Opening date nears for epic new $900k play centre

There will be two Australian firsts at the 1100sq m children’s play centre which is soon to open at Sunshine Plaza.

Concept images showing what to expect at Rush Adventureland when it opens at Sunshine Plaza in December. To the right are the hyper bymper cars.

There will be two Australian firsts at a 1100sq m children’s play centre which is just three months away from opening at Sunshine Plaza.

Rush Adventureland has been seven months in the making and will be the Coast’s largest indoor family entertainment centre once it opens at the shopping centre opposite Woolworths in December.

Owner Jim Perry said the $900,000 facility would be similar to other children’s play centres, but twice the size and with several attractions not seen before in Australia.

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They include the Air Coaster, giving children the opportunity to have their own Nikki Webster Olympic performance moment, by flying around the roof of the building while attached to a harness.

The second is sensory rooms built specifically for children with autism and special needs.

“It involves interactive projectors on the walls, which display for example, scenes from the Great Barrier Reef,” Mr Perry said.

What the climbing walls will look like at Rush Adventureland, a new indoor play centre opening at Sunshine Plaza in December.

“Children can walk up to it and swipe their hands across the wall and it will look like they are touching the water.”

The sensory play area will also be available for schools to hire for educational purposes.

There will also be a 120-seat cafe, general play areas, a Ninja course, ropes course, bumper cars, a dedicated toddler area and four party rooms.

Mr Perry said they worked with playground designers MJ Playgrounds and specialists from Sensory Wizard to create the immersive play space.

It is not the company’s only investment in the Sunshine Coast, with its manufacturing head office to relocate from Sydney to Coolum Beach at the end of the year.

Concept images showing what to expect at Rush Adventureland when it opens at Sunshine Plaza in December.

Mr Perry said that next month they would advertise for 50 staff.

“We’ll be looking at offering training too, for example for young people who want to get their Cert III in hospitality,” he said.

“We’ll also have jobs for the over 50s, who we’ll be targeting for the operating times while teenagers are at school.”

Mr Perry, a Coast resident of 15 years, said through various discussions with Sunshine Coast Council it became obvious the region was in need of indoor activities for children, particularly during the wet season.

“Ultimately the deciding factor for us to get this started was with the international borders closed for a long time we decided with Australians having to holiday here, we believe this Christmas coming will be a bumper Christmas, particularly for the Sunshine Coast and we want to be part of that,” he said.

Initiatives such as drop and shop and drop and dine will also be offered, allowing parents to drop their children at the facility and shop at the plaza, or on Thursday to Saturday nights for parents to dine out at the plaza or Ocean St.

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