I noticed the reviews for IFC, and I see so many reviews with a 5 star rating. I started to wonder if these are paid reviews.
I’m planning on writing a a review that is as fair as possible. I have been to IFC 2 times, in 2008 & the second time in 2011. In 2008, they did not have a common package based tarriff, but an pay per ride\visit. It was still under construction and parts of the city that were completed then, did seem good.
Here’s what I noticed in 2011. My first experience, they have very limited parking & you would probably be forced to park outside on the road. The really cheap part of IFC is to charge there visitors for parking. This is something that is out of ordinary for parks similar to IFC. Nobody charges you for parking! I go into the ticket counter to buy 3 Tickets, & I also happen to have a voucher that promises me a 10% discount on whatever tickets I buy at IFC. I present this to the sales lady & she tell me that it is a Sunday & she would not honor the voucher. I reason with her & finally she calls a supervisor comes over & yells back at me with the craziest excuse I have heard, "the voucher is a tampered one & we would not accept it". This is Cheating at the highest level. I received the voucher from a IFC representative at the Metro Store. This is sad that here are people who are trying to rip you right in the beginning.
BTW you are now forced to buy a 499Rs ticket, & if you need to use the go karting. cricket, bungee jumping, ( Which is basically a trampoline) you need to shell out another 150rs extra)
I get my tickets & walk in. First Impressions once inside the park, IFC seems far more complete than the last time I visited them in 2008. The first place to visit is a Teddy Museum, I have no idea as to who is the joker who could think of such a crazy idea. I mean, a whole museum with teddy bears, are they kidding me! Why would I as an adult want to spend part of my 499 package on something this silly. . but whatever! They have a small stage with music on for kids to dance. The sad part here is the music is sooo loud, that it hurts the ear drum of an adult, let alone a child. So much for non health hazard park.
We move on to see other attractions. They have an archery section, where you are given only 2 arrows to shoot. The place was empty & the staff just refuse to give you another shot. Why on earth are they so cheap?
I am forced to buy a ticket with a bunch of rides\attractions I do not want to use, but am forced to compensate on things that I want to do. The ticket is crappy to the core that nothing is truly unlimited.
They have a MINE, which is Junk par Excellence. It’s a dingy shack with a couple of construction helmets placed around the place, with sand on the floor. Now I wonder again as to what was wrong with me to come to this place. There is absolutely nothing else! I’m now starting to get annoyed. They then have a Toddles den, where there are bunch of broken children toys & they are extremely dirty. Yuck!( Remember you have payed for this too, whether you have a child or not) You move on further to a target shoot( Which is a gun that shoots rubber bullets.). Here comes out the cheapness of IFC again, they give you 5 rubber bullets & tell you to take a hike after that. No matter how much you reason with them, they remain adamant. If you want to play it again, go spend another 499Rs. This is such an un-ethical way to treat your customers.(Quick mental note, never visit IFC again & make sure I write a review about them on Mouthshut)
The talkies & couple of other attractions in the long corridor, were not even worth visiting. I move on further to notice that the Dino world’s quite nice at the first look. But on spending some more time around there, I realized that nothing in IFC was maintained. Some of the Dino’s had there hide’s( Artifical Skin) torn & you get to see the robotics below. The sad part here again is, a few Dino’s even had there tails broken off & IFC has not bothered to repair them. So much for something that was great back in 2008. They had a theater within the Dino park, which they have shutdown now! Why have they shut it down? God alone knows!
The fossil museum’s great. It definitely is worth the time you spend there. You would find a giant skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus Rex in the center of the Museum, but on a closer look you would realize that the bottom part of the rib cage is broken & fallen. No one as usual has not bothered to maintain it.
Ripley’s believe it or not, is probably the only place that IFC can brag about. Well made & maintained. Quite Surprisingly! The wax museum, is just ok. The only Indian figure they have is Gandhi. No one else from India has been immortalized in wax.
The mirror maze is good. But the fun is killed. Why? They have staff helping you guide out of the maze. Why would you want that?It defeats the whole purpose of getting into a maze
The haunted mansion, is beyond pathetic now. The originally has a headless horseman, who would get his horse to standup on two legs. No surprises here, it’s spoilt & no-one seems to have repaired it. They also had a skeleton on a bench outside the haunted mansion, that seems to be missing now. Once inside the haunted mansion, the only true word I can use is PATHETIC. Why am I using this word, is because I am comparing it to the same haunted mansion I visited in 2008. Nothing works! The only moving part in the mansion is the table. All the older attractions have been either been removed or replaced with crappier stuff & as usual nothing seems to be working. Nothing to get you to scream out in fear.
The mini golf thankfully is still good. 18 holes would allow you to spend an easy 1 hr. You get to feel good after seeing something that is ok after such a long time. The rides in the cartoon city, lol. Half of them don’t work. The other half are in the last stages of their life.
There was a water shooting ride, it’s de-commissioned now. The star wars ride need urgent maintenance. I have no idea, how come the park still has its safety license. The roller coaster is fun. The carousel is nice for kids. It’s 2 storied & worth the ride if you have a small child.
The beach is good, but now where in comparison to wonder la. Not enough lockers mean, you are worried about your belongings or have to have someone outside looking after it.
The food court, is bad. A lot of vendors have shut shop. There are only few vendors left, who have very highly priced there food.The quantity & quality is average. The bad part of a weekend is, food does not seems be there for long enough. So with the No-outside-food policy & the empty food court, god alone knows how are we supposed to manage. Here’s the crazy part, Mc-donalds in IFC ran short of food on a Sunday
On a parting note on this review, here is what IFC really need to do if they have to survive
Stop being cheap & have truly Unlimted options when they are forcing you to buy a ticket at 499rs
Get staff who aren’t rude, stupidly arrogant & stubborn
Seriously get people to start maintaining the IFC before it falls apart.
Maintain the decency to honor the vouchers that they have distributed
Train staff at the ticket counters to talk in a manner that do not stoop them down to slum folks fighting
A honest feedback to folks who have not yet been there. There are a million other ways you can spend you time & money better. Do Not Visit IFC, all they do is cheat & rip you.