Hsinchu, Fantasy Island Discovery Paradise 奇幻島探索樂園

"Rope maze"

an employee helping my son with the slide

Location: inside Big City Mall, 7th floor. google map to Big City
Pros: clean, supervision by on site employees, good for rainy days
Cons: no parent seating available, a bit pricey for what it is. *they require you to have non-slip socks to play, which can be purchased at $30 each. (a totally ridiculous policy)
Age: no age limit, but I would suggest parents go in with kids under 5. (unless you have older siblings to watch them)

There are two parts to this facility: the "Rope Maze" and the "Discovery Zone" (that's my literal translation, maybe they have an actual English name?? :)). You have to buy tickets to each separately,  which I believe is $499 for each ticket and it gives you 3 hours. 3 hours is A LONG TIME.....my boys were done with it within an hr and a half. But I guess some parents are comfortable enough to leave their older children here for three hours while they go shopping somewhere else in the mall.

I would not recommend the Discovery zone, because your kid will have to wear a helmet/vest and be strapped on to a safety chord while walking on the beams. It might be worth it to try it once, but I definitely prefer my kids to run around freely.

Taichung, Dough 動手玩金典店

work space

Menu

refrigerated ingredients

dry ingredients

Location: Jin Diang Mall google map location (金典綠園道)

Pros: baking without the mess at your home!

Cons: takes min. one hour

This is a cute concept, and I can see why it works here in Asia - not everyone has an oven at home here! So if you do not have an oven at home and you want the baking experience with your kiddos, I'd definitely recommend this place. Generally you have to make a reservation, and the cost depends on what item you choose from the menu (from the cheapest madeleines for $260 to cakes over $600). There is plenty of work space, and even on a weekend afternoon it wasn't super crowded. You will get an iPad that has the recipe and a video clip for you to follow. You basically do everything on your own - from measuring the ingredients to washing the mixing bowls. When you're done, they will give you a nice little box/plastic bag to put in your cake/cookies. 

Hsinchu, Kidsburgh - Dorothy's Home 騎士堡- 桃樂絲的家

Location: The building next to Big City/SOGO (2F)  google map location

** can be tricky to find. If you park at Big City, you would have to go across the skybridge on the 3rd floor of SOGO, and take the elevator to get to the 2nd floor to the entrance.

Pros: clean, many employees around to supervise/help
Cons: smaller than the Taipei Kidsburgh. one-time tickets are pricy.

First off, let's talk about the ticket price. An one-time ticket for ages 1 and up is a whopping NT$750, and NT$150 for each accompanying parent!! (If your child is under 3, one parent may enter for free) I would definitely recommend buying the package, you can look at the prices here. There are many different options, so make sure you do the math! :)

Anyways, we went on a Saturday morning at 11am (when it opens), and surprisingly it was not crowded at all!! My plan was to stay for an hour, eat lunch, and then come back to play some more (we had until 2:30pm to come back), but they were having so much fun that we ended up leaving at around 1pm to eat lunch!

Below is the list of different areas in the facility:

Toddler Area (a smaller ball pit, some puzzles and games on the wall)
Pretend Play area (lots of girls were there, my boys did not go in AT ALL)
Room with a doll house and a play kitchen (toddler friendly)
Train table
Fishing area
Car riding room
Cannon foam ball area (my boys spent 90% the time there)
Huge ball pit with slides (connected to cannon ball area)
Blue giant foam blocks area
Balloon area

Taoyuan, Gloria Outlets 華泰名店城

Location: google map location HSR Taoyuan station exit 7. Playground is located on the 2nd floor by the food court.

Pros: cool park, clean restrooms, lockers, food court

Cons: don't come here to shop

The outlet is super easy to get to by HSR. Once you exit, you will just have to cross a street to get to the outlet. Taoyuan HSR also has 爭鮮迴轉壽司 (Sushi Express) and 一風堂拉麵 (Ippudo Ramen) if you plan on eating at the HSR station.

The shopping is not much, prices weren't exactly "outlet-like." But on a Thursday it was pretty empty and would make a great place for toddlers and preschoolers to run around without bothering anybody. The playground is on the 2nd floor by the food court. It has a lot of climbing area, suitable for age 3 and up. Toddlers will need some assistance playing on this structure. There is a restroom right by the playground.

The food court has many options - we had the ramen and Subway!!! (Yes we get excited easily these days. Seeing a Subway is quite exciting.) There are high chairs available, and everything was super clean.