Ice Skating at Planet Chill

I told the boys that we were going ice skating and they were beyond excited! “How will we go ice skating mummy, it doesn’t snow here?” asked my 5 year-old.

Well that’s where the fun begins. We don’t need for it to snow here; we can go to the indoor ice skating rink at Surfers Paradise, anytime of the year.

So we rugged up with jumpers, jeans and socks (you need socks with your skates) and headed off to Paradise Resort. (I suggest you pack a spare set of clothes if you are heading somewhere afterwards, as my boys spent a bit of time getting themselves back up off the ice that their clothes were damp)

The parking as we headed to Planet Chill was a little tricky at first as we drove up to the front and could only find the parking for the hotel guests, but once we found the sign that showed the off street parking around the block, we were there in no time (Corner of Ferny & Norfolk Avenue).

When you walk into Paradise Resort, it’s excitement all around. The amazing paintings on the wall at the reception desk grabbed the kid’s eyes straight away and we could see Planet Chill as we walked in and looked up to the first floor with its amazing feature wall of ice.

When you walk through the giant icy doors you are greeted with an icy cold feel of another world,  a winter wonderland. We checked in for the 12pm session which we had reserved (there are different time sessions that you need to book into) and it was straight through to change into our skates. Yazzie, the wonderfully friendly staff member fitted the boys up with helmets and skates and got them onto the ice. It was so good to have Yazzie get the boys on the ice while I buckled myself into some blades!

At Planet Chill the boys had their very own helper on the ice which was awesome. A little fibre glass penguin that they could hold onto and help hold themselves upright. These little penguins were amazing. I really loved the idea of them. The boys could hold onto them and since I wasn’t so crash hot on the ice, they didn’t need to hold onto me (and pull me down to the ground) for us to skate around together. Even hubby made friends with the penguin to get himself started on the ice too!

The room was a “Blue Light Disco” with flashing laser lights and the latest music playing on a big screen. Gangman Style also made an appearance on the screen which was hilarious seeing my 6 year-old trying to dance to it in his ice skates. Needless to say, he ended up on his bottom.

The session was 2 hours, which was just the right amount of time needed to have lots of fun at Paradise Resort. Yazzie came out onto the ice and helped the kids to try and learn how to skate. She was so positive and friendly with the children. Our 6 year-old even ended up putting his penguin away after half an hour and spent the rest of the time skating on his own.

After about an hour of skating, 1/3 of the rink was sectioned off for some ice hockey. The boys thought this was amazing! They were straight in there to grab a stick and a puck and give it their best at getting it in the nets. Yazzie also came out to help those in need.

For those who didn’t want to play ice hockey, we kept on skating!

If you needed a break you could go hang out in the “Chill Zone” where there were some relaxing chairs to sit back and watch the rink or you could try your hand on some coin operated games such as air hockey, pool and pac man.

There are plenty of table and chairs around the rink for those parents who prefer to sit back and watch their children (children 3 to 5 must be accompanied by an adult on the ice though). If you need a warm drink there is a coffee/hot chocolate vending machine you can help yourself to, right next to the snack machine.

The only thing I would do different next time we go to Paradise Resort, is for my 5 year old who is quite small, I would have him get the “strap on skates” with two blades. These are little skates that are strapped onto your own closed in shoe and provide younger children better stability. I’m sure after one or two sessions with these strap on skates, he would be up and skating in the full skates in no time.

Did you know you can book a session and have the rink to yourself for a fun filled birthday party here too!

I have to say, that we ALL had a great time. There was so much laughing going on and although the boys fell down a lot (Yes, I managed to stay on my feet the whole time) not once did they get upset. They just kept getting back up and having fun! Yazzie was a big hit with my 5 year-old who just warmed to her so well, and the glowing face zinc was a huge hit! Yazzie you rock!

The boys were still talking about it the next day and it was the topic of conversation for news at school. Thanks Planet Chill for a great Sunday family activity.

Further information and book your tickets to Planet Chill.

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