We visited Changi Festive Village where you can go glamping, drive a dino-kart and frolic in a double-storey snow fun house

The year-end holidays are usually when Changi Airport is the busiest, with many headed overseas for their winter holidays. There may not be any travel this year, thanks to Covid-19, but it doesn’t mean that things are going to be any less festive at Changi.

A festive village has been set up across Jewel, Terminal 3 and Terminal 4 and it’s packed with fun activities and specially set-up attractions to bring the festive spirit to the year end season. After all, who says you can should only visit Changi Airport if you have a ticket headed out of Singapore? 

We got to take a tour of everything that’s going on at Changi Festive Village and here are our picks of what you shouldn’t miss.

Jewel

Glamping in the Clouds

Switch things up from the usual hotel staycation by glamping in Jewel. You can choose to set up camp at either Shiseido Forest Valley on Level 1 or Cloud9 Piazza on Level 5, with each one giving you quite different experience.

I was initially sceptical when I heard that they were putting a queen-sized air bed into the tents, as I thought it would make the space too squeezy and I would feel claustrophobic.

Hence, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the tent was sufficiently roomy with enough space for two to sleep and move about comfortably.

Each tent is also furnished with soft pillows, blankets, lamps and fairy lights. I was also impressed that there was a fan provided for ventilation too.

Don’t feel like staying the night? Book a tent for a picnic in the day — choose from two 3-hour time slots, 11.15am to 2.15pm or 3pm to 6pm.

Each tent has a long table that can fit up to five guests and this comes arranged with disposable plates, cutlery and glasses.

However, you will have to bring your own food and drinks. Alternatively, you can opt to get an add-on picnic basket that comes with pre-packed fruits snacks, drinks and card games.

A Night at the Airport @ Changi Experience Studio — 2D1N family camp

Families with kids aged six to 12 can opt for the 2D1N family camp which will be held at Changi Experience Studio.

During the day, kids can attend workshops which will include activities such as drone-flying, terrarium building and aqua-scaping.

Little ones can also check out the behind-the-scenes operations of the airport that include getting up close and personal with Changi’s very own team of firefighters and vehicles.

After a long day of fun, the kids get to crawl into the provided tents to get some shut eye. Do note that you have to bring your own sleeping bags, or you can also just opt to join the day programmes and workshops without sleeping over.

Terminal 3

tokidoki Snow Holiday

Many Singaporeans look forward to heading overseas and experiencing snow at the year of the year.

And with travel not in the horizon, Changi Airport has created another way you can have snow right here on our sunny island with its very own double-storey snow fun house that you can play in.

The tokidoki Snow Holiday is located in Terminal 3 with temperatures at sub-zero levels, guests can frolic around in the icy snow. Adding to the fun is a 12-metre snow luge that you can slide down. Of course, there are also tokidoki figurines you can take photos for the gram with.

While I was inside surrounded by snow, for awhile I forgot that I was in Singapore. The snow luge was particularly fun and more thrilling than what I expected being pushed down a slope while seated in a rubber buoy to be. 

And while it was designed with kids in mind, I have every intention of coming back as I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Each activity pass also includes rental of winter jackets, gloves and boots, so you won’t need to lug down your own winter gear. Socks though are not provided, so bring your own.

Terminal 4

Dino Kart

Get your adrenaline pumping at Dino Kart, a go-karting experience where you can zip around a bendy track that is lined with neon-coloured dinosaurs. And if the place looks familiar, it’s actually where the Terminal 4’s taxi stand is and it has been repurposed for this fun activity.

They may not seem to go very fast, but each go-kart can go up to 24km/h for adults. For kids, the speed is capped at 8km/h, so it’s perfectly safe.

Though I don’t have a driver’s license, I managed to easily manoeuvre the go-kart and had fun twisting and turning around the track.

Dino Fest & Dino Bounce

If you still have plenty of energy to spare, check out Dino Bounce, a 30-metre-long bouncy castle with a four-metre-tall slide and a tree maze.

When we visited, the Dino Bounce had not yet been set up, but from what we can tell, the young and young at heart will enjoy bopping up and down on it.

Nearby is the Dino Fest, a dinosaur-themed festive market with around 50 stalls offering an array of food and drinks, as well as festive and dinosaur-themed merchandise.

The Changi Festive Village runs from now to Jan 3, 2021. Timings for the various attractions and activities vary and the full list of details can be found here. 

melissateo@asiaone.com