Amsterdam's Tun of Fun
Amsterdam parents are going to roll their eyes when they read this, but Tun of Fun is probably the most fun place I've ever been. Built in a cavernous old underpass this looney asylum of ball pits, trampolines, free-fall slides and bouncy castles is my idea of kid heaven. Hundreds of kids, wide eyed and sweaty-haired propel themselves through an enormous maze of padded obstacles like demented cogs in some crazed factory.
For parents lucky enough to not have to walk their children around holding them under the arms they can languish at picnic tables with a drink and free wifi while their kids burn ridiculous amounts of energy climbing, swinging, screaming. Oh the screaming. The tunnel reverberates with the squeals of delight, which I'm sure probably gets to you by your 50th visit, but which Cal and I thought was flipping marvelous. We loved it so much we went twice in the last rainy week. On one visit we ran into an old creative director of mine who pointed out that this was Amsterdam's premiere cruising spot for single parents, and I can see why. For all my complaining about the Dutch, I'll admit that they understand two important things. 1) Kids should be able to do crazy things without the ever-present threat of litigation hanging over play parks, and 2) parents should be able to get a little boozed while they watch their kids do crazy things like free fall from an enormous slide.
At 8 euros entrance, it's a little on the steep side, but they've put a lot of work into making it so awesome and it does mean that it's not over-crowded, even on a rainy school holiday day. I'm thrilled that we've discovered it so soon because babies up to a year old get in for free. The first time we went there I just heaved a sigh of relief as I descended the ramp down into the tunnel - it was warm and bright and comfortable enough to spend a whole cold rainy afternoon in. Something I miss with Amsterdam's lack of malls. Sometimes you need to just get away from the weather. I just know that Tun of Fun is going to be a huge part of Cal's city-kid childhood. As I watched a daredevil of a little girl drop from the sky onto a huge bouncy mat, quickly followed by her tall Dutch dad, I said to him, "oh I just wish I was 6 again" and he replied with a grin, "well you can be!" as he bounced off after her.
For parents lucky enough to not have to walk their children around holding them under the arms they can languish at picnic tables with a drink and free wifi while their kids burn ridiculous amounts of energy climbing, swinging, screaming. Oh the screaming. The tunnel reverberates with the squeals of delight, which I'm sure probably gets to you by your 50th visit, but which Cal and I thought was flipping marvelous. We loved it so much we went twice in the last rainy week. On one visit we ran into an old creative director of mine who pointed out that this was Amsterdam's premiere cruising spot for single parents, and I can see why. For all my complaining about the Dutch, I'll admit that they understand two important things. 1) Kids should be able to do crazy things without the ever-present threat of litigation hanging over play parks, and 2) parents should be able to get a little boozed while they watch their kids do crazy things like free fall from an enormous slide.
At 8 euros entrance, it's a little on the steep side, but they've put a lot of work into making it so awesome and it does mean that it's not over-crowded, even on a rainy school holiday day. I'm thrilled that we've discovered it so soon because babies up to a year old get in for free. The first time we went there I just heaved a sigh of relief as I descended the ramp down into the tunnel - it was warm and bright and comfortable enough to spend a whole cold rainy afternoon in. Something I miss with Amsterdam's lack of malls. Sometimes you need to just get away from the weather. I just know that Tun of Fun is going to be a huge part of Cal's city-kid childhood. As I watched a daredevil of a little girl drop from the sky onto a huge bouncy mat, quickly followed by her tall Dutch dad, I said to him, "oh I just wish I was 6 again" and he replied with a grin, "well you can be!" as he bounced off after her.
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| Amsterdam's Tun of Fun |
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| Cal, November, 2012 |
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| A tonne of fun at Tun of Fun |
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| The 'Pucker Powder' dispenser. Crack for kids in 8 different flavors. |
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