John, meet Playmobil, Playmobil, meet John!
John is storming the Castle! (Nelson is waiting to repell the invaders!)Our stop in Playmobil Land was to fulfil one of John’s two requests for places to visit on our trip. (The other is the pyramids in Egypt, we’ll get there too). We arrived in Nurnburg, the closest train station, at about 6 p.m., after an uneventful ride from Prague. We rolled our way over to the tourist information office and asked if they would book a hotel for us…but there was no room in the inn…at least nothing for less than 200 euros! When we told the kind clerk that we were in town for the express purpose of visiting Playmobil land she told us that we would be better off at the Playmobil Hotel. No Kidding! The Playmobil World Hotel has the best, most elegant and family friendly rooms we have ever seen. We got the “airport” theme, the walls in the alcove designated the children’s room (bunkbeds) were painted with Playmobil Airport characters.
There were Playmobil smiley faces on the sheets, the pillows, and embossed on the walls. There were Playmobil smiley faces on the towels and on the plastic toothbrush cups. This all sounds a bit like over-kill, but it was actually quite subtle, and very entertaining. There was a notice on the back of the door reminding us that if we took any of the stuff away with us we’d pay for it, and inviting us to take the toothbrush cups as souveniers. We did.
Some hotels leave chocolates on the pillows or have guest baskets of fruit in the rooms. At Playmobil Land Hotel there’s a Playmobil toy on the counter! John was in heaven and Nelson and I were relieved because we had all been worried that the place might turn out to be a big rip off, but it was turning out to be perfect. Things just got better after that.
We ate supper at the Playmobil Land “beer garden”, under the shadow of the giant castle. We discovered later, during the daylight hours, this is the Playmobil Land cafeteria. The next morning we were up and off just as soon as possible. John began the day by playing with the Playmobil toys in the hotel “family room” while he waited for the grown ups to do the tedious things that grown ups do in the morning.
We ate breakfast in Playmobil Land….as hotel guests we had special passes to get in at 7:30 in th morning, even though the park does not open until 9:00. There is a large space adjoining the cafeteria that is full of the latest Playmobil toys. A dozen Roman ships, three tables (inside a Viking Ship) covered with Egyptian pyramids and props, a row of Playmobil castles full of knights and dragons….and all the other things John has seen in the catalogue and dreamed of playing with. There was one disappointment for me…no gas station. Not one. I don’t think it’s part of the Playmobil World anymore and I feel a bit nostalgic about it. I mentioned it to John, but I don't think it bothered him one bit.
Outside there really are life size Playmobil toys. The castle, the pirate ship, the tree house, the farm yard, the water world and the wild west town. John (and his parents!) scaled the castle walls and crawled through the dungeon, climbed from the top of the crow’s nest to the bottom of the hold in the pirate ship, paddled a raft on the lake, ran all over the high wire ladders and slides in the tree house, milked the cows in the barnyard (no kidding!), sailed boats in the river around Noah’s ark and panned for gold in the wild west town. We met a family from New Zealand in the wild west town. Their son showed us his stash of “gold” and said, “It’s not just for fun you know, you have to fill your treasure box!” John bought a treasure box, and got down to serious business.
Playmobil Land, as a park, reflects the philosophy of Playmobil toys. Children have to play with the park, it doesn’t play for them. None of the attractions are animated, computerized, or motorized. They are what the children (and their parents) make of them. And John made the best of it, all the time, whether he was on the giant toys outside or playing with the regular sized toys inside. We loved every minute of our stay in Playmobile World.
There were Playmobil smiley faces on the sheets, the pillows, and embossed on the walls. There were Playmobil smiley faces on the towels and on the plastic toothbrush cups. This all sounds a bit like over-kill, but it was actually quite subtle, and very entertaining. There was a notice on the back of the door reminding us that if we took any of the stuff away with us we’d pay for it, and inviting us to take the toothbrush cups as souveniers. We did.
Some hotels leave chocolates on the pillows or have guest baskets of fruit in the rooms. At Playmobil Land Hotel there’s a Playmobil toy on the counter! John was in heaven and Nelson and I were relieved because we had all been worried that the place might turn out to be a big rip off, but it was turning out to be perfect. Things just got better after that.
We ate supper at the Playmobil Land “beer garden”, under the shadow of the giant castle. We discovered later, during the daylight hours, this is the Playmobil Land cafeteria. The next morning we were up and off just as soon as possible. John began the day by playing with the Playmobil toys in the hotel “family room” while he waited for the grown ups to do the tedious things that grown ups do in the morning.
We ate breakfast in Playmobil Land….as hotel guests we had special passes to get in at 7:30 in th morning, even though the park does not open until 9:00. There is a large space adjoining the cafeteria that is full of the latest Playmobil toys. A dozen Roman ships, three tables (inside a Viking Ship) covered with Egyptian pyramids and props, a row of Playmobil castles full of knights and dragons….and all the other things John has seen in the catalogue and dreamed of playing with. There was one disappointment for me…no gas station. Not one. I don’t think it’s part of the Playmobil World anymore and I feel a bit nostalgic about it. I mentioned it to John, but I don't think it bothered him one bit.
Outside there really are life size Playmobil toys. The castle, the pirate ship, the tree house, the farm yard, the water world and the wild west town. John (and his parents!) scaled the castle walls and crawled through the dungeon, climbed from the top of the crow’s nest to the bottom of the hold in the pirate ship, paddled a raft on the lake, ran all over the high wire ladders and slides in the tree house, milked the cows in the barnyard (no kidding!), sailed boats in the river around Noah’s ark and panned for gold in the wild west town. We met a family from New Zealand in the wild west town. Their son showed us his stash of “gold” and said, “It’s not just for fun you know, you have to fill your treasure box!” John bought a treasure box, and got down to serious business.
Playmobil Land, as a park, reflects the philosophy of Playmobil toys. Children have to play with the park, it doesn’t play for them. None of the attractions are animated, computerized, or motorized. They are what the children (and their parents) make of them. And John made the best of it, all the time, whether he was on the giant toys outside or playing with the regular sized toys inside. We loved every minute of our stay in Playmobile World.
Sounds like Nirvana for kids... and a beer garden for the tall people.. Perfect!
ReplyDeleteIts great to hear all about your travels...
LeAnne