We went to VroomTown at Marina Square last week, when Melody did not have to go to school as it was ‘Teacher Training Day’ (another one of those things I did not know about preschool, with the main one being that there’s homework for parents to do too zzzz). *Actually, how do folks with full-time jobs even do this without helpers (maid or grandparents)?! Kids fall ill all the time when they go to preschool (like, literally every other week, there’s a new virus)! And there’ll be weekdays when the kids can’t go to school ‘cos the teachers have their training day. If I’m a full-time employee, I’m not having (more) kids, for sure. Allow me to continue this rant… I have (freaking) homework to do! The most recent one being to use recyclables to put together a replica of an attraction in Singapore. O…M…G. So yah… VroomTown was a nice reprieve from the #MomDuties but a bit pricier than expected.
For first-timers, you pay $49 (1 adult + 1 child riding together) for one hour. An additional parent can enter the premises for $15 BUT CANNOT GET A CAR! <- You can hang out with your kid at the ball pit, or walk about and take photos, or get a seat and chat with another parent, but NO VEHICLE FOR YOU. Anyway… I did the top-up of $34 just so I could get a car… SO we spent almost $100 here. And the funny thing was that Melody didn’t really fancy sitting in the car much… she preferred the ball pit and the slides. So we really didn’t need two vehicles.
We didn’t get to enjoy the full hour as we didn’t know they have set times to follow. E.g. 2pm to 3pm is the 1-hour block. And even if you arrive at 2.15pm, you have to leave before 3pm. So… get there early!
You’ll get a provisional driving licence (in picture below) that’s so cute. And after the session, your kiddo gets a driving licence with his/her photo on it! There’s also a student booklet to record the number of times you’ve visited VroomTown. LOL. And there’s candy from the Drive-Thru – you can only get 1 per visit to the DT… so go 4 times (or more) and collect all 4 kinds. *The Drive-Thru actually closes after a while so head there early or have no candy!
And the folks who set up this place really should have put more thought into the locker ‘system’. Currently, about half of the lockers cannot be used because their key tags are missing ‘cos some parents leave without returning the tags. Well, just collect a deposit of $10 (or more) and I’m sure people WILL give you the tags back.
An interesting concept, for sure. I don’t know about the longevity though. It’s definitely good for one visit but we are unlikely to return until Melody is able to drive the car herself… which will take a couple more years. XD
We didn’t quite know where this place was, either. Took some time trying to find it. So… if you know where the Customer Service counter of Marina Sq is… VroomTown is at the level below them. Near Carl’s Jr… and a 7-eleven, I think.
*And if you’re prone to road rage / cannot stand lousy drivers… do not come here. I was driving behind another mother who couldn’t keep her foot on the accelerator so her car went start-stop-start-stop. I was tempted to start a game of Bumper Cars with her. XD