Looking for a way to spend free time in Warsaw during the winter? You’ve tried all of the ice rinks already and dream of something that doesn’t involve freezing your ass off? Need a place to take your children to so that they can get tired and you can relax? Why not try rollerskating? We checked out the only indoor roller rink in Warsaw – RollerDisco. In this blog post you’ll find all the information about prices, classes and rental.
I wanted to check out a real roller rink, like the one you can see in American movies, ever since Kelis was singing about it in 1999. I did try rollerskating once before, but it doesn’t really count as I don’t remember this clearly. It was a few years ago, during Pohoda music festival in Slovakia. I only remember that there was Red Hot Chili Pepers playing on the loop. Well, music festivals are mystical spaces where no one is really sober and so no one really remembers rollerskating that well 😉
Where to roller skate in Warsaw?
In the summer the answer is easy: wherever you want. However in the winter there aren’t as many activities available. Fortunatelly rollerskating is still possible and that’s because there’s a roller rink in the city. RollerDisco is the only roller rink in Warsaw, and, let’s be honest here, it’s located in a middle of nowhere, on Połczyńska 115, where even I don’t have an easy commute, and I technically live in Bemowo district. The good thing is that the entrance fee covers two hours of skating, so once you actually manage to get there, you can at least enjoy skating for quite a long time (I didn’t even manage to rollerskate that long). The roller rink is located in an industrial hall. It doesn’t look inviting from the outside, but they actually did quite a lot with the space inside, so it looks decent. There’s lots of deifferent coloured light, plenty of disco balls and there’s music playing all the time. There’s enough space to rollerskate even when there’s a lot of people. And there’s plenty of sitting area as well. That’s for poeople like us, who need to sit dwon from time to time and complain about the pain in the lower back, as well as for the parents who want to chill out and just wait for their kids.
RollerDisco is open every day. You can rollerskate the longest on the weekends, when it’s opened from 11 a.m. until late in the evening. It’s cool that they open every day because you can come after work with your friends. I assume the later you come, the less kids will be around. We decided to be clever and came during the hours ‘available only to the freelancers and the unemployed of the world’. At 2 p.m. on wednesdays afternoon there was no one except from us, so we were able to take photos however we wanted to. If someone is more advanced in the art of rollerskating, I’d recommend trying and visiting in the middle of the day at least once. There are amazing conditions to practice any tricks you want. Be sure to check opening hours HERE (unfortunately they don’t have a website in english, but I guess the hours and days of the week are easy to decipher).
Is rollerskating difficult?
I don’t think it is particularly difficult. I don’t know why, but I was less afraid of falling down than, for example, ice skating. Maybe it’s just that the roller skates are wider, the larger number of wheels gives you an illusion of more stability. Of course, we did not try any tricks, we just went one way and the other and tried to learn how to stop with our feet, not our teeth. The girl at the cash register, when asked for advice for the noobs, told us to bend the legs in your knees and lean forward. It worked. We did fall down a few times, but it worked in the end 😉 If you get into rollerskating, I suggest you just sign up for some lessons to learn how to do it right. At RollerDisco they offer a few different classes plus they have one-off events such as roller-skating dance workshops. This may be good fun, so I’ll be sure to check it out myslef one day. There are also “themed evenings” organized when they play specific genres of music in the background. For up to date details, it’s best to check on their Facebook page.
Another important thing is that you don’t need any equipment to come and try rollerskating. There is a rental office on site, and the roller skates are in a very good condition (unlike some rental ice skates on ice rinks in Warsaw, which will destroy your feet before you even manage to step on ice). Renting roller skates costs 10 złoty (2,5 euro). Entrance fee is different depending on the day of the week and your age. We are old, but we came on wednesday, so we paid 22 złoty (5 euro) per person for everything (entrance fee + rental). On the weekend we would pay just 2 złoty more (half a euro), so there’s not really a difference. Since they do not have a website in english here are all the prices, just be aware that they might have changed, depending on when you’re reading this blog post:
Prices monday to friday:
Adult: entrance fee 14 zł, entrance fee+rental 22 zł
Children (under the age of 16): entrance fee 12 zł, entrance fee+rental 19 zł
Prices on the weekends:
Adult: entrance fee 15 zł, entrance fee+rental 24 zł
Children (under the age of 16): entrance fee 14 zł, entrance fee+rental 22 zł
And if you decide to go and check your rollerskating skills, do let us know if you have such a terrible pain in the lower back afterwards. No? It’s just us? We’re probably too old for this shit.
Sorry for the quality of the pictures. We desperately need to upgrade our photo equipment to something that can deal with ISO higher than 800.
