Miaoli, Shangrila Paradise 香格里拉樂園

(I apologize for the weird picture layout. I'm not sure how to fix it ;(...)

I'm not sure what happened to the "M"in Miaoli...and FN??

Entrance

Location: google map location

Website: Shangri-La Paradise

Price: $500/adult, $280/children between 3-12, FREE for children under 3 (might be able to find cheaper tickets on external sites)

Pros: big open spaces, clean, inexpensive

Cons: rides and attractions are pretty old.

We got tickets from Gomaji for $249/person, so for our family of 5 it was $1245. For this price, I'd definitely recommend coming here to try it out! We followed the google map direction and got here no problem, it was easy to find. I love that it's sort of in the mountains, so you definitely get that out-of-the-city feel. (Make sure to bring mosquito repellent!!) 

Restrooms- they are located everywhere - they are clean, and with toilet paper!! That's sort of rare here in Taiwan, so bonus points there. 

Food - No restriction on bring outside food, and it's actually a great place for a picnic. There is a restaurant right when you walk through the entrance hall, but we didn't eat there so I'm not sure about the quality. There is also three snack bars located in the park: one by the basketball court, one by the net playground, and one in the Hakka building. By the look of them, I would recommend going to the one by the playground since it looked the cleanest. I ordered a coffee from there and it was pretty good.

Rides: 1.Spinning around thing (looks extremely old and we didn't want to risk our lives)

           2. Merry-go-around (creaky, slow, and old...but my 4 yr old rode on it 3 times)

           3. Bumper cars (old, foam was exposed on the seats. miraculously it works)

           4. Clowns on clouds (medium paced & relaxing....other than the fact that it's clowns on clouds)

           5. Bumper boats (BEST attraction in this park, we can do this all day)

           6. Blizzard (looks questionable...but hubby took the older two to try it before I could object)

           7. Train (slow, but my 4&6 yr olds liked it)

"net playground"

some kind of rocket ship looking thing that you can climb in

I was totally pleasantly surprised by this snack bar.

Price is decent and they have a legit coffee machine!

clowns on clouds....straight out of a horror movie

creepy snow white and dwarfs

ride at your own risk

Hakka structure, you can feed the fish nearby

first ride

playground

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. 

Taipei, Daan Forest Park 大安森林公園

Location:google map location

Pros: sand pit, metal cube climbers, swings, skating rink, large playground structure

Cons: not easy for parents to watch multiple children

It's a beautiful park, and east to get to by MRT (red line, Daan Park station) and bus. It is always busy on the weekends. If you have only one child to watch, this is a great park to explore. If you are like me with THREE......make sure you are not going there solo with all your kids. Even with my hubby and the grandparents around, I still get nervous at this park because it is so big, and there are so many people around. It is easy to lose sight of your kids. And if you have multiple children..you would know....they NEVER go the same direction.

Taipei, LanYu #1 Park 蘭與一號公園

Location: google map location, intersection of Zhongshan N. Rd & Shidong Rd.
Closest MRT station: Red line Zhishan Station (5-10min walk)
Pros: it looks cool - space themed.
Cons: no bathrooms on site

We have not yet actually played on this structure, but we walked by after brunch one day and the boys wants to come back when it's not raining. Being in the TAS neighborhood, there are a lot of American restaurants here that you can go before or after coming to this park.

*a short side review for the american brunch restaurant we tried called Jake's: great pancakes. they have some mexican food! I would say....if IHOP was a 10, this would be a...7. Will not hit the spot but you will feel like they've given decent effort into making their food American. is that good? bad? no comment.

Hsinchu, Zhongyang park 新竹中央公園

Location: google map location, at the intersection of zhongyang rd. and 122.

Parking: street parking around the park, or there is a parking garage right across from the park under the bridge on 122.

Pros: sand pits! stone slides! two play structures! metal cube climbers! Hi-Life near by if you need a snack/drink.

Cons: no bathroom on site. busy streets near by with lots of traffic.

This is a newly revamped park that is definitely worth a visit. Even during the week, it always has a good number of kids there playing. And don't even think about it on the weekends......YES the park is fun, but the main reason it's popular is because it's a Pokemon Go hot spot. You will see lots of parents on their phones while letting the kids go wild.

There is also a good steamed bun place right across from the park. But be VERY careful when you try to cross the street there since there is no traffic light. Cars tend to be zooming by in that neighborhood also.

Zhunan, Zhunan Sports Park 竹南運動公園

Location: google map location, No. 55, Gongyuan Rd, Zhunan Township, Miaoli County, 351

Parking: Off of 13, next to the library

Pros: playgrounds, swings, big grassy field, big hard surface area for riding bikes, basketball court, tennis court.....it's a park for EVERYTHING! They have restrooms on site (not very clean).

Cons: Not much to do around the park. You will have to drive to get to a restaurant.

We were first here for our boys' soccer game. It is actually a great destination if you plan to visit Zhunan. I would maybe come here in the morning, and go by the harbor for lunch (great seafood). There is a Family Mart that's walkable from the park if you need drinks/snacks. Sometimes there is a vendor in front of the park entrance that sells traditional Taiwanese ice cream called "Baboo." (It's hard to find Baboo these days!)

Taipei, Mingshui Park 明水公園

Location:google map location, Bei-an Street Lane 538, Taipei city.

Transportation: by MRT brown line to Dazhi Station, take exit 3. 

Pros: beautiful trees, surrounded by not so busy streets, interesting play structures

Cons: no restrooms on site (but MRT station is close enough if someone REALLY needs to go potty ;))

I loved this park because it's in a quite neighborhood, not crowded, and right next to a MRT station. The wooden walkway surrounding the big tree with two slides is really cool. And my boys always LOVE those metal cubed climbers. As you can see in the picture, the climber and the stone slide do not have shade. So keep in mind that it is probably not a good idea to visit here in the middle of summer! We visited here on a Sunday morning in October when it was about 80 degrees - it was not too bad.