Baby Girl's 1st Movie Experience!

Things that don't go together: Babies & Cinemas.

Except this time, GV has put them both together in the screening of movies specially for Mums and Babies.

I was invited by Baby I's mum QP to go watch Hop at Plaza Singapura with our babies yesterday. Both of us had always wanted to bring our babies to the cinema but were worried as we wondered whether they would kick up a big fuss, ruin the show and waste our money! So this was a great opportunity to test out their reactions as well as have some mother-baby time while their daddies were at work.

It went better than expected!

Watching a movie for the 1st time at the theatre!

Girlee sat still and watched the first 30 minutes of the movie before she got too tired and took a nap while lying on me. That freed me to watch the middle part of the movie in peace until she woke up at the climax of the movie to watch the ending.

Baby I is 5 months younger than Girlee (he's 7 months old) so it was amazing that he didn't cry during the movie either. He was pretty good throughout, albeit the constant fidgeting (which was expected), zero napping and diaper change. GV had thoughtfully provided a changing table at the corner of the theatre so that QP could easily change his diapers.

Changing table in the theatre

However, the only bad thing was that there wasn't a bin next to it so there was no where to dispose of the soiled diapers. QP had to wait till the end of the movie before disposing it outside, which was kind of inconvenient. Nevertheless, we had a really good time with our kids and will definitely do it again =)

Later on we had lunch at Fruit Paradise, which had the best tarts I ever tasted!

Fruit Paradise at Plaza Singapura

We had the promotional set lunch, which comprised of delicious chicken and wagyu hamburger patty, and their famous tarts (mine was banana and chocolate). It was delicious! I totally loved it and will definitely bring my dessert-crazy mum and sister here the next time =)

After lunch, we decided to check out the Family Lounge that I have heard about but have never been to. It was a beautiful space but there was a catch: you need to spend a minimum of $50 in Plaza Singapura before you're allowed to use it for one hour.

Oh, there's also a ton of other rules. The purchase only allowed for the entry of 1 adult & 2 kids or 2 adults & 1 kid or 2 adults only. If you have 2 adults and 2 kids (like we did), you need to spend $100. But the $100 you spend cannot be in one receipt as one receipt counts as only one purchase so it only allowed for the above said configurations of entry.

Confused? We sure were, and so were a couple of mothers who were behind us asking the receptionist about the entry requirements.

QP and I had only spent just above $50 so by right both of us couldn't enter at the same time. But I managed to convince the receptionist to let us both in as we will only take 15 minutes in there (you'll understand why in a bit).

Family Lounge at Plaza Singapura

It is no wonder that they had to put so many rules in place. The lounge was really neat and was designed with children and their tired parents in mind. The sofas were comfy, there were magazines to read and complimentary coffee or tea to drink.

TV and a library of books to entertain your kids

Older children could watch TV, read a book or..

Activity area for colouring and watching TV

..take part in coloring or other activities in the activity room (no shoes allowed in this space FYI).

Massage chair for tired legs

Parents can even have a nice massage.

Nevertheless, this room was not baby-friendly at all. On top of all the rules, the lounge did not have a nursing room, a baby changing area or high-chairs. One look at the place from outside and I knew we wouldn't stay there longer than 15 minutes as it is just not appropriate for our babies.

If Plaza Singapura really wanted to make their mall a more family-friendly place by including this lounge as an attraction for families, they should really consider reducing the number of rules and including the little ones in the space as well.

Overall, it was a great day of fun but I will most probably not be visiting this non-baby-friendly mall with my baby again if I can help it (unless it's for the wonderful tarts). QP and I will most likely choose Vivocity for our next Mums & Babies movie hangout. Join us if you can =)