Zip World Manchester
Treetop nets, high ropes and forest tubing in the woods of Heaton Park, and it is outdoors, not indoors. The cheap one is Treetot Nets: an hour bouncing on nets in the trees for ages 1 to 5, from £5, with a grown-up joining in.
Immersive Gamebox, Manchester Arndale
- Cost
- Price not listed, only at booking
- Ages
- 3 to 14
- Where
- Manchester, Greater Manchester
- Weather
- Works in the rain
- Booking
- Book online
Immersive Gamebox is a set of private rooms at Halle Place in the Arndale where the walls are projection screens and the game tracks where you move. Everyone wears a light visor like a cap, and the games react to movement and touch. Each room holds up to six players and you are never put in with strangers, which matters if you have a shy one. Games run 30 or 60 minutes.
Age is the thing to get right. Paw Patrol is the pick for three-year-olds. Angry Birds and the Junior Bundle are pitched at fives and up, Floor Is Lava and Temple of Coins are 30-minute games the venue tags as family picks, most of the rest are 8 and up, and Squid Game is 12 and up. Under-12s need an adult with them for the whole game. Junior tickets cover ages 3 to 11.
Prices are not on the venue page. They are per person, per game, and climb at weekends, in school holidays and on busy evenings. Walk-ins are accepted but the rooms fill, so book. It opens 11am to 8pm Monday to Thursday, 11am to 9pm Friday, 10am to 10pm Saturday and noon to 7pm Sunday. There is no food on a standard booking, only drinks, so eat elsewhere in the Arndale first.
What it costs: Priced per person, per game, and the price rises at peak times (weekends, school holidays, busy evenings). Junior tickets cover ages 3 to 11, general admission is 12 and up. Amounts only appear in the booking system.
Know before you go
- Tickets can be moved up to 48 hours ahead but are not refundable, so only book once the plan is firm.
- Wear trainers or flat shoes and one layer, because players get warm.
- The projections flicker, so check with the venue first if anyone in the group is photosensitive.
Worth knowing: Paw Patrol from 3, most games 8+.
Looking for more adventure & rides near Manchester?
Sending it to the group chat?
What visitors say
★★★★★ 4.9 across 8,145 Google reviews.
Read all 8,145 reviews on Google - filter by star rating thereAlso in Manchester
Science and Industry Museum
Working steam engines, the story of Cottonopolis, and hands-on galleries in the world's oldest surviving passenger railway station. Free, and the live demonstrations are the bit kids actually remember.
Manchester Museum
A T. rex skeleton cast, live frogs in the vivarium, Egyptian mummies and a genuinely good natural history floor. Free, university-run, and less overwhelming than the big London equivalents.
National Football Museum
Shirts, trophies and match footage across four gallery floors, with a penalty shootout and skills games that football-mad kids refuse to leave. If yours do not care about football, skip it: it is exactly what it says.
Runway Visitor Park
Watch jets take off close enough to feel them, with Concorde parked by the fence. Free in, pay for parking, and there is a play area and cafe for the wait between planes.
Heaton Park
One of the biggest municipal parks in Europe: a free animal centre, a boating lake, playgrounds and enough space to lose a whole day in. You will not do all of it in one visit.
What’s on near you, every Friday
One email a week: what is on this weekend within a sensible drive, and the places worth booking before they go.