I decided to take my son to an outdoor playground. He was putting his shoes on when — bang — it switched straight into heavy rain mode. Didn’t want to disappoint him after he’d already got his shoes on, so in a split second we changed plans to indoor play instead. Old faithful, making another appearance.
Rainbow Town (the Glen Waverley one) — you walk in and it’s full-on rainbow colours everywhere, the whole place looks like a fairytale town. My son put on the non-slip socks they hand out and started sprinting the moment his feet touched the ground (just takes off running, makes photos +1 difficulty).
Soft flooring everywhere, so safety-wise it’s fully covered. The dining area is huge, didn’t worry about finding a seat. If you’re carrying too much stuff, you can go to the front desk and trade your car key for an electronic wristband, scan it to open a sensor-lock locker.
The Play Equipment
✔️ Rainbow-themed climbing structure
(Complex inside but high safety, still, I’d say younger kids need a parent with them — some parts are quite low, kind of hard on your back…)
✔️ All kinds of slides, balance beams, little rocking horses
(Lots of slides, some thrilling, some toddler-friendly, parents keep an eye on safety)
✔️ Huge Lego block area
(Not enough Lego at home? Come get your fill here)
✔️ Ball pit
(Noticed today the bottom of the pit was quite a bit cleaner than before)
✔️ Various trampoline zones, soft foam cube pit
(One kid per square, adults can supervise beside it but can’t jump in themselves)
✔️ Bumper cars, rock climbing
(Bumper cars: an adult can take a kid in one car, slow speed, not too jarring. Rock climbing has two levels — a small-kids area and a big-kids area. My son really, really wanted to try the big-kids climbing challenge, but he wasn’t tall enough and didn’t make it — cried his eyes out.)
✔️ All kinds of claw machines
(After mum invested in these more than a few times, my son’s skills gradually got better, and he finally walked away with five plush puppy keychains. I think claw machines are actually good for hand-eye coordination, so I never stop him playing — it also trains up handling disappointment.)
Then the Food Happened
The dining area looked big enough for a hundred people, and the food turned out to be the real surprise — good, and a huge amount of choice. Honestly felt like a bonus on top of being an indoor play centre.
Besides the usual fish and chips, burgers, pizza, there’s a solid stack of Chinese options too: rice bowls, fried noodles, shrimp dumplings, xiao long bao, Lanzhou noodles, Yangzhou fried rice…
We got a fish combo — the plate that came out was huge, fish crispy outside, tender inside, the flesh white and juicy. The kids fought over it, properly tucking in.
The dry-fried beef hor fun had wok hei strong enough to pass for a cha chaan teng dish — noodles smooth, beef tender. My daughter had her head down slurping it, licking her lips, saying it was better than the restaurant near our house.
Lots of kids having birthday parties that day — snuck a look, every party room had a different theme, plenty of space, staff running the games for them. All the kids looked properly happy.
What It Actually Costs
- Standard entry: $34.80
- Combo ticket (bumper cars + rock climbing): $39.90
- Adult companion ticket: $5, redeemable for a coffee — basically free entry for the accompanying adult
Worth knowing: kids’ tickets come with a free pair of non-slip socks, adult tickets don’t — no socks, no entry to accompany your kid, so bring your own or buy a pair there (they pill fast, basically one-use). Shoes come off outside the dining area. Free lockers at the front desk, or trade your car key for an electronic wristband.
Getting There
Two big car parks, never had trouble finding a spot.
49-55 Myrtle St, Glen Waverley VIC 3150 (entrance isn’t very obvious — shares a building with The Roe)
Wednesday–Thursday: 10:00–17:00
Friday–Sunday: 10:00–20:30
If Rainbow Town isn’t near you, we’ve also written up Hazelwood Park in Aintree on Melbourne’s west side. Or browse our full Melbourne things-to-do directory for more.
Our Take
Big place, lots of variety, and even with the rain hammering down outside, it felt properly comfortable in there. Staff everywhere, all friendly. Honestly, the décor isn’t that photogenic, and cleanliness is just okay, nothing special — feels more suited to kids a bit older, who already know not to chew on toys and to wash hands before eating, than to the very littlest ones.
We were there an hour and a half easily, could’ve stretched to two. My son had gymnastics that morning, so between that and the afternoon here, he was out cold the second his head hit the pillow. Worth it just for that.