Family | Life | Food | Travel

13 September 2013

Gulliver's SpyZone


The Mini Mes are both a little obsessed with James Bond, Johnny English and the idea of being undercover secret agents, so a trip to Gulliver's SpyZone was the perfect opportunity for them to test out their own spy skills!

We booked our timed experience at the purpose-built training facility and upon arrival we were greeted by a member of staff who later became our guide around each of the 8 levels. The reception area has lockers which are ideal for leaving your bags in safely (as you will be climbing and crawling throughout your visit!) and there are also toilets, food and drinks available too. Parents that don't wish to take part can wait here but those under 10 will need to be supervised... the Mr and I were REALLY keen to get involved anyway!



We were taken to the debriefing room to prepare and here is where the fun and role play really began. We were all quite excited to be involved but a little nervous not knowing what to expect! We were each provided with a bag containing torch and bug detectors, and I was delegated to have the paper and pencil to note code words and scores down. There was support available at all times if required which was great to have (just in case you were stuck or didn't understand an audio instruction) and we made our way into the first training room by climbing through a tunnel. I did worry as I'm a little claustrophobic but the guide was friendly and reassuring and they weren't actually tight to get through at all. If you really don't want to go through these there are alternative routes too!


You can't touch the floor in this room!

The timed challenges are a great way to encourage team work, build on communication, memory, and problem solving skills. The activities included code breaking with both numbers and images, bug hunting and we tested our ability with the buzz wire - all of which reveal code words which you save. There is fun with Nerf guns and laser beams to be had too as you progress from trainee to secret agent. We had an amazing time and I found myself really enjoying clambering around quickly to complete tasks as a family and working with both of the children and the Mr! I discovered I'm fitter than I expected and the Mini Mes both appreciated the fact us grown ups were joining in too and making an effort.

Bugged room

After the training had ended we had our first mission to complete and our chance to show off what we had learnt during our time there (2 hours for us but this varies) before we called into Gulliver's Theme Park which is just next door. This included a mixture of the things we had done in training but was in a much larger area. One part reminded me a little of Indiana Jones with the symbols on the the floor to get to the other side! After completing our experience we were told our scores before having a sit down for a well deserved Slush Puppie - It had been energetic at times but so entertaining.



I would really recommend a trip to SpyZone, situated in Matlock Bath, Derbyshire. We had a great time and it was fun to do something a little different to the norm, it also had its educational benefits which is a bonus. The only thing I would suggest is a certificate at the end as a nice keepsake and changing the code words/challenges every few months so that families can return without repeating the same ones.
It would be the perfect location for team building exercises for schools or for birthday parties.

Minxy: 'It was so cool. I hope we can go back soon'
Jamster: 'It was totally awesome. I want to be an agent when I'm bigger'

Prices start at £7.95 and those under 90cm are free.
There is lots of parking nearby making it easy to access too.


To book your tickets or to find out more you can visit the website:





*We received free entry into the attraction for the purpose of this review. The opinions given are honest and our own*

Share:

11 comments

  1. I want to go!!! Looks like great fun x

    ReplyDelete
  2. looks like a lot of brilliant fun.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Glad you enjoyed your experience! My boys would love this too!

    ReplyDelete
  4. This looks like great fun!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'd have loved this when I was a kid.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Commented on Gulliver's Spy Zone..

    ReplyDelete
  7. I can remember playing secret agents and spies when I was a child

    ReplyDelete
  8. Keep meaning to go to Gulliver's. This looks great! My daughter would love it. Will definatly take the plunge this summer!

    ReplyDelete
  9. This looks like a great day out, and there is one near me!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for taking the time to stop by. We love to hear your thoughts - feel free to pop a comment in the box!

Blogger Template Created by pipdig