Maximum Merrymaking for Mini-Mes at Funville in Qatar

Anyone who has lived in or visited Qatar will tell you that it is an extremely family-friendly place to spend time. There are, of course, plenty of adult-focussed pastimes to be enjoyed - after all, we all need some kid-free time - but the options across the country for kid’s entertainment and activities are almost inexhaustible. 

Kids in Qatar can enjoy a host of fun diversions, from interactive museums, adventure parks, theme parks, water parks, farm parks, trampoline parks and green parks to beaches, bowling, climbing, horse riding, go-karting, gaming, theatres and cinemas. The choice of activities for the younger generations is immense; summer or winter, rain or shine, there is always something to do with your offspring.

However, aside from free activities, like camping, beach days and green park adventures, one of our favourite, relatively cheap and super accessible kid’s pursuits is Qatar’s indoor activity playgrounds. Generally located in Malls, the kid’s activity centres have a plethora of amusements, including soft play zones, fairground-style rides, arcade games, video and virtual reality games and skill-based games. The parks are designed to keep youngsters happy and occupied in a safe and secure environment while burning off any excess energy! 

Qatar’s malls host various brands of indoor entertainment centres, but for this article, we’ll focus on Funville, which has five playgrounds in malls across Doha and one in Al Khor.

Fun at Funville

Image: Funville Arabia

Funville is a haven for kids to spend a happy few hours running, jumping, climbing and sliding in some of Qatar's best soft plays, yelling and shrieking with delight as they experience the thrill of amusement rides, or testing their skills on arcade, video and novelty games. The Funville brand is bright and bold colours and exciting and thrilling activities that keep little ones active, entertained and stimulated. 

All Funville outlets incorporate a multi-tiered soft play zone, some with a separate cushioned area for babies and young toddlers. Each soft play is a veritable labyrinth of padded tunnels, bridges, ramps and stairs, with a host of slides (of every size, shape and arrangement), swings, ball pits and trampolines to clamber, bounce, roll and crawl over. Most of the play areas also have a variety of interactive play equipment, including nerf-style cannons that shoot out soft foam balls into a battle arena, air fountains that, once filled, spew foam balls into the air ready for small hands to catch, and pneumatic tubes that suck up balls into a net only to be released en masse to excited groups below. Each zone is a soft, safe obstacle course of excitement and surprises and the perfect place for sprogs to blow off steam.

Outside of the soft play zones awaits a multitude of activities. The playground offers a host of rides, from kiddie rides, such as carousels, mini log flumes and undulating roller coasters, to bigger amusement rides, like super swings, drop and twist rides, pirate ships and bumper cars. There are also various novelty games, like Air Hockey, Whack-A-Mole and Dig-And-Win, and video and arcade games, including Jet Blasters, MotoGP and F1 races, Space Invaders, Sonic Attack and Mission Impossible Arcade. 

A variety of video games and skill-based games have the added bonus of earning players tickets. The more adept their skills, the more tokens they accrue, which they can trade at the centre's Reception desk for prizes - from novelty knick-knacks to remote-controlled cars and smartphones - even more reason for your kids to remain entranced at Funville!

So, where can you find Funville in Qatar…read on.

Funville Locations

Image: Funville Arabia

Funville Qatar has opened five indoor activity centres in Doha and, for those who live a little further north, one in Al Khor city:

• Funville @ Asmakh Mall, Jawaan Street, Al Saad

Tel: +974 4428 9251

Opening Hours: Saturday to Wednesday, 10 am - 10 pm; Thursday, 10 am - 11 pm; Friday, 1 pm - 11 pm

Location Map:

Al Asmakh Mall

• Funville @ Lulu Hypermarket, Barwa City, Industrial Area

Tel: +974 4017 1637

Opening Hours: Saturday to Sunday, 12 noon - 10 pm; Monday to Wednesday, 2 pm - 10 pm; Thursday, 1 pm - 11 pm; Friday, 12 noon - 10 pm

Location Map:

Fun Ville - Lulu Barwa City

• Funville @ Barwa Mall, Barwa Village, Al Wakrah

Tel: +974 4415 3590

Opening Hours: Saturday to Thursday 10 am - 10 pm; Friday 12 noon - 11 pm

Location Map:

