Orchard Central with Kids: 2 Classes, a Closed Funground and a 30 November Deadline (2026)

2 October 2026 · 11 min read

Three of the four Orchard Central tenants on Jungle will not be there by Christmas. X-Scap8, the Level 7 funground, closed on 22 February 2026. Hueplay Studio has moved to Beach Road. And on 25 July 2026 Far East Organization told every tenant on Levels 5 to 8, 11 and 12 to be out by 30 November, so the floors can become offices for Deloitte from 2027.

That leaves Am I Addicted, the Korean pottery studio on Level 5, and Evolve MMA on Level 6, both with the same leaving date and neither with a new address announced. If you want the adult-and-child pottery hour or the free Little Samurai introduction, book it in October or November.

What stays is Levels 1 to 4 and the two basements: Don Don Donki open 24 hours, the Hokkaido Marche food street under it, Clayful Art Cafe's pottery painting on Level 3, and Kiseki, where a child under 1.1m eats free, until its Level 8 lease ends. There is no play area for small children, and there never was.

This guide covers every kids' reason to go, place by place, with the unit, the hours and the price, plus the free playground 3 minutes away at 313@Somerset. For the rest of the street, read our guide to things to do with kids in Orchard Road and River Valley.

Quick steer

• Best for a rainy hour with a toddler: nothing inside. 313@Somerset's Sky Terrace playground, free, through Somerset MRT.
• Best free thing: library@orchard in Orchard Gateway, joined to the mall, 10am to 9pm Monday to Saturday.
• Best class to trial first: Evolve MMA, complimentary introductory class, #06-01, before 30 November 2026.
• Best age for this mall: 8 to 14.

Family favourites: play at Orchard Central

Orchard Central has no soft play and no toddler playground, and the two things on its upper floors that count as play are closed or closing. We list them with their dates, then the three free places within a five-minute walk, because that is where you will end up.

1. X-Scap8: closed since 22 February 2026

X-Scap8 opened at #07-02 as Singapore's first indoor funground: a 10-metre high-elements course over three levels, a ninja-style X-Warrior Challenge, a floor-is-lava room, a retro arcade and a smash lab for over-18s. It closed on 22 February 2026, nine months before the Level 7 lease deadline, and its ticket page lists no events. Jungle still carries the listing. Do not plan a visit around it.

Why kids will love it: Nothing to love now. If your child wanted the high ropes, there is no comparable course on Orchard Road, and the under-10s needed an adult beside them on it anyway.

Website: X-Scap8 ticket page
Address: 181 Orchard Road, #07-02, Orchard Central, Singapore 238896. Google Maps
Opening hours: Closed since 22 February 2026. No reopening.
Price: Was $29 to $38 per attraction.
Ages: Was 120cm and up for the high elements.
Nearest MRT: Somerset (NS23).

2. Sandbox VR: last day 30 November 2026

Sandbox VR at #05-31 is a full-body virtual reality arena: up to six players in haptic vests and headsets, fighting zombies, pirates or Squid Game guards for a 30-minute session. Players must be 8 or over and at least 1.2m tall, and the zombie titles are rated for 15 and up. Tickets start at $48 per guest on weekdays and $65 at weekends. It told the press it leaves at the end of November, with no new Orchard address.

Why kids will love it: Being the one in the family who finds the exit. Best for ages 10 to 14 with a parent who will play too; an 8-year-old finds the headset heavy by minute 20. Book a weekday slot, the difference is $17 a head.

View on Jungle: not yet listed
Website: Sandbox VR Orchard Central
Address: 181 Orchard Road, #05-31, Orchard Central, Singapore 238896. Google Maps
Opening hours: Mon to Thu 10.50am to 9.30pm. Fri to Sun 9.50am to 9.30pm. Last day 30 November 2026.
Price: From $48 per guest on weekdays, $65 at weekends.
Ages: 8 and up, minimum height 1.2m. Some titles 15 and up.
Nearest MRT: Somerset (NS23).

3. 313@Somerset Sky Terrace playground, 3 minutes away

The nearest free playground is on Level 5 of 313@Somerset, on the other side of Somerset MRT station. It is a padded outdoor corner by the Sky Terrace, reached through the Food Republic food court: a low slide, a red play house, a springer, a mini suspension bridge and a tree-themed play panel, plus coin-operated rides. It is built for ages 2 to 5 and open 10am to 10pm. Our last dated description is from March 2024.

Why kids will love it: A slide they can manage alone while you finish a coffee from the food court. Best for ages 2 to 4. Go before 11am or after 5pm; the terrace has little shade, and high heels are banned on the padding.

