Is this place suitable for young children?

While the place has a huge play area, the lack of attractions and poor maintenance of the bouncy castles makes it less than ideal for little ones.

Are the staff friendly and helpful?

Yeah, the staff were friendly and welcoming, but they seemed overwhelmed by the number of kids and didn't do much to address the issues with the bouncy castles.

Is the place clean and well-maintained?

The pizzeria was clean, but the rest of the place was a bit of a mess, with broken toys and worn-out equipment everywhere.

Is the place worth visiting?

Unfortunately, no. With so many better options in the area, I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone looking for a fun day out with the kids.

Can I get a refund if I'm not satisfied?

According to the website, they have a return policy, but I didn't see any clear information on how to initiate a refund.

Are there any discounts or promotions available?

I didn't see any discounts or promotions advertised on their website or social media channels.

Can I book a party package?

Yeah, they offer party packages, but I wouldn't recommend it given the state of the place.

Is the place wheelchair accessible?

I didn't see any information on wheelchair accessibility, but it looks like the place could be a challenge for people with mobility issues.

Disappointment at Southern Pole: Lessons Learned | Amusement Arcades

Hello there!

We're total amusement arcade fans, and we've got a system down pat.

When you first walk in, your eyes bug out, and it seems like there's a million things to do, and the first 2-3 hours just fly by.

You end up leaving with a kid who's got a sad face, promising to come back again.

But when you come back for the second and third time, you already know the ropes, and you realize that most of these places are pretty similar.

So, it's all about finding that one place that really stands out and keeps your kid engaged.

But then there are places like Выше радуги that you just don't want to go back to, and your kid doesn't even want to stay.

That was our experience with Выше радуги.

We were looking for a new place to take the kid, and we'd gotten a bit bored with the ones we'd been to before.

So when we stumbled upon Выше радуги, which was conveniently located nearby, we thought we'd give it a shot.

They call themselves a spatial-bouncy castle centre, and their website makes it sound pretty cool.

Spatial-bouncy castle centre Выше Радуги is:

— a big world with new possibilities and games that are good for kids' development. Everything's set up so that while your kids are playing and developing under the watchful eye of our instructors, you can relax in the restaurant area, grab a cup of coffee or tea, or get some work done on your laptop.

We've tried to create a universal play area that can cater to kids of different ages, with games and challenges tailored to each age group.

I took a close look at the photos in the gallery, and while most of them were of kids, I could see some of the same attractions you'd find at other centers. There seemed to be a lot of them, so we decided to go.

The place is located in the Southern Pole shopping center, on the third floor in the food court area.

The website, however, has incorrect information about the location.

Saint Petersburg, Prazhskaya Street 48/50

Separate entrance to the left of the Domovy store

As it turned out, there's no separate entrance at all. You just enter through the food court.

We must have looked around for a while trying to find that separate entrance, but it seems they never updated the information on the website after the pandemic.

So, after walking through the entire food court

you'll see the name and entrance to the center

You can check the ticket prices on the website, and there are plenty of options.

However, the unlimited pass on a weekend day costs around the same as everywhere else, 800 rubles.

Children under 3 years old cost 500 rubles

As you enter, you immediately feel the space – it seems like the center is huge and has plenty of room.

Right by the entrance, there's an administrator's desk, followed by benches and shelves for your shoes

After you take off your shoes, you can head into the locker room – it's got storage lockers and changing rooms.

Strip down, get changed, and then the real fun begins – my little one's eyes lit up as she rushed ahead!All the main attractions are located to the left of the locker room and bathroom.

- The trampoline area is tiny – even smaller than Madagascar, which is already a compact place. On Sundays, it was packed with kids jumping on the single trampoline, running around. There was an instructor on hand, but I didn't see them intervening at all. My daughter loves trampolines, and she was the first to dash over, but she got overwhelmed by the chaos and couldn't even manage a proper jump. She ended up leaving and didn't want to go back. I couldn't even take a photo of the area because there were just too many kids.

- The maze with high slides. The lower levels are pitch black, and there was hardly anyone down there.

- The ball pit. The balls are ancient and worn out, and one of them was almost flat. They move at a snail's pace – it's more like crawling than riding. There's no instructor on hand.

-kiddie pool with small slides. The pool is huge, there are tons of balls

-Zone for little ones. It's spacious, with windows. There's a small pool with balls, an inflatable trampoline with a slide, and tons of bouncy castles on the wall

This is all set up on the left side. On the right side, there's a climbing wall. There are no instructors, though.I'm not a fan of how it's not even fenced off - just a red stripe on the floor

Trust me, parents know that sometimes a little kid can move so fast, it's hard to catch them

I witnessed a kid sprinting towards the tarzan area just as the ride started moving...

From what I could tell, the fact that the tarzan itself is pretty slow (like the waltzers) helped avoid any unfortunate consequences.

If there was a barrier, none of this would have happened. For example, the JokiJoki area in Raduga mall has a little fence to prevent kids from running off.

There are a few arcade machines, an air hockey table, two pool tables, and a basketball hoop

- The most unusual attraction is definitely The Cave.

«The Cave» is a one-of-a-kind attraction with no equivalent in Russia. Before heading into the attraction, kids are given special protection and a helmet with a flashlight, which lights up the mysterious cave for young adventurers ⠀

Every few meters, there are emergency exits, and everything that happens in the cave is broadcast on special screens, so parents don't have to worry about their kids. The emotions you get from this experience are unmatched by anything else

During our visit, it was pretty much unused. But I think the concept is really interesting.

Multiple routes.

The instructor would occasionally pop up to hand out helmets and explain what to do.

The main area is taken up by a cafe and party houses - a great way to unwind..

I was really impressed by the party houses, they look super cute with their colorful windows and seem like the perfect spot to relax.

We visited a few of these cafe zones, and they were all pretty spacious and cozy. They're designed as little nooks, which is really nice.

One thing that caught my eye was that there were several cafe zones where people were celebrating birthdays. And the best part? All the playhouses were empty.

We were only there for an hour, and my little one was already itching to leave.I have to say, though, that it was pretty quiet for a weekend.

I've gotta say, there aren't many attractions on this scale, so the kids mostly clustered on the trampolines and the jungle gym. They were just running around the whole area, tossing balls, and colliding with each other.

The good stuff

The center is pretty spacious.

I really liked the bouncy castles - they had different levels of difficulty.

The big dry pool with slides for the little ones was awesome.

Everywhere was spotless.

The not-so-good stuff

There's no barrier around the jungle gym, so any kid can just run in and collide with someone who's already on it - and no instructor to supervise.

The inflatables were super slow and weak.

The trampoline zone is ridiculously small, especially considering this place bills itself as a trampoline center!

The instructor doesn't keep an eye on safety techniques in this area, and doesn't control the number of kids or their movements.

The party houses take up way too much space. I get that they're a money-maker, but it looks like they're not always in use. If they had some extra toys like a constructor, doctor's kit, or kitchen set, or even some cars, some kids might actually play in those houses, since they look pretty cool from the outside.

For us, we've decided not to come back to this place anytime soon. The price is way too high for the limited entertainment options - especially compared to other centers.

That being said, I do recommend checking this place out, since you can choose a tariff that suits you and see if it's worth it.

Thanks for reading!

Other reviews from me about entertainment centers

Madagascar -We visit regularly, despite a few minor drawbacks

I've gotta say, the Khloptop at Tipanova in TC Piter wasn't bad, but it's a shame they don't cater to the little ones

Kotovasky - One major plus is the ample space, but it just didn't grab us

The Joki Joya at TC Piter-Raduga was a pleasant surprise