12/07/2026
July and August are *really* tough months for us and other soft plays.
Wages, bills, vat and other overheads carry on regardless of how many customers come in to play.
Please support local, independent businesses during the summer, so that we can all still be here when winter comes back around 💙💙
Sending our love and support to Jolly Jumpers Play Zone
When we opened Ocean Adventurers back in 2019, we genuinely believed in doing things differently and creating somewhere special for children and families to make memories. We poured everything into it then, and we still do today.
What followed was a journey none of us could have predicted: a global pandemic, enforced closures, restrictions, soaring energy costs, rising wages, inflation and the ongoing reality that running a business is often far harder than people see from the outside.
Seeing another local soft-play business having to crowdfund to keep going is heartbreaking. We’re sending all our best wishes to the team at Jumpers and sincerely hope they receive the support they need, so that many more children can continue making memories there.
One of the biggest misconceptions about soft play is that if it looks busy on one day, it must be busy all the time. The reality is very different. When it rains, families naturally head indoors. When the sun comes out, many don’t. School holidays can be unpredictable, but the costs don’t stop when the customers do.
And this isn’t only about soft play. Independent cafés, restaurants, shops, attractions, salons and countless other businesses are facing similar challenges.
So, if you can, please support local. Visit the independent café. Buy from the local shop. Book the activity. Leave a positive review. Recommend a business to a friend. Those seemingly small decisions genuinely make a difference.
We know people see posts like this time and time again, but it takes a huge amount of courage to start a business—and even more resilience to keep trying to make it successful.
Running a business, whether you employ two people or 2,000, isn’t easy. We have enormous respect for everyone who gets up each day, keeps going through the difficult times and continues trying to create something worthwhile for their community.
Almost two-thirds of UK businesses don’t make it to their fifth birthday. Let’s do what we can to help our local businesses beat those odds. ❤️
And, in the spirit of supporting our local indoor-play sector, there are some brilliant venues to discover this summer.
Many of us are taking part in The Great Summer Savings campaign, meaning families can save the equivalent of VAT—20%—on their visits.
So, alongside supporting Jolly Jumpers, why not discover another fantastic local play venue, we’ve tagged a few below, have we missed anyone?
The Square, Wells
Little Explorers Play Cafe
Tiny Town Play Cafe
Kidsville WsM
Mini Kingdom Soft Play
Jump N Jackz Indoor Play Centre
Jungle Run Congresbury
M.O.M play cafe
Pickle Street
Space Adventurers
Jump Cribbs
Wild Things Play Project Bristol
Bridgwater play barn
Imagination Fascination
Planet Volt
…and so many more.
Please feel free to tag any favourite local independent business below and help more people discover it. ❤️ Association of Indoor Play