View on Jungle: not yet listed
Website: 313@Somerset
Address: 313 Orchard Road, Level 5 Sky Terrace, 313@Somerset, Singapore 238895. Google Maps
Opening hours: 10am to 10pm daily.
Price: Free.
Ages: 2 to 5.
Nearest MRT: Somerset (NS23), direct access.

4. library@orchard, inside Orchard Gateway

Orchard Gateway is joined to Orchard Central, and library@orchard occupies its Levels 3 and 4. It is the National Library Board's design and lifestyle branch, with curved shelves, a reading lounge and a programme room, and it is free. It is not a children's library: reviews disagree on whether there is a children's shelf at all, so treat it as the quiet, air-conditioned hour for a primary-age reader, not a toddler storytime.

Why kids will love it: A library that looks like a spaceship, and a seat by the window over Orchard Road. Best for ages 8 to 14 who will read for an hour. Sunday hours are short, 11am to 5pm.

View on Jungle: not yet listed
Website: library@orchard, NLB
Address: 277 Orchard Road, Levels 3 and 4, Orchard Gateway, Singapore 238858. Google Maps
Opening hours: Mon to Sat 10am to 9pm. Sun 11am to 5pm.
Price: Free.
Ages: Best for 8 and up.
Nearest MRT: Somerset (NS23).

5. Istana Park, across Orchard Road

Istana Park is the 1.3-hectare strip opposite the Istana gates, bounded by Orchard Road, Penang Road and Buyong Road, and open 24 hours. There is no playground. There is the 26-metre Festival Arch over a pool, seasonal flower beds and a palm collection, which is enough for a toddler who needs to run after a basement of Don Don Donki. Far East's redevelopment plan includes a new pedestrian bridge from the mall to a revamped park, with no date.

Why kids will love it: Open space, a pool to point at and no shop to be dragged through. Best for ages 1 to 5 for twenty minutes. There is no car park; walk from the mall and cross at the lights.

View on Jungle: not yet listed
Website: Istana Park, NParks
Address: Istana Park, Orchard Road at Penang Road, Singapore. Google Maps
Opening hours: 24 hours.
Price: Free.
Ages: Any.
Nearest MRT: Dhoby Ghaut (NS24/NE6/CC1), or five minutes on foot from Orchard Central.

The small things inside the mall are retail, not play. Hands at #B1-07, the Japanese craft and stationery store that used to be Tokyu Hands, is where the school project supplies come from. Don Don Donki on Basements 1 and 2 is open 24 hours and sells the Japanese sweets and the cheap character stationery. Uniqlo's global flagship has the full kids' range. There are no kiddy rides and no toy shop.

Learn and play: classes at Orchard Central you can book on Jungle

Jungle lists four Orchard Central merchants. Two are gone. The two that remain, a pottery studio and a martial arts gym, are both on floors that empty on 30 November 2026. One unlisted pottery painting cafe on Level 3 is the only one of the three that stays.

6. Am I Addicted Korean Pottery Studio

Photo: Am I Addicted, Jungle listing

Am I Addicted at #05-37 to 52 is a 10,000 square foot Korean pottery studio. Wheel throwing is for 12 and over: $98 for two hours with one or two pieces and five glaze colours, or a one-hour quick trial from $49. Hand building takes all ages at $98 for two hours. The kids' option is one hour for an adult and a child, one piece each, from $98. Pieces are fired and delivered free some weeks later.

Its Level 5 lease ends on 30 November 2026 and the studio has announced no new address. Book for October or November, and ask where late pieces will be collected from.

Why kids will love it: Mud up to the elbows and a lopsided bowl that arrives at home glazed and real. Best for ages 4 to 10 on the hand-building table; the wheel is 12 and up. The $98 adult-and-child hour is the one to book for a first go.

Book on Jungle: Am I Addicted
Website: Am I Addicted
Address: 181 Orchard Road, #05-37 to 52, Orchard Central, Singapore 238896. Google Maps
Opening hours: 10am to 9pm daily, until 30 November 2026.
Price: Adult-and-child hour from $98 for two pieces. Hand building $98 for two hours. Wheel $98 for two hours, quick trial from $49.
Ages: All ages for hand building. 12 and up for the wheel.

7. Evolve MMA

Photo: Evolve MMA, Jungle listing

Evolve MMA at #06-01 is the chain's Orchard gym, open 6.30am to 11pm on weekdays, with Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and MMA floors, 15 showers and 100 lockers. The children's programme runs in three bands: Little Samurai and Little Warrior for 4 to 6, BJJ Kids and Muay Thai Kids for 7 to 9, and Preteen for 10 to 13, in 45-minute sessions with two instructors. On the July 2025 timetable the 4-to-6 classes fall mid-afternoon on weekdays.

