Themed Playgrounds

Joey’s World is Bowmanville Ontario’s latest and most exciting indoor play facility built by entrepreneur and developer, Gord Gill.

Gord’s vision was captured by Orca Coast Playground through a series of discussions, sketches, brainstorming and planning.

“With an exciting triple level climbing wall that is themed as a skyscraper, kids can feel like spiderman and really provides a unique activity not found anywhere else in Ontario”, states Bill Dunbar, President of Orca Coast Playground Ltd. View the Joey’s World website

On February 15th, the Orca Coast Playgrounds team was at Assiniboine Park Zoo for the grand opening of our Polar Playground at the Tundra Grill. We are especially proud of this installation. It not only serves as the hub for the multi-million dollar ‘Journey to Churchill’ attraction and destination, but also it’s designed as the most advanced integrated play system ever built.
But don’t take our word on the excitement our installation has created – check out these links to media coverage of the event: CBC NEWS | Metro | CTV NEWS | Winnipeg Free Press

One of the first of its kind, the Polar Playground, called Wapusk Owikiw (“The Polar Bear Lives Here”), is a fully immersive play area designed as an arctic wonderland of active participation. Designed to educate and entertain visitors on the great polar bears of Churchill, the interactive highlights include:

A moving ice-mass floor that responds to footsteps, bobbing and flowing underfoot
A thin-ice cave, with hidden messages revealed after ‘breaking through’ the floor
Responsive Aurora Borealis wall, where kids can conduct the northern lights
A wall-sized icicle xylophone
Games to find and learn about arctic animals, or to lead them safely home
Built in cleaning system, including central vacuum

Not only was the entire multi-story play structure designed in-house, it was built in our Vancouver, BC facility, entirely with North American-sourced materials. It was then taken apart and reassembled at the Tundra Grill; high-quality traditional playground elements melded with high-tech, integrated learning and play elements in a kid’s arctic wonderland.

TommyKplay is a kid’s dream come true. Packed to the brim with ways to have fun, the two Calgary play complexes house a huge variety of activities and installations designed to give kids ‘good, clean fun.’ With massive play structures, rock climbing walls, laser tag and mazes (and, quite importantly, a comfortable area for parents to enjoy a cup of coffee).

The Playground

The TommyKplay facilities posed an interesting challenge for Orca Coast Playgrounds. The facilities themselves were massive, and while that gave OCP plenty of room to play, there were large-scale seating requirements to work around, and a lot of imagination required to fill the space with an intense and diverse activity mix. Orca Coast was up to the task, and set about making the facilities one-of-a-kind; this included:

The playground has proved massively popular in the active and expansive Calgary market, an oasis in a city that spends a good chunk of the year under a blanket of snow. An oasis that has now been voted #1 in that crowded market. Orca Coast is pleased to have been a part of building that.

The Process

Orca Coast Playgrounds completed our first project for TommyKplay, at their first 8,000 sq.ft. location in 2011. When owners Tom and Brenda decided to open another, larger location, they brought OCP in again. That 14,000 sq. ft. facility opened in 2012.