A Day at Mattel Play! Liverpool

View of Albert Dock in Liverpool with boats in the foreground and historic brick buildings in the background. Overlaid text reads: "A Day at Mattel Play! Liverpool," capturing the fun and excitement of Mattel Play at this iconic location.

A couple of weeks ago we had a nice little break in Liverpool. Whilst researching for what to do on our trip, I came across Mattel Play! Liverpool which is a themed play area in the heart of Liverpool, The Albert Dock.

With three different zones, Thomas & Friends, Bob the Builder and Fireman Sam, there is so much to see and do at Mattel Play! So, we decided to book in for midday on the Monday of our trip and therefore got a 2 hour slot so that we could go an explore the themed areas.

Joseph was asleep when we initially arrived so they allowed us to take the pram upstairs into the first area. Normally they request that prams be left in the buggy park but luckily there is a lift so there is access available if needed.

A large, three-dimensional model of Thomas the Tank Engine, painted blue with a yellow number 1, stands indoors at Mattel Play with a small staircase leading to its side.

A young boy wearing glasses sits at a wooden chair using an old-fashioned till, with a Mattel Play cash box and a paper labelled "4X Lunch!" on the table nearby.

Two young boys are playing in a room at Mattel Play; one is opening a large safe, while the other uses a black rotary telephone on a wooden table. Shelves of books and a chair can be seen in the background.

Starting off in the Thomas & Friends world, we got to explore the Island of Sodor from the Steamworks to Farmer McColl’s farm. The journey starts at Knapford Station, where the narrow gauge engines are waiting for us to begin our adventures around the Island.

When you enter the area, Thomas the Tank Engine is right in front, in all his glory. We had to wait a little bit of time here to get a turn in playing on him as, because this is the first area, it seems to be the busiest. Thomas was great though and the boys loved to sit inside him and choo choo along.

Two children play in a ball pit at Mattel Play, climbing on a large, white, cartoon-like helicopter structure with a friendly face drawn on the front. The room is filled with blue plastic balls.

A young child stands in a pool of blue plastic balls next to a large, smiling helicopter character at Mattel Play. The scene appears to be an indoor play area designed for children.

A child wearing glasses and a dark shirt is smiling and lying in a large pit filled with bright blue plastic balls at Mattel Play’s indoor play area.

Harold is at sea in his own area. The sea is represented by thousands of blue balls and the boys enjoyed swimming in here and playing in Harold. There is also a coal sorting area and the boys thought stacking the blocks in the train yard was super fun. Even daddy got in on the action.

I enjoyed the fact that there was a lot of little interactive areas such as sorting vegetables at Farmer McColl’s farm and help restore order at the Brendam Docks. There is also some super cool mini trains at the end of the room where little ones can ride around in them.

A boy in jeans and a dark shirt balances on foam blocks, holding onto a large foam pillar at Mattel Play, an indoor play area with industrial-themed decor.

Two young children stand on a play structure indoors at Mattel Play. One child looks back whilst another stands on a green platform. In the background, a Thomas the Tank Engine display and adults are visible.

After having all the fun in Sodor, we decided to jaunt over to the Bob the Builder area to see what was going on there. Bob’s new builder’s yard gives the little ones so many options to work through. Bob is recruiting apprentice builders to assist him, Scoop and the team on one of his new projects so kids get to don their builder’s helmets and get on the case.

Bob’s mobile office is on site where you can also meet a life sized Bob who seems happy to meet everyone. The new recruits can lend a helping hand in the vehicles by digging in the yard – which Charlie enjoyed doing, and supporting Bob by completing the work on the pipes. Thomas enjoyed this area and he loved working out exactly where the pipes should go, eventually popping a ball through to see it roll out at the end. A* for this recruit!

A yellow digger with cartoon eyes and a smile is displayed indoors at Mattel Play, filled with beige beanbags in its front scoop. The vehicle is part of an exhibition, with industrial décor and a large letter "B" on the wall behind it.

Joseph just loved building. Finding the bricks and building them into his own little wall. Although I don’t know how much of a help he was since he thought it was funnier to knock them over after building them.

To make this area extra creative, there was an area which was packed full of blocks that could be stacked to create the characters. There were pictures on the walls to show you how to build them. There was also a drawing area with huge sheets of paper so you could trace the characters.

Back downstairs was the area my sons had been waiting for – Pontypandy, the home of Fireman Sam and all his crew. Again, a safety helmet is work in this area. Inside Pontypandy’s Fire Station, you can climb aboard Jupiter, go to the Ocean Rescue Centre, and go to sea on Titan, where you will be able to be a firefighter for the day and put out fires on the coast!

Children have the opportunity to experience a real life emergency situation along with Fireman Sam and his trusted colleagues, learning along the way what it takes to be a firefighter and become a hero in their own right.

It wouldn’t be Pontypandy without Dilys’ shop and so off we went to play, sorting fruit and tins into the correct places and working the till to make sure we could get the shop in tip top condition. I like that even though it is supposed to be based around Fireman Sam, it still has these added extras that fans of the show know and love.

Juno the jet ski is there for all to whizz around on, even us adults had a go and then there are slides to get back down to dry land. There was even a fireman’s pole, because who doesn’t love sliding down a pole.

Luckily, the Fireman Sam themed room is the last room you go into (although you can move between them all during your time inside) so it isn’t as busy. This means that we got to spend extra time battling fires and playing.

And then the best thing in the world happened. Fireman Sam himself turned up to check that his new helpers were working hard. The boys were starstruck that they had seen their idol, got a photo with him and even got to high-five him. It’s safe to say that it was the best way to end our tour of Mattel Play! Liverpool.