The first class is a complimentary introduction. Membership fees are not published. The Level 6 lease ends on 30 November 2026, and Evolve has not said where Orchard members go; its other gyms are Far East Square, Clarke Quay Central, Star Vista and KINEX.

Why kids will love it: Kicking a pad as hard as they like and a stripe on the belt for it. Best for ages 5 to 9 who need to run before they can sit. Take the free class, then ask which gym the Orchard timetable moves to before paying for a term.

Book on Jungle: Evolve MMA
Website: Evolve MMA Orchard Central
Address: 181 Orchard Road, #06-01, Orchard Central, Singapore 238896. Google Maps
Opening hours: Mon to Fri 6.30am to 11pm. Sat and Sun 7am to 10pm. Kids' classes by timetable.
Price: Complimentary introductory class. Evolve MMA does not publish its membership fees online. Call 6238 1989.
Ages: 4 to 13 for the kids' programme.

8. Clayful Art Cafe

Clayful Art Cafe at #03-23 is pottery painting, not pottery making: pick a bisque piece, a cup, a plate, a coin bank or a glass, priced $8 to $18, pay a studio fee of $30 for two hours ($20 for students), and paint it at a cafe table. Firing is included. Glassware and coin banks go home the same day; the rest is ready in about seven days. Level 3 is not on the November list.

Why kids will love it: A plate with their own cat on it that comes back shiny. Best for ages 5 to 12; a three-year-old can do it with a parent holding the piece. It is a two-hour clock, so eat first or order the mains from $22 there.

View on Jungle: not yet listed
Website: Clayful
Address: 181 Orchard Road, #03-23, Orchard Central, Singapore 238896. Google Maps
Opening hours: Sun to Thu 11am to 10pm. Fri and Sat 11am to 11pm.
Price: Studio fee $30 for two hours, $20 for students, plus $8 to $18 per piece. Firing included.
Ages: Any. Under-fives with a parent.

Hueplay Studio, the tufting and punch-needle studio that Jungle lists at #04-07 for ages 8 and up, now gives its address as 345 Beach Road, #02-01, and its site no longer mentions Orchard Central. If an earlier guide sent you here for it, it is a ten-minute taxi ride away now.

One of the two remaining centres offers a free trial. For the island-wide list, read our guide to free trial classes for kids in Singapore. Browse Orchard Central classes on Jungle.

Eat with kids at Orchard Central

There are about 30 food outlets in the 2026 directory. One has a children's price, Kiseki, and it is on Level 8, so it goes by 30 November. Nothing in the building publishes a kids' menu. The basement food street under Don Don Donki is where most families eat.

9. Hokkaido Marche, the food street under Don Don Donki

Hokkaido Marche at #B2-11 is the Japanese food court inside Don Don Donki on Basement 2: seven self-service stalls and one table-service counter doing ramen, donburi, sushi and grilled sets, with a pork belly set at $11.50 and ramen around $12. Donki around it is open 24 hours; the food street's own 2026 hours are not published, and the last dated review has it at 11am to 11pm. It is not halal. Seating is close at 12.30pm.

Why kids will love it: A tray of their own chosen things, a soft-serve from Donki on the way out, and the cheapest hot meal in the building. Best for ages 3 and up. Come at 11.30am, before the lunch queue.

View on Jungle: not yet listed
Website: Don Don Donki Singapore
Address: 181 Orchard Road, #B2-11, Orchard Central, Singapore 238896. Google Maps
Opening hours: Don Don Donki 24 hours. Hokkaido Marche's own hours could not be confirmed online; the last dated listing is 11am to 11pm.
Price: Sets from about $9.50 to $12.
Nearest MRT: Somerset (NS23).

10. Kiseki Japanese Buffet: under 1.1m eat free, children $16.90

Kiseki at #08-01 to 03 is the Japanese buffet Orchard knows: sashimi, sushi, tempura, shabu-shabu and grilled items, lunch 11.30am to 3pm and dinner 6pm to 10pm. The children's deal is the clearest on the street: under 1.1m free, 1.1m to 1.4m pay $16.90++ at lunch and $19.90++ at dinner, above 1.4m pay adult prices. Prices rise on festive days. It is Kiseki's only outlet, Level 8 empties on 30 November 2026, and its site carries no notice.

Why kids will love it: Choosing their own sashimi and going back for a fourth plate of tamago. Best for ages 4 to 12 at lunch, when the child price is $16.90 and the queue is shorter. Measure your child first; the height bands are on the price board.