Fun Ville - Barwa Village Wakrah

• Funville @ Ezdan Mall - Al Wakrah, Al Wukair Street, Al Wakrah

Tel: +974 4483 2593

Opening Hours: Saturday to Wednesday, 10 am - 10 pm; Thursday, 10 am - 11 pm; Friday, 1 pm - 11 pm

Location Map:

Fun Ville - Ezdan Mall, Wakrah

• Funville @ Ezdan Mall - Al Gharafa, Al Shamal Road, Al Gharafa

Tel: +974 4479 6754

Opening Hours: Saturday to Thursday, 10 am - 10 pm; Friday, 1 pm - 10:30 pm

Location Map:

FunVille - Ezdan mall Al Gharrafa

• Funville @ Al Khor Mall, Al Khor Coastal Road, Al Khor

Tel: +974 4436 3055

Opening Hours: Saturday to Wednesday, 10 am - 10 pm; Thursday, 10 am - 11 pm; Friday, 1 pm - 11 pm

Location Map:

Fun Ville

To find out more information and what’s on at each of Qatar’s Funville centres, contact the above or check out their website and social media pages:

• Funville Website: https://funvillearabia.com/en-qa
• Instagram: @funcitycomeplay
• Facebook: @funcity-come, play!

The Details

The following details all the useful information about Funville’s indoor playgrounds that you might like to know:

Costs:

To join in the fun at Funville, you will first need to purchase a Funville card. Cards cost a mere QAR 5 to purchase and can be topped up with credit in various denominations (i.e. QAR 50, 100, 150, etc.). 

• Credit top-up is available at the Funville reception at each play centre or online at the Funville website.
• Various promotional packages are available in-store and online throughout the year, giving extra credits for set bundle types. For example, in 2023, online packages include:
  • QAR 750 worth of credits for QAR 350;
  • QAR 450 worth of credits for QAR 240;
  • QAR 250 worth of credits for QAR 150;
  • QAR 150 worth of credits for QAR 110.

Note: Any credit purchased is valid for six months from the last swipe of the card.

• Monthly membership packages are also available for the soft play at Funville, which allows kids unlimited access for one month for QAR 115 (2023).
• The soft play area costs QAR 45 per session - so if you plan to use the centre quite often, the monthly membership is definitely worth having!
• Rides, arcade games, and video and skill-based games cost approximately QR 5 to QR 25 per game or ride. To make your credit last longer, try visiting Funville on a Monday when almost every ride is just QAR 1 per go.

Age Range:

Funville facilities are designed for children aged between 1 and 12 years. However, height and age restrictions apply to larger rides and the soft-play areas. For example, most soft-plays have a maximum height restriction of 157cm. And, for some rides, kids must either be a certain age or height to join in. Adults may be required to accompany children who do not meet height or age requirements for some attractions..

Check the information boards and height charts outside rides and soft-play enclosures for further information. 

Dress Code:

Socks must be worn to prevent slipping and sliding in the soft play zones and keep things hygienic. You can either bring your own or buy a pair at the reception desk, which sells pairs in small, medium and large sizes for QAR 5 each.

Facilities:

There are no WCs in the Funville playgrounds. However, as each of the centres is located in a mall, plenty of bathrooms are available a short distance from the Funville doors.

A number of the Funville centres have small snack and beverage kiosks on-site, but if you need something more filling to eat or more specific to drink, there are a myriad of options in the malls. 

Prayer rooms are also available throughout the various malls.

Things to Remember:

Don't forget to register your Funville card in-store or online using your name and contact details. If you lose your card, you can recover any credit - though you will have to purchase a new card for QAR 5.

Other:

The Funville policy is to clean and disinfect all rides, games and soft play areas several times during opening hours. And, to keep the playgrounds hygienic, eating and drinking are not allowed in the soft play zones or on the Funville rides.

So, if you're looking for a fun, exciting, safe and secure venue to take the kids to, why not try one of Funville's six indoor playgrounds!

Funville play zones are perfect places for keeping kids entertained. But if you’re looking for adventures that will suit all the family, youngest to the eldest, check out our recommendations for family fun in our Five Fun Friday Festivities For The Whole Family - written especially for the weekends when family time is a top priority.

Main image: Funville Arabia