I visited England’s only underground theme park – it’s perfect for rainy days but comes at a price
I SKIRT around the lunchtime crowds bursting out of Camden Market and dart down a seemingly quiet side street.
While crowd-free streets are hard to come by in this London borough, it seems that I've found a moment of peace.
But it doesn't last long, because, a few seconds later, I'm standing outside the entrance to Babylon Park - London's only underground theme park.
Babylon Park is a sprawling three-storey building filled with child-friendly rides, rollercoasters, VR simulators, and plenty of arcade games.
As I head down the escalators, the London theme park instantly reminds me of Pizza Planet, the fictional restaurant from Toy Story, because of the bright lights and the space-themed floors and walls.
There are also these plastic green alien figures dotted throughout each level, which are slightly creepy.
Read More on Attractions
I made a beeline for the basement level, which is where the theme park's best rides are kept.
As I walk across the bright blue floor, I'm met with a thick smell of candy floss, and I can hear the shrieks of delighted children glimpsing the rides and rollercoasters too.
Inside the basement level, there were several child-friendly rides, including a bright red drop tower, and a small Ferris Wheel.
But, in my opinion, the best ride was a tiny green rollercoaster that snaked its way around a bight-blue track, woven around the other attractions.
Most read in Travel
As I walked around the basement level, the little carriage sped along the track just mere metres above my head - it was pretty cool.
I didn't give any of the rides a go, because they were only meant for children, with adults and older kids too big to board.
Even more rides and attractions, including a small space for dodgems, were squeezed into every corner of floor space.
There were plenty of tiny rides for smaller children, and there was even a soft play area next to the first-floor restaurant too.
Teenagers and older kids seemed to congregate around other attractions like the axe-throwing booth, basketball hoops, dance machines, arcade games, and virtual reality simulators.
While some attractions, like the VR simulators, had short queues, it didn't seem like there was much wait time at all.
I wasn't the only person who was impressed by the theme park's offering.
During my visit, I spoke to several families who'd taken their children to Babylon Park in a bid to escape the January drizzle.
One Woman, Emma, was at the theme park with five children aged between two and eight.
When I asked her about her visit, she said: "It’s absolutely brilliant, they [the children] love it.
"They walked in and straight away, wow. We've been downstairs, and been on the rollercoaster, which was their favourite.
"I'm here with five children, and there's a bit of something for everyone. We've been here for two hours, and we've still got money left on the cards. We've spent £20 per child, which is fantastic."
Meanwhile, another mum Lena, from London, was visiting Babylon Park with her husband and young daughter, aged 3.
She said: "My daughter is obsessed with Babylon Park, we've been here almost ten times.
"I do think it's a nice family day out, but I wouldn't say it's so much affordable. I guess it's London prices."
Not all the families I spoke to were impressed, Karen Barabates, from St John’s Wood, London, was at the underground theme park with her two young children.
Karen said: "It's pricier than what I am used to. I paid £100 for a package, which included two rides for all of us, and some games as well.
"My son liked the VR game, and my daughter liked the rollercoaster.
"I’m not sure that I will [come back], I’d like to find a place with trampolines and places where they can do active energy."
Babylon Park is free to enter, but visitors will need to purchase the theme park's own currency to access the rides.
For £14 visitors can purchase 144 Game Coins, which can only be spent on the arcade games.
A £25 coin package gets visitors 240 Games Coins, 40 Bonus Coins, and 1 Ride Coin, which can be used on one of the rides.
Nearly all of the families I spoke to purchased the £100 package, which included a lot more coins like 3 Big Ride Coins, 4 Ride Coins, and 3 Food and Beverage Coins.
At £100 a pop for families with multiple children, it is a pricey down, considering the amount of free attractions in the English capital.
There were other package options too, including the ability to 'charge any amount' onto the card.
Families on tighter budgets should map out their afternoon in advance, and work out how to spread their coin budget even further.
There was also a small oval cafe on the first floor, which served family favourites like pizza, chicken nuggets, turkey hotdogs, and nachos.
Sweet snacks and hot and cold drinks were also available to purchase.
While the Babylon Park website states that food and drink can't be brought inside, I wasn't stopped from using my refillable water bottle at any point, so families could save money by bringing packed lunches.
Other facilities included an area to park pushchairs, lockers for larger bags, and a cloakroom for coats and jackets.
It can get quite warm inside the underground basement - so it might be used to use the cloakroom facilities.
There were several toilets too, although some of the cubicles were blocked and a couple weren't very clean.
Babylon Park is a five minute walk from Camden Town tube station.
While I might not be Babylon Park's target demographic, as a 30-year-old woman, I was impressed with the underground attraction, which is definitely an ideal place for young families to escape the January blues.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Here are the five new rides and rollercoasters opening in the UK in 2024.
And this huge new attraction lets adults behave like young kids.