View on Jungle: not yet listed
Website: Kiseki pricing
Address: 181 Orchard Road, #08-01 to 03, Orchard Central, Singapore 238896. Google Maps
Opening hours: Lunch 11.30am to 3pm, last order 2.30pm. Dinner 6pm to 10pm, last order 9.30pm. Daily.
Price: Child 1.1m to 1.4m $16.90++ lunch, $19.90++ dinner. Under 1.1m free. Adult $30.90++ lunch, $49.90++ dinner.
Nearest MRT: Somerset (NS23).

The rest of the kid-friendly list

• K.Cook Korean BBQ Buffet, #07-01: weekday lunch $20.90++, no child price published. Leaves with Level 7 on 30 November.
• Genki Sushi, #04-30: conveyor-belt sushi a four-year-old can order from the screen. Level 4 stays.
• Nothing But Cheeseburger, #04-23: the $11.90 burger, 11.30am to 9pm.
• Tenya, #B1-01: tempura on rice from $14.10, fast, 11am to 9.30pm.
• Real Food, #02-16 to 19: vegetarian, mains from $10.80, for the child who eats vegetables.
• Overscoop, #02-12: gelato from $5.20 a scoop, open to 11pm.
• Lady M, #01-27 and #02-07: the $12 crepe cake slice for a birthday.
• Walking on Sunshine, #03-07: the cafe on the Clayful floor, 10am to 8pm.
• Nantsuttei, #07-12/13: tonkotsu ramen $12.90, moving to a new unit inside the mall.

If you want a children's menu with a price on it, The Centrepoint, three minutes along the road, has GoroGoro's child buffet price in our guide linked below.

Family facilities at Orchard Central

• Nursing rooms: on Levels 3, 4 and 7. The Level 4 room, by the toilets near Tanuki Raw, has hot and cold water, a sink and a bench, and no changing table.
• Changing: fold-down stations are in the accessible toilets, not the nursing rooms. Expect the Level 7 room to close with the floor.
• Family parking: none published. The car park is on Level 9 with direct access to the mall floors.
• Car park, weekdays: $2.73 for the first hour, then $0.68 per 15 minutes. $4.09 per entry from 6pm to midnight.
• Car park, weekends and public holidays: $2.94 for the first hour, then $0.74 per 15 minutes. $4.41 per entry from 6pm to midnight.
• Parking rebate: none published for shoppers. shopFarEast members can pay with SFEPark$ earned on spend. The grace period is 10 minutes.
• Stroller loan: not offered on the mall's site. There are 12 glass lifts; the super escalator from the street to Level 4 is not for prams.
• Mall hours: Orchard Central publishes no single opening time. Don Don Donki is open 24 hours; most shops open at 11am and the restaurants run to 10pm.
• Roof garden: the Level 11 and 12 roof garden and the Discovery Walk are listed as open 24 hours. Both floors empty on 30 November; check before promising it.

Getting there

Orchard Central is at 181 Orchard Road, joined to Orchard Gateway and across Somerset MRT from 313@Somerset.

• By MRT: Somerset (NS23) gives direct access; the mall is a two-minute walk from the station. Dhoby Ghaut (NS24/NE6/CC1) is about ten minutes along Orchard Road.
• By bus: 7, 14, 16, 65, 106, 111, 123, 175 and 502 stop at Midpoint Orchard outside. 123, 143, 587, 590 and 598 stop at Orchard Plaza.
• By car and taxi: the taxi stand is at the Killiney Road entrance. The car park is on Level 9, with the mall's lifts beside it.

Make a day of it

Everything Orchard Central lacks for a child is within five minutes on foot.

• The Centrepoint, three minutes along Orchard Road: Pirate Land at $25.90 an hour with one adult, a free reading corner and five classes, in our guide to The Centrepoint with kids.
• 313@Somerset, through the MRT station: the free Sky Terrace playground above, nursing rooms on Basement 3, Levels 1 and 5, and family lots on Levels 6 and 7. K Bowling Club there is on Jungle for ages 5 and up.
• Orchard Gateway, joined to the mall: library@orchard, above, and the covered walk to Somerset MRT.
• Forum The Shopping Mall, ten minutes by taxi at the western end: 11 enrichment centres and a $5 play area, in our guide to Forum The Shopping Mall with kids.
• Closed right now: X-Scap8 on Level 7, since 22 February 2026. Sandbox VR, Am I Addicted, Evolve MMA, Kiseki and K.Cook all leave by 30 November 2026.

At a glance

Orchard Central with kids is a two-month window: the pottery hour and the free martial arts class before 30 November, the painted plate and the basement food street after. Book a trial before you go, and browse every enrichment class on Orchard Road on Jungle.