Review of Manchester Ice Rink at Media City 2019
The Manchester Ice Rink at Media City is now open for 2019 and we were invited along to check it out. Here is what we thought.
The Manchester Ice Rink is making its first visit to Media City for Christmas 2019. The ice rink will be running until the 23rd December 2019 (see here for times and details) and we were kindly invited along to their press night for the purpose of an honest review. We sent our reviewer Gemma and her family along to check it out and here is what they thought.
Review of Manchester Ice Rink at Media City 2019
A trip to a Christmas Ice Rink has become one of our Christmas run up traditions and we were therefore very excited when we were invited along to check out the The Manchester Ice Rink at Media City 2019.
We decided to drive to the event, parking at the Media City Car Park which costs £4.50 mid week and £3.50 at the weekend for upto two hours. Media City is also serviced by the Manchester Metro Link on the blue line.
The ice rink is located at the right hand side of Media City at the end of the main restuarant strip and was easy to find from the carpark. My children loved having a look around the area and it was lovely to take a peek at the Media City Christmas Markets.
On entering the rink, we were greeted with lovely Christmas decorations and trees, giving us an instant festive feel. After collecting our tickets at the box office we picked up our boots. We were informed that they had full boots from child size 1, with skates that go over shoes for smaller feet and were advised to size up as the boots tended to be a tighter fit.
Once our boots were on, we headed to the rink with my 10 year old son full of confidence and my 7 year old daughter more hesitant. However on the ice, the roles reversed.
The Manchester Ice Rink offers character skating aids given out on a first come basis and once my daughter managed to bag herself a reindeer, her nerves disappeared and she was off. It wasn’t long before she abandoned her new horned friend, skating around by herself and with the help of the sides now and again. I have never seen her so proud of herself.
My son not wanting an aid, intially lost his confidence on the ice and took a little bit of time to find his skating feet. However the ice rink staff were on hand to give him a few tips and he was soon happy to let go of the wall, making it around the rink ‘without holding on’ a good few times and had the biggest smile on his face.
After lots of time practing on the rink, it was time for some refreshments. The entrance to the rink has a bar serving a whole host of drinks including hot cider, mulled wine, beer, soft drinks and of course hot chocolate, which was my daughter’s choice (gifted) and which she throughly enjoyed. Those wanting to watch the ice skating fun can enjoy their drinks in the Retreat which features wooden tables and chairs.
All in all we were really impressed with the The Manchester Ice Rink. The rink is a good size, it’s under cover so perfect no matter the weather and felt it was well organised. The Media City location is also a bonus. The area has a more relaxed feel than in the city centre, without losing out on the Christmas charm with the Media City Christmas markets, a good choice of restaurants and the Lowry Outlet on the doorstop.
Most importantly we all had a great time. The children both loved perfecting their new skills and I enjoyed both putting my basic skating skills to practice and watching them have so much fun. Add in the fact that we are thinking of another trip to the rink and the Media City markets in a few weeks so that my husband can join in too, we would highly recommend a visit to the The Manchester Ice Rink at Media City for Christmas 2019.
Tickets to The Manchester Ice Rink at Media City cost £13 for adults and £11 for children.
For details on how to book, ice rink times and more information see here.
