Pop Ups
This Summer, we’re celebrating 10 years of Gympanzees with our 10th Pop Up! With specialist activity spaces, adapted equipment and welcoming sessions for ages 0–25, it’s a chance to experience exercise and play without limits.
Your Guide to the Gympanzees Pop Up!
Everything you need to make a confident booking.
What is Gympanzees?
Gympanzees is a disabled children’s charity working to make fun, fitness and connection inclusive for all disabled children, young people and their families. We’re opening the UK’s first fully inclusive, purpose-built fitness and leisure centre in Spring 2027. While we work towards that, we run a series of Pop Up events enabling play, fitness and exercise for children and young people. This Summer we’re running our 10th.
We’re here to help you make a confident booking, so you can arrive knowing the space will truly work for your family’s needs.
Call 01454 210442 or
Download this information here!
Want to talk it through before booking?
We’re very happy to discuss your needs individually and advise on the right session for your family.
Call: 01454 210442
Or Email: info@gympanzees.org
What is a Pop Up?
Our Pop Up is designed to provide safe, accessible and exciting play, fitness and exercise opportunities. It brings together specialist equipment, sensory experiences and play opportunities in an environment designed to support children and young people of all abilities. Think of it as a smaller-scale version of what the permanent Gympanzees centre will offer when it opens, giving families the chance to experience many of the activities, equipment and inclusive design features that will be available in the future.
This isn’t just for young children. Older and larger children and young people will find it fun too. We don’t have the teenage hangout space we’ve had in previous years, but there is kit for them to enjoy.
Where and when
Wednesday 5th August – Sunday 23rd August 2026
Ilminster Avenue Nursery School, Ilminster Avenue, Knowle West, Bristol, BS4 1BX
Don’t let the word ‘nursery’ put you off. The building is much larger than you’d expect, and sessions are suitable for people from 0 to 25.
A full timetable is available below.
Please note:
Parents and carers need to remain with their child or young person at all times. Our staff and volunteers are on hand to help, but we are not able to provide one-to-one care or supervision.
Pop Up Sponsors
Need a refresher? Here's how to book your session on Vagaro
Accessibility Features
The Pop Up includes:
- Mobile hoists available throughout the venue to support access to equipment and activities.
- Two fully accessible Changing Places toilets.
- A range of specialist equipment suitable for children and young people with different disabilities and access needs.
- A variety of session types to suit different children and families.
Accessible Routes
We’ve carefully reviewed the layout, measured doorways throughout the venue, and designed the most accessible routes possible for all families, including those using wheelchairs, larger mobility equipment and hoists.
To make sure everyone can move around safely and comfortably, some narrower doorways and routes are not in use. This means a small number of rooms are accessed via alternative routes, including some covered outdoor pathways or through an adjoining room.
All routes shown on our map have been assessed to give the most accessible experience around the Pop Up. Our volunteers will be happy to help if you need any assistance during your visit.
Choosing your session
Please take some time to understand the different sessions to make sure you’re booked in to something that’s really suitable and fun. Different people have different needs.
We offer different session types with varying attendance levels, so you can choose the environment that best suits.
Most Gympanzees Pop Up sessions are 90 minutes long. A small number of 2-hour sessions are also available throughout the timetable.
All Butterfly Sessions are 2 hours long, allowing extra time for families who may need to use hoisting equipment, Changing Places facilities, or who need more time to move comfortably between activities.
If you’re unsure and you want to discuss it with us, please contact us.
Call 01454 210442 or
Session Types
Butterfly Session - Medium (2 hours)
A moderately busy session with extra time built in.
Capacity: up to 34 children, plus parents and carers
Best suited to: less mobile children and young people who may or may not have complex medical needs, including those who may need hoisting, and their siblings.
These sessions are designed to provide a calmer environment for children who may want to be on the floor and don’t want to be run into or bumped while playing and exploring.
Jungle Session
Our busiest and most energetic session.
Capacity: up to 41 children, plus parents and carers
Best suited to: children and young people with any disability or neurodiversity who enjoy a busier, more energetic and stimulating environment.
These sessions are open to children and young people with a wide range of needs and provide the fullest-capacity Gympanzees experience.
Leopard Session - Quiet
A quieter session with fewer children than our busier sessions.
Capacity: up to 28 children, plus parents and carers
Best suited to: neurodivergent children and young people with sensory needs who enjoy a less busy environment.
These sessions are designed for children who may benefit from a balance of activity and space while enjoying everything Gympanzees has to offer.
Gorilla Session - Quietest
Our quietest and calmest session.
Capacity: up to 19 children, plus parents and carers
Best suited to: mobile children and young people who prefer their own space and find busy environments challenging.
These sessions are designed to provide a more spacious and less stimulating environment, allowing children to explore and play with fewer people around them.
Sessions Timetable
Play Spaces
The Pop Up includes a variety of exciting spaces to explore:
- Trampoline Room
- Fitness & Exercise Gym
- Swing Room
- Music Room
- Active Sensory Room
- Dark Sensory Room
- Light Sensory Room
- Soft Play Area
- Outdoor Playground
Detailed information about the equipment in each room, including size and weight limits, will be published before opening.
