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We’d been putting off a weekend trip to Westfield Knox for weeks, mostly because every indoor play centre we already knew felt a bit tired. Then a friend mentioned a new one had opened on Level 2, near Timezone, with a whole nature theme and Aussie animal mascots. That was enough to get us in the car.
Gumnuts Playland is easy to find once you’re in the centre — take the escalators up to Level 2 and follow the noise past Timezone. It’s part of a small wave of new-generation indoor playgrounds that have popped up around Melbourne this year, alongside places like Landing Playcentre Ravenhall, and it’s clearly aiming for the same “somewhere I can actually sit down” crowd of parents.
What’s Inside
The whole space leans into a bush theme — soft greens and timber tones rather than the primary-colour chaos you get at a lot of play centres, which is genuinely easier on the eyes after an hour in there. There’s a giant ball pit with slides feeding into it, a ninja-style obstacle course, trampolines, and a multi-level soft play maze for the kids who want a real climb. A separate toddler zone keeps the littlest ones away from the flying feet of the eight-year-olds, which we appreciated, since we had a three-year-old in tow who wasn’t ready to be trampled.
Six Aussie animal characters — a koala, kangaroo, wombat, emu, platypus and kookaburra — show up around the space and seem to be there mainly to keep littler kids engaged rather than as a big performance thing. Our daughter latched onto the wombat corner and didn’t move for twenty minutes, so it worked on her.
Seating for parents is scattered generously around the edges of the main play area, close enough that you can actually watch your kids climb without craning your neck, which sounds like a small thing until you’ve sat somewhere that gets it wrong.
The Bit Nobody Warns You About
The café area is where things get messy. There’s no obvious queuing system, so on a busy weekend it turns into a bit of a free-for-all at the counter — worth bracing for if you’re queuing with a toddler on your hip. Finding a free table once you’ve got food can also take a lap or two of the room, especially around lunchtime.
The other thing worth knowing before you go: there’s no bathroom inside the play centre itself. You’ll need to step back out into the main shopping centre, which is opposite the entrance — fine to know in advance, less fine to discover mid-meltdown. Mamma Knows East’s review flags the same thing, so it’s not just us.
Hours and Prices
Gumnuts Playland is currently open daily, with recent visitor reports putting closing time at 7pm most nights and 8pm on Thursdays and Fridays — though a play centre this new tends to tweak its hours in the first few months, so it’s worth a quick check on the official Gumnuts Playland site or the Westfield Knox store listing before you head out.
On pricing, recent visitors have reported a two-hour ticket sitting around $29.80 on weekdays and $34.80 on weekends and school holidays, with day passes a bit higher again. Adult entry is a flat $5, and — nice touch — that gets you a drink credit at the café rather than just disappearing into the till. Kids under six months get in free with a paying child. We paid for a two-hour session on our first visit and it was more than enough for a three-year-old; if you’ve got an older kid who’ll actually use the ninja course properly, the day pass probably makes more sense.
What About Birthday Parties?
Gumnuts Playland has dedicated party rooms, and it’s shaping up as a genuine alternative to the usual suspects for a kids’ birthday. One family we spoke to who booked an all-day pass for nine kids budgeted around $800 for the venue, plus extras like an ice-cream cake and balloon decorations — so it’s not a cheap option, but it’s a fairly common price bracket for Melbourne play-centre parties these days. Worth getting a written quote before you commit, since packages and inclusions tend to change as a venue settles in after opening.
Is It Worth the Trip?
For a first visit, yes. The space itself is a genuine step up from a lot of the older play centres around Melbourne’s east — cleaner, better designed, and with enough going on to hold a three-year-old and an eight-year-old at the same time without either of them getting bored. The café queue and the toilet situation are minor annoyances rather than dealbreakers, and they’re the kind of thing that tends to get sorted out as a venue beds in.
If you’re weighing it up against other options, it’s worth a look at our roundup of the best indoor play centres in Melbourne, or our wider list of rainy day activities in Melbourne if the weather’s the reason you’re looking indoors in the first place. And if you’re planning a whole break around it, our Melbourne school holidays guide has more ideas for filling the rest of the week.
Address: Level 2, Westfield Knox, 425 Burwood Hwy, Wantirna South VIC 3152 (near Timezone)
Prices and opening hours for new venues change often in the first few months — check Gumnuts Playland’s official site before you plan your visit.
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