Furious mum slams play centre over ‘insanely expensive’ children's meal

A trip to the local play centre is meant to be a fun experience and an easy day out with the kids.

But one common nightmare for parents is the need to keep little ones fed as they run wild. And sometimes the quickest option is to just order meals on site.

But one Aussie mum was left less than impressed when she paid to feed her kids at Adventure Land in Darwin.

According to their website, the play centre does not allow ‘outside food and drink’ (with an exception of baby food and water bottles).

And their website also says their café isn’t 'just a standard café’ and has a menu ‘using all fresh products’.

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But the mum from the Northern Territory criticised the play centre on Facebook after paying $63.40 AUD (£32.40) to feed her kids.

She purchased a chicken parmi, 12 nuggets, a bowl of chips, a portion of gravy and two drinks.

Writing that she was ‘not impressed’ alongside a photo of the meal and a receipt, she wanted to know if the prices were usually so steep at the play centre.

The mum wrote: “[I] will probably just be cooking from home now on and taking it with us, it’s getting insanely expensive."

And other parents were just as outraged for her.

One simply wrote: “Yep, normal, we don’t eat there for obvious reasons.”

And another put: “Wow! Go to the pub with a playground, hell of a lot cheaper.”

While others also said they ‘refuse to go there with those prices’.

According to their site, Adventure Land charge $14.90 (£7.60) for children aged one to 13 on weekends, with those under one priced at $9.90 (£5) and supervising adults for free.

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A spokesperson for Adventure Land told news.com.au: “The real story should be how businesses are meant to survive with price increases and then be subject to slander over it.”

And Amanda Heath, director of the play centre, added: “This mum purchased a variety of products including large slushie, large 600ml coke, large water, large chips, 12 nuggets, gravy and a parmigiana meal.

“I would like to point out our parmigiana is cheaper than any other tavern/establishment around us by at least $8.”

She also added that their chips and gravy are 'cheaper by $4' and that their drinks are 'the same as the rest of the eatery and monitored by Coke'.

Adding: “Our menu is at industry standard with kids meal options from $11 making it affordable for everyone."

Tyla has reached out to Adventure Land for further comment.

Topics: Parenting, Food and Drink, Money, Australia

Jess Battison

Jess is an Entertainment Journalist with a love of all things pop culture. Her main interests include keeping up with the Twitter girlies, waiting for a new series of The Traitors and losing her voice at a Beyoncé concert. She graduated with a first in Journalism from City, University of London in 2021 and has previously worked at MyLondon.

@jessbattison_