Café
There is a café on site, accessed externally via the reception area. We serve simple drinks and snacks, and you’re welcome to bring your own food. It’s a lovely opportunity to connect with other families, social connection is very much part of what we’re about.
Café facilities include:
- Two indoor seating areas
- Outdoor seating
- A covered shelter area
- Additional weather protection from gazebos where needed
- Toilet facilities
- There is a standard toilet available in the café area.
If you need to use a Changing Places toilet whilst using the cafe, this is located within the Pop Up itself. Please speak to a member of the Gympanzees team and we’ll be happy to provide access whenever you need it.
Parking
There is parking for approximately 30 vehicles in the car park beside the nursery school. This off-road parking is available for families attending Gympanzees sessions. The ground is tarmac and there is space to manoeuvre wheelchairs from your vehicle.
Information Room
We’ve set aside a room to give you a full rundown on our new permanent centre, opening in Spring 2027, including a look at room designs. You’ll also find information from partner organisations whose services you might find helpful.
Booking
Tickets
Parents, carers and accompanying adults do not need a ticket. Tickets are required for all children and young people attending, including siblings. Please make sure a ticket is booked for every child or young person who will be joining you.
Sessions are also suitable for older children, teenagers and young adults. Anyone under 16, or with complex care needs, needs to be accompanied.
If you are using an iPhone, Android, iPad or Smart Tablet, it may be tricky to book. We suggest downloading the Vagaro App or visiting this page from a laptop to book your session.
Concession Tickets
Concession tickets are available to families in receipt of means-tested benefits or who are eligible for Free School Meals. You can use the code CONCESSION26 for 50% off the ticket price.
Please note: Eligibility for concession tickets is based on low income. Disability benefits alone do not qualify. We have already priced the event assuming disabled people will be joining us.
We may ask for evidence of eligibility when booking or attending the session.
How to book
We’re working on a streamlined booking system for our permanent centre. In the meantime, we use a platform called Vagaro, which can be a little cumbersome. We’ve put together step-by-step instructions to help, and if you get stuck, please just call us.
Tickets are £10, Concession £5.
We also offer a full fee waiver, please get in touch with Emily, our Centre Manager, to receive a code to book via 01454 210442 or choose from the options below.
Arriving for Your Session
There is a 15-minute changeover period between sessions to allow families to arrive and leave comfortably. When you arrive, you’ll be greeted by our volunteers, who will check you in against the session register. If you arrive early, you’re welcome to wait in the café area.
During Your Visit
Our staff and volunteers will be on hand throughout your session to help families find their way around the Pop Up and answer any questions.
Leaving Your Session
At the end of your session, our volunteers will check you out from the register. There’s no rush to leave the moment your session ends. Families are very welcome to spend time in the café or information room before heading home.
Coming soon
To help you prepare for your visit, we’ll be providing:
- A downloadable map of the Pop Up, a bird’s-eye view of the space you can save to your phone before you arrive.
- A fly-through video of the Pop Up, recorded the day before opening once all equipment is installed. This will help your family familiarise yourselves with the space before you get here.
- Detailed equipment information for each room, including size and weight limits where applicable, so you can see which equipment is suitable for your child.
Get in touch
We’re always happy to help. If you have any questions before or during your visit, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Contact us: Phone: 01454 210442 Email: info@gympanzees.org
Make your booking!
Places go quickly at these events, so please do get your booking in now. It will give you something lovely to look forward to in the summer holidays!
Here are some highlights from previous Pop Ups:
- A 5-year-old who slept through the night for the first time after her session
- Two 3-year-old boys who had their first-ever laugh
- A 6-year-old who took off her coat and scarf in public for the first time
- An 8-year-old who ate up in public for the first time
- A 16-year-old who refused any form of sport at home and school but rowed a kilometre on the rowing machine
- A 14-year-old who built the confidence at our gym and now goes to a mainstream gym with a personal trainer
- A 10-year-old who has never exercised who asked to replace his dining room table for a static bike as he enjoyed it so much at the Pop Up
- A 9-year-old who held his head up on his own for 10 minutes for the first time
- 57 children and young people who were able to walk in our specialist equipment for the first time
“Gympanzees is such a great place for us to bring our group because there is something for everyone, children do not feel like the odd ones out here. We've brought 14 children along today and we've also come multiple times previously. It’s an hour and 45 minutes for us to come but it's so worth it. Today we had a 15-year-old keep their ear defenders off for most of the day which is huge for him and a little girl who was able to keep focus for over 10 minutes.”
Proving Our Concept
We have been running Pop Up’s since 2018 to prove our concept and test our design for the permanent Gympanzees centre.
The Pop Ups are smaller versions our plans for the main centre, and have included a gym, soft playroom, music room, two sensory rooms, a trampoline room, indoor playground (sensory integration room), outdoor playground and a sociable café.
Over 9 Pop Ups we welcomed over 28,000 visitors over 165 days, with some families making 7-hour round trips and even booking hotels so they could attend their 1.5 hour session.