Inflatable play attractions are hugely popular in the UK and we’re proud to have one of the few open air bouncing parks in the country here at Umberton Farm, not to mention the only one in the north of England. There are lots of amazing facts and figures about inflatables that you might not know – and things have certainly moved on since the earliest bouncy castles that weren’t much bigger than a double bed!
1. Australians love their inflatable slides
The World Records for tallest inflatable slide and tallest freestanding inflatable slide are both held by Australian inflatables.
The tallest inflatable slide measures 22.4 metres high and the record was set by Xscape at Belmont Park in Perth, Australia in 2016. The tallest freestanding inflatable slide isn’t quite so tall but it still measures 12.9 metres high. This record was set by The Beachouse and it was officially measured for the record at the Brian Nadilo Reserve in Adelaide, South Australia in November 2015.
2. Record beating bouncy castles are a UK speciality
Although the record was never verified by Guinness World Records, it’s likely that the biggest bouncy castle was first inflated at a festival in Southampton and it has been touring ever since (apart from during the pandemic). This monster is 12.8 metres high, 23.8 metres long and 20.7 metres wide. In fact, this giant bouncy castle is so big that 100 people can safely bounce and play on it at the same time!
3. Open Air Bounce sessions are a couple of hours but some people take it to extremes…
The longest ever marathon on a bouncy castle was a team effort and again, those bouncing Australians hold the record. A fundraising team of police officers (8 of them in all) from New South Wales spent a total of 43 hours, 25 minutes and one second on a bouncy castle (in relay) in May 2015. Impressively, that beat the previous record by six hours!
4. Inflatables aren’t as ancient as you might think
The natural latex rubber balloon was invented in 1824 and those are the most common type of balloons and, of course, inflatables. What you might not know is that this sort of balloon was invented by Michael Faraday, better known for his work on electricity.
5. It’s all in the name
Bouncy Castles have different names elsewhere in the world, even though they might still look like castles. In parts of America you’ll come across Bounce Houses. Jumping Castles are popular in Australia, Canada and South Africa. For us at Open Air Bounce, it’s all about inflatables – whatever their shape and whatever their names.
But now for some things that you DO know about inflatables:
- They’re fun (for children) – Children love to laugh and play together and that’s what Open Air Bounce is all about.
- They let you bounce around safely – We’re very conscious of safety and have all the safety precautions in place at Open Air Bounce. Our inflatables are checked regularly, as are their tetherings and fixings.
- They’re fun (for adults too!) – Adults love to watch their children having fun and grown ups can join in at our inflatables park.
- They come in all shapes and sizes – We’ve 14 different inflatables on site, from slides to castles, obstacle courses to mazes, all inflatable and all great places to play outdoors.
- And they’re fun (for everyone!).
If you’ve got other amazing facts about inflatables, please let us know or tag us on social media. It’s always fun to share this sort of thing and your facts could be even more fascinating than ours!
Don’t forget, we love the fact that we’re outdoors and in the fresh air but it’s not quite sunny and dry every day. So, for more information on indoor attractions, have a look at our 8 indoor family days out in Greater Manchester article.
