangerously compromised, and anyhow, the kids would surely desert you, and then you'd just be a lone, bewildered adult in a hamster ball. You stare out the giant wall of windows to the vista beyond: a grey industrial estate engulfed in a Drogheda day. Say no more. You look for a clock. You find lots of plastic/cartoon pirates, ugly bloke ones and sexy girl ones. You wonder vaguely about equality, feminism, how far we've really come. You soon stop. You throw yourselves down a few slides. They're great fun, even if you still feel cold every time you stand up. So you keep throwing yourself down them. You spot the bigger slides on the other side. It takes ten minutes to find your way through the unsignposted maze, over to where they are. There's two of them, one scary/fun looking, one just scary. You stand in a long queue and wonder why people keep running past you to the top. You order the kids to stay put and walk to the top and ask the girl. She explains that they are going to the scary slide, for which there isn't a queue, but agrees there's no way of knowing that unless you already know it. She agrees that the so-subtle-it-defies-belief colour code just doesn't cut it - she's tried telling them. She's nice. You feel forgiving. You go back and continue queuing. You finally get launched into a slidey thing straight from the set of Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. It's great craic. And, yes!, at the end you find yourself submerged in a pool. You swim around for a minute. It's possible you may even get vaguely warm. The bloke orders you out. Being over 18 is great - you get to go in the Jacuzzi. You put the 12-year-old in charge and in you walk. Blessed warmth. By the time you heave yourself back out everyone is agreed it's time to go, but not before a last go on the Willy Wonka. You scream in momentary delight as you land into the pool that isn't a pool. Out of there fast enough you can not get, but not before shedding 50c for a go of an as-good-as-useless hairdryer that lasts all of around a minute. Four dripping heads make for the exit. You note, as you have noted throughout, that the kids are having a great time, and that's why you are here. You console yourself with the fact that you have atoned for all your prior sins of parenthood just by bringing them here, by enduring it. You all eat some fast food and you gain some atonement credit by allowing them slushies. Phrases like, In for a penny, float across your mind. You stop at gambling and hit the road. On the way home, the kids lament the lack of a pool. More than once. You're glad to arrive home. Your first act is to light the fire.

I have to say I expected more from this place I had a very different vision of this place…read more Okay so it has a "watermark" it's all shallow water with falling water buckets and water shoots and full of slides and fun. It was great fun but I think a little dangers too the water is very shallow so gives people the false security that kids will be al good but drowning can eaily happen in shallow water especially with the type of fun that happens here. I was with a young toddler and a teen so obviously didnt leave them alone but see many kids who were running freely. Maybe I'm a worrier but it never left me. It was reasonably priced and did have combined activity tickets. Small bowling alley small fun and good price Fun place indoor play ground type clean and great for little kids Arcades absolutely rigged and really old the teddy machines and the crabs did not close proper Indoor zip line and bungee for young teens Over all 3 stars just because it needs to be updated and the arcade area is pure robbery. The staff who work here are very friendly and patient!!

Well, I wouldn't exactly call this an amusement park, but it was the closest label available, so…read morewe'll go with it. Bangor has had a funfair for as long as I can remember, although it was always located in Castle Park (which, in my mind, was a far better place, but what do I know?) and was continuously brimming with people. This newest version of the fair is now situated along Bangor seafront, and is a great deal smaller and less interesting than the previous fairs over the years. My two siblings and I had visited last year during the summer, so my me and my sister decided to relive the 'fun' we'd had that day, seeing as it was such a beautiful sunny day. Our first choice was the 'big wheel', from which we had spectacular views, and got a tad windswept. Not too bad, and it was only £1.50 each for numerous spins (not literal spins...but you know what I mean). The second ride of choice was a giant swingy thing (yes, my descriptions are impeccable), which provided so much windswept-ness that my eyes began running frantically. It was slightly more expensive at £2 each. The other rides consist of a few kiddies ones, a little roller-coaster, Mad Mouse (one of those spinney roller coasters...and I mean literally spinney this time) and dodgems. There are few fair games and eating huts, but apart from that, there's not a whole lot to it. Plus it wasn't even that busy when we were down on the Bank Holiday Monday. It's certainly not Alton Towers, that's for sure...

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!

